Pope Francis and revolution

Perhaps Pope Francis is the first pope to use the word “revolution” in an official document, his first papal exhortation addressed to the bishops, clergy, consecrated persons and the lay faithful all over the world which asks everyone to be a joyful revolutionary in mission. He writes: “The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness”, Joy of the Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium, n. 88).

The main features of this papal revolution put together demand that in bringing the light of Christ to others some kind of violence to oneself is necessary; it is a self-inflicted physical violence to those who find it painful to get out of their comfort zones and “to run the risk of a face-to-face encounter with others, with their physical presence which challenges us, with their pains and their pleas, with their joy which infects us in our close and continuous interaction” (idem, 88) in the margins and peripheries of society.

This to Pope Francis is the revolution of tenderness.

The original Spanish is “La Revolucion de la Sencillez”. “Sencillez” is naturalness in English. How can this be revolutionary? Pope Francis was very perceptive and subtle. To be natural and tender when people are with the poor is to listen to them, to appreciate their wisdom and to learn from them. This seems to be the real meaning of tenderness. Then they can easily feel compassion, not pity and condescension. With a touch of humor loaded with insight the pope says “whenever we do so,” that is, being a revolutionary this way, “our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people” (EV, n. 270)!

The Pope completes his idea of revolution with a beautiful reference to Mary and equating revolution to evangelization. He says,

“Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves” (idem, 288).

Then with a clear biblical finale that may shock many, Pope Francis makes a clear reference to system change and regime change as result of social revolution in Mary’s Magnificat. “Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for ‘bringing down the mighty from their thrones’ and ‘sending the rich away empty (Lk 1:52) is also the one who brings homely warmth to our pursuit of justice… She is also the woman of prayer and work in Nazareth… who sets out ‘with haste’ (Lk 1:39) to be of service to others. This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization” (idem, n. 288).