Leading with love...

lessons from a good and faithful servant

Apr 26, 2025

"From my point of view, God is the light that illuminates the darkness, even if it does not dissolve it, and a spark of divine light is within each of us." ~ Pope Francis

On Easter Monday the world lost one of its great leaders - a humble, kind man who spent his life serving others and who will be remembered as “the people’s Pope”.

Pope Francis was a man who treated all with dignity - immigrants, the unborn, the poor, the homeless, prisoners…anyone who was on the margins of society…every single life mattered.

The Portuguese expression, “Todos, todos, todos..” which means literally “Everyone, everyone, everyone” was something he said quite often and was his vision for the Church…a place where everyone should be welcome.

I grew up being taught by Franciscan nuns and maybe that is why I have a special place in my heart for Pope Francis. His Jesuit background and his embracing of his papal name, taken in honor of St. Francis of Assissi, was more than symbolic. He strived and succeeded to emulate that saint’s life through his actions.

Along his life’s journey Pope Francis shared many wonderful thoughts and here is just a sampling of my personal favorites:

"We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, and spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace."

“Grace is not part of consciousness; it is the amount of light in our souls, not knowledge nor reason."

"Perhaps the mission of the university is to train social poets, men and women who, upon learning the grammar and vocabulary of humanity, have a spark, a brilliance that allows them to imagine the unknown.”

"As stewards of God's creation, we are called to make the earth a beautiful garden for the human family. When we destroy our forests, ravage our soil and pollute our seas, we betray that noble calling."

"This is important: to get to know people, listen, expand the circle of ideas. The world is crisscrossed by roads that come closer together and move apart, but the important thing is that they lead towards the Good."

"The faith we proclaim tonight makes us see God present in all those situations where we think he is absent... He is present in the unwelcome visitor, often unrecognizable, who walks through our cities and our neighborhoods, who travels on our buses and knocks on our doors."

"It is impossible for peace to exist without dialogue. All the wars, all the strife, all the unsolved problems over which we clash are due to a lack of dialogue. When there is a problem, talk: this makes peace."

“We have only one heart, and the same wretchedness which leads us to mistreat an animal will not be long in showing itself in our relationships with other people. Every act of cruelty towards any creature is contrary to human dignity.”

“It is up to us, today’s humanity, especially believers, to turn instruments of hatred into instruments of peace.”

What can we do in the absence of such a profound leader?

We can continue his ministry of peace, spreading love, light and perhaps, most importantly…hope…to every person we meet, while hearing his voice in the background reminding us, “Todos, todos, todos….”

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Tranquil Moments…

I asked my niece, Jennifer Malphy, if she could share some of her nature photos with my newsletter audience. Each week I will feature a new photo. Here is this week’s:

This week’s Smile video…

Who gets any joy out of paying bills? The woman Steve Hartman met, "On the Road."

#believe #smilevideos #spreadkindnessandlove

What I am reading…

This week I read Wisconsin Idols: 100 Heroes Who Changed the State, the World and Me by Dean Robbins. This is a fun book with many interesting stories.

Here is the Amazon summary: “Discover intriguing true tales of legends and trailblazers with Wisconsin connections who left their mark on the world, including the Beatles, Georgia O’Keeffe, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Harrison Ford, Joni Mitchell, Abraham Lincoln, Oprah Winfrey, Bob Dylan, Jackie Robinson, Orson Welles, and many more. Marvel at Elvis Presley’s miracle on the streets of Madison, applaud the award-winning acting of Reedsburg’s Agnes Moorehead, follow fearless quarterback Bart Starr to the gates of hell in Green Bay, and join Joshua Glover in Racine on his daring escape from enslavers. These brief narratives—whether poignant or humorous—also offer personal reflections on the impact of each featured idol.

Author Dean Robbins has spent a lifetime researching and revering these prominent figures and visiting exhibits, shrines, historic homes, and other sites dedicated to their achievements. Wisconsin Idols gathers all of Robbins’s obsessions into one collection, enhanced by dozens of photographs. Taken together, these stories of musicians, activists, artists, athletes, actors, and great thinkers irrefutably establish Wisconsin as a crossroads for extraordinary people who changed the world.”

What I am watching…

This week I have been enjoying watching the 1970’s comedy Eight is Enough. Based on a memoir with the same name, it recounts the ups and downs of raising a family of eight children.

An interesting fact about the television show…The actress that played the mother, actress Diana Hylund, died of breast cancer during the first season and only appeared in four episodes. The beginning of the second season wrote her death into the series and eventually actress Betty Buckley was written into the show as widower Tom Bradford’s second wife.

…from the Facebook page Pets Lovers

“Sam wasn’t looking for anything except coffee and quiet when he stepped into the tiny seaside café that rainy morning. But before he could even order, he noticed a cat asleep in the windowsill, curled tightly like a cinnamon roll with a single white paw stretched toward the glass.

She looked peaceful. Like the storm outside didn’t exist.

The barista saw him staring and smiled. “That’s Nori. She came with the place.”

It turned out Nori wasn’t just decoration—she was a legend. Customers claimed she knew when you needed a kind moment. She’d sit beside people who were grieving. Curl up near travelers stuck between places. And she always returned to that windowsill, like it was her post.

Sam sat near her. He didn’t expect her to move. But after a few minutes, she opened one eye, blinked slowly, and jumped down to curl up by his feet.

He hadn’t told anyone how lost he felt. Not after the move. Not after his father passed. But that little cat sat with him through two hours and three cups of coffee like she understood every unsaid word.

He kept coming back. For the coffee. For the calm. For Nori.

Sometimes, it’s not people who bring you back to yourself.

Sometimes, it’s a quiet cat who listens without needing to speak.”

This week’s TED Talk

Compassion is more than just something that is a nice afterthought. It is measurably transformative in improving our well being and health outcomes. Each of us has an incredible compassionate potential. Dr Julian Abel spent his clinical life as a palliative care specialist doctor. He has developed a special interest in compassionate communities, initially as part of supporting people undergoing experiences of death, dying, loss and caregiving. Over the last 4 years he has worked with Frome Medical Practice applying the compassionate community approach to healthcare in general, with some startling results.