A Reflection for the Seventeenth Thursday in Ordinary Time, by Colleen Dulle

The image of Pope Francis, all alone on the side of the lake, imploring God for healing, will surely remain as an iconic image of this penitential pilgrimage.

Read the full text of Pope Francis’ homily at Lac Ste. Anne, a pilgrimage site in Alberta, Canada, long known as a place of healing among Indigenous Peoples.

“It was an achievement on the part of the Indigenous community to convince Pope Francis to come to a First Nation community and humble himself before survivors in the way he did,” Phil Fontaine said.

Celebrating the feast day of Jesus’ grandparents, Pope Francis not only urged people to honor their elders, but he asked them to think about what they will hand on to future generations.

“The ideal bishop does not exist,” Sister Reungoat said. But he has to be a shepherd who is “close to the people entrusted to him, he has to know how to involve priests, laity and religious, and people of different generations.”