There’s a new Pope, as I wrote last week. He goes by Leo although I think of him as “Pope Bob” since we share the same first name as well as a common interest in mathematics! (He was born Robert “Bob” Prevost in Chicago and has a BS in mathematics from Villanova.)

I prefer not to set up an adversarial relationship with either Roman Catholics or their Pope. He’s shared some powerful truth already, applicable to us all. Here’s a sample:

• We are often preoccupied with teaching doctrine. We risk forgetting that our first task is to teach what it means to know Jesus Christ and to bear witness to our closeness to the Lord. This comes first: to communicate the beauty of the faith, the beauty and joy of knowing Jesus. It means that we ourselves are living it and sharing this experience. (Christianity Today, May 9, 2025)
• It is the holiness of the church’s members, not its grand chapels and monuments, that sheds this light on the world by declaring the Lord’s wonderful deeds. (World Magazine, May 9, 2025)
• There are many settings in which the Christian faith is considered absurd, meant for the weak and unintelligent. Settings where other securities are preferred, like technology, money, success, power, or pleasure. They are the places where our missionary outreach is desperately needed. (Wall Street Journal, May 9, 2025)
• Christians must bear witness to Christ in the world God entrusted to us. One needs a personal relationship and daily conversation with the Lord to do this. (World Magazine, May 9, 2025)

You are the light of the world… (Matthew 5.14, ESV)

Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…that I may know him… (Philippians 3.8, 10, ESV)

O LORD, in the morning you hear my voice… (Psalm 5.3, ESV)

Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God. (Psalm 20.7, ESV)

If I have made gold my trust or called fine gold my confidence… (Job 31.24, ESV)