Why would Pope Francis meet with a man he completely disagrees with?

Every week, every day, we are shocked as the next shoe drops on the centipede of political scandals.

“Revealing classified information,” “obstruction of justice,” and “impeachment” swirl around President Trump, but somehow he receives a great blessing: a meeting with His Holiness Pope Francis.

What? Why?

Why would “the people’s Pope,” the Pope of the Environment, take the time to meet the guy who called climate change a hoax, the candidate who wants to build the infamous wall on the US/Mexico border against all Pope Francis’s values?

Why not diss him and make that the statement?

I was baptized Catholic and tried to live by its teachings a few times, but I had a hard time finding divine inspiration in all the rules from the high-ups. The dogma kicked me out of the fold long ago.

I am equally shocked to say that Pope Francis, in this moment with President Trump, inspired me to see the essential truth in Christianity again—and how to apply it to Trump.

Taking his name from Saint Francis, who radiated such deep inner peace that wild animals felt safe to be near him and taught us about respect for all creation, Pope Francis means it when he says, “Each and every one of us can become a bright candle, a reminder that light will overcome darkness and never the other way around.”

I believe this meeting was about sparking the divine light in Donald Trump. I betcha Pope Francis prayed, meditated, and spoke only to that light. He gave Trump a touché gift of light.

Giving light to someone we don’t like, or we disagree with, is an act of higher consciousness.

In his TED Talk, Pope Francis calls on the elite, the “Trumps” of the world, and on all of us to uplift people within our sphere of influence.

“How wonderful would it be, while we discover faraway planets, to rediscover the needs of the brothers and sisters orbiting around us? How wonderful would it be if solidarity, this beautiful and, at times, inconvenient word…became the default attitude in political, economic, and scientific choices, as well as in relationships among individuals, peoples, and countries.”

It’s easy to blame and rail against President Trump or liberals in the name of highlighting the facts that we think are missing. It’s definitely important to get the facts out—they are a form of light. It’s about how we do it. If rancor grows, so does the darkness. The Pope went on to say:

“Even the harsh judgment I hold in my heart against my brother or my sister…needs to be extinguished before it goes up in flames, leaving only ashes behind.”

We need to meditate and pray first—then act from that calm center of love.

Like many spiritual leaders in times of darkness, Pope Francis shows us how to act from our love in the face of hate, from our oneness, when separateness seems so real.

“Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.”  ~ Paramhansa Yogananda

At the beginning and the end of the day, what we really need to do is pray for Trump, and for one another, blue, red, and purple. Send light. Meditate on the light growing in our President and in ourselves. Radiate peace and harmony from our hearts.

We are all here on the planet right now for a purpose. We all play a vital role—even Donald Trump. We must raise our consciousness to this precious opportunity and be the change.

“The other has a face. The ‘you’ is always a real presence, a person to take care of.” ~ Pope Francis

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Author: Jacqueline Debets
Image: Donkey Hotey/Flickr
Editor: Danielle Beutell
Supervising Editor 1: Taia Butler