I was raised Catholic, but left the Church as a teenager due to its history of persecution of others not of the same faith or beliefs. In other words, I felt that the institution was not living up to the practices of Christ that they were supposedly founded upon.

Despite having left organized religion and eventually embracing shamanic life, I often find inspiration in the words and deeds of people from different faiths. Pope Francis has walked his faith publicly from his first day as leader of the Catholic Church. What an inspiration he was in life, and I anticipate he will remain so after his deeply mourned passing this week.

Much has been written about Pope Francis’ support for the poor and disadvantaged, but perhaps not as many people know of his groundbreaking efforts to promote ecological stewardship for the Earth and All Our Relations (a first for the Catholic Church).

Author and environmental educator Bill McKibben’s excellent article Pope Francis and The Sun makes a case for his perhaps having been the world’s greatest environmental champion both in doctrine and in practice:

“…he ordered the Vatican to begin construction of a field of solar panels on land it owned near Rome—an agrivoltaic project that would produce not just food but enough solar power to entirely power the city-state that is the Vatican. It is designed, in his words, to provide ‘the complete energy sustenance of Vatican City State.’ That is to say, this will soon be the first nation powered entirely by the sun.”

I highly recommend reading the article in its entirety.

Thank you, Pope Francis, for your life of faith and service. We were all blessed by your example. Journey well.

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Traditionally, Sunday was a day of rest and reflection on our spiritual connections. These days, we live a much faster-paced lifestyle, which makes bite-sized reminders like this one helpful.

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🐾 Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing’s mission is energy healing, storytelling, and connection/communication with All Our Relations. I (Rose De Dan) am a one-woman show, so your support matters. If you feel called to do so, please consider leaving a tip at BuyMeACoffee. Proceeds help support my pro-bono work and ceremonies with/for the animals, and you can also read about a few past events.

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A WILD WAY TO HEAL
Rose De Dan, Wild Reiki and Shamanic Healing LLC is an animal communicator, Reiki Master Teacher, shamanic energy healer, and author of Tails of a Healer: Animals, Reiki and Shamanism and Out of the Darkness and Other Animal Tails. Her classes, sessions, and ceremonial work are inspired by wild and domestic animals who have issued a call to action for personal and global healing.