From the time that he became pope, I have found Francis’ statements and writing very inspiring. I was also inspired by St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict, but Pope Francis, for me, has been special. I have enjoyed that special relationship throughout his pontificate.

I do not know how I missed the news that Pope Francis issued an encyclical at the end of the Synod. I try to keep up to date on what is happening in the Church, but somehow, I missed the news about the encyclical, which has the wonderful title “He Loved Us” (“Dilexit Nos”). As soon as I discovered that the encyclical had been published, I obtained a copy.

Anyone who reads this column regularly knows that I think we live in a very secular culture. This presents problems to anyone who professes religious faith.

I think that the first time I encountered the word “acedia” was when I first read Josef Pieper’s classic “Leisure the Basis of Culture.” That was back in the 1950s. I recall that I was confused by his remarks. Now, more than 70 years later, I think I understand Pieper’s comments about acedia and I suspect his remarks may have a special importance today. I am wondering if acedia is widespread in contemporary American culture. Pieper wrote the following about acedia:

A few weeks ago I saw an ad for a new book and as soon as I read the ad I knew that I had to get the book and read it. The book was written by James T. Keane, a senior editor at the Jesuit magazine America. Its title is “Reading Culture Through Catholic Eyes: 50 Writers, Thinkers & Firebrands Who Challenge & Change Us” (New York: Orbis Books, 2024, 200 pp., $25.00).

A few months ago, I received a phone call from a friend who is pursuing a master’s degree at a local university. An assignment was given in one of her classes, and each student had to interview someone about the process of aging. My friend asked me to be the subject of her interview.

The great Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky claimed that beauty will save the world. When I first heard that idea expressed many years ago, it fascinated me. It still does. I wondered what it meant (and still do). I decided that writing a column about it might help me understand it more deeply.

As soon as I read Angela Alaimo O’Donnell’s excellent essay in “America” (January 2025) entitled “Jesus, Mary, and Satan at the Met,” I knew that I would have to visit the Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan so that I could experience this almost incredible exhibit: “Siena: the Rise of Painting, 1300-1350.”