Except for a friend who chose to fly out to Hong Kong to sit out the papal visit, I dont know of anyone else who isnt ebullient about the coming of Pope Francis to the Philippines, or isnt interested in it, at the very least. Its as if this very public event is bringing a personal milestone to each persons life, no matter ones religion or atheism or agnosticism.

Why?

It could be because Pope Francisthe social media Popehas turned the papacy into a very personal matter for multitudes of people worldwide. This is one pope you not only can identify with, its as if you also own him. Hes all yours and represents what you want to be, indeed, what you want in life.

At a time when stress rules your life and when uncertainty, if not hardship and violence, rules the world outside, theres a Pope Francis who gives you a feeling of security, a sense of right, even love. This pope has successfully conveyed that message even to the most jaded, cynical person out therefrom the most powerful to the downtrodden, from the rich to the poor, from a winner to a loser, especially a loser.

In this day and age, the more successful or powerful or wealthy you are, the more alienated you feel. The Internet or the mobile phoneindeed, the technology of connectivityhas a way of making more pronounced a persons sense of alienation, especially in the city, in a life on the fast lane.

The oddest thing is how todays cynical and materialistic generation, including the corporate rat racers, has come to embrace Pope Francis and appropriate him as its inspiration. Ordinariness

Pope Francis has come to represent a friend you need in lifesomething one never thought one could say of a structured institution like the Catholic Church. To the surprise of many, the Catholic Church has allowed social media to give the public a glimpse of the Popes ordinariness, indeed human-ness. A tyke tugging at the Popes habit. A pope joining the cafeteria queue. A pope watching the World Cup with the Swiss Guards (he could root for a team?). Never has a leaders character been conveyed so lucidly and powerfully through social media, as in the case of Pope Francis.

As a result, you and Pope Francis are tightor so you feel. And a Pope Francis is exactly what you need at this point in your life because:

He is a good man. And his is a goodness that is doable. Just Google his New Years resolutions. He restores your faith in the goodness of mensomething that some jerks in your life tried to take away.

He is simple. Theres a photo of him with his trainers peeking out from under his priestly garb. If you feel lost and deprived amid the tsunami of brands you cant afford, yet lust for, this image of Pope Francis is an instant cure to your addiction.

View post:
Why you need a Pope Francis in your life