Pope writes letter on how literature educates the heart and mind

By Tiziana Campisi

A good book opens the mind, stimulates the heart, and prepares us for life, Pope Francis writes in a letter to future priests, but also all pastoral workers and Christians will appreciate "reading novels and poems as part of one’s path to personal maturity."

With his  letter on the role of literature in formation, written on 17 July and published Sunday, 4 August, Pope Francis aims to encourage "a renewed love for reading" and above all "to propose a radical change of course" in the preparation of candidates for the priesthood, so that more space is given to reading literary works. Because literature can educate "the hearts and minds of pastors" to "the free and humble exercise of our use of reason" and to "a fruitful recognition of the variety of human languages," thus broadening human sensitivity and leading to greater spiritual openness.

Moreover, the task of believers, and of priests in particular, is to touch the hearts of contemporary people so that they may be moved and open before the proclamation of the Lord Jesus, and in all this "the contribution that literature and poetry can offer is of incomparable value."

Beneficial effects of reading

In his letter Pope Francis first emphasises the beneficial effects of a good book that can "provide an oasis that keeps us from other choices that are less wholesome," and when "in moments of weariness, anger, disappointment or failure, when prayer itself does not help us find inner serenity," can help us get through difficult moments and "find peace of mind".

People used to dedicate themselves to reading more often "before our present unremitting exposure to social media, mobile phones and other devices", observes the Pope, who points out that in an audiovisual product, although more complete, "the time allowed for ‘enriching’ the narrative or exploring its significance is usually quite restricted", while reading a book the reader is much more active. A literary work is “a living and ever fruitful text.”

It happens, in fact, that in reading, the reader is enriched by what is received from the author, and this enables him to make the richness of his own person flourish.

Devoting time to literature

While it is positive that "some seminaries have reacted to the obsession with ‘screens’ and with toxic, superficial and violent fake news, by devoting time and attention to literature,” to reading and discussing books, new or old, that have much to say, Pope Francis acknowledges that in general those in formation for ordained ministry may not have enough time to dedicate to literature, sometimes considered "a ‘minor art’ that need not belong to the education of future priests and their preparation for pastoral ministry."

"Such an approach is unhealthy", says the Pope, and can lead to "serious intellectual and spiritual impoverishment of future priests", who thus do not have privileged access which literature grants to the very heart of human culture and, more specifically, to the heart of every individual". Because, in practice, literature has to do with what each of us desires from life, he writes, and it enters into an intimate relationship with our concrete existence and all its tensions, desires and meanings.

Encountering Jesus

In order to "respond adequately to many people’s thirst for God, lest they try to satisfy it with alienating solutions or with a disembodied Jesus", believers and priests, in proclaiming the Gospel, must endevour so that "everyone be able to encounter Jesus Christ made flesh, made man, made history." One must never lose sight of the “flesh” of Jesus Christ, the Pope recommends, "that flesh made of passions, emotions and feelings, words that challenge and console, hands that touch and heal, looks that liberate and encourage, flesh made of hospitality, forgiveness, indignation, courage, fearlessness; in a word, love".

For this reason, Pope Francis underscores that "familiarity with literature can make future priests and all pastoral workers all the more sensitive to the full humanity of the Lord Jesus, in which his divinity is wholly present".

The full text of the Letter of Pope Francis on the role of literature in formation can be found here.