Don't Forget:

Steve Lyman's Journey of the Universe Conversation continues on Monday, July 5th from 2pm to 4pm at Bob and Nancy's house:

2404 Marylyn Circle, Petaluma, CA 94954-1810

Day 476 Monday July 5th, 2021

Today doctors reported Francis is in "good general condition, alert and breathing spontaneously."

Francis began his Sunday, and "looked serene" while addressing people gathered in St. Peter’s Square for the weekly Angelus prayer and blessing. Announcing that he would be visiting Slovakia in September, he smiled happily when cheers went up from the crowd

Later that day he went into the hospital for surgery. Today doctors reported that Francis is in "good general condition, alert and breathing spontaneously,"

"The surgery for diverticular stenosis lasted about 3 hours," the statement said. "A stay of about seven days is expected, barring complications."

After the surgery had been performed, the press office said, "The Holy Father reacted well to the surgery, which was conducted under general anesthesia."

As soon as the Vatican announced the pope's hospitalization, get-well messages began being posted on social media.

Italian President Sergio Mattarella, who had just arrived in France when the news broke, sent a telegram. The president said he and the Italian people were accompanying the pope with "affectionate thoughts" and wishes for a speedy recovery.

Pope Francis has been generally healthy since becoming pope in March 2013 except for recurrent bouts of sciatica.

His current challenge reminded of his homily on Easter Sunday in which he said:

The witnesses report an important detail: the risen Jesus bears the marks of the wounds in his hands, feet and side. These wounds are the everlasting seal of his love for us. All those who experience a painful trial in body or spirit can find refuge in these wounds and, through them, receive the grace of the hope that does not disappoint.

We pray for Francis and his speedy recovery. This is not Francis first health challenge:

Francis suffered from a pulmonary condition in 1957 at the age of 21 that required him to undergo surgery to remove the upper right lobe of one of his lungs.

In an interview for a book published early in March, the pope said that while his recovery was painful, it was "complete, and I never felt any limitation in my activities."

"As you have seen, for example, in the various trips I have made and that you have covered, I never had to restrict or cancel any of the scheduled activities. I never experienced fatigue or shortness of breath," he told Nelson Castro, a physician and Argentina journalist.

The pope also told Castro that when he was the provincial superior of the Jesuits in Argentina, an office he held from 1973 to 1979, he underwent emergency gallbladder surgery. Ouch.

Get well Francis!

A quote from Joseph Bernardin:

“What I would like to leave behind is a simple prayer that each of you may find what I have found—God’s special gift to us all: the gift of peace. When we are at peace, we find the freedom to be most fully who we are, even in the worst of times. We let go of what is nonessential and embrace what is essential. We empty ourselves so that God may more fully work within us." ― Joseph Bernardin, The Gift of Peace