Fifteen Rules for a Good Life

This reflection will guide you through a way of praying with Pope Francis’ ‘15 Essential Habits for Living With Hope and Joy’. Take each point slowly, entering in with a curious and gentle spirit. We will provide about 1 minute per reflection point, but if you need longer, please feel free to pause the guide and carry on whenever you’re ready.

1. Just think: where God planted you, there is hope! Always have hope.
So where has God “planted” you? What first springs to mind when you first think of where you are now? The answer could be a geographical location, where you live. Or it could be the work that you do, or the family that you belong to, or a situation that you’re currently facing. A good place to start these reflections is by just speaking with God about which ever of these contexts seems most important for you just now.

2. Jesus gave us a light that shines in the darkness: defend it, protect it. That light is the greatest treasure you have been granted.
It’s not difficult to recognise the darkness in the world. Even if you yourself are in a good place just now, all it takes is a few minutes’ of scrolling to bring stories of suffering, pain, and death to your attention. Yet, as Pope Francis assures us, Jesus has given each of us a light in the darkness. What does that light look like in your life?

3. Do not surrender to the night. Always remember that the first enemy to be conquered lies not outside but within. Do not make room for bitter, obscure thoughts. This world is God’s first miracle, and He placed the grace of wonder in our hands. Faith and hope advance side by side.
“This world is God’s first miracle.” Recalling that is one good way of making sure that you don’t get overwhelmed by the bad news that there is around us. What gift of God, what miracle of creation, has God been trying to bring to your attention today?

4. Cultivate ideals. Live for something that goes beyond your mortality. And if, one day, you are presented with a hefty bill to pay for these ideals, do not stop carrying them in your heart. Faith attains all.
Ideals take us beyond the petty concerns of everyday life, putting them in their proper context. What are your own ideals? How would you describe your “best self”? To grow into this is surely something that you’d be willing to pay a price for, to have to face some hardship to achieve.

5. Believe in the existence of lofty and beautiful truths. Trust in God the Creator; in the way the Holy Spirit propels all things towards goodness, trust in the embrace of Christ that awaits all men and women at the end of their lives. Believe, for He awaits you. The world moves forward thanks to men and women who broke down walls, built bridges, dreamed and believed even when they were surrounded by words of derision.
Pope Francis believes that “the Holy Spirit propels all things towards goodness”, not least by working through people who are prepared to follow their dreams. In what ways can you see yourself being one of those people, people who believe in goodness even when the world seems dark?

6. Never for a moment think that your struggle is pointless. Life does not end in ruin: a seed of the absolute beats in our hearts. God does not let us down. He gave us hope in our hearts; He does not want to crush it with constant frustrations. Everything is born to flourish in an eternal Spring. Even us. God created us so we would flourish. This reminds me of the poem “The Almond Tree” by the great Greek poet Nikos Kazantzakis: “The oak tree said to the almond: Tell me about God. And the almond blossomed.”
No human life is free of struggle. Exactly what those struggles are varies from person to person. You will have your own challenges to face. There is an important difference, though, between struggling hopefully and struggling in despair. Pope Francis believes that “God created us so we would flourish”, and “us” here means all of us. How do you respond to the Pope’s belief? What do you point to in your own life that prompts your response?

7. Wherever you are, build! If you have fallen, get to your feet! Never stay down but rise up and allow others to help you get to your feet. If you are living your life sitting down, set out on a journey! If you are paralyzed by boredom, do good works! If you feel empty or demoralized, ask the Holy Spirit to fill that void yet again.
An old song encourages each of us to “pick yourself up, dust yourself down, and start all over again”! Here, the Pope suggests that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we’re always able to do just that. What journey, or journeys, are you on in your life at the moment? Where do you find yourself, for the moment, blocked or stalled?

8. Work for peace among people. Do not listen to those who spread words of hatred and discord. Do not listen to those voices! As different as human beings may be, they were created to live together. If there is conflict, be patient: one day you will learn that every single person holds a fragment of truth.
“Blessed are the peacemakers”, says Jesus in the gospels. There are many loud and strident voices in the world around us stirring up conflict. Followers of Christ are expected to resist these voices, in all sorts of different ways. Where are you called to be a peacemaker at the moment, and how do you go about that task?

9. Love all people. Love every single person for who they are. Respect everyone’s journey, be it smooth or troubled, because everyone has their own story. Each of us has our own unique story. Every child that is born is the promise of life, which always proves to be stronger than death. Every love that grows represents the power of transformation and a pining for happiness.
Some people are easy to love. With others it’s much more difficult, and it would be foolish to pretend otherwise. Yet Pope Francis echoes Jesus in asking us to love everybody, without exception. He hints that being more aware of each person’s individual story can help us to love them. Think, for a moment, of someone you find it difficult to love. What do you know of their own personal story?

10. Above all else, dream! Do not be afraid to dream. Dream! Dream of a world still unknown, one yet to arrive. The strength of hope lies in the belief of a Creation that extends all the way to its definitive fulfilment, when God will be everywhere and in everyone. Men and women with great imaginations have brought scientific and technological discoveries to mankind; they have crossed oceans and walked on undiscovered lands. The men and women who have sown hope are the same who overcame slavery and brought better living conditions to all. Ponder these men and women.
Another old song says “You’ve got to have a dream; if you don’t have a dream, how [are] you going to have a dream come true?” Dreaming can seem impractical, even wasteful, in a world with so many challenges. Yet those who have managed to do great things in the world have always started by dreaming of how things could be different. Take a moment now, as Pope Francis suggests, to ponder the lives of one or two of your “heroes”, and of how they brought their dreams into reality.

11. Take responsibility for this world and for the life of every single person in it. Reflect on how each and every injustice against a poor person is like an open wound, one that lessens your dignity. Life does not end with you: other generations will come after us and more will follow them. Every day ask God to give you the gift of courage. Remember that Jesus conquered fear for us. He conquered fear! Even our most treacherous enemy is weak when faced with our faith.
Isn’t all this too difficult? Can’t I just mind my own business, and leave improving the world to others? Pope Francis is clear that that isn’t an option. We all have a part to play, and no-one can take my place. And so, we ask for courage, confident that when we do so God will give us all we need. Make that request now, in whatever way makes sense to you.

12. When you stand in fear before one of life’s hardships, remember that you do not live for yourself alone. You were immersed in the mystery of the Trinity through Baptism; you belong to Jesus. And if one day you are scared or if you find yourself thinking that it is impossible to stand up to the vastness of evil, remember that Jesus lives inside you. Through you, He and His meekness want to conquer all of mankind’s enemies: sin, hatred, crime and violence.
The day will come, if it hasn’t come already, when you find yourself saying “I can’t do this!” The “enemies” that the Pope points to – sin, hatred, crime and violence – are too big, too widespread, for me to continue the struggle against them. And you’re right, they are. Too big, at least, for you to take them on alone. This is the moment, Pope Francis suggests, to remind yourself that you are not alone. Ultimately, it is God who is taking on the evil of the world. God simply wants to work in and through you as part of this. Are you able to say “Yes”, to allow God to work in this way?

13. Always have the courage of truth. At the same time, remember that you are not superior to anyone. Remember that! You are superior to no one. Even if you are the last person to believe in the truth, this is no reason to spurn the company of others. Even if you live in the complete silence of a monastery, bear the suffering of every human being in your heart. You are a Christian: through prayer you reconduct all to God.
The poet John Donne wrote “No man [or woman, for that matter] is an island”. We are all inextricably connected to each other. It can be useful at times in prayer to remind myself of that, and to let God show me how I am connected to others, near and far. Doing that may remind me of my responsibilities to them, or what I can gain from them. Let the Pope’s words here lead you into prayer of that kind.

14. If you make a mistake and fall, get to your feet. Nothing is more human than making mistakes. But do not let your mistakes become a prison. Do not get trapped by your mistakes. The Son of God came to assist the sick, not the healthy; He came for you. And if you should err again in the future, do not be scared. Rise up again! And do you know why? Because God is your friend.
“Do not let your mistakes become a prison.” It’s easy to feel trapped by things that I’ve got wrong in the past. Relationships that I’ve allowed to fall apart, bad habits that I’ve fallen into. You can be sure that God knows all these faults, and yet, each day, still calls you. Like a friend, God offers you a hand to stand up and move forward. How do you respond to God’s offered hand today?

15. If you are stricken with bitterness, believe in all the people who work in the name of goodness. Their humility holds the seed of a new world. Spend time with people who have safeguarded their hearts as though they were children. Learn from all that is wonderful and nurture your sense of awe.
As we come towards the end of these reflections, you’re invited to look not at yourself, but at the good people you know around you. They have somehow found it possible to hold on to hope in a world that makes it easy, at times, to despair. Such an attitude can be infectious for those who come close to it. Who do you need to stand alongside, to allow yourself to catch their hope?

Live, love, dream, believe. And, with the grace of God, never despair.
Pope Francis’s final words here sum up all the hard-bought wisdom that he has shared in these reflections. Finish by simply listening to them again, and taking them with you: “Live, love, dream, believe. And, with the grace of God, never despair.”