Despite its somewhat cannibalistic-sounding title, the article “The cook who prepared a pope” in the Jan. 9 issue on our Holy Father’s attraction to Brother Lawrence’s spirituality, as expressed in “The Practice of the Presence of God,” was more like comfort food. The article endeared Pope Leo XIV to me even more than before. It’s somehow very comforting to imagine our pope having interior conversations with the Lord throughout the day, in the manner of Brother Lawrence. 

As a Jewish convert to the Catholic faith, this spirituality seems to me to have its roots in Judaism. I’m sure that Jesus is entirely comfortable with this kind of relationship, listening to us as we commune with him like Tevye chatting with God in “Fiddler on the Roof.” 

— Marilyn Boussaid, St. James Church, Redondo Beach