I was supposed to blog about this LAST Friday, but in the spirit of “better late than never,” Slacker Sarah is here with last week’s news.

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Have you seen this fresh-off-the-presses new release?

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On Heaven and Earth, by Pope Francis (that’s Jorge Mario Bergoglio pre-papacy).

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Then watch this.

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Can you say “Catholic guilt is GOOD” with me?

And misunderstood TO THE MAX?

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This book is a conversation between Pope Francis (then Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio) and Rabbi Abraham Skorka. They cover pretty much every hot topic, and from the looks of it, they do it in a way that will have certain readers (yours truly among them) highlighting, dog-earing, and raving.

From the synopsis:

For years Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio, archbishop of Argentina, and Rabbi Abraham Skorka were tenacious promoters of interreligious dialogues on faith and reason. They both sought to build bridges among Catholicism, Judaism, and the world at large. On Heaven and Earth, originally published in Argentina in 2010, brings together a series of these conversations where both men talked about various theological and worldly issues, including God, fundamentalism, atheism, abortion, homosexuality, euthanasia, same-sex marriage, and globalization.

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Still not sure? Take a look at chapter 1. (Link opens a PDF file.)

Go ahead. I’ll wait.

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I was especially struck by this, from chapter 1:

[Bergoglio] In my personal experience with god i cannot do without the path. i would say that one encounters god walk- ing, moving, seeking Him and allowing oneself to be sought by Him. They are two paths that meet. On one hand, there is our path that seeks Him, driven by that instinct that flows from the heart; and after, when we have encountered each other, we realize that He was the one who had been searching for us from the start. The initial religious experience is that of walking: walk to the land that i am going to give you.7 it is a promise that god makes to abraham. in that promise, in this, in this walking, an alliance is established that consolidates over time. Because of this i say that my experience with god takes place along the path, both in the search and in allowing myself to be sought, even if it may be by diverse paths—of pain, of joy, of light, or of darkness.

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Now, for REAL 7QT entertainment, get ye over to Jen’s place and be sure to let her know we’re glad to have her back (though Grace was a lotsa fun).