Pope Francis a few years ago issued a long letter, called an Apostolic Exhortation, called Evangelium Gaudium (The Gospel of Joy) which is filled with warnings, encouragement, and challenges, all rooted in a pastor's love for the flock. He speaks in general how our religion, our Gospel is one of joy. As we celebrate the Third Sunday of Advent, known as Gaudete Sunday, the Joyful Sunday, let me share some extracts from it:
“I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to
a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to
letting Him encounter them.“
“People should seek to abandon the complacent attitude that
says: ‘We have always done it this way’. I invite everyone to be
bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and
methods of evangelization in their respective communities.”
On difficulties we have to face, Pope Francis
writes: “Let us not say, then, that things are harder today; they are simply
different. But let us learn also from the saints who have gone before us, who
confronted the difficulties of their own day.“
Pope Francis speaks about Joy
- “Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could
only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because
our ‘technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure,
yet has found it very difficult to create, enhance and engender joy’.”
He speaks also of people going to confession..... “Penitents
may not be joyful when they enter a confessional but possess boundless joy when
they leave. Such is the working of grace.“
There’s a lot more to digest but these are just a
few sentences that struck me as worth chewing on.
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