The Joy of the Gospel

Pope Francis published a new “Apostolic Exhortation” today titled “EVANGELII GAUDIUM”, which translated means “The Joy of the Gospel”. It’s a long read - more a book than a web page, about 50,000 words - and I only got about 10% of the way through it at lunch today. However, there is a ton of good stuff even in that first 10%. A few striking quotes (emphasis mine):

How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew.

That’s a great reminder. Then there’s this:

There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter. I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes, but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.

“When everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved.” I need that reminder. Regularly.

In every activity of evangelization, the primacy always belongs to God, who has called us to cooperate with him and who leads us on by by the power of his Spirit… The life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God takes the initiative, that “he has loved us first” (1 Jn 4:19) and that he alone “gives the growth” (1 Cor 3:7). This conviction enables us to maintain a spirit of joy in the midst of a task so demanding and challenging that it engages our entire life. God asks everything of us, yet at the same time he offers everything to us.

God takes the initiative, God gives the growth, God asks everything of us and at the same time offers everything to us. Wow.

And one last one:

God’s word is unpredictable in its power. The Gospel speaks of a seed which, once sown, grows by itself, even as the farmer sleeps (Mk 4:26-29). The Church has to accept this unruly freedom of the word, which accomplishes what it wills in ways that surpass our calculations and ways of thinking.

It’s gonna take me a while to get through the whole thing, but I’d say it’s definitely worth a read.