193. We incarnate the duty of hearing the cry of the poor when we are deeply moved by the suffering of others. Let us listen to what God’s word teaches us about mercy, and allow that word to resound in the life of the Church. The Gospel tells us: “Blessed are the merciful, because they Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Evangelii Gaudium’
Evangelii Gaudium: The inclusion of the poor in society
Friday, April 4th, 2014186. Our faith in Christ, who became poor, and was always close to the poor and the outcast, is the basis of our concern for the integral development of society’s most neglected members. In union with God, we hear a plea 187. Each individual Christian and every community is called to be an instrument of Read more
Francis’s exhortation best-selling document since Vatican II
Tuesday, March 18th, 2014
An apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis is the best-selling papal document in Britain since the Second Vatican Council. More than 25,000 copies of Evangelii Gaudium have been sold since December. This is the highest figure for any Vatican document since Unitatis Redintegratio, the Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism sold 85,000 copies in Britain. Sales are Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: Personal accompaniment in processes of growth
Tuesday, March 18th, 2014169. In a culture paradoxically suffering from anonymity and at the same time obsessed with the details of other people’s lives, shamelessly given over to morbid curiosity, the Church must look more closely and sympathetically at others whenever necessary. In our world, ordained ministers and other pastoral workers can make present the fragrance of Christ’s Read more
Evangelii Gaudium – Preparing to preach: An ear to the people
Friday, February 28th, 2014The preacher also needs to keep his ear to the people and to discover what it is that the faithful need to hear. A preacher has to contemplate the word, but he also has to contemplate his people. In this way he learns “of the aspirations, of riches and limitations, of ways of praying, of Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: Preparing to preach – Spiritual Reading
Tuesday, February 25th, 2014There is one particular way of listening to what the Lord wishes to tell us in his word and of letting ourselves be transformed by the Spirit. It is what we call lectio divina. It consists of reading God’s word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to enlighten and renew us. This prayerful Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: Preparing to preach – Personalising the word
Friday, February 21st, 2014The preacher “ought first of all to develop a great personal familiarity with the word of God. Knowledge of its linguistic or exegetical aspects, though certainly necessary, is not enough. He needs to approach the word with a docile and prayerful heart so that it may deeply penetrate his thoughts and feelings and bring about Read more
I am not a fan of Pope Francis
Friday, February 21st, 2014
Pope Francis has captured the imagination of the world in way that few people, let alone popes, ever achieve. There are people, usually actors and rock stars, that have the x-factor; something about them that attracts people. If I knew what it was I would be a wealthy man! But I am not a fan of Pope Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: Preparing to preach
Tuesday, February 18th, 2014Preparation for preaching is so important a task that a prolonged time of study, prayer, reflection and pastoral creativity should be devoted to it. With great affection I wish to stop for a moment and offer a method of preparing homilies. Some may find these suggestions self-evident, but I consider it helpful to offer them Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: The homily
Friday, February 14th, 2014135. Let us now look at preaching within the liturgy, which calls for serious consideration by pastors. I will dwell in particular, and even somewhat meticulously, on the homily and its preparation, since so many concerns have been expressed about this important ministry, and we cannot simply ignore them. The homily is the touchstone for Read more