50. Before taking up some basic questions related to the work of evangelization, it may be helpful to mention briefly the context in which we all have to live and work. Today, we frequently hear of a “diagnostic overload” which is not always accompanied by improved and actually applicable methods of treatment. Nor would we Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Evangelii Gaudium’
Evangelii Gaudium: A mother with an open heart
Tuesday, December 24th, 201346. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: A mission embodied within human limits
Friday, December 20th, 201340. The Church is herself a missionary disciple; she needs to grow in her interpretation of the revealed word and in her understanding of truth. It is the task of exegetes and theologians to help “the judgment of the Church to mature”.42 The other sciences also help to accomplish this, each in its own way. Read more
The Gospel, joy, and young people
Tuesday, December 17th, 2013
Since reading Pope Francis’ new document, The Joy of the Gospel, I have a huge amount of hope for the future of the Church’s work with the young. It raises many points that would mean, if we do it right, we’re much more open, available and welcoming to young people. While I think the Pope’s Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: From the heart of the Gospel
Tuesday, December 17th, 201334. If we attempt to put all things in a missionary key, this will also affect the way we communicate the message. In today’s world of instant communication and occasionally biased media coverage, the message we preach runs a greater risk of being distorted or reduced to some of its secondary aspects. In this way Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: Pastoral activity and conversion
Friday, December 13th, 201325. I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing Read more
8 tips for growing the Gospel
Friday, December 13th, 2013
“Refreshing” is how I’d describe Pope Francis’ recent letter to us. This is a man who walks the talk, and true to its title, The Joy of Gospel (Evangelii Gaudium), I found a joy to read. A considered piece, there are some great one liners too. There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Read more
Evangelii Gaudium: The Church’s missionary transformation
Tuesday, December 10th, 201319. Evangelization takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). In these verses we see how Read more
Pope Francis’ theory of economics
Friday, December 6th, 2013
It would make for some pretty amazing headlines if Pope Francis turned out to be a Marxist. Between his hints at rehabilitating liberation theology—condemned by his predecessors—and talk about casting off “the economic and social structures that enslave us,” Marxism isn’t totally out of the question. But happily for nervous church leaders, Francis’s first Apostolic Exhortation, issued Tuesday, doesn’t quite suggest someone Read more
Structural renewal to be a Church of the poor
Friday, December 6th, 2013
It’s like a dream or a movie. In less than a year, Pope Francis has transformed the dominant discourse around Catholicism from scandal and despair to joy and the evangelical demands in light of poverty and economic exclusion. “Each individual Christian and every community,” he wrote in Evangelii Gaudium last week, “is called to be an instrument Read more