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| The Shepherd leading his sheep forward. in joy... |
As we enter 2014, I am inclined to reflect a little more deeply about this blog and where it's going. Believe it or not, it's not about the number of hits I get (although that does bring me some source of pride!!You know, the good kind of pride! ) What drives much of my work here is the question " how can I best appropriate for myself this lengthy document?" I don't have a full answer. No matter how much I pray with it, I still won't do it full justice with my little commentaries: I am likely to miss out on some details, or will misunderstand the true meaning of the Pope's message in some way. However,I think that at the end of the day, it will remain healthy for me to do these segments, because it will give me SOME insight on what the Pope is inviting us to, which is to know the joy that our God offers us everyday, and to let our lives be guided by that joy. Of course, that`s only a rough summary of what he`s saying...there`s much to unpack.
What will be important for me, is to continue looking back at the document, both my reflections and the Pope's words. This will help me reflect on what's been said, and to have a deeper understanding of where Francis is trying to lead us with his exhortation.Yes he wants us to return to the joy of faith, but how? What are the challenges? What are the hopes we can have to help us carry on? There are many questions, and not always many answers. However, as I mentioned there will be some kind of understanding, and that is important. That understanding is one step we can take in responding to the Pope`s exhortation to renewal.
This exhortation to the universal Church is what has moved me the most about this man: He's not afraid to challenge ALL OF US. I don't think this is new to Francis, but there is a certain genuineness in how he invites us to this call that seems to empower many people in their efforts to take his challenges seriously. All over the world, there seem to be little sparks of responses to Francis that reflect the true depth of our faith, a depth Francis is not afraid to explore! Even those 7 points that he proposes to speak about in this document (EG 18) bring us back to how we can move forth in our faith in this New Year. They pave the way to that amazing encounter with God`s love which allows us to blossom as human beings, and be freed from self absorption. This is that wonderful point when " We become fully human...even...more than human, when we let God bring us beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being".(EG 8)
I know this may seem like a bunch of pretty ideas to many people out there, and as Francis points out, pretty ideas in documents have a tendency to be forgotten (EG 25). But to me, hearing Pope Francis call all Christians and people of good will to attain the fullness of our being and seeing how people are responding to this call gives me hope that this Church is going forth..not because it`s the right thing to do, but because God`s love has taken the initiative and it continues to spur us on forward...encouraging us to be more creative with our faith, to become more involved with our communities, to take the first step towards spiritual and personal growth. (EG 24) This is not something that should be seen as an arduous task, but the full blessing of God`s fruit coming into blossom. But the bottom line is that it will be challenging, and we will be pushed. There will be resistance to living out that joy both from within the Church, and from outside it. This will slow us down, dishearten us even...but it should not stop us in our efforts to permanently in a state of mission (EG 25).
I pray that we may be open to what the Pope is invitingus to as we continue to unpack this document, and continue to receive the blessings and challenges of the new year!!
Taking the first step, being involved and supportive, bearing fruit and rejoicing
24. The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast (E-G). Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy. Let us try a little harder to take the first step and to become involved. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. The Lord gets involved and he involves his own, as he kneels to wash their feet. He tells his disciples: “You will be blessed if you do this” (Jn 13:17). An evangelizing community gets involved by word and deed in people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ in others.(e) Evangelizers thus take on the “smell of the sheep” and the sheep are willing to hear their voice. An evangelizing community is also supportive, standing by people at every step of the way, no matter how difficult or lengthy this may prove to be(e). It is familiar with patient expectation and apostolic endurance. Evangelization consists mostly of patience and disregard for constraints of time. Faithful to the Lord’s gift, it also bears fruit. An evangelizing community is always concerned with fruit, because the Lord wants her to be fruitful. It cares for the grain and does not grow impatient at the weeds. The sower, when he sees weeds sprouting among the grain does not grumble or overreact. He or she finds a way to let the word take flesh in a particular situation and bear fruits of new life, however imperfect or incomplete these may appear. The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed. Finally an evangelizing community is filled with joy; it knows how to rejoice always. It celebrates every small victory, every step forward in the work of evangelization. Evangelization with joy becomes beauty in the liturgy, as part of our daily concern to spread goodness. The Church evangelizes and is herself evangelized through the beauty of the liturgy, which is both a celebration of the task of evangelization and the source of her renewed self-giving.
II. Pastoral activity and conversion
25. 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 along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough.[21] Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission”.[22]
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