WE'VE ONLY JUST BEGUN… NOW LET'S UNWRAP THIS GIFT!

Merry Christmas – Savor, Unwrap and Present this gift

By Janae Bower

"The Joy of the Gospel" is an incredible gift with a beautiful bow tied together with insightful commentary from all the Catholic evangelists, writers and speakers who contributed to this blog. Whether you read one paragraph of the Apostolic Exhortation or all 48,000 words of it, you have received a precious present.  We hold in our head, heart and hands how to live and love like Jesus.

We celebrate Jesus being born today in Bethlehem which in Latin translates into house of bread. Every Mass we celebrate in our church home receiving Jesus as our daily bread. Just as the Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith, we’ve all just reached the summit of this experience regarding the true source of our life and love. 

So what should we do with this gift? Let’s savor it, next unwrap it and then present it.

Savor it – Advent Preparation

Being part of this intentional daily Advent experience flipped things for me this Christmas season.  When in the past I’ve struggled with fitting my Advent duties into my Christmas activities; this year I struggled with fitting in my Christmas duties with my Advent activities. My Advent preparations far out-weighed my Christmas preparation and I even have documentation to prove it (the pages and pages of notes I took from the Evangelii Gaudium compared to my few Christmas lists).

Just as Kelly set this process into digestible sips for us, I hope you savored each one and let the flavor penetrate deep within your soul. Now that it’s done, I encourage you to keep relishing these hope-filled messages.  What usually happens after we experience things like this is that we check it off our list and move to the next thing.  Yet when we ponder in our hearts like Mary did the Lord can really brew it into something special.

Hold this gift in your hands.  Feel the joy it’s brought to your heart.  Savor it with all your senses.

Unwrap it – Christmas Examination

Picture three young boys in front of a Christmas tree with a pile of gifts and no gift-opening rules.  It’s complete chaos; a whirlwind of wrapping paper and presents flying everywhere (FYI: I learned quickly the importance of rules even when opening gifts).

This is what the Christmas season often feels like to me – a whirlwind of activity that I’m just trying to rip through.  Yet when I approach it this way, I don’t take the time to really unwrap the true experience of the season and appreciate all the gifts. 

Let’s use these twelve days of Christmas to unwrap what this Apostolic Exhortation experience means to us.  We can use these 12 days to slowly reveal the gifts of enlightenment, encouragement and evangelization we’ve received.  The Holy Father opened up (in paragraph 3) by inviting us to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus and what a perfect time to do so at Jesus’ birth. “The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step toward Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms.”

How did you grow intellectually with your faith?  What touched your heart and soul like never before? How are you inspired to be the hands and feet of Jesus after this?

Adapting a couple of practices within our faith could be helpful in examining this experience deeper. One way is through Lectio Divina.  You could use this sacred process of reading the scripture, one in which the Holy Father encourages us to do as well (paragraph 153), to unwrap what is meaningful to you. Read through your notes and the reflections; meditate on what is speaking to you; pray for how God wants to use you; and then contemplate what this means for your life.

Another way to examine this experience is adapting St. Ignatius’ Examen, one of the most important of his Spiritual Exercises that help to engage in the practice of examining one’s soul and life. Matthew Kelly adapted this into a Prayer Process that will be a “game changer for you spiritually and a game changer for every aspect of your life.” We can use his process to do the same with the Apostolic Exhortation:

·       Gratitude – What are you most thankful for with this experience?

·       Awareness – How did you gain a deeper awareness in your life?

·       Significant moments – What was most significant for you and explore what God might be trying to say to you?

·       Peace – Ask God to forgive you for any wrongs and to fill you with peace.  How might you spread peace to others?

·       Freedom – How is he inviting you to change your life so you can experience the freedom to be the best, holy you?

·       Others – How is God inviting you to evangelize and share the Good News to others?

Present it - Epiphany Jubilation

The Feast of the Epiphany our Lord Jesus Christ is one of the oldest Christian feasts.  It marks the end of the twelve days of Christmas.  Epiphany comes from a Greek word meaning “to reveal.” 

What did the Lord reveal to you in this Apostolic Exhortation?

Exhortations are meant to thoroughly encourage us, urge us to embark on a new chapter in our faith life NOW. This can be your chance to present to the King, as the three wise men once did, your gift to him.  Like the wise men, you’ve grown in wisdom through this journey and have divine gifts to share with him and to the world.

We need to know in our hearts what really matters to us; what is God – through this holy document and holy writers – trying to help us learn and discern right now in our own lives. This is our chance to write our own “Apostolic Exhortation” from how the Holy Spirit spoke to us from this inspired experience. 

Write your own joy-filled exhortation, one that will personally lift and guide you as a missionary disciple for 2014 and beyond. Once we know how we can uniquely express that heart of what matters to Jesus, then our hearts can be aflame with his love for the world!

To do so, use you what you learned from the examination suggested above and then create our own CLIFF notes.

C – Clearly

L – Logically

I – Identifying

F – Faith-filled

F – Favorites

Instead of this year making another resolution around something you want to do better; this year I encourage you to mix things up and make a reSOULtion of how you will be more like Jesus this year. We encourage you to come back to us on the Feast of the Epiphany and after to present to us the big ahas from your own joyous exhortation. It will be a merry Christ-filled gift that you’ll be able savor, unwrap and present to others!

Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author, training consultant and founder of Finding IT.  Finding IT is an inspirational business specializing in personal and professional development to help others "Get It" - to the heart of what matters most in work and life. Through her books, products, speaking, trainings, consulting, retreats, fundraisers and online resources she inspires others to find more meaning, joy and balance for their lives. Her work, which has been presented nationally and featured locally on TV, resonates with people of all ages.  Janae has a Master’s degree in Human Resource Development from the University of St. Thomas and is adjunct faculty at other local universities in Minnesota. 

OF THE FATHER'S LOVE BEGOTTEN

CHRISTMAS DAY REFLECTION

 by: Msgr. Jeffery Steenson

 Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter 

Of the Father’s Love Begotten

Of the Father's love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be,

He is Alpha and Omega, He the source, the ending he,

Of the things that are, that have been, And that

future years shall see, Evermore and evermore.

-- Aurelius Clemens Prudentius, 348-413 (Hymn 20]

         On Christmas Eve, we look imaginatively at Christ's birth from many perspectives.  We've heard the Christmas story from the point of view of Mary and Joseph, the Shepherds keeping watch over their flocks, the Wise Men journeying from afar, the Angels flying high over Bethlehem, the Innkeeper who turned the Holy Family away, wicked King Herod consumed with fear and jealousy, even the animals in the stable, and the manger itself.  But let us, as best as we can, letting the Scriptures be our guide, try to see this blessed event of the Birth of the Messiah from the Father's point of view.

         Prudentius, the author of this beautiful hymn, was one of the Church's first poets.  This Spaniard was a lawyer who turned from the glamour of public life to write Christian poetry, some four hundred years after the birth of Christ.  His hymn expresses the deep and mysterious truth of the Nativity -- "Of the Father's love begotten, Ere the worlds began to be."  Jesus Christ did not have a human father, because He has always existed eternally with the Heavenly Father.  Before the Old Testament, before Abraham, before Creation, the Son of God lived with the Father.  Everything else that was, that is, that will be, finds its life in Christ.  His appearance in Beth­le­hem, the Nativity, is part of God's everlasting plan.

         "For God so loved the world, that He gave His Only-Begotten Son ..."  As the Father looked down from Heaven on the night Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, He declares: "Here is My only Son, my gift to the world."   This was a gift with no strings attached, and the Father knew full well what it would mean.  All the Old Testament prophecies about the suffering of the Messiah make it perfectly clear that this was all factored into God's plan.  The Father willed for this to happen from the very beginning of man’s disobedience.  He has demonstrated His faithfulness for millenia, even when it might have been very tempting to give up on His fickle people.

         Tonight, as our Heavenly Father looks down on us, His Promise remains as true as ever -- "I will be your God and you shall be My people."  There is so much uncertainty about our lives, so many changes that threaten to overwhelm us, so much uncertainty about the future.  And yet here is a Promise we can really depend upon.  When we think of the Father in Heaven tonight, and His Son reigning with Him, let us think of the most extraordinary LOVE that binds them to each other and reaches out to us.

From Leo the Great’s Tome (449), the most important papal document ever:  

So without leaving his Father's glory behind, the Son of God comes down from his heavenly throne and enters the depths of our world, born in an unprecedented order by an unprecedented kind of birth.

In an unprecedented order, because one who is invisible at his own level was made visible at ours. The ungraspable willed to be grasped. Whilst remaining pre-existent, he begins to exist in time. The Lord of the universe veiled his measureless majesty and took on a servant's form. The God who knew no suffering did not despise becoming a suffering man, and, deathless as he is, to be subject to death.

By an unprecedented kind of birth, because it was inviolable virginity which supplied the material flesh without experiencing sexual desire. What was taken from the mother of the Lord was the nature without the guilt [of original sin].

     Putting aside for the moment the rich cultural themes of Christmas, let us go right to the heart of the matter.  Our Pope Emeritus, Benedict XVI, has written of how deeply disturbing the Incarnation is for the modern spirit; it is expected that God will remain in the spiritual realm, but He certainly does not belong in the material.  But this is precisely what God has done.  He has entered the world he made, the Creator now becomes the Redeemer, and what follows is a new creation (Jesus of Nazareth: The Infancy Narratives, pp. 56-57).   The Father sends His Son into the world to unite/sum up/recapitulate all things in him (Eph. 1:10).  It is fundamentally a new beginning, as God resets the clock and renews His creation.

         We who are baptized into Christ but who yet await the moment of our resurrection, live, as it were, with one foot in each created order.  The Church asks us to celibrate Christmas with this sense of anticipation of the wonderful healing, the joy, the perfection of life in all of its fullness, “a fundamental element of our faith and a radiant sign of hope” (p. 57).

Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson 

Msgr. Jeffrey Steenson was appointed by Pope Benedict XVI as first Ordinary of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter on January 1, 2012. After 28 years as an Episcopal priest and Bishop of the Diocese of the Rio Grande, Msgr. Steenson was ordained a Catholic priest in 2009. He teaches Patristics at the University of St. Thomas and St. Mary's Seminary in Houston, TX

MARY, MOTHER OF EVANGELIZATION

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 284-288

Daily Reading for Dec. 24: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 284-288

Reflection by: Sarah Christmyer

Two months ago, I stood at the foot of the Cross - literally, at the spot where Jesus was crucified in Jerusalem.  Golgotha lies within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and it is crowned by an altar and chapels dedicated to the final Stations of the Cross. You can reach below the altar and touch the rock on which our Savior died.  

I was there for the filming of a new Bible study on Mary, so I stood there and tried to see the scene through her eyes.  I have three sons of my own, and I cannot imagine the pain of seeing them hanging there.  How did she do it?  I opened my Bible to read and my perspective changed.  

In John's gospel, we don't so much look at Jesus through the eyes of Mary as we see Mary (and the beloved disciple) through the eyes of Jesus.  Imagine him seeing them there, knowing their love and the pain they were in.  And notice what he did not say: Don't worry!  I'll be back and everything will be OK!  Instead, as his final act he gave them to each other.  "Woman, behold, your son!" and to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!"  He is launching his New Covenant family.

Pope Francis draws attention to this in his conclusion to Evangelii Gaudium: 

"These words of the dying Jesus are not chiefly the expression of his devotion and concern for his mother," he says; "rather, they are a revelatory formula which manifests the mystery of a special saving mission.  Jesus left us his mother to be our mother.  Only after doing so did Jesus know that ‘all was now finished' (Jn 19:28).  At the foot of the cross, at the supreme hour of the new creation, Christ led us to Mary.  He brought us to her because he did not want us to journey without a mother..." (No. 285).

Mary, who said "yes" to God and brought Christ into the world more than 2000 years ago, is our mother in the same mission today.  She does not bring up the end of this letter from the Holy Father as an afterthought, she is his final thought because the rest of his message cannot be understood or carried out without her.  Mary is her son's gift to his people, Pope Francis says; then he picks up the title used by Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI before him:  she is the "Star of the New Evangelization."

When I first read that, the ex-Protestant in me cringed.  Don't make her the star, I wanted to say - Jesus is the star!  But her "star power" is not that of, say, Jenifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie.  Mary is like the North Star, Polaris, the Guiding Star. Brightest among the stars in Ursa Minor and easy to find, it is the still point in the wheeling Northern sky.  But you don't find Polaris for its own sake, you find it so you know where North is.  

Mary is the star that sets us straight, that points the way to Jesus.  "Her exceptional pilgrimage of faith represents a constant point of reference for the Church,” wrote John Paul II.{C}[1]{C}  Picking up on that, Pope Francis says  

"Mary let herself be guided by the Holy Spirit on a journey of faith towards a destiny of service and fruitfulness. Today we look to her and ask her to help us proclaim the message of salvation to all and to enable new disciples to become evangelizers in turn" (No. 287).

You will want to read for yourself the many beautiful ways Mary helps us on our way, that Pope Francis brings out at the end of his letter.  I know it's Christmas Eve today, but it can't be an accident that our reflections end on a feast that draws us to a manger in Bethlehem, to wait with Mary for the coming of the Christ Child.  That brings us back to the Pope’s opening words:

“With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.” (Redemptoris Mater, 6)

Mary, Mother of Jesus and of us all,

Star of the New Evangelization,

pray that we might be filled with the Joy of the Gospel

and bear Christ to the world through our lives.

Amen.  Alleluia!

Sarah Christmyer is a Catholic author, Bible teacher, and speaker with a special love for lectio divina (prayerful reading of Scripture) and journaling as ways to draw close to Christ in Scripture.  Since 2001, she has partnered with Jeff Cavins to develop The Great Adventure Catholic Bible study program based on Jeff’s popular Bible Timeline learning system and published by Ascension Press. Sarah is editor of the program and is the author or co-author of a number of Bible studies, including The Bible Timeline: the Story of Salvation; A Quick Journey through the Bible; and studies on Mathew’s Gospel, Acts, James, Psalms, and Genesis as well as the Bible Timeline Guided Journal.  She has a BA in English literature from Gordon College in Wenham, MA, and is working toward a Masters in Theology from St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Philadelphia. 

Web: www.ComeIntotheWord.com[SC1]  (personal) or www.BibleStudyforCatholics.com (The Great Adventure)

PERSONAL ENCOUNTER WITH CHRIST

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 275-283

Daily Reading for Dec. 23: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 275-283

Reflection by: Carol Marquardt

“Like a shepherd he feeds his flock; in his arms he gathers his lambs, carrying them in his bosom and leading the ewes with care.” (Isaiah 40:11)

In this section, the Holy Father is shepherding us.  He has given strong words about evangelizing and here is encouraging all of us when we face the struggles involved. He is speaking as shepherd, not so much as teacher. He is admonishing us a little, encouraging us a lot and providing inspiration to go forward,

He admonishes us telling us not to let discouragement enter our hearts when we do not see the results that we desire from our efforts.  He points out that some people will not commit themselves to mission because they think that nothing will change and that it is useless to make the effort. He says, “Sometimes it seems like our life is not fruitful, but mission is not like a business transaction or investment, or even a humanitarian activity.  It is not a show where we can count how many people came as a result of our activity.”  And he says, “If we think that things are not going to change, we need to recall that Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death and is now almighty.”

He encourages us by reminding us that “the kingdom of God is already present in this world and is growing here and there in different ways, like the small seed that grows into a great tree. (Mt. 13:31-32) He reiterates that “Christ’s resurrection is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this world.”

Near my home is an old tennis court in need of resurfacing.  I walk my dog around it each morning and each morning I am struck again by a purple plant that somehow has managed to crack the cement and bloom in the middle of the court.  “How is this possible?” I wonder, “because cement is much stronger than the leaves of a plant.” It causes me to remember that secular human thinking doesn’t know everything about power and what is weak and what is strong. It is a reminder of resurrection power. Of this, the Holy Father is speaking. He says, “On razed land, life breaks through stubbornly yet invincibly."

He urges us to have a firm trust in the Holy Spirit who works, as he wills, when he wills and where he wills.” He tells us that only our commitment is necessary. He says, “Give him everything, allowing him to make our efforts bear fruit in his good time.”

He inspires us with the idea that we need not control everything to the last detail but instead let the Holy Spirit enlighten, guide and direct us, leading us wherever he wills.

Our shepherd on this earth sends us forth to sow seeds and leave the results to God.

He says, “If we think that things are not going to change, we need to recall that Jesus Christ has triumphed over sin and death and is now almighty.”

Carol Marquardt has worked for many years in lay ministry in the Catholic Diocese of St. Petersburg, Florida. She is the author of The Sound of His Voice, the first book in the Our Fiat program, a structured prayer program utilizing scriptural mediation and prayerful listening which draws you into a deeper personal relationship with Jesus.  Before beginning the development of the Our Fiat materials and Mantle of Mary Association, she served as adult education director, catechumenate director, retreat house director, and charismatic prayer group leader. Along with these positions, she has worked in inner healing ministry and spiritual direction. She has also lead pilgrimages to Marian shrines such as Medjugorje, Lourdes, and Guadalupe, as well as Rome and Assisi. She has participated in evangelization missions to Eastern Europe with Renewal Ministries from Ann Arbor, Michigan USA.

SPIRIT FILLED EVANGELIZATION

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 259-274

Daily Reading for Dec. 22: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 259 -274

Reflection by: Martha Fernandez-Sardina

Spirit-filled evangelizers!

That is what the Church and the world need: “Evangelizers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit” who “go forth from themselves… to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness”, “firmly rooted in prayer”, “not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence.”  (EG, 259)

 In his “thoughts about the spirit of the new evangelization” (EG, 260) the pope speaks of “spirited” evangelizers moved by an “interior impulse which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives meaning to our individual and communal activity” – and is capable of stirring up “enthusiasm for a new chapter of evangelization full of fervor, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love and attraction” if “the fire of the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts… for he is the soul of the Church called to proclaim the Gospel.” (EG, 261)

“Spirit-filled evangelizers pray and work”, and avoid “unilateral and incomplete proposals” only reach a few groups and “curtail the Gospel.” He calls for deep prayer, “the ability to cultivate an interior space… of prayerful encounter with the word, of sincere conversation with the Lord” lest “we lose energy as a result of weariness and difficulties, and our fervor dies out” or fall prey to “a privatized and individualistic spirituality” and use prayer as “an excuse for not offering one’s life in mission” and take “rrefuge in some false forms of spirituality.” (EG, 262)

Our evangelization models include “the early Christians and our many brothers and sisters throughout history who were filled with joy, unflagging courage and zeal in proclaiming the Gospel.” We need not say “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” as we “pause to rediscover some of the reasons which can help us to imitate them today.” (EG, 263)

Encounter your Lover… Speak of your Lover’s love!

Pope Francis speaks of the love relationship without which we can neither live nor share the Faith of the Church. Personal encounter with the saving love of Jesus is what characterizes the life and mission of the Spirit-filled evangelizer: “the primary reason for evangelizing is the love of Jesus which we have received, the experience of salvation which urges us to ever greater love of him”, the pope says. A person in love shouts it from the rooftops! “What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved, to point him out, to make him known?... If we do not feel an intense desire to share this love, we need to pray insistently that he will once more touch our hearts. We need to implore his grace daily, asking him to open our cold hearts and shake up our lukewarm and superficial existence.”

Because “‘we speak of what we have seen and heard’ (1 Jn 1:3)… the best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love, lingering over its pages and reading it with the heart”, allowing the same Gospel beauty to “amaze and constantly excite us.” A contemplative spirit will help us realize that “we have been entrusted with a treasure which makes us more human and helps us to lead a new life. There is nothing more precious which we can give to others.” (EG, 264)

Pope Francis points to Jesus as the precious mystery the human heart longs for and needs. This is the conviction which drives our evangelization efforts: “we become convinced that it is exactly what others need, even though they may not recognize it… We have a treasure of life and love which cannot deceive, and a message which cannot mislead or disappoint… It is a truth which is never out of date because it reaches that part of us which nothing else can reach. Our infinite sadness can only be cured by an infinite love.” (EG, 265)

Evangelistic conviction has to be constantly renewed by savoring Christ’s friendship and his message: “It is impossible to persevere in a fervent evangelization unless we are convinced from personal experience that it is not the same thing to have known Jesus as not to have known him… not the same thing to contemplate him, to worship him, to find our peace in him, as not to… with Jesus life becomes richer and that with him it is easier to find meaning in everything. This is why we evangelize.” He adds, “A person who is not convinced, enthusiastic, certain and in love, will convince nobody.” (EG, 266)

Do it like your Lover…

…Seek only and always the Father’s glory!

Jesus sought his Father’s glory. So must we “seek what he seeks and we love what he loves… the glory of the Father.” To this we must “commit ourselves fully and perseveringly… leave behind every other motivation… we evangelize for the greater glory of the Father who loves us.” (EG, 267)

 …Know and love your people!

Pope Francis challenges us to get as close up and personal as he and Jesus get: “develop a spiritual taste for being close to people’s lives and to discover that this is itself a source of greater joy. Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people”, he says – reminding me of the words I, as an evangelizer, have used for many years, speaking of “My two great loves: God and people.” An evangelizer’s love for all people flows from contemplating “that Jesus’ gaze, burning with love, expands to embrace all his people” and “that he wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved people… He takes us from the midst of his people and he sends us to his people…without this sense of belonging we cannot understand our deepest identity.” (EG, 268)

Pope Francis states plainly that “Jesus himself is the model of this method of evangelization which brings us to the very heart of his people… contemplate the closeness which he shows to everyone! … Moved by his example, we want to enter fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, listening to their concerns, helping them materially and spiritually in their needs, rejoicing with those who rejoice, weeping with those who weep; arm in arm with others, we are committed to building a new world… not from a sense of obligation, not as a burdensome duty, but as the result of a personal decision which brings us joy and gives meaning to our lives.” (EG, 269)

…Enter people’s lives and know the power of tenderness

Don’t keep the wounded Lord at arm’s length, the pope says: “Jesus wants us to touch human misery, to touch the suffering flesh of others. He hopes that we will stop looking for those personal or communal niches which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune and instead enter into the reality of other people’s lives and know the power of tenderness. Whenever we do so, our lives become wonderfully complicated and we experience intensely what it is to be a people, to be part of a people.” (EG, 270)

…Evangelize with, in, and motivated by love

Pope Francis offers us a biblically balanced approach when it comes to apologetics and catechesis in the process of evangelization. We must give reasons for our hope, but we need not be “an enemy who critiques and condemns” but “do so with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet 3:15), “live peaceably with all” (Rom 12:18), strive to overcome “evil with good” (Rom 12:21), “work for the good of all” (Gal 6:10), and “in humility count others better than ourselves” (Phil 2:3)” – “injunctions contained in the word of God which are so clear, direct and convincing that they need no interpretations which might diminish their power to challenge us. Let us live them sine glossa, without commentaries.” (EG, 271)

…The force be with you!

So similar are several of the concepts, one could think that Pope Francis and I were brainstorming together over the past several months as he wrote this Exhortation and as I developed my latest New Evangelization Outreach Project, Remember You Are Loved, launched at World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in July 2013. I’m not telling, but what I can say is this: he is on a mission of love and wants you and me to join him! What motivates and sustains our evangelization efforts is love, the force that changes everything: “Loving others is a spiritual force drawing us to union with God; indeed, one who does not love others ‘walks in the darkness’ (1 Jn 2:11), ‘remains in death’ (1 Jn 3:14) and “does not know God’ (1 Jn 4:8). Benedict XVI has said that ‘closing our eyes to our neighbor also blinds us to God’, and that love is, in the end, the only light which ‘can always illuminate a world grown dim and give us the courage needed to keep living and working’.” He calls us to “live out a spirituality of drawing nearer to others and seeking their welfare” adding that “whenever we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God… we grow in the light of faith and knowledge of God. If we want to advance in the spiritual life, then, we must constantly be missionaries…”

“Only the person who feels happiness in seeking the good of others, in desiring their happiness, can be a missionary.” The alternative is grim: “We do not live better when we flee, hide, refuse to share, stop giving and lock ourselves up in own comforts. Such a life is nothing less than slow suicide.” (EG, 272)

Make love your joyful mission

As we see here – and as we detail at RememberYouAreLoved.com – Pope Francis is on a mission of love from above. He makes it clearer than ever before what he is about and what we must be about: “My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an ‘extra’ or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world.” He adds in no uncertain terms that the mission of the Redeemer ought to profoundly alter the way we see ourselves: “We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing.” He describes what the world looks like when we fully embark on this mission of love – “All around us we begin to see nurses with soul, teachers with soul, politicians with soul, people who have chosen deep down to be with others and for others” – and describes what the world looks like when we fail to do so – “once we separate our work from our private lives, everything turns grey and we will always be seeking recognition or asserting our needs. We stop being a people.” (EG, 273)

Show and tell the world that everyone is lovable and love-able.

Pope Francis is a lover of souls. Here again, his words reflect almost verbatim the first two aims on Remember You Are Loved when the pope says that “to share our lives with others and generously give of ourselves, we also have to realize that every person is worthy of our giving…because they are God’s handiwork, his creation…and he or she reflects something of God’s glory (and)…is the object of God’s infinite tenderness, and he himself is present in their lives.” Indeed, everyone “deserves our love”! And as we know from experience at Remember You Are Loved, it is possible and it is rewarding to “break down walls and our heart is filled with faces and names!” (EG, 274)

Dare to love someone new today©!

Evangelii Gaudium is a timely document. Spirit-filled evangelizers are exactly what the Church and the world need. Love makes Spirit-filled evangelization possible and delightful. Let us go out of ourselves and into the existential peripheries where so many are distant from and indifferent to God and Church. Let us dare to boldly share the love of our Lover: the One True God who has called us to be missionary disciples and messengers of love through whom He might draw all into his open side for all eternity.

Download Martha's in-depth reflection on this section at:: Evangelii Gaudium  Reflection Nos. 259-274 and at http://iEvangelize.Wordpress.com.

Martha Fernández-Sardina is an international, bilingual speaker, and consultant touching thousands through radio, TV, articles, training seminars, talks, and new evangelization outreach projects, including Remember You Are Loved™, N.E.T.S.-New Evangelization Training School™, Prepare The Way™, the Hispanic Festival of Faith and the Month of Hispanic Evangelization. Her programs educate, enthuse, and equip Catholics for a new evangelization. Find, friend, and follow Martha and her Mission of Love at RememberYouAreLoved.com, Facebook.com/MFernandezSardina, Twitter.com/iEvangelize, iEvangelize.wordpress.com, and Vimeo.com/MarthaFernandezSardina. For a speaking engagement or a consultation, email her at iEvangelize1@gmail.com.

WOVEN TOGETHER THROUGH HUMILITY: SOCIAL DIALOGUE AS A CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 238-258

Daily Reading for Dec. 21: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 217-237

Reflection by Elizabeth Scalia

Humility has been the defining characteristic of Pope Francis’ 10-month old papacy; so ingrained is his recourse to humility that its thread runs through the entire warp and woof of Evangelii Gaudium, like a muted backdrop of color. In the section entitled “Social dialogue as a contribution to peace” the pattern of humility is more prominent, as though it is meant to specially catch our attention. “The Church speaks from the light which faith offers,” Francis quotes, adding, “the light transcends human reason, yet it can also prove meaningful and enriching to those who are not believers, and it stimulates reason to broaden its perspectives.”

The broadening of perspective itself demands a measure of humility, a willingness to say, “I know what I know, and truth is truth, but because I am secure in that knowledge, I am willing to hear what you know, and specifically what you know of the truth. Let us talk, then, let us listen; let us be fully present to each other, enough so that we might hear each other, see each other, that together we may absorb truth — the one single immutable truth, shorn of relativism — into ourselves. Let us receive it like a potent dye to our worsted wool, and thus enhance the design of humanity within what God alone weaves.”

And so, he calls for states and nations, in their role as promoters of the common good, to engage in their duties with “profound social humility” — enough to hear the voice of faith, and to consider what the Church has learned in its 2,000 year involvement with the spinning thread of history.  He asks something similar of science: exploration without ideological interest. “Whenever the sciences – rigorously focused on their specific field of inquiry – arrive at a conclusion which reason cannot refute, faith does not contradict it.”

Francis strikes corresponding notes when he calls for ecumenical dialogue — for respect between all baptized people; a willingness to remember that Christ desired our Oneness. Then,  even as we discuss and disagree, we are still -- through the thread of humility -- still together in the weave, part of a wholeness, even if we cannot see it, because we are too near, too much in the thick of it. Christian unity is essential, as is concentration “on the convictions we share,” and to which we must give witness. “The immense numbers of people who have not received the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot leave us indifferent.” Here, the hue of humility is bright with trust in the Holy Spirit.

With our Jewish brothers and sisters, humble co-operation can work for social justice informed by our mutual interest in mining “the riches of God’s word.” And beyond that — because we serve the Master who weaves all, we must seek to see others (and to be seen by them) as recognizing the commonality of humanity that makes us willing to share our “joys and sorrows”. This is, again, a call to humility: to see the person before us — regardless of belief, or of non-belief -- as first a human imbued with dignity by virtue of his existence as a created creature, beloved as any of us.

“True openness,” Francis writes, “involves remaining steadfast in one’s deepest convictions, clear and joyful in one’s own identity” while being “open to understanding those of the other party”. This is, of course, a very fine and delicate sort of weaving. It requires steadiness, for no stitches can be dropped, or the whole social fabric becomes weakened: “What is not helpful is a diplomatic openness which says “yes” to everything in order to avoid problems, for this would be a way of deceiving others and denying them the good which we have been given to share generously with others.”

We cannot say “yes” to everything, but we can say “yes” to God. Our Savior tells us that after loving God with all of our heart, mind and soul, our very next duty is to love others with the love God has for them. 

This is sublime, subversive humility, and in public life it can be misunderstood as weakness. Rather, service to this scriptural order is a source of strength. To love another with the love God has for them enables us to hold steady, even in the face of contempt, because we see the hatred for what it truly is: a lack of Christ, an ignorance that can be informed in the light of that his love, if it is truly reflected in us. Engagement with non-believers and atheists, then, as with all the rest, when taken up with threads of respect and humility, can be “a path to peace in our troubled world.”

Amen.

Elizabeth Scalia is a Benedictine Oblate and the Managing Editor of the Catholic Portal at Patheos. She is a writer, speaker and a regularly-featured columnist at First Thingsand at The Catholic Answer and the author of Strange Gods: Unmasking the Idols in Everyday Life. She blogs as The Anchoress at Patheos.com.

THE COMMON GOOD AND PEACE IN SOCIETY

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 217-237

Daily Reading for Dec. 20: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 217-237

Reflection by Sharon Wilson

Summary
As I looked at this section to write my reflection– I thought it would be fairly easy to expound on.  After all, Pope Francis lays this section out quite nicely by reminding us that peace is more than just an absence of war. He even pulls from a USCCB document;  a document that I am familiar with, Forming Conscience for Faithful Citizenship. He even lays out his thoughts in four principles, which can guide the development of life in society.  Then ‘Zing’ I read the first principle. Time is greater than space. Time? Space? Is this some kind of space time continuum from Star Trek or is the Pope talking quantum physics here? I check out the other topics: Unity prevails over conflict, Realities are more important than ideas, and The whole is greater than the part. It looks like I am in over my head!  But guided by Pope Francis and the Holy Spirit, and with a little patience and prayer, the words take on meaning for me.  

Reflection
Let’s look a bit into each principle.

Time is greater than space – The pope says, “Giving priority to time means being concerned about initiating process rather than processing spaces.” This section seems to remind me that it is not the outcome that we should be so concerned with, it is the process. I was just sharing with a friend how one of the best vacations my family ever took was a complete disaster. We drove to Branson (sorry Branson fans) and everything possible went wrong. We all hated it, yet it is the one vacation that my kids always talk about.  It wasn’t the destination or the trip, it was being with each other and sharing (and getting through) the experience. 

Unity prevails over conflict – Well, Duh…  Of course unity is better than conflict. Isn’t that what peace is all about. I am a Minnesotan; we live Minnesota nice and avoid conflict at all costs!  But wait, the Pope has another zinger. The Pope says, “Conflict cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced.” That throws out my Minnesota nice theory.  If I am to be truthful, I know this already. If there is a problem, it never does any good to avoid it. The trick is to address the problem with love.

Realities are more important than ideas – The Pope says, “ Ideas disconnected from realities give rise to ineffectual forms of idealism and nominalism… What calls us to action are realities illuminated by reason.” This Blog is a great example of action. When Kelly got the idea for this blog, would it have merely stayed in theory – none of us would be reading (or writing) it. The idea spurred her into action, but these are still words on paper (or cyber space) and words need yet another action to make them flesh (John Chapter 1). That action is to live out what you learn and know. 

The whole is greater than the part – Here is another zinger from the pope.  In illustrating this principle he says, “Our model is not a sphere, which is no greater than its parts… Instead it is the polyhedron.” The polyWHATdron?  Is this a geometry lesson now? According to Wikipedia a polyhedron is: "A solid in three dimensions with flat faces and straight edges." Ok, that didn’t help me much. I will call on a bit of wisdom that my daughter brought home from school when she was about 10 years old.  She proudly stated “Mom. I am unique, just like everybody else.” We don’t lose our individuality when we seek the greater whole. God knows every part of us uniquely and individually. We can’t lose site of the individual when seeking the common good.  

Action
Peace be with you

In keeping with my reflection of realities greater than ideas, let’s take this idea to action. The next time you are at Mass and exchange the sign of peace – really think and pray about the person you exchange that handshake with. Each and every action we take builds common good and peace. 

Peace be with you.

Sharon is a wife and mother of two college age children. She worked as a teacher, in advertising, radio, retail buyer and in youth advocacy – she even rode an elephant in the circus once! Currently she works as the Respect Life Coordinator for the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis.  She is a freelance writer for the Catholic Spirit and writes regularly in her blog Food for Thought on “CatholicHotdish.com” She also does speaking on various pro-life topics and gives her personal testimony on her own healing experience in the talk Glorified Wounds.   She can be reached at wilsons@archspm.org.

INCLUSION OF THE POOR IN SOCIETY

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 186-216

Daily Reading for Dec. 19: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 186-216

Reflection by Patricia Jannuzzi

Click on the image above to reflect on today's paragraphs from Pope Francis' "The Joy of the Gospel." Today's paragraphs cover something v dry near and dear to the Holy Father's heart, the poor. (If you're like me, and the print seems a wee bit small, hover over and click on the icon on the lower right-hand side and watch it on YouTube.)

SOCIAL DIMENSIONS OF EVANGELIZATION

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 176-185

Daily Reading for Dec. 18: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 176-185

Reflection by Marc Cardaronella

God’s love is by it’s very nature communal, social, and outwardly focused. The interpersonal union of the Trinity is anything but a divine “member’s only” club. The very reason the universe exists is because the dynamo of life and love inside the Godhead can not and will not be contained within itself. God’s love is diffusive the philosophers say...it overflows it’s own boundaries and spreads like fire. It can’t be contained. 

Therefore, animated by that same life and love, God’s faithful and the message they carry within their hearts also can not be contained. Christians are compelled to share their lives with others and to spread the good news. “The kerygma has a clear social content,” the Pope says, “At the very heart of the Gospel is life in community and engagement with others.”

There are two implications here that present difficulties. The first is “the absolute priority of ‘going forth from ourselves towards our brothers and sisters’” in charity. The Pope says the “Gospel is not merely about our personal relationship with God.” Our salvation is important, but we’re saved from something and for something. That something is furthering the Kingdom of God. It’s not easy to share our faith and ourselves with others.  It makes most of us uncomfortable. And yet, the social dimensions of the Gospel call for this tension to be resolved. 

The second difficulty is that seeking God’s Kingdom and making it present in people’s lives necessarily means transforming society...and society doesn’t want to be transformed! During his time on earth, Jesus pushed back the kingdom of Satan by preaching, healing, and casting out demons. He transformed the world around him. He made it look more like the Kingdom. And, as more and more people became his followers, they did the same thing. Rome sought to eradicate Christianity, but instead became Christian. European culture and society owes it’s existence to the Church. Christianity is “meant to have an impact on society,” the Pope says. It can do nothing else because where the Kingdom of God exists, the kingdom of this world cannot...and it never leaves without a fight. 

Catholicism can’t merely be a private affair. It never could be because Catholics exist in the world. Evangelization is naturally social because conversion is not just about the soul, but about life and where it’s lived. And, when Christian life flourishes, it bumps up against those aspects of society that aren’t converted. It’s our task as Christians to take our conversion to the culture and influence our own sphere of society through relationship, through community, and through the Gospel message.

Marc Cardaronella is a Catholic writer and speaker living in Champaign, IL. A former Navy pilot, he gave up the fast life for a more rewarding career as a Director of Religious Education. He is currently the father of two young boys, he writes about the reasons why people believe in Jesus Christ (and why they don't) on his personal blog: http://marccardaronella.com. 

EVANGELIZATION & A DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE KERYGMA

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 160-175

Daily Reading for Dec. 17: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 160-175

Reflection by Joan Jacoby

“Kerygma’ is a Greek word used in the New Testament – most essentially for “preaching” – teaching and evangelizing the good news of the Kingdom of God. Jesus incarnate came to be our Savior. We need to know and be intimately familiar with Jesus’ kerygma if we are to adequately preach and evangelize this “good news.” 

Since the baptism of Jesus at the River Jordan, Jesus began the Kingdom of God. Jesus brought the Kingdom to his people, he died for our sins, and was ascended into heaven, leaving us with the gifts of the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit. 

The message is not only to tell us to repent and believe in the good news – but to know God, to be aware of our desire for the infinite, and for the desire to know God as perfect truth, love, goodness, beauty, and being. 

All catechesis is centered on this basis of Christ’s coming to be our Savior. We need to know, live, evangelize and proclaim this salvation of the world……..of the reality of Jesus Christ to all.

The moral component of catechesis should lead us to a desire for fidelity and devotion to the Gospel and to desire to seek, know, and do God’s will in everything we do.

Joan M. Jacoby is the former owner and President of Jacoby Commercial Real Estate Services Company. After twenty years of executive leadership in her company she decided to dedicate herself to the mission of education in the area of reason and faith. After joining the Magis Institute Board of Directors, and meeting Fr. Spitzer in 2009, she decided to sell her part of the partnership in her company, and become the Administrative Officer for the Magis Institute.

Since that time, she has been actively involved in the creation of all sixteen products in the Magis Institute’s six product lines, has been at the center of the operational administration of the Institute, and has assisted Fr. Spitzer in virtually every phase of the Institute’s development. She is the Institute’s key contact person.

PREPARING TO PREACH

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 145-159

Daily Reading for Dec. 16: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 145-159

Reflection by Fr. Scott Hurd

Can you imagine the headline: “Man falls from window after sermon puts him to sleep?” This actually happened to a young man named Eutychus while he listened to the preaching of no less than Saint Paul himself, as we can read in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 20:9). We shouldn’t judge poor Eutychus too harshly, however. Scripture makes it quite clear that Saint Paul had “talked on and on”- until midnight, as a matter of fact- and Saint Paul once admitted that he wasn’t the most exciting public speaker.

    Saint Paul was an inspired evangelist, to be sure, and God used his words to touch the hearts of countless people. Since then, the Church has been blessed with the gifts of many outstanding preachers, such as Saint Dominic and Saint Anthony of Padua. At the same time, Saint Paul wasn’t the last preacher to put his listeners to sleep. And that’s a shame! Good preaching builds up the Church, glorifies God, and changes lives. Preaching is so important, in fact, that Pope Francis makes a special point of discussing the proper preparation of homilies in his new Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium.

    It’s been joked that, at ordination, every new priest or deacon is given a “pilot’s license,” in case they need to “wing it” in the pulpit. But winging it should be the exception, and not the rule, because more often than not, “winging it” produces homilies that fly about as well as a lead balloon. Pope Francis concedes that deacons and priests are busy people. Nevertheless, they should strive to make homily preparation a top priority for their ministry. 

    First and foremost, preachers should call upon the Holy Spirit to help them discern what God would have them say. They should become transformed by prayerfully reflecting upon the biblical texts on which they’ll preach, so they in turn can preach words which God can use to transform others. After all, one cannot give what one does not have! Preachers should know the people they serve so their homilies can speak directly to their situations. They shouldn’t speak over people’s heads, so that they’re left scratching those heads. And although he doesn’t say so in so many words, Pope Francis encourages preachers to employ the KISS principle: Keep It Simple, Silly. Part of being simple is being short, just like the attention spans of so many of us today! Short and simple doesn’t mean superficial; it’s just that they’re a key to being effective. And being effective, Pope Francis insists, also involves delivering a positive message: “Positive preaching always offers hope, points to the future, and does not leave us trapped in negativity.”

    Scripture insists that faith comes through what is heard. Therefore, preachers should ensure that what the faithful hear is the very best they have to offer, and comes from the heart. The bottom line is, Pope Francis concludes: “Preparation for preaching requires love.” Amen to that!

Reverend R. Scott Hurd is a priest of the Archdiocese of Washington, and is presently serving a three year term as Vicar General of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter, established by Pope Benedict XVI on January 1, 2012. Fr. Hurd began his ordained ministry as an Episcopal priest and entered the Catholic Church in 1996. He holds degrees from Oxford University and the University of Richmond. He and his wife Stephanie live in Virginia with their three children.

His first book, "Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach," received an "Excellence in Publishing" award from the Association of Catholic Publishers.

His third book, "When Faith Feels Fragile: Hope for the Wary, Weak, and Wandering," was released in September 2013 by Pauline Books and Media.

THE HOMILY: A MOTHER'S CONVERSATION

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 135-144

Daily Reading for Dec. 15: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 135-144

Reflection by Deacon Mike Bickerstaff

As a Mother Speaks to Her Child – So Also Does the Church Preach

Background:

In paragraphs 135 – 144 of Evangelii Gaudium, the Holy Father speaks about the importance of the homily within the liturgical celebration. Right off the bat, Pope Francis describes what the homily can and should be, “an intense and happy experience of the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God’s word, a constant source of renewal and growth” (¶ 135).

In my diaconate ministry, I have been three-times blessed by the Lord. First, the opportunities encountered to serve and console people in their need and suffering, to share in their joy and celebration, has been life-changing. Second, to share my talents to further and deepen adult education and faith formation has been a true joy. Third, to serve the Lord in my liturgical roles, including the joy of proclaiming the gospel and preaching, has deepened my own interior participation in Holy Mass and at other liturgies.

As one who preaches a homily on a fairy regular basis, I welcome the Holy Father’s inspiring words of instruction, encouragement and correction in regards to the homily.

Pope Francis reminds us of the words of Blessed John Paul II in Dies Domini , “the liturgical proclamation of the word of God, especially in the Eucharistic assembly, is not so much a time for meditation and catechesis as a dialogue between God and his people, a dialogue in which the great deeds of salvation are proclaimed and the demands of the covenant are continually restated.” He says of the homily, “it surpasses all forms of catechesis as the supreme moment in the dialogue between God and his people which lead up to sacramental communion” (¶ 137).

Much of what Pope Francis writes in this section might seem to be directed solely to the clergy who preach, but that would be a mistake. For the proclamation of God’s word, he reminds us, is a dialogue. 

God speaks to us within the context of the liturgy and we all hear… and we take what we have received into our daily lives and return it to God through our love for one another and through our prayer. The priest and the deacon are called to “guide the assembly, and the preacher, to a life-changing communion with Christ in the Eucharist. This means that the words of the preacher must be measured, so that the Lord, more than his minister, will be the centre of attention” (¶ 138). If we are to be transformed by grace and led to a deeper communion with the Lord, both the preacher and the hearer must be engaged.

I really like the image that Pope Francis paints of the homily being a moment of conversation, much like a mother with her child, “…she preaches in the same way that a mother speaks to her child, knowing that the child trusts that what she is teaching is for his or her benefit, for children know that they are loved” (¶ 139).

He goes on to describe the homily as a heart-to-heart conversation that, “arises from the enjoyment of speaking and it enriches those who express their love for one another through the medium of words. This is an enrichment which does not consist in objects, but in persons who share themselves in dialogue” (¶ 142).

Action:

We who preach should take to heart these words and give the time and thought and prayer necessary to meet these ideals and principles. This role the Lord has placed on us is both a high honor and a grave responsibility where we serve to bring God and the human person together. “To speak from the heart means that our hearts must not just be on fire, but also enlightened by the fullness of revelation and by the path travelled by God’s word in the heart of the Church and our faithful people throughout history” (¶ 144).

Those who listen should recognize the encounter with their God that takes place, particularly in the Liturgy of the Word during Holy Mass. We should present ourselves as children who love to hear and do what their mother speaks to them.

Into the deep…

Deacon Mike Bickerstaff is the Editor-in-chief and co-founder of the The Integrated Catholic Life™ (www.integratedcathoiclife.org). A Catholic Deacon of the Roman Rite for the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Deacon Bickerstaff was ordained in February, 2006, and is assigned to St. Peter Chanel Catholic Church where he is the Director of Adult Education and Evangelization.

He is a co-founder of the successful annual Atlanta Catholic Business Conference; the Chaplain of the Atlanta Chapter of the Woodstock Theological Center’s Business Conference; and Chaplains to the St. Peter Chanel Business Association and co-founder of the Marriages Are Covenants Ministry, both of which serve as models for similar parish-based ministries.

PERSON TO PERSON

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 127-134

Daily Reading for Dec. 14: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 127-134

Reflection by Kelly Wahlquist

”Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey.” 

Disclaimer (right off the bat): I know I am the one who set this Advent Reflection on “The Joy of the Gospel” in motion; and I know I was the one who assigned the paragraphs to each of the wonderful writers and evangelists who came forward to help; and, trust me, I KNOW it was all the work of the Holy Spirit. Then why am I sitting here right now astonished that this is the one section that wasn’t claimed, but left for me to write? The answer is simple and it is the same answer Blessed John Paul II gave us in 1998: “Whenever the Holy Spirit intervenes he leaves people astonished...” 

I am astonished that I have been blessed with the task to write today’s reflection, because this is my heart! This is the heart of the message I travel the country proclaiming. We must evangelize from heart to heart! We must joyfully share the love we have for Christ with another. We must “draw others to Jesus by being a light that is so lovely, they cannot help but want to know the source of it.” (Madeliene L’engle) 

To do that, to draw others to Christ, to share your love for the Lord, you must have a relationship with the person of Jesus Christ and you must have a relationship with the person sitting across from you. It’s the greatest of all commandments: Love the Lord your God and love your neighbor.

So how do you have a relationship with the Lord? Well, that was addressed in many previous reflections and will be addressed throughout the remaindered of these posts, because it is the ultimate goal, union with God! Therefore, let’s talk about how we can have a relationship with a friend, an acquaintance or a stranger —a relationship that opens us up to sharing Jesus with them from heart to heart. To me, this is the biggest lesson I have learned since the Lord decided to really put me to work in His vineyard these past ten years.

Much of my schooling in how to evangelize comes from spending tons of time 30,000 feet in the air sitting next to a “captive audience.” Ironically, I never set out to “evangelize” someone. I sincerely like to hear people’s stories, I like to know where they are in life and I love to share the joy I have in my heart for the work that I do... and I love sharing my love for the Lord!

Though the settings and scenarios may differ and the conversations vary greatly from person to person, a few key items remain consistent in my sharing of the Gospel message. I’m not saying I have the formula, for as Pope Francis tells us, “We should not think, however, that the Gospel message must always be communicated by fixed formulations learned by heart or by specific words which express an absolutely invariable content,” but perhaps my sharing with you can help you share Jesus with another this week. (Take note because this is your action item from today’s reflection —to actively share the JOY of the Gospel sometime this week. Tell someone about Jesus!)

1. I always begin any conversation about the faith with, “Come Holy Spirit!” (I don't say this out loud, but I certainly pray it in my mind and in my heart.)
2. I listen to where the person is on their journey. I listen to their hopes, their pains, their concerns for loved ones, their needs. (You’d be surprised how much people will share when buckled into a chair flying 30,000 feet above the earth! You’d also be surprised how much people will tell you in the line at the grocery store, or sitting at a baseball game, or waiting for a bus, if you are interested in them!)
3. I share my story, my joy, my struggles, “my hopes, my concerns for loved ones and so many other heartfelt needs.” (128) 
4. And in sharing my joy, I naturally share the source of it. For me it’s a relationship of love I found with the Lord through studying Sacred Scripture, and I share how that relationship with the Lord has changed my life.

Each encounter is different. Sometimes I invite the person to pray with me, sometimes I assure them of my prayers for them, sometimes I share the beauty of the Scriptures, sometimes I give them a good resource that fits their need. Perhaps a website like: CatholicsComeHome.org; BibleStudyforCatholics.com; CatholicMom.com; IntegratedCatholicLife.org; CrossroadsInitiative.com; etc... or a book like My Life on the Rock; Rome Sweet Home; The Sound of His Voice; Catholicism Pure and Simple, Praying Scripture for a Change; Forgiveness: A Catholic Approach; Catechism of Hockey, etc... or a DVD or CD such as Extreme Mercy; From Mormon Missionary to Catholic Church; or From Love, By Love, For Love, etc... or sometimes we become FaceBook friends, and sometimes we go our separate ways.

Though each encounter differs, each accomplishes the same task, a seed is planted. That is our job, to “respectfully and gently” plant the seed. (128) At another point on that person’s journey it may be the task of someone else to water that seed, someone else to fertilize, someone else to tend to the soil that surrounds it, someone else to put it in the light as it begins to bud. We don’t need to do it all! We can take comfort knowing that the Holy Spirit “enriches the entire evangelizing Church with different charisms” and that we have each been given charisms, gifts of the Holy Spirit, for the good of another, for the sake of building up the body of Christ. (130) (Romans 12: 4-8) We can also take great comfort and find great courage and creativity in our sharing of the Gospel message knowing it is the job of the Holy Spirit to covert souls. The Holy Spirit bridges the valley of our differences; “he alone can raise up diversity, plurality and multiplicity while at the same time bringing about unity” (131).

Now, knowing we are a missionary people called to share the Gospel daily, and knowing that sharing our love for the Lord need not be some highfalutin formal presentation, but rather a sharing that can take place in the middle of an everyday conversation between two people, and knowing it is the job of the Holy Spirit to convert the soul, let us joyfully and enthusiastically go forth and “be constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others, and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey” (127).

Yep, this post was written by yours truly. Thanks for stopping by my blog and joining us as we slowly "sip" our way through "The Joy of the Gospel". On a side note, this is my favorite talk to give and I'm giving it tonight. So if you got a little moment, send a prayer to the Holy Spirit to be with us tonight!

PEOPLE OF GOD PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 110-126

Daily Reading for Dec. 13: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 110-126

Reflection by Thomas Smith

The Primacy of Grace on the Pilgrim Journey of the People of God

Summary

If I could choose a single sentence to sum up this next section, (para. 110-126), it would be the powerful sentence in para. 112, the “principle of the primacy of grace must be the beacon which constantly illuminates our reflections on evangelization.”  Grace is the umbrella that covers the entire Christian mystery.  Grace, for me, is short hand for the very animating life of the Holy Trinity that is shared with the human race.  The Christian life is our cooperation with this divine life within us that welcomes us into the family of God.  Grace is not a private privilege but received within a family of God on a journey, a family that is truly catholic (universal) in its character and as richly diverse as the nations and cultures it welcomes within its loving embrace.  Good missionaries (and he stresses here again, that is all of us!) are attentive to the meeting of the Gospel with various cultures, receiving all that is good, true and beautiful in that culture as new adornments on the Bride of Christ, and observing how the Gospel engaging a culture can give birth to new and life-giving devotions and piety.

Reflection

The Church is more a pilgrim people that an established institution, a family on the move that continually welcomes every human person, without exception, to join our joyful journey to the house of the Father.  

As each person joins the throng, they bring to the Church the richness of their culture and language, adorning the Bride of Christ with these gifts.  The Church, in turn, enriches that new culture and language with the power of the Good News. In this mutual act of giving and receiving the Church becomes truly incarnational and catholic, that is, universal. 

This growing organic reality should never produce a kind of stale uniformity in the family of faith, but instead a richness of diversity that doesn't hallow one particular cultural expression over another, no matter how ancient that culture may be. In other words, the Church shouldn’t operate like the colonialism of the last 500 years that imposed a particular culture or modes of expression onto new peoples. The Church instead brings the Good News and then cooperates with grace to see how the Gospel welcomes, ennobles and even receives from that culture. To do otherwise, would shackle the faith and diminish its universal offer to all nations and peoples. 

Mary, the Star of the New Evangelization, has actually modeled this in different cultures around the world, but maybe no place so dramatically and clearly as in the New World when she appeared to Saint Juan Diego as Our Lady of Guadalupe (an event we just celebrated).  Her facial features and skin tone reflected her audience’s ethnicity, and her garments were adorned with the symbols of that people. Like the pilgrim Church (of which Mary is the archtype), our Lady embraced all the indigenous people and the dozens of cultures that would be drawn to the Americas in the coming centuries.  On December 11th, Pope Francis challenged us to follow Mary’s example “I ask all the people of the Americas to open wide their arms, like the Virgin, with love and tenderness.”

Response

Do I welcome the diverse cultures that the Lord has brought to my parish, attentive to the specific gifts that are given to enrich and nourish my community or have I taken sides dividing my community between “us and them”?

How can I employ what is good, true and beautiful about the culture in which I live to create a conversation or encounter with the message of the Gospel?

Action

Consider participating in a unique cultural expression within the Christian community in your area this Advent season.  For example, a Las Posadas celebration. 

Catholic speaker and presenter, Thomas Smith, was a Protestant minister who was received into the Catholic Church in 1996. Bringing a wealth of experience and insight on the Word of God to audiences across the U.S., Thomas is a repeat guest on EWTN and Catholic radio as well as a sought after parish mission and conference speaker. To follow Thomas' insightful blog or contact him visit: Gen215.org

NO TO SPIRITUAL WORLDLINESS

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 93-109

Daily Reading for Dec. 12: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 93-109

Reflection by Kitty Cleveland 

Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

I have to be honest with you. My brain hurts after reading these paragraphs!  I did my homework, though, and I think I now understand what he means by "self-absorbed promethean neo-pelagianism," among other things.  I hope I can shed a little light on it for you if you struggled as I did.

Summary

In "No to spiritual worldliness," Pope Francis essentially exhorts us to reject becoming "whitewashed tombs" (Matt. 23:27) who look good on the outside but are motivated by a desire for human accolades and good feelings rather than true love of God and neighbor. 

There are two things that fuel this worldliness: 1) "Gnosticism" (e.g. the Cafeteria Catholic with a purely subjective faith); and 2) "self-absorbed promethean neo-pelagianism." Essentially, these are the "spiritual snobs" who reject the necessity of grace for salvation, assuming they can earn salvation by their own excellence and attention to the liturgical and doctrinal rules (and necessarily exclude from righteousness those who, in their opinion, don't measure up).  

"These are manifestations of an 'anthropocentric imminentism," continues Pope Francis, i.e., an attitude that gives credence only to one's subjective religious feeling, denies the transcendence of God, and dismisses reason, intellect, and the objective foundations of our faith as irrelevant.  

At the risk of oversimplifying, I've stereotyped the different ways these he says this "insidious worldliness" manifests in the Church:

1) The ostentatious liturgy police 

2) The ambitious corporate climbers

3) The vain socialites

4) The cold business managers

"The mark of Christ, incarnate, crucified and risen, is not present; closed and elite groups are formed, and no effort is made to go forth and seek out those who are distant or the immense multitudes who thirst for Christ. Evangelical fervor is replaced by the empty pleasure of complacency and self-indulgence." [95]

"We need to avoid [this tremendous corruption] by making the Church constantly go out from herself, keeping her mission focused on Jesus Christ, and her commitment to the poor... [It} can only be healed by breathing in the pure air of the Holy Spirit, who frees us from self-centeredness closed in an outward religiosity bereft of God." [97]

Reflection

On the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, it seems only right that we look to Our Lady to teach us how to "breathe in the pure air of the Holy Spirit" and be healed of any spiritual worldliness that may have crept into our own faith life. 

Unlike the whitewashed tombs filled with dead men's bones, she is the Theotokos, the pure and spotless tabernacle bearing within her very body and soul the One True God.  

So how do we imitate her purity of heart? Her zeal for God and for souls? Her tender love for the poor? How do we bear Christ within us and carry him to others as she did? It must begin with one thing:

Humility.

Humility is the antidote to spiritual worldliness, a humility that recognizes our status as sinners in need of God's great mercy every single day of our lives; a humility that submits to the authority of the Church in matters of faith and morals; a humility that recognizes our need for grace to do anything of any lasting value in this life; and a humility that leads to a heart overflowing with gratitude for God's goodness to us, which can only express itself in humble service to others.

Let us pray:

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Spouse of the Holy Spirit and my Mother, I beg you to obtain for me and for all members of the Church a fresh outpouring of the Holy Spirit. May the Refiner's Fire purify us of any spiritual worldliness and increase in us all of the virtues, especially humility, purity of heart, zeal for souls and a great love for the poor.  Amen.

Kitty Cleveland is an award-winning singer/songwriter, actress and inspirational speaker who has been delighting audiences around the world for many years, having appeared multiple times on EWTN, on the radio, in concert and as a keynote speaker throughout North America and in Europe.

Though she put her singing on hold after college to pursue careers as a lawyer, university professor and career counselor, Kitty’s life as a Catholic evangelist and music missionary began in earnest after launching her first CD in 2000.  She has since released eight CDs, plus three popular CDs with Lighthouse Catholic Media.  Her latest attempt to "cast out into the deep" as part of the New Evangelization is a recording of jazz standards with some of New Orleans' finest jazz musicians, which will be available in February 2014 .

Kitty makes her home in the New Orleans area with her musician husband and young daughter, whom they adopted from China in 2005.  For more information about Kitty or to book her for your event, please go to www.kittycleveland.com or call Caroline Sholl at (504) 559-8076.

TEMPTATIONS FACED BY PASTORAL WORKERS

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 76-92

Daily Reading for Dec. 11: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 76-92

Reflection by Margie Mandli

The Wall of Life

A few years ago, my husband, Mark, and I ran a marathon together. If you’re ever looking for a bonding experience with your spouse, this may be your answer. We’ve always been recreational runners, but training for a marathon was something new for us, and probably the ultimate test of stamina within our marriage.  A marathon digs deep within a soul, requiring immense discipline.  A marathon with your spouse requires a certain moral, spiritual and physical support for each other. In a sense we become each other’s hands and feet throughout the race.

As first-time marathoners, we were told about the proverbial “wall” that one reaches at mile 20.  The “wall” represents a blockage – a complete and utter physical inability to carry on. It’s the test of all tests in a race. The wall requires one to plunge into the inner depths of one’s physical strength to muster even a tiny ounce of energy to place just one foot in front of the other.  Climbing the wall also represents something spiritual, no doubt – a feat that can only be explained by supernatural intervention.   

Truthfully, we didn’t think too much about that wall…until reaching mile 12 in our training. One day, we found ourselves imploring Mary’s help just to make it home.  The wall then became something tangible, and perhaps, something dreaded at the mere thought of running more than double that in a few short weeks. 

As I read paragraphs [76-109] Temptations Faced by Pastoral Workers from Evangelii Gaudium, I’m reminded of this wall.  Here, our Holy Father says in paragraph 85: 

“One of the more serious temptations which stifles boldness and zeal is a defeatism which turns us into querulous and disillusioned pessimists, ‘sourpusses’. Nobody can go off to battle unless he is fully convinced of victory beforehand. If we start without confidence, we have already lost half the battle and we bury our talents.”   

Oh, how that resonates as I reflect on mile 22 – the wall Mark and I hit in Chicago 2008!  If we had hit the wall with a sense of defeatism, I’m certain we would have never crossed the finished line. 

But isn’t it true, no matter where we are carrying out pastoral work, we all hit the proverbial wall?

• In our families, we are called to be self-giving with our spouse; to tirelessly form our children in the ways of God so that someday they may enter heaven; to teach the virtues of charity and self-sacrifice by our word, but importantly, by our example. 

• In our parishes, we are called to “share our gifts”; to be generous with our time, talents and treasures; to bring the Good News to all who may not know the Lord; to be charitable in our ministry work; to love our neighbor, even when it’s not easy to love. 

• In our places of work, we are called to be the faces of Christ because we may be the only “Christ” to our co-workers; to be humble in the midst of a “me-centric” culture where, at times, it feels the only thing that matters is how to get ahead.  

• In our communities, we are called to reach out to those in need: the poor, the lost and the lonely; we are called to be the voice of God, pointing out the truths of our Catholic teachings in a world where it seems anything goes nowadays.

Yet, as pastoral workers, we do hit the “wall.”  When I look at my own life – in my family, my work or ministry – I find myself commiserating now and then, “Lord, I have no more to give!  What more do You want from me?”  Perhaps I’m not alone in these sentiments. But you see it’s never enough.  It will never be enough on this earth.  It is, however, only through His strength that we are able to carry on.  The minute we try to take on the work, as if God didn’t exist, we begin to ask these types of questions:

• Does any of this matter?
• How do I continue?
• When will I see the fruits?
• When will God answer my prayers?
• Why this? Why that?

Our Holy Father gives us some words to reflect on:

“While painfully aware of our own frailties, we have to march on without giving in, keeping in mind what the Lord said to Saint Paul: ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Cor 12:9). Christian triumph is always a cross, yet a cross which, is at the same time a victorious banner borne with aggressive tenderness against the assaults of evil. The evil spirit of defeatism is brother to the temptation to separate, before its time, the wheat from the weeds; it is the fruit of an anxious and self-centered lack of trust.”

During this Advent season, I propose 4Ps: pray, persevere, patience and pain.

1. Pray for fortitude in all your pastoral work. Because it does matter. All of it. God has given each of us special gifts to carry out His work. But it is only through dedicated prayer time and courage that we can carry out His work. Pray especially for our priests. They’re in high demand, and they tire just as we do, and perhaps face greater spiritual battle. Without them, we cannot be nourished for the race. It is through the priest we receive strength offered through the Eucharist! Recall these words in scripture, “I can do all things through him who strengthens me.” Philippians 4:15.

2. Persevere. This Advent, persevere in your pastoral work – for your families and for the people for whom you serve at work or in ministry. When you feel you’re hitting the “wall” of life, it’s probably when you need to recall words from Luke 21:19 "By your endurance you will gain your lives...”

3. Be Patient. As my spiritual director tells me often, “This is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.” Think big picture; and don’t get caught up in the small stuff. You may never see all the fruits of your labor, but you may receive affirmations along the way. Be patient with the people God has placed in your life; and be patient with God. Know that he is in control for he says, “If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you” (John 15:7).

4. Embrace pain. In a runner’s world, we often say, “No pain. No gain.”  In Church world, the same holds true.  At times, the pain will be unbearable. Whether it’s suffering in a marriage, in a family or the scrutiny you and the Church receive for doing the work of Christ, know that with suffering God’s grace is offered. Pope Francis affirms that suffering is necessary, “…and learning to suffer in the embrace of the crucified Jesus whenever we are unjustly attacked or meet with ingratitude, never tiring of our decision to live in fraternity.”

As we approach the mid-way point in Advent, let us not be discouraged or be tempted by “defeatism” [paragraph 85] in our work to build His kingdom; let us not allow or be tempted by a “stifling [of] the joy of mission [paragraph 79],” rather let us rejoice in being the hands and feet for others in this race we call life, so that someday we may be able to say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” 2 Timothy 4:7

Margie Mandli is principal and owner of GEM Communications and Consulting, LLC. – a business dedicated to serving corporate and non-profit clients through marketing, communications and social media strategies. She serves her parish, St. Anne Catholic Church in Pleasant Prairie, Wisc., as Evangelization Commission Chair. She is a member of the Synod Preparatory Commission for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee where she leads the communications process. She has authored many blogs, co-produced a number of videos for her parish and the archdiocese, most recently, “The Beauty of the Catholic Church”, and has led several parish new evangelization efforts in the areas of marriage, stewardship and worship. She is a 2011 Vatican II Award recipient for Communications in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  She resides in Kenosha, Wisc. with her husband Mark, and their three children.

SOME CULTURAL CHALLENGES

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 59-75

Daily Reading for Dec. 10: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 59-75

Reflection by Pat Gohn

Where is the Joy of the Gospel in This? 

If you just begin reading “The Joy of the Gospel” (Evangelii Gaudium) (EG) by diving into Chapter 2, and picking up this section from paragraphs 59-75 describing the challenges we face in our society, you might find it rather depressing. 

You may ask, where is the joy of the gospel in all of this?

I predict some first-time readers of magisterial documents -- folks who dared to venture into reading this large document based on their love for and interest in Francis -- may be tempted to stop their reading because the challenges seem too big, too widespread, and too disparate.

But, intrepid readers, especially those tuned to the current Advent season, know why Francis must speak this way… 

To discover the beauty of light, we must experience profound darkness.

To understand redemption we must first know sin.

To find joy in evangelization we must be lovers of the lost, the least, the little, and the lonely. 

Francis is a realist, and he offers a reality check for the Church’s mission. Indeed, acknowledging the brokenness of our cultural landscape is not to promote despair, but to chart a reliable plan for repair. In this way Francis can “encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come (EG, 1).”

Francis outlines some of the systemic and epidemic problems facing our world today…

“…evil embedded in the structures of… society… (EG, 59)” 

“…unbridled consumerism… (EG, 60)”

“…deeply rooted corruption found in many countries – in their governments, businesses and institutions… (EG, 60)”

“…attacks on religious freedom or new persecutions directed against Christians… alarming levels of hatred and violence… (EG, 61)”

“…widespread indifference and relativism… (EG, 61)”

“…cultures which are economically advanced but ethically debilitated…(EG, 62)”

“…the negative aspects of the media and entertainment industries are threatening traditional values, and in particular the sacredness of marriage and the stability of the family… (EG, 62)”

“…the proliferation of new religious movements, some of which tend to fundamentalism while others seem to propose a spirituality without God… (EG, 63)”

“…a materialistic, consumerist and individualistic society… (EG, 63)”

Even the Church, despite so much good that she has brought to cultures over the centuries, has still contributed to some problems, rather than helping to solve them. Coupled with a rampant secularism that has weakened many church members, we come to find many Catholics experience a crisis of identity, and malaise toward the moral teachings of the gospel.

“…[some of] our baptized people lack a sense of belonging to the Church… (EG, 63)”

“…secularization tends to reduce the faith and the Church to the sphere of the private and personal. Furthermore, by completely rejecting the transcendent, it has produced a growing deterioration of ethics, a weakening of the sense of personal and collective sin, and a steady increase in relativism… (EG, 64)”

Finally, rounding out the pains and challenges, Francis returns to a theme he often preaches about: There is no greater suffering than in the heart of families. The fracturing of families, of marriages, again, leads to a weakened cultural life, and the light of faith being dimmed.

“The family is experiencing a profound… crisis, as are all communities and social bonds. In the case of the family, the weakening of these bonds is particularly serious… (EG, 66)”

“Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will (EG, 66).”

“…there has been a breakdown in the way Catholics pass down the Christian faith to the young. It is undeniable that many people feel disillusioned and no longer identify with the Catholic tradition (EG, 70).”

Again we ask: where is the joy of the Gospel in all of this? 

It is not here. Yet.

“It is imperative to evangelize cultures in order to inculturate the Gospel.” (EG, 69). We need inculturation of the Gospel. We must infuse the culture with the light of faith. 

Evangelization is more than making the gospel known to all nations, places, and, even to the end of the earth. It is allowing faith in the Gospel be the light that illuminates societies – to seep in and flourish both within the culture and in the personal lives of a people. Inculturation of the faith eventually brings the gift of moral discernment to a culture by allowing the truths of faith to shine.

In Francis’ first encyclical, Lumen Fidei (LF), (“The Light of Faith”), he points out how the power of faith in God is transformative for strong nations, cities, and persons. Let us recall his thoughts. 

“When faith is weakened, the foundations of life also risk being weakened… 

Faith illuminates life and society. If it possesses a creative light for each new moment of history, it is because it sets every event in relationship to the origin and destiny of all things in the Father. (Lumen Fidei, 55, bold mine.)”

Note well Francis’ reference to the Father. In Lumen Fidei, he wrote that knowing God’s fatherhood is the starting place for understanding other people as our brothers and sisters. To recognize the dignity of the human person in another is to discover the true moral grounding needed to face our challenges.

Faith becomes a light capable of illumining all our relationships in society. As an experience of the mercy of God the Father, it sets us on the path of brotherhood. Modernity sought to build a universal brotherhood based on equality, yet we gradually came to realize that this brotherhood, lacking a reference to a common Father as its ultimate foundation, cannot endure. We need to return to the true basis of brotherhood…

Faith teaches us to see that every man and woman represents a blessing for me, that the light of God’s face shines on me through the faces of my brothers and sisters.

How many benefits has the gaze of Christian faith brought to the city of men for their common life! Thanks to faith we have come to understand the unique dignity of each person, something which was not clearly seen in antiquity. (LF, 54)

Evangelii Gaudium builds on Lumen Fidei. As one reads through this section, we can see how “The Joy of the Gospel” is built on “The Light of Faith.” 

In Evangelii Gaudium, Francis identifies how critical the Father is to our communion with others as a basis for our problem solving. 

Pastoral activity needs to bring out more clearly the fact that our relationship with the Father demands and encourages a communion which heals, promotes and reinforces interpersonal bonds. In our world, especially in some countries, different forms of war and conflict are re-emerging, yet we Christians remain steadfast in our intention to respect others, to heal wounds, to build bridges, to strengthen relationships and to “bear one another’s burdens” (Gal 6:2). (EG, 67)

Recapping, first, to find and spread the joy of the Gospel amidst our cultural milieu, we must first be in relationship with God our Father, which Christians enjoy thanks to the merits of Jesus Christ. 

Second, we not discount the power of the Holy Spirit… especially in places where large groups of baptized Catholics live.

Seeing reality with the eyes of faith, we cannot fail to acknowledge what the Holy Spirit is sowing. It would show a lack of trust in his free and unstinting activity to think that authentic Christian values are absent where great numbers of people have received baptism… 

This means more than acknowledging occasional “seeds of the word”, since it has to do with an authentic Christian faith which has its own expressions and means of showing its relationship to the Church. The immense importance of a culture marked by faith cannot be overlooked; before the onslaught of contemporary secularism an evangelized culture, for all its limits, has many more resources than the mere sum total of believers. (EG, 68)

Another section described the benefits of popular piety, or regular religious practice. We ought never underestimate how God might use the church and her sacraments in the midst of a troubled world. 

Despite the challenges evangelization faces, I found this quirky line from Francis to be reassuring: “God does not hide himself from those who seek him with a sincere heart, even though they do so tentatively, in a vague and haphazard manner. (EG, 72)”

In the final paragraphs in this section, Francis repeats a theme that he also began in Lumen Fidei: we must look at the problems of our cities by keeping the hope in the Heavenly City – the new Jerusalem -- in mind.

The new Jerusalem, the holy city (cf. Rev 21:2-4), is the goal towards which all of humanity is moving. It is curious that God’s revelation tells us that the fullness of humanity and of history is realized in a city. We need to look at our cities with a contemplative gaze, a gaze of faith which sees God dwelling in their homes, in their streets and squares. (EG, 74)

This hope is a source of joy for those of us who take up the task of evangelizing. 

Pat Gohn is a Catholic writer and speaker, and the founder and hostess of the Among Women Podcast and blog. With a Masters in theology and a communications background, her passion for faith formation embraces media for evangelization and catechesis. Her book Blessed, Beautiful and Bodacious: Celebrating the Gift of Catholic Womanhood is published by Ave Maria Press. Learn more at PatGohn.Net.

SOME CHALLENGES OF TODAY'S WORLD

REFLECTION ON EVANGELII GAUDIUM 50 - 58

Daily Reading for Dec. 9: Evangelii Gaudium paragraphs 50-58

Reflection by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio

Not everyone has been thrilled with Pope Francis' Letter on the Joy of the Gospel.  Perhaps if he had stuck to matters of "religion," it would have been OK.  But in the portions of the letter that we are considering today, he has dared to speak about economics.  So Rush Limbaugh has called him a Marxist. Others have called him the "Red Pope."

Nonsense.  If these critics understood Marxism and carefully read the Pope's letter, they would see that there is no one more opposed to communism that
Pope Francis who, by the way, is here merely echoing the teaching of Jesus, St. Paul, and John Paul II.

The Holy Father is against anything that "restrains or weakens the impulse of missionary renewal in the Church" (51). If anything qualifies, it is idolatry that replaces God with another absolute, and in so doing, destroys the dignity of those made in God's image and likeness (55).

Money, by which we purchase goods and services necessary to sustain and support life, is not the problem.  It is good. It is when it is melted down to form the Golden Calf that it becomes bad. The more valuable a thing is, the more dangerous it is when it goes wrong.  And when the accumulation of wealth becomes and end and all else, including people, become merely expendable means, then things have gone horribly wrong.

The Pope does not want us all to stop trying to earn money. And is he is not wanting to replace the free market with a state-controlled socialism. But neither the free market nor the state can ever be a law unto itself or an end unto itself.  They both must be ordered to the dignity, development, and equality of all human persons.

If all were well in the world, the market falling two points would not matter more to us than the homeless man dying of exposure in the street.  If all were well, Advent would not be replaced with the shopping days before "the holidays."  If all were well, we would not be comfortable with human beings being referred to as "consumers."

The Holy Father asks politicians, business persons, and every single one of us to examine our consciences.  In our business and public and business policy, in our personal lives, have we become calloused?  Have we allowed the culture of prosperity to deaden us, so that we feel excitement about the release of the latest smartphone, but are not moved by the loneliness of the elderly or the pain of the homeless?

Such considerations belong in a letter about the joy of the gospel because callousness and indifference blunt joy and obscure the face of Christ shining forth from the Church. If we would ever hope to attract people to Christ, we must first imitate Jesus' approach to the rich young man.  Before he spoke to him, he "looked at him with love" (Mk 10:21).

The greatest enemy of love is not hate.  It is indifference.

The father of five and a business owner, Marcellino brings to his teaching a practical, down-to-earth, and humorous perspective that makes his words easy to understand and enjoyable to hear.  He is a world renowned commentator on Catholic issues having appeared on Fox News' "Geraldo Rivera At Large" and
The O'Reilly Factor.   His book The Guide to the Passion, answering 100 questions about Mel Gibson's film, hit #6 on the New York Times best-sellers list with over a million copies sold.  He appears frequently on a variety of Catholic TV and radio networks where he is known as "Dr. Italy."

For a full range of topics or to invite Dr. Italy to speak at your event, visit www.dritaly.com or call 1.800.803.0118.  You can connect with him on facebook as Dr.Italy and on twitter@dritaly.