Be Filled with Joy and the Holy Spirit

The following comes from In God's Company 2:

"The disciples could not but be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." -Acts 13:52

In the missals used by parishes over twenty years ago, the above verse is translated: "The disciples knew only how to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit." What a great description this is for a disciple of Jesus Christ!

Disciples shake off the dust (Acts 13:51) of rejection, persecution, failure, prejudice, mistreatment, anger, bitterness, etc. They walk away from it and move on. This is part of the reason Jesus commanded His disciples to travel lightly. You can't travel very far if you're carrying a lot of spiritual baggage around.

After we disciples have completely shaken off all such dust, we never look back (see Lk 9:62). We refuse to resurrect old wounds, for love does not remember past injuries (1 Cor 13:5). We "give no thought to what lies behind but push on to what is ahead" (Phil 3:13). We "keep our eyes fixed on Jesus" (Heb 12:2).

If, in imitation of our heavenly Father, we've forgiven and forgotten so much (see Jer 31:34), what remains on our minds? All that's left is to be filled with joy and the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52). We have empty memories and full hearts. "Receive the Holy Spirit" (Jn 20:22). "Rejoice in the Lord always! I say it again. Rejoice!" (Phil 4:4)

 Father, nothing can separate me from Your love except my own free will. Take my will and give me Your will in return.

"He will lead them to springs of life-giving water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes." -Rv 7:17

 "Praise the Lord in His sanctuary, praise Him in the firmament of His strength" (Ps 150:1).

Don Bosco and Living a Joyful Life

The following comes from the Catholic Exchange:

If there’s one undeniable fact about human nature, it’s that we all want to be happy. We crave joy—infinite, endless joy.

The problem is, we often look for happiness in all the wrong places, leaving ourselves frustrated and miserable. The plethora of wildly popular self-help books shows that we are hungry for guidance on how to live well.

One man found the secret of true happiness. His name was St. John Bosco. He was a man who experienced many trials, but who also lived a life full of gladness and joy. St. John Bosco was so happy that he could hardly contain it. “Dear friend,” he wrote to an associate, “I am a man who loves joy and who therefore wishes to see you and everybody happy. If you do as I say, you will be joyful and glad in heart.”

So how did St. John Bosco find real happiness? Here’s his six recommendations for living a joyful life:

1. Live for God alone – “Give God the greatest possible glory and honor Him with your whole soul. If you have a sin on your conscience, remove it as soon as possible by means of a good Confession.”
2. Be a servant – “Never offend anyone. Above all, be willing to serve others. Be more demanding of yourself than of others.”
3. Be careful in your associations – “Do not trust those who have no faith in God and who do not obey His precepts. Those who have no scruples in offending God and who do not give Him what they should will have many fewer scruples in offending you and even betraying you when it is convenient for them.”
4. Spend carefully – “If you do not wish to be ruined, never spend more than you earn. You should bear this in mind and always measure your true possibilities accurately.”
5. Be humble – “Be humble. Speak little of yourself and never praise yourself before anyone. He who praises himself, even if he has real merit, risks losing the good opinion of others. He who seeks only praise and honors is sure to have an empty head fed only by wind… will have no peace of soul and will be unreliable in his undertakings.”
6. Carry your cross – “Carry your cross on your back and take is as it comes, small or large, whether from friends or enemies and of whatever wood it be made. The most intelligent and happiest of men is he who, knowing that he is doomed to carry the cross throughout life, willingly and resignedly accepts the one God sends him.”

Finding real happiness isn’t complicated. Anyone, even a child, could live by these simple rules.

Yet, these prescriptions are pretty counter-cultural aren’t they? They are the exact opposite of what society tells us will make us happy. You certainly won’t find them shared in a New York Times best-seller.

But the truth is, it doesn’t matter what society says. The most joyful of all people are the saints—men and women like St. John Bosco. They were truly and lastingly happy because they had discovered the secret that holiness is real happiness. And they want you to discover it too.

Fr. Robert Barron: The Key to Joy

St. John Paul II: A Man of Hope and Joy

Joy Is On Tour

The following comes from Tod Worner:

You know you have heard about it.

The stories of the Pope shaking things up. Gingerly paying his own hotel bill, diving deeply into crowds to shake the furthest hand, warmly engaging the stray child in the middle of a Mass, and kissing the infirm, the repellent, the forgotten.

You know you have heard about it.

But it is utterly stunning to see it.

For one week, Joy has been on tour. The United States and every major news outlet has been transfixed by every move of this beaming, tireless Shepherd. And do you want to know something? It has been the most positive news week I have ever seen. Why is that? Because the media has simply fixed their cameras on a holy man exuding joy and mercy at every turn. At. Every. Turn. And they almost don’t know what to do. That is because the irrepressible message of joy and hope, love and mercy has so utterly eclipsed the petty, trite controversies which are the stock-in-trade of the media. When is the last time you saw Mass, Vespers and prayer services in their entirety on CNN, Fox and MSNBC? When is the last time you heard a scintillating man speaking with uncontainable joy about the indispensability of family, inexhaustible mercy and unfathomable love of God for each an every one of us? Joy, I say, has been on tour.

This morning I began eating breakfast with my family at a hotel in Wisconsin where we visiting the extraordinary Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe. As the television showed Pope Francis driving off in his beloved Fiat (after arriving by plane on the Philadelphia tarmac), my wife and I looked at each other. “He looks tired, doesn’t he?”, my wife said. I nodded and replied, “Just imagine keeping that schedule and energy as a 78 year-old man with sciatica.”

And then he stopped the car.

He waved his arm, the Fiat stopped and he literally bolted out of the car.  Seeming almost to run, he found his way to an obscure corner of the gated off crowds, leaned deeply forward and kissed the forehead of a severely disabled boy in a wheelchair. As he blessed him, his mother looked on and wept. You could simply read the words on her lips, “Thank you.” The boy’s sister, a teenager, was taking a picture of the irreplaceable encounter – and she wept. Like years of pent up worry and heartache were released. And as the Pope warmly looked at the boy and his mother, it was as if he knew. He knew. And his eyes seemed to reassure, “Your life and your son’s were forever changed with his disability. But you loved. You loved without end. And God knows it. And He loves you endlessly through your sufferings, your doubt, your worry. You are loved. You are loved.” As he walked back to the car, it was like all his fatigue had vanished. He had seen Christ in the “least of these” and it had given him new strength.

I nearly cried in the middle of my continental breakfast. It was exactly what Christ would have done. And it was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen.

Read the rest here!

The Little Flowers of Pope Francis

The following comes from National Review:

There is a point to the popular mythology about Saint Francis of Assisi. Obviously, the emasculated bard of the 1972 film Brother Sun, Sister Moon is a mostly insipid caricature. Saint Francis of Assisi was much more than an animal-loving peacenik with an odd haircut.

But the popular mythology is symbolic of the prevailing reality of Francis of Assisi: He lived a policy of joyful and intense engagement with the real world. He was a missionary disciple of Jesus Christ: alive, open, and convicted. He proclaimed the mercy of God, manifested in the incarnation of Christ His son, and he proclaimed our sinfulness. He was aware of our mortality, and he was aware of our eternal destiny.

Saint Francis was a poet, a pastor, and an evangelist: He stood before sultans and saints, beggars and bishops, and he preached Jesus Christ crucified. And Saint Francis lived a Gospel that was unnuanced, optimistic, and ceaselessly demanding. Saint Francis was the man who said that “pure joy” would come through being tossed from a monastery, left in the snow, denied, and abandoned. Some would say he was insane, a madman — others that he was a passionate Christian. I prefer the latter perspective.

But I think Saint Francis is reduced to a caricature to diminish the radical call of his life. It’s easier to recast the saint as a medieval flower child, preaching unbridled sentimentality, than it is to take seriously the witness of solidarity and fidelity he lived.

Pope Francis’s recently released apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, reflects the charism and dynamism of his namesake. The document sketches an expansive vision of the Church — joyful, missionary, and charitable.  

Evangelii Gaudium does not present a new ecclesiology: We’ve long known that the Church is its mission. And the text upholds a hermeneutic of continuity with the historical doctrine of the Catholic faith. But what makes this text remarkable is its candor, breadth, and expectations. No one can read Evangelii Gaudium without being reminded of God’s love.

But like the Gospel that Saint Francis preached, Evangelii Gaudium is demanding. Anyone who reads it honestly will be convicted. The Holy Father unmasks the false rigidity, the relativism, the consumerism, and the complacency that hampers the Christian life. Evangelii Gaudium identifies the temptations and pitfalls of Christians, with insight garnered from decades in leadership. Only a pastor, and a very good one, could have written such a thing.

Read the rest here.

Pope Francis: Evangelizing is all about joy!

(CNA/EWTN News) In his second homily while visiting Ecuador, Pope Francis spoke on Tuesday of the importance of fostering unity through evangelization, which he said is not done by preaching at people, but rather by being a joyful witness to the Gospel we have received.

“We evangelize not with grand words, or complicated concepts, but with the joy of the Gospel, which fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus,” the Pope said July 7.

"Evangelization does not consist in proselytizing, proselytizing is a caricature of evangelization; rather, evangelization is attracting by our witness those who are far off, humbly drawing near to those who feel distant from God and the Church, drawing close to those who feel judged and condemned from the start by those who feel they're perfect and pure, drawing near to those who are fearful or indifferent."

Pope Francis’ Mass took place in Quito on the second full day of his apostolic journey to his home continent of South America. The July 5-13 tour will also include stops in Bolivia and Paraguay.

Set in Quito’s Bicentennial Park, the Mass followed a casual meeting with Ecuador’s bishops earlier that morning. The park commemorates the 1809 Ecuadorian call for independence from Spain – the first of its kind in Latin America – which he noted “arose from being conscious of a lack of freedom, of exploitation and despoliation.”

In his homily, which was packed with references to his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis centered on Christ's prayer in John 17:21 that his disciples “be one … so that the world may believe.”

Referring to the “cry” of Christ to his Father and the Ecuadorians' early cry for independence, he said that “I would like to see these two cries joined together, under the beautiful challenge of evangelization.”

“We who are gathered here at table with Jesus are ourselves a cry, a shout born of the conviction that his presence leads us to unity.”

Even though Christ was experiencing “the worst of this world” in his own flesh at the moment of his prayer, he didn’t back down or complain. Rather, he welcomed his task and calls us to the do the same, the Pope said.

“We too encounter daily a world torn apart by wars and violence … But is it precisely this troubled world into which Jesus sends us,” he said, explaining that we shouldn’t respond to this call “with nonchalance, or complain we do not have the resources to do the job, or that the problems are too big. Instead, we must respond by taking up the cry of Jesus and accepting the grace and challenge of being builders of unity.”

Pope Francis remarked that “there was no shortage of conviction or strength in that cry for freedom which arose a little more than two hundred years ago. But history tells us that it only made headway once personal differences were set aside, together with the desire for power and the inability to appreciate other movements of liberation which were different yet not thereby opposed.”

“Evangelization can be a way to unite our hopes, concerns, ideals and even utopian visions,” he said, noting that “the desire for unity involves the delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, the conviction that we have an immense treasure to share, one which grows stronger from being shared, and becomes ever more sensitive to the needs of others.”

He stressed that from this comes “the need to work for inclusivity at every level, to avoid forms of selfishness, to build communication and dialogue, to encourage collaboration.”

“Our unity can hardly shine forth if spiritual worldliness makes us feud among ourselves in a futile quest for power, prestige, pleasure or economic security,” he said.

Pope Francis then turned to the Church’s salvific mission, saying that part of her identity is to embrace all nations on earth without discrimination.

Using a phrase he frequently repeats in Evangelii Gaudium, the Pope said that becoming a “missionary Church” means constantly striving to foster communion, since mission implies more than “outreach alone.”

“We also need to be missionaries within the Church, showing that she is a mother who reaches out, a welcoming home, a constant school of missionary communion.”

Francis then noted the importance of maintaining a spiritual life based on a personal encounter with Christ.

“This encounter leads us in turn to encounter others, to become involved with our world and to develop a passion for evangelization.”

He stressed that the unity to which Christ calls us is not a mere uniformity, but rather implies living in harmony amid our differences.

Unity is not something “we can fashion as we will, setting conditions, choosing who can belong and who cannot,” he said, adding that “none is excluded.” Such a “religiousity of the elite is not what Jesus proposes,” the Pope added.

Nor, he reflected, does unity mean we all have the same tastes or gifts.

“We are brothers and sisters because God created us out of love and destined us, purely of his own initiative, to be his sons and daughters … that is the salvation which God makes possible for us, and which the Church proclaims with joy: to be part of the divine ‘we.’”

The Pope concluded his homily by praying that Ecuadorians would be a sign and witness of fraternal communion for the world by caring for one another.

When we give ourselves in service to others, “we discover our true identity as children of God in the image of the Father and, like him, givers of life; we discover that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus, to whom we bear witness,” the Pope said.

“This is what it means to evangelize; this is our revolution – for our faith is always revolutionary – this is our deepest and most enduring cry.”

Pope Francis: Fearful and joyless communities are not Christian

(Vatican Radio) Communities that are fearful and without joy are sick, they are not Christian communities. That was the message of Pope Francis at his morning Mass at the Casa Santa Marta.

“Fear” and “joy” – those are the two words of the liturgy of the day. Fear, the Pope said, “is an attitude that harms us. It weakens us, it diminishes us. It even paralyzes us.” A person who is afraid “does nothing, doesn’t know what to do.” He is focused on himself, so that nothing bad will happen.” Fear “brings you to a self-centred selfishness and paralyzes you.” He continued, “A fearful Christian is a person who has not understood the message of Jesus”:

“This is why Jesus says to Paul: ‘Do not be afraid. Continue to speak.’ Fear is not a Christian attitude. It is an attitude, we could say, of a caged animal, without freedom, who does not have the freedom to look ahead, to create something, to do good… no, always: ‘No, but this is dangerous, there is something else, something else…’ And this is a vice. Fear damages.

“Do not be afraid, and ask for the grace of courage, the courage of the Holy Spirit that He sends us”:

“There are fearful communities, that always go on the safe side: ‘No, no, we aren’t doing this… No, no, this can’t be done, this can’t be done.’ It seems they have written on the gateway: ‘Forbidden.’ Everything is forbidden because of fear. And you enter into this community and the air is stale, because it is a sick community. Fear makes a community sick. The lack of courage makes a community sick.”

Fear, the Pope explained, must be distinguished from the “fear of the Lord,” which is holy. The fear or awe of adoration before the Lord, the fear of God is a virtue. But the fear of God does not diminish, does not weaken, does paralyze: it carries us forward, to the mission the Lord gives us.

The other word of the liturgy is “joy.” “No one can take away your joy” Jesus tells us. And, the Pope said, “in the saddest moments, in moments of sorrow” joy “brings peace.” Instead “a happy event, in a moment of sorrow becomes obscure, becomes dark. A Christian without joy is not Christian. A Christian who continually lives in sadness is not Christian. And a Christian who, in the moment of trial, of illness, of so many difficulties, loses peace – something is lacking in him.”

“Christian joy is not simply enjoyment, is not a fleeting cheerfulness. Christian joy is a gift, it is a gift of the Holy Spirit. And having a heart that is always joyful because the Lord has triumphed, the Lord reigns, the Lord is at the right hand of the Father, the Lord has looked upon me and called me and has given me His grace, and has made me a Son of the Father… That is Christian joy. A Christian lives in joy.”

And, too, a “community without joy” is a community that is sick. Perhaps it would be a “fun-loving community” but “it has grown sick with worldliness, because it does not have the joy of Jesus Christ. And thus, “when the Church is fearful and when the Church does not receive the joy of the Holy Spirit, the Church is sick, the communities are sick, the faithful are sick.” Pope Francis concluded with this prayer: “Lift us up, O Lord, to Christ seated at the right hand of the Father… raise our spirit. Take away our every fear, and grant us joy and peace.”

Pope Francis: God never tires of forgiving us!

“How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost! Let me say this once more: God never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his mercy. Christ, who told us to forgive one another “seventy times seven” (Mt 18:22) has given us his example: he has forgiven us seventy times seven. Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love. With a tenderness which never disappoints, but is always capable of restoring our joy, he makes it possible for us to lift up our heads and to start anew. Let us not flee from the resurrection of Jesus, let us never give up, come what will. May nothing inspire more than his life, which impels us onwards!” 

Pope Francis in Evangelii Gaudium

Pope Francis: There are “bat-like Christians” who prefer the shadows to the light of the Lord

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said there are Christians who are afraid of the joy of Christ’s resurrection and who instead prefer sadness and staying in the shadows just like bats. The importance of Christians being joyful, rather than sad or fearful, was the focus of the Pope's reflections during his homily at Thursday's Mass celebrated in the Santa Marta residence.

Taking his cue from the gospel reading of the risen Christ appearing before his disciples, Pope Francis began by noting how instead of rejoicing over his resurrection, the disciples were struck by fear instead of joy.

“This is a Christian’s disease. We’re afraid of joy. It’s better to think: Yes, yes, God exists, but He is there. Jesus has risen and He is there. Somewhat distant. We’re afraid of being close to Jesus because this gives us joy. And this is why there are so many ‘funeral’ (mournful) Christians, isn’t it? Those whose lives seem to be a perpetual funeral. They prefer sadness to joy. They move about better in the shadows, not in the light of joy, like those animals who only come out at night, not in the light of day, who can’t see anything. Like bats. And with a little sense of humour we can say that there are Christian bats who prefer the shadows to the light of the presence of the Lord.”
But, the Pope continued, Jesus through his resurrection, gives us joy, the joy of being Christians and following him closely, the joy of travelling on the path of the Beatitudes.

“So often, we are either upset by this joy or fearful or we think we have seen a ghost or believe that Jesus is just a way of behaving. ‘We are Christians and so we must behave like this.’ But where is Jesus? ‘No, Jesus is in Heaven.’ Do you talk with Jesus? Do you say to Jesus: ‘I believe that You are alive, that You are risen, that You’re near me. That You will never abandon me’? A Christian life should be this: a dialogue with Jesus, because – this is true – Jesus is always with us, always there alongside us with our problems and our difficulties, with our good works.”
Pope Francis concluded by noting how many times we Christians are not joyful because we are afraid! We’re Christians who have been defeated by the cross.

“In my country there is a saying that goes like this: ‘When you get burnt by boiling milk, later when you see a cow you start crying.’ These people were burnt by the drama of the Cross and said, ‘No, let’s stop here. He’s in Heaven: that’s all well and good. He is Risen but it’s better that he doesn’t come again because we couldn’t handle it.’ We ask the Lord to do for all of us what he did for the disciples who were afraid of joy: to open our minds: ‘He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures;’ Let him open our minds and help us understand that He is a living reality, that He has a body, that He is with us,that he accompanies us and that He has won. We ask the Lord for the grace to not be afraid of joy.”

Fr. Robert Barron on the Gospel of Joy

Evangelii Gaudium: Pope Francis' first Apostolic Exhortation

10 Reasons to Read "The Joy of the Gospel"

The following comes from Aggie Catholics:

If you didn't know, Pope Francis issued a new document today. It is entitled "Evangelii Gaudium" which means "The Joy Of The Gospel" and it is about evangelization - sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ. I am not exaggerating when I say I have read almost every modern Church document and many ancient ones too. But, this is my favorite papal document I have ever read! Why? See below.

10 Reasons Every Catholic Should Read Pope Francis New Document

1. His language is simple and accessible, which makes it easy for the average Catholic to read and understand. Does this sound too churchy?
   "If we have received the love which restores meaning to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others?"
2. He cracks jokes! Seriously - check this out.
   "They (the laity) and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them!"
3. He remains full of hope and challenges the Church to live and act out of hope:
   "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."
4. Francis doesn't want us to settle for being "ok", he wants what Jesus wants out of us - he wants us to be holy and missionary.
   "We must recognize that if part of our baptized people lack a sense of belonging to the Church, this is also due to certain structures and the occasionally unwelcoming atmosphere of some of our parishes and communities, or to a bureaucratic way of dealing with problems, be they simple or complex, in the lives of our people. In many places an administrative approach prevails over a pastoral approach, as does a concentration on administering the sacraments apart from other forms of evangelization."
5. He wants to shake things up and doesn't want us to do something merely because it has been done that way in the past:
   "Pastoral ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says: “We have always done it this way”. I invite everyone to be bold and creative in this task of rethinking the goals, structures, style and methods of evangelization in their respective communities."
6. He recognizes that some structures and practices of Catholic life aren't helping spread the Gospel. So, serious reform of these things might be tough, but they are also necessary:
   "We must recognize that if part of our baptized people lack a sense of belonging to the Church, this is also due to certain structures and the occasionally unwelcoming atmosphere of some of our parishes and communities, or to a bureaucratic way of dealing with problems, be they simple or complex, in the lives of our people. In many places an administrative approach prevails over a pastoral approach, as does a concentration on administering the sacraments apart from other forms of evangelization."
7. He knows how to get you pumped up for the work ahead!
   "Challenges exist to be overcome! Let us be realists, but without losing our joy, our boldness and our hope-filled commitment. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary vigour!"
8. He understands that the message needs to stick to the basics. The Gospel Jesus proclaimed is not complicated nor should the message the Church proclaim even forget the basics.
9. "On the lips of the catechist the first proclamation must ring out over and over: “Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.”"
10. Reading it might do you some good! This is a very personal reflection on what is most important and Francis invites you to conversion!
    "The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”. How good it feels to come back to him whenever we are lost!"
11. He is selling joy and who doesn't want that! The Gospel is supposed to be something that changes us and gives us joy, even when things are tough. This is a definitive sign that something has changed our lives!
    "The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew."

The Joyful Manifesto of Pope Francis

Pope Francis has released his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium.  Here is Rocco Palmo's take on it:

So, Church, above you'll find what's already being described as "the manifesto"of Francis for the church –224 pages in book-form... whatever file-code you fancy,some 48,000 words.

If you're looking for a "primer," it's fairly simple:don't insult your intelligence – just take the time to actually read it. 

For now, only two other things are worthwhile: a comment that came over the wires a couple minutes ago saying that this document was "best read on one's knees," and – in a Vatican first – a word that the English translations of the "liner notes" (the introductory statements from this morning's pub-day press conference) have been rapidly released.

Those aside, a Pope who's succeeded masterfully at making himself understood to the entire world on his own terms has no need to be exegeted through any lens other than the one he's seen fit to set. Keeping with said principle, then, that's it from here for the holiday – Happy Reading to all... in a special way, meanwhile, to everyone here in the States, safe travels for those hitting the road, and may each of you, your loved ones and those you serve know the gift of a beautiful, easy, richly blessed and Happy Thanksgiving – not to mention this time around, an especially "joy"-ous one, to boot.

Pope Francis to release apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium”

(CNA/EWTN News)  The Vatican announced today that Pope Francis will officially deliver his first post-synodal apostolic exhortation to coincide with the end of the Year of Faith.

During a Nov. 18 press conference, the Holy See revealed that the title of the new document is “Evangelii Gaudium,” or “The Joy of the Gospel,” which will be publicly proclaimed by the Pope during the closing Mass for the Year of Faith on Sunday, Nov. 24.

The exhortation is a concluding document of last year’s Synod of Bishops, which centered on the theme of “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith.”

Although the Pope will make the first announcement on the Nov. 24, the official presentation will take place on Tuesday, Nov. 26 in the John Paul II Hall of the Vatican.

Pope Francis will deliver the exhortation to “a bishop, a priest, a deacon, religious men and women, novices, a family, catechists, artists, journalists, young people, the elderly and the sick” noted Archbishop Rino Fisichella.

Archbishop Fisichella, who will be present at the official presentation on Nov. 26, is the President of the Pontifical Council for the promotion of the New Evangelization.

“Namely,” he continued, “it will be delivered to all those in various stages of life, who as Christians, are called to be evangelizers.”

“The Year of Faith becomes a commitment that the Church assumes her duty once again to bring the Gospel to every creature,” added the archbishop.

Altogether, there will be 36 people present for the event representing 18 different countries and five continents, the Vatican during the press release.

Special note was made that the Bishop, priest and deacon that the Pope will deliver the exhortation to come from Letonia, Tanzania  Australia, and were chosen because of their youth.

It was also made known that the document might not be a “classical ‘post-synodal’” apostolic exhortation, and due to this fact the preparation and structure of the document remain unknown.

Pope Francis: Let us welcome Jesus into our lives with joy

(Vatican Radio) At his Angelus on Sunday, Pope Francis spoke about the day’s Gospel account of the conversion of Zacchaeus. 

The Holy Father recalled that Zacchaeus, a man “short in stature,” because he was a publican “was a lost sheep, despised, an ‘excommunicate’ . . . a friend of the hated Roman occupiers, a thief and an exploiter.” 

Nonetheless, although he was far away from Jesus, he climbed a tree in order to be able to see the Master as He passed by. Although it seemed ridiculous, the Pope said, “this exterior act expressed the interior act of a man who sought to bring himself beyond the crowd to come into contact with Jesus.” Zacchaeus himself probably did not recognize the significance of his action, but Jesus, when He passed by, called him by name. “This man of short stature, rejected by all and far from Jesus, was like one lost in anonymity; but Jesus calls him, and his name has a significance full of allusions: Zacchaeus, in fact, means ‘God remembers.'” 

Jesus, calling Zacchaeus and going to his house, is criticised by the people of Jericho. Why, the Pope asked, with so many good people in Jericho, did Jesus go to the house of that publican? It was precisely because Zacchaeus was ‘lost.’

“There is no occupation or social condition,” Pope Francis said, “no sin or crime of any kind, that could erase from the memory and the heart of God even one of His children.” God is a Father, always keeping a watchful and loving vigil “to see reborn in the hearts of the child the desire to return home. And when He recognizes that desire, even simply stated, He is immediately close by, and with His forgiveness He makes the path of conversion and return easier.”

“Let's look at Zacchaeus, today, on the tree,” the Pope continued. “His is a ridiculous gesture, but it is an act of salvation. And I say to you: if you have a weight on your conscience, if you are ashamed of so many things that you’ve done, stop for a moment, do not panic. Think about the fact that that Someone is waiting for you because He has never stopped remembering you — and this Somone is your Father, it is God Who waits for you! Climb up, as did Zacchaeus, climb onto the tree of the desire of being forgiven. I will assure you that you will not be disappointed. Jesus is merciful and never grows tired of forgiving! Remember well, that’s the way Jesus is.”

“Brothers and sisters, let us also call upon the name Jesus!” Pope Francis said, concluding his Angelus address. “In the depths of the heart, let us listen to His voice that says to us: ‘Today I must stay at your house,’ that is in your life. And let us welcome Him with joy: He can change us, can transform our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh, He can liberate us from selfishness and make our lives a gift of love.”

The Joy of Priesthood by Fr. Tom Rosica

CATHOLICISM: The New Evangelization

Pope Francis: Forgiveness is the 'joy of God'

(CNA/EWTN News)  In his Sunday Angelus, the Holy Father said the “joy of God” is ultimately found in pardoning another for his wrongdoing, just as in the parable of the Prodigal Son.

“What is the joy of God? It is to forgive!” the Pope told pilgrims Sept. 15, explaining that in this teaching “is the whole Gospel, it is all of Christianity!”

Forgiveness, he warned, “is not a sentiment – it is not 'feeling good' – on the contrary, mercy is the true force that can save man and the world from the cancer that is sin, bad morality or bad spirituality.”

“Only love fills up the emptiness, the negative chasms that evil opens in hearts and in history,” continued the Pontiff.

God alone is complete mercy and love, while each of us is the Prodigal Son who has “squandered his own freedom following false idols, mirages of happiness, and have lost everything.”

“But God does not forget us,” the Holy Father added. “The Father never abandons us. He is a patient Father. He always respects us. He respects our freedom but remains always faithful.” 

Like the father of the Prodigal Son, “when we return to Him, he welcomes us as children, in his house, because he never gives up waiting for us with love, not even for a moment. And his heart is in celebration for every child that returns.”

This “celebration” is found in the joy that God has “for each of us who returns to Him and asks His forgiveness.”

We need never fear approaching God, but should rather remember that God “always awaits us” when we seek his mercy.

However, we must be aware of certain “dangers” that must be avoided, especially acting as judges rather than leaving that to God.

 “We presume to be judges and we judge others,” he said. “We judge God, too, because we think that he should punish sinners, condemn them to death, instead of forgiving them.”

“The devil is shrewd,” added Pope Francis. He “deceives us with the idea that our human justice can save us and save the world. In reality, only the justice of God can save us!”

God’s justice is very different from that proposed by the devil. “The justice of God is revealed in the Cross.” There we see how God judges: by “giving his life for us!”

Jesus’ sacrifice of his life on the Cross is the “supreme act of justice” and is “also precisely an act of mercy.”

Every Christian is called to this kind of mercy, exhorted Pope Francis.  “Jesus calls all of us to follow this path: ‘be merciful, as your Father is merciful.’”

The Holy Father encouraged his audience to examine their own hearts to see where they may need to extend mercy and forgiveness.

“Everyone in silence think of someone with whom things aren’t going well: someone we are angry at, someone we don’t wish well. Think of this person, and in silence in this moment let’s pray for this person and become merciful towards this person.”

After leading the crowds in the traditional Angelus prayer, Pope Francis remembered the witness of the Argentine priest Father Jose Gabriel Brochero, who was beatified on Sept. 14. 

Fr. Brochero’s service for the kingdom of God even until the end of his life as a blind leper, was a witness of “the joy of the good Shepherd,” he said.

Pope Francis: “Proclaiming the truth of the Gospel is not an assault on freedom”

The following comes from the Vatican Insider:

“Each community is "mature" when it professes faith, celebrates it with joy during the liturgy, lives charity, proclaims the Word of God endlessly, leaves one’s own to take it to the “peripheries”, especially to those who have not yet had the opportunity to know Christ,” Francis says in his message for the 87^thWorld Mission Day which will be celebrated next 20 October, just after the end of the Year of Faith.

“The strength of our faith, at a personal and community level can be measured by the ability to communicate it to others, to spread and live it in charity, to witness to it before those we meet and those who share the path of life with us,” the Pope writes in his message.

The way Francis sees it, faith must be a “secure light” that illuminates people’s path at this time of crisis and conflict. He stressed this in Lumen Fidei, the encyclical he wrote with Benedict XVI.

The papal message also takes into account the difficult social situation many countries are going through at the moment: “We also live in a time of crisis that touches various sectors of existence, not only the economy, finance, food security, or the environment, but also those involving the deeper meaning of life and the fundamental values that animate it,” Francis said.

In the text dated 19 May, the Pope says human coexistence “is marked by tensions and conflicts that cause insecurity and difficulty in finding the right path to a stable peace.” “In this complex situation, where the horizon of the present and future seems threatened by menacing clouds, it is necessary to proclaim courageously and in very situation, the Gospel of Christ, a message of hope, reconciliation, communion, a proclamation of God's closeness, his mercy, his salvation, and a proclamation that the power of God’s love is able to overcome the darkness of evil and guide us on the path of goodness,” the Pope writes.

  

So “the men and women of our time needs the secure light that illuminates their path and that only the encounter with Christ can give.” “The Church’s missionary spirit is not about proselytizing, but the testimony of a life that illuminates the path, which brings hope and love.”

“All too often, we see that it is violence, lies and mistakes that are emphasized and proposed. It is urgent in our time to announce and witness to the goodness of the Gospel, and this from within the Church itself,” Francis recalls, referring to Paul VI’s words in the Evangelii Nuntiandi to illustrate the fact that faith is a tribute to human freedom: “It would be... an error to impose something on the consciences of our brethren. But to propose to their consciences the truth of the Gospel and salvation in Jesus Christ, with complete clarity and with total respect for free options which it presents... is a tribute to this freedom."

Francis points out that “the work of evangelization often finds obstacles, not only externally, but also from within the ecclesial community.” “Sometimes there is lack of fervour, joy, courage and hope in proclaiming the Message of Christ to all and in helping the people of our time to an encounter with him.”

“We must always have the courage and the joy of proposing, with respect, an encounter with Christ, and being heralds of his Gospel,” the Pope writes, touching on a topic that is very dear to him.

Jesus came amongst us to show us the way of salvation and he entrusted to us the mission to make it known to all to the ends of the earth. All too often, we see that it is violence, lies and mistakes that are emphasized and proposed. “The Church – I repeat once again – is not a relief organization, an enterprise or an NGO, but a community of people, animated by the Holy Spirit, who have lived and are living the wonder of the encounter with Jesus Christ and want to share this experience of deep joy, the message of salvation that the Lord gave us. It is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church in this path.”