Feature
The Joy of the Gospel
When Pope Francis released his apostolic exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium – The Joy of the Gospel, November 2013, he presented his vision for missionary outreach and renewal from every aspect of the Church.
We are reminded daily of his Joy of the Gospel writings. He calls us all to try to live our faith outwardly with a focus on the joy of the Gospel and the courage to share it. In Laudato Si’ Francis says, ‘Let us sing as we go. May our struggles and our concern for this planet never take away the joy of our hope.’ (244)
Evangelii Gaudium’s introduction presents guidelines and themes for the whole Church, which are expanded in five chapters. Reflections are presented on these pages.
An introduction to Evangelii Gaudium
Msgr Gerard Burns
Evangelii Gaudium – the Joy of the Gospel is a document from the post-Vatican II tradition of teaching about the mission of Jesus Christ. It is from Christ’s sending out of the disciples to continue his mission that the Church grows.
The second Vatican Council (1962–65) set directions for the Church in the contemporary world. The Council faced many questions arising for the Church from the events of our times. How to face secularisation processes, particularly in Europe? What approach to take to new scientific developments? How to be an instrument of peace in an age of atomic weaponry? What was the Church’s approach to the gap between rich and poor nations? How to work with democratic systems that did not always support Church teachings?
While the Council couldn’t give detailed answers to all these questions, the bishops did make decisions on some important things. The Church’s self image would not just be that of the Body of Christ but of the pilgrim People of God; its internal organisation would be based on collegiality; it would exercise its mission, especially through lay people, based on the grace of Baptism.
The Church’s voice in the modern world was to be of joy (gaudium) and hope (spes) rather than fear and gloom (Gaudium et Spes was one of the Council’s major documents).
All these elements were to serve the mission for which the Church was born. Jesus Christ was sent to inaugurate the Kingdom or Reign of God; the Church was born to continue that work.
It was not that the Church was born and then a job was found for it. Rather, there was a mission that needed a group – the Church community – to carry it forward in joy and hope.
The popes since Vatican II have sought to advance that approach. Paul VI wrote Evangelii Nuntiandi (1974) reflecting on the Church existing to evangelise and inculturate its message in every time and place. That letter particularly listened to the Church in the developing world.
John Paul II travelled constantly seeking to be an evangelising presence in every corner of the world. He affirmed mission in Redemptoris Missio (1990) and in an encyclical on ecumenism asked advice from ecumenical partners on the reform of the papacy so it would not be an obstacle to common mission (Ut Unum Sint, n.95).
Benedict XVI looked to elucidate the relationship of faith and reason in the work of Mission and founded a council for New Evangelisation.
Pope Francis, the first pope from the ‘young Churches’ has written Evangelii Gaudium on the theme of mission from the peripheries. The letter is a response to the 2012 synod on evangelisation but also takes up ideas expressed by the bishops of Latin America and the Caribbean at their 2007 Aparecida conference.
Pope Francis combines Paul VI’s stress on inculturated evangelisation with the Council’s emphasis on joy – a joy that springs not from facile optimism but from an authentic encounter with Christ.
The Pope speaks of that joy and that encounter with Christ in the introductory section of the letter.
Msgr Gerard Burns is Vicar General Archdiocese of Wellington, and parish priest to both St Joseph’s Mt Victoria, and Te Parihi o te Ngakau Tapu parish personal to Māori.
Chapter One: The Church’s Missionary Transformation
Fr Tom Rouse
In the opening chapter of Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis has a wonderful way of exploring what it means to be Church. He begins with the missionary mandate of Jesus, ‘Go out to the whole world…’ (Mt 28:19-20), and concludes with what Jesus says to us about the poor sitting at the very doors of our Church, ‘Give them something to eat’! (Mk 6:37)
This exploration began long before Francis became Pope. It is based on personal experiences and reflections upon what it means to belong to a Church that is undergoing constant renewal and growth because of its primary call to mission. This is an age-old theme of theological reflection. But Francis uses new and contemporary language in bringing to life the importance of this theme. He speaks, for example, about the need to abandon our ‘comfort zones’ and reach out to the ‘peripheries’ of the Church and society (20).
His reflections are like an elaborate mural painted over the walls of our Church with plenty of empty spaces where we are invited to colour in our own experiences and reflections. There is even a suggestion box for those who want to send any comments of advice to Francis about how he could better carry out his responsibilities so as to bring about the renewal of the papacy! (32). This mural is interspersed with pointed comments, like the one that warns priests not to turn the confessional into a torture chamber! (44).
After an introduction, Francis explains what is the nature and tasks of mission. The connection between ‘communion and mission’ (23) gives expression to the two sides of the one call – to live and to walk with Jesus. Hence, renewal takes place through an increase of fidelity to our call to mission. We undergo conversion as we carry out our pastoral commitments.
In the mould of ancient and modern prophets, Francis goes on to reveal his dream (27). He dreams of a Church that undergoes continual change as a result of taking the Gospel into the world. Through the experience of reaching beyond herself, the Church witnesses the continual transformation of her customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, and her languages and structures.
In looking at the structures of the Church, Francis asserts the parish need not be dismissed as simply an outdated institution (28). The parish structure has a flexibility by which it can assume new and different shapes, related to diverse times and circumstances, and depending on the openness and creativity of its pastor and the community.
In speaking about the message we proclaim as evangelisers, Francis advises us not to distort or undermine the Gospel. We need to maintain a sense of proportion by ensuring that various dimensions and themes of our Christian message are given equal attention. In this way, we will avoid the danger of speaking ‘more about law than about grace, more about the Church than about Christ, more about the Pope than about God’s word’ (38).< /p>
In the concluding section to this chapter, Francis talks about the Church as ‘a mother with an open heart’. As such, she must always have her doors wide open. Here we come back to his dream of ‘a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out in the streets rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security… .’ (49).
Let us take hold of the dream of what it means to be Church. Following the advice of Pope Francis, let us be bold and imaginative yet aware of our limitations, let us be confident yet critical, let us open our doors and be open to where the Spirit will lead us, to the poor and the downtrodden and to continual transformation.
Fr Tom Rouse lives and works at the Columban Mission, Lower Hutt.
Chapter Two: Amid the Crisis of Communal Commitment
Lisa Beech
Evangelii Gaudium’s Chapter Two, Amid the Crisis of Communal Commitment , outlines challenges facing the global community as well as temptations and tendencies specific to those involved in pastoral ministry.
We encounter Pope Francis exhorting us as a Church to become vibrant people and communities who go forth joyfully to engage with some of the big economic and social issues of our time, while not neglecting our own spiritual growth and self-reflection.
Some of the section titles in this chapter wouldn’t be out of place as slogans at a public rally or protest. ‘No to an economy of exclusion’. ‘No to the new idolatry of money.’ ‘No to the inequality that spawns violence.’ The chapter also includes similar slogans in the same vein addressed more internally to the Church. ‘Yes to the challenge of a missionary spirituality.’ ‘No to a sterile pessimism.’ ‘No to warring among ourselves.’
The first section of the chapter provides a strong critique of our economic system, with messages becoming now familiar in Pope Francis’ ministry – especially his outspoken rejection of a ‘throw-away’ culture, which discards people seen as unessential. ‘Those excluded are no longer society’s underside or its fringes or its disenfranchised. They are no longer even a part of it. The excluded are not the ‘exploited’ but the outcast, the ‘leftovers’.’
Pope Francis outlines his deep concern for the growing gulf between rich and poor, both globally and within societies, labelling our relationship with money as a significant contribution to the breakdown of relationships. ‘We calmly accept its dominion over ourselves and our societies.’ Foreshadowing the concerns he expresses in greater detail in Laudato Si’ he describes our financial system as one that devours everything that stands in the way of increased profits. ‘Whatever is fragile, like the environment, is defenceless before the interests of a deified market.’
In responding to the pastoral needs of people living in such a society, Pope Francis challenges those who carry out the Church’s pastoral work to look beyond individualism, to seek the good of all. He asks everyone to see this work as part of our very identity, saying the spiritual life cannot be associated only with ‘a few religious exercises that can offer a certain comfort, but which do not encourage encounter with others, engagement with the world or a passion for evanglisation’.
Not mincing words, he calls on us to avoid becoming ‘sourpusses’, as a result of letting defeatism turn us into pessimists. ‘Nobody can go off to battle unless he is fully convinced of victory beforehand.’ He says the energy and vitality of communities can call young people to vocations, and revitalise faith. ‘Challenges exist to be overcome!’
Lisa Beech is a Launch Out lay pastoral leadership candidate.
Chapter Three: Proclamation of the Gospel
Pope Francis considers preaching to be one of the priorities in the life of the Church, as is evident in his first Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium. Its third chapter ‘The Proclamation of the Gospel’ has four sections that expound this: i. ‘The entire people of God proclaims the Gospel’ (nn 111‒134); ii. ‘The homily’ (nn 135‒144); iii. ‘Preparing to preach’ (nn 145‒149); and, iv. ‘Evangelisation and the deeper understanding of the kerygma’ (160‒175).
At a Mass for 19 newly ordained priests this year Pope Francis told them not only to make sure their homilies were not boring, but offered them advice about how to ensure their preaching would touch people: ‘speak from your heart’, he said. Priests are called to nourish the faithful, so you must ensure ‘that your homilies are not boring, that your homilies arrive directly in people’s hearts because they flow from your heart, because what you tell them is what you have in your heart.’
Vatican lifts lid on homilies
Fr James B Lyons
Showing an acute awareness that preaching can ‘make or break’ the listener’s appreciation of Mass, the Vatican has published a new directory to assist the preparation and delivery of homilies.
Keep it ‘relevant, brief and faithful to the teaching of Scripture and Tradition’, is the call from the Church’s Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, which released the 100-page Homiletic Directory last February.
Congregation head, Cardinal Robert Sarah, said while the homily is not the essential part of the Mass, it has a profound effect on how people participate in worship. If the homily comes across as ‘awful’ or ‘boring’, the whole Mass is likely to be judged very negatively.
The document was developed from the 2008 Synod of Bishops on the Word of God, and subsequent writings of Popes Benedict XVI (The Sacrament of Charity, 2010) and Francis (The Joy of the Gospel, 2014).
Taking as its starting point the Second Vatican Council (1962–65), ‘which emphasised the unique nature of preaching in the context of the sacred liturgy’, the Directory seeks to:
- assimilate and critically review the insights of the past 50 years;
- help preachers appreciate the purpose of the homily;
- offer them assistance in fulfilling a mission that is vital to the life of the Church.
In this, it is a most encouraging document, accepting the many demands of pastoral care can distract, frustrate and limit the time for preparation, and respecting the fact that every homilist wants to preach better.
‘It is not necessary to be a great orator in order to be an effective homilist,’ the Directory affirms, before listing some ‘Must Dos’ for the preacher: centre your spiritual life on the Word; know your people well; develop skills for effective preaching; invite the Holy Spirit to open the hearts of the faithful.
The homily, which is distinguished from a sermon or instruction that has no connection with the scripture readings of the day, is to be the fruit of meditation, carefully prepared, neither too long nor too short and suited to all present. ‘The homily will be delivered in a context of prayer, and it should be composed in a context of prayer.’ [n.26]
Such criteria place a big responsibility on the preacher and make it clear preaching has to be given prime place in ministry. There is a reminder of the strong words of Pope Francis: ‘a preacher who does not prepare himself and does not pray is “dishonest and irresponsible…a false prophet, a fraud, a shallow imposter”’. [EG 145, 151]
There is also a challenging call to understand the connection between the homily and the Eucharistic celebration. Using the analogy of a symphony, in which each movement contributes to the meaning and value of the whole piece, the Directory emphasises the unbroken flow from the readings and prayers, throug
h the memorial of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus to Communion – culminating in a readiness to go out as witnesses to the marvels of God.
The homily is to sit within the ‘mystery of faith’ and to lead the community to the Eucharistic sacrifice [n.117]. It remains the realm of the ordained minister because it ‘is an integral part of the Church’s worship’, inseparably linked with this sacrifice [n.4].
The second part of the Directory, and by far the largest, provides ‘concrete examples and suggestions’ to assist the homilist in both preparation and delivery. The major liturgical seasons of Advent, Lent and Easter are explored for their scriptural and cultural themes with some practical ideas that might help link preaching and daily life.
The overall tenor of the document is to encourage renewal of energy within the preacher. Much of what is proposed is already known ‘in theory’ by those who are ordained and commissioned to preach, but years of practice and, in many situations, facing dwindling numbers in the pews, can sap enthusiasm and creativity. Reading the Directory could bring fresh stimulation.
In the New Zealand context, the ideal liturgical environment is not achievable, and the implied presumption in the Directory that the same congregation is returning week by week for spiritual nourishment does not match pastoral experience.
This reality provides little chance for the preacher to unpack scriptural themes over successive weeks. The homilist has to make the most of the opportunity presented ‘today’ to help his listeners catch even a fraction of how God’s word is being fulfilled ‘here and now’, even as they listen!
Fr James Lyons is Cathedral of the Sacred Heart parish priest and a member of the Archdicoese of Wellington Pastoral Council.
Chapter Four: The Social Dimension of Evangelisation
Monsignor Gerard Burns
The fourth chapter of Evangelium Gaudium (EG) treats the Social Dimension of Evangelisation (nn 177‒258). It is in a way a response to an earlier section in which the Pope analyses the challenges to communal commitment (nn 52‒75).
After first speaking of the encounter with Christ as the founding impulse for the Church community to evangelise, Pope Francis took up how that evangelising mission must transform the Church to make it fit for that purpose (chapter one).
In chapter two the pope looks at the social, economic, cultural and personal challenges facing the Gospel.
The fourth chapter reminds us that evangelising is first a communal activity (nn 177‒258). Mission is not an individualistic but a communal project.
Not only that, but the mission must also take into account the social setting in which people find themselves.
Evangelisation – preaching the Kingdom of God – includes working to transform those social circumstances.
Here, the social teaching of the Church (CST) is central because it starts from the scriptures and the teaching of Jesus and applies these to current questions with the help of the social sciences (nn 182‒185).
Lest this seem an academic exercise Pope Francis makes the test of evangelisation the inclusion of the poor in society (nn 186‒201).
This measure matches the Pope’s earlier analysis that the current world social system could be defined as an economy of exclusion (nn 53‒57) and that inequality is the root of all evils (n 202).
A central principle in CST for evaluating social and economic systems is that of the Common Good (nn 217‒221) – not the private good, the good of the few or even the good of the majority.
The Common Good takes into account the good of each and every person, especially the most vulnerable.
This preferential commitment to the poor is for all Christians. It means knowing and listening to the poor, ensuring their voices be heard and working so that the structural causes of poverty and exclusion be overcome. In solidarity with the poor there is meant to be a common work for justice and liberation for entire peoples.
Pope Francis says the poor should be the focus and centre of all social, economic and spiritual planning.
He states, too, that the worst discrimination the poor can suffer is the lack of spiritual care (n 200).
The second way in which Pope Francis seeks to strengthen the Church’s evangelising mission is in the promotion of social dialogue to promote peace (nn 217‒221). Dialogue rather than imposition is to be the means of evangelisation. It is not dialogue just for the purpose of talking. Dialogue is a form of encountering the other person, ourselves and God. Its purpose is to develop consensus around a just, responsive and inclusive society (n 239).
The particular dialogues EG underlines are: dialogue between faith, reason and science; ecumenical dialogue; dialogue with judaism, inter-religious dialogue and social dialogue.
To assist this, Pope Francis gives four principles, which he sees as based in CST. The principles (nn 222‒236) are: that time is greater than space; unity prevails over conflict; reality is more important than ideas; and that the whole is greater than the part.
Monsignor Gerard Burns is Vicar General Archdiocese of Wellington, parish priest St Joseph’s, Mt Victoria ,and Te Parihi o te Ngakau Tapu parish personal to Māori.
Chapter Five: Spirit-Filled Evangelisers
Sr Catherine Jones smsm
In the final chapter of Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis paints us a picture of the ‘Spirit-filled evangeliser’. Reading through this chapter and reflecting on my own experience of being touched by Spirit-filled evangelisers, three people came to mind and I enjoyed their companionship once again.
Marie-Francoise Perroton (1796‒1873) – inspired by the first Marist missionaries in the Pacific – set out to join them as the first lay-woman missionary in 1845.
In the midst of the people of Wallis and Futuna she was one of those evangelisers ‘who pray and work’ (EG262). From ‘the deep breath of prayer’ she was able to give herself to the missionary tasks of visiting, teaching, and forming others to join her in this service.
Overcoming difficulties of language, culture and personal preferences, she grew close to people in their daily lives and discovered there a source of joy. ‘Mission is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion for his people’ (EG268).
Sister Ann Manganaro (1946‒1993) was a doctor who worked in very poor areas of the United States and of El Salvador during its 12–year civil war. One night she attended the birth of a very premature baby and held the child in the palm of her hand until it died a few hours later. Faced with such a loss, someone asked her, ‘What did that child ever have?’ Sister Ann answered, ‘That child had the capacity to draw forth love from me’. Even a little child can be a Spirit-filled evangeliser, with the capacity to draw forth love.
Pope Francis notes ‘sometimes we are tempted … to keep the Lord’s wounds at arm’s length … looking for those places which shelter us from the maelstrom of human misfortune’ (EG270). Sister Ann knew how to bring ‘the power of tenderness’ to these people and places.
Mary the mother of Jesus, is the Spirit-filled evangeliser. Filled with the Holy Spirit, the power of the Most High, she set out into the hill country to her cousin Elizabeth. ‘She is the friend ever concerned that wine not be lacking in our lives. She is the woman whose heart was pieced by a sword and who understands all our pain … she is a sign of hope for all peoples suffering the birth pangs of justice … she walks by our side, shares our struggles and surrounds us with God’s love’ (EG286).
Evangelii Gaudium is perhaps th
e first Church document to address Mary as ‘Mother of the living gospel’. In her, we see the interplay of ‘justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others’ – the heart of the gospel – and ‘we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness’ (EG288).
Sr Catherine Jones smsm is a Missionary Sister of the Society of Mary and is Chair of the New Zealand Catholic Bishops Committee for Interfaith Relations.