The publication by Pope Francis of the Apostolic Exhortation called “The Joy of the Gospel” generated, as such statements usually do, quite a stir. Pope Francis, thanks to his fresh approach to different issues, is still the media’s darling. His statements are given great importance. More so happens to the frequent prophetic gestures that he does.

“The Joy of the Gospel” is quite a hefty document. The media have printed very brief snippets or gave a couple of sound bites and short reports. I do recommend you to try are read something more. If you google the name of the document you will be inundated by information. There are good summaries as well as good commentaries. However, if you have enough time try to read the whole document.  Reading it is like giving yourself a good Christmas present.

I will reproduce here a few direct quotations.

Jesus fills our hearts

1. 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. 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.

Thou shalt not exclude

53. Today we also have to say “thou shalt not” to an economy of exclusion and inequality. Such an economy kills. How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points? This is a case of exclusion. Can we continue to stand by when food is thrown away while people are starving? This is the case of inequality. Today everything comes under the laws of competition and the survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the powerless.

Elitist generals vs. soldiers in the trenches

96. …the vainglory of those who are content to have a modicum of power and would rather be the general of a defeated army than a mere private in a unit which continues to fight. How often we dream up vast apostolic projects, meticulously planned, just like defeated generals!

But this is to deny our history as a Church, which is glorious precisely because it is a history of sacrifice, of hopes and daily struggles, of lives spent in service and fidelity to work, tiring as it may be, for all work is “the sweat of our brow”. … We indulge in endless fantasies and we lose contact with the real lives and difficulties of our people.

There will always be light from darkness

276. However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads. Each day in our world beauty is born anew, it rises transformed through the storms of history. Values always tend to reappear under new guises, and human beings have arisen time after time from situations that seemed doomed. Such is the power of the resurrection, and all who evangelize are instruments of that  power.

Religion should not be restricted

182. The Church’s teachings concerning contingent situations are subject to new and further developments and can be open to discussion, yet we cannot help but be concrete – without presuming to enter into details – lest the great social principles remain mere generalities which challenge no one. There is a need to draw practical conclusions, so that they “will have greater impact on the complexities of current situations”.[148] The Church’s pastors, taking into account the contributions of the different sciences, have the right to offer opinions on all that affects people’s lives, since the task of evangelization implies and demands the integral promotion of each human being. It is no longer possible to claim that religion should be restricted to the private sphere and that it exists only to prepare souls for heaven. We know that God wants his children to be happy in this world too, even though they are called to fulfilment in eternity, for he has created all things “for our enjoyment” (1 Tim 6:17), the enjoyment of everyone. It follows that Christian conversion demands reviewing especially those areas and aspects of life “related to the social order and the pursuit of the common good”.[149]

Accompanying pregnant women

214. It is not “progressive” to try to resolve problems by eliminating a human life. On the other hand, it is also true that we have done little to adequately accompany women in very difficult situations, where abortion appears as a quick solution to their profound anguish, especially when the life developing within them is the result of rape or a situation of extreme poverty. Who can remain unmoved before such painful situations?

[Note: I will later on this week post more quotations.]