I am currently reading A copy of the apostolic exhortation “Evangelii Gaudium” (“The Joy of the Gospel”) by Pope Francis. I highly suggest all persons, Roman Catholic and non, read it. I will comment more the deeper I get into it.
A copy can be found here:
I am struck by how no one is left out. No one is marginalized.
Just one part I love that I had read earlier today. Its the reason I have this blog. What our Lord has done to me, needs to be shared. I can’t stop talking about Him. He is the love of my soul. The love of my life I never quite knew before. Every day I get to know Him better. Every day is better then the last. If you are truly familiar with my blog and have read through most of my posts, you can understand why this portion “The Joy of the Gospel” is so special to me as I am truly living this and can’t help but want everyone to.
Personal encounter with the saving love of Jesus (EVANGELII GAUDIUM)
264. 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. 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. Standing before him with open hearts, letting him look at us, we see that gaze of love which Nathaniel glimpsed on the day when Jesus said to him: “I saw you under the fig tree” (Jn 1:48). How good it is to stand before a crucifix, or on our knees before the Blessed Sacrament, and simply to be in his presence! How much good it does us when he once more touches our lives and impels us to share his new life! What then happens is that “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. If we approach it in this way, its beauty will amaze and constantly excite us. But if this is to come about, we need to recover a contemplative spirit which can help us to realize ever anew 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.
EDIT to add 11/28/13:
I couldn’t imaging reading it in less than a week. Its not that I am slow, its just that we need to “chew” on it and take our time to ponder it. Asking OURSELVES where we are lacking. Not where Pope Francis is lacking. So far I have come to see this as a letter to encourage us to look very deep into ourselves and a call to action! Not just for our leaders, but for all of us to “wakeup”.
As far as Rush Limbaugh – I can compare Rushes actions to the actions of many who looked at the entire Constitution of the United States and broke away because slaves were about to receive their freedom.
Peg Pondering Again 