Denver Catholic

BY ARCHBISHOP SAMUEL J. AQUILA The following is an abridged version of a column Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila wrote for the UK-based Faith magazine. This coming October Pope Francis will convene an extraor- dinary synod dedicated to the "pastoral challenges to the fam- ily in the context of evangeliza- tion." Interestingly, the Holy Fa- ther used his fi rst apostolic ex- hortation, "Evangelii Gaudium," to speak about the joy the gos- pel brings him and to provide a sort of program that should guide the synod. He wrote: "I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic signifi cance and important consequences." In light of these words, the partic- ipants at the synod will have to face the great pastoral challenge of being faithful heralds of the joy of the gospel of marriage. The joy of the gospel of mar- riage springs from charity: the same charity that compels bish- ops to faithfully proclaim the good news of marriage revealed in Christ; the same charity that is inseparable from the Truth, who frees the human person and re- veals to him what it means to be human. Only in Jesus does ev- ery human being discover what it means to be truly human, to be made for God and to live in relationship with God, to have true happiness. In his dialogue with the Phar- isees about the legality of di- vorce, Jesus offers a precious departure point for the synod participants. As John Paul II taught, Christ avoids the Phari- sees' trap and does not fall into their casuistry, which ends up opposing God's law in the name of pastoral love and mercy for the human person. Instead, Je- sus appeals to the truth about marriage revealed by God "from the beginning" and brought to fulfi lment in the New Law. This truth is not man-made. The truth about the human person is a reality that is discovered, ac- knowledged and received. It is a truth to be conformed to. Fur- thermore, for the faithful herald of the gospel, this truth about marriage and family is the most pastoral and merciful path. This truth is evangelium because it saves the human person and brings about the joy that Jesus desires for every disciple. Perhaps we have not been able to place this gospel in its proper context, namely the ad- equate anthropology revealed by Christ and so well explained by John Paul II. Perhaps we have wrongly assumed "that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel." In examining our consciences, we should ask our- selves whether or not we have fallen, or are about to fall, into the Pharisees' rationalizations, which Christ said were rooted in a hardness of heart. Let us repent! Some have argued that pas- torally the Church should leave marriage and all sexual matters up to the conscience of the per- son. However, in a world formed by relativism, conscience is not well understood, and often be- comes a case of listening to "my voice" rather than "the voice of God." Furthermore, the voice of the evil one can draw us away from the truth. Conscience, in fact, is not infallible and can be erroneous. Vatican II makes clear "that all men should be at once impelled by nature and also bound by a moral obligation to seek the truth, especially religious truth. They are also bound to adhere to the truth, once it is known, and to order their whole lives in accord with the demands of truth." This is why the human person has a right and an obli- gation to listen to the gospel of marriage revealed in the begin- ning and brought to fulfi lment in Christ. For that very reason, bishops have an obligation to form the consciences of God's people. Thus formed, con- sciences will truly be attentive to God's voice. Hence, listen- ing carefully to the opinions presented in the surveys do- ne and sent to Rome, one may conclude that we, as bishops, have not formed our peo- ple's conscience. Let us ask for God's grace and mercy in preparation for the synod. Let us teach by example. Let us remem- ber the words we pronounce at the ordina- tion of priests: "Let them meditate on your law day and night, so that they may believe what they have read, and teach what they have be- lieved, and practice what they have taught." Allowing ourselves to be transformed by these words once again, we will have the authority of those who live what they preach. We will teach as good teachers who resemble Christ, the Teacher. Then, we will effectively proclaim the joy of the good news of marriage and the fam- ily, asking married people to be open to conversion and to God's grace and mercy. As a young seminarian I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book "The Cost of Discipleship." His distinction be- tween "cheap" grace and "costly" grace changed my heart about what it means to be a dis- ciple of Jesus. This "costly" grace of discipleship brings with it a mercy that separates sin from the sinner. Indeed, Christ condemns sin. Yet, he loves the sinner and restores his innocence. For in- stance, although the adulterous woman's sin was condemned by Jesus, she was not. Instead, she was loved with God's regener- ative mercy that truly freed her from the power of sin and death. This is the kind of pastoral approach that we should adopt for this synod on the family. We should imitate God, whose works are always justice, truth and mercy. Indeed, Pope Fran- cis clearly states that the joy- ful proclamation of the Good News, which includes marriage, is "to communicate more effec- tively the truth of the Gospel in a specifi c context, without re- nouncing the truth." Reprinted with permission of Faith magazine. For the full version of the column with foot- notes visit www.DenverCatholic Register.org. 2 I CATHOLIC LIFE MAY 7, 2014 I DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER CIRCULATION CUSTOMER SERVICE: 303-722-4687 OR CIRCULATION@ARCHDEN.ORG Published by the Archdiocese of Denver, 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 Denver Catholic Register (USPS 557-020) is published weekly except the last week of December and the fi rst week of January, and in June, July and August when it goes bi-weekly. The Register is printed by Signature Offset in Denver. Periodical postage paid in Denver, CO. Subscriptions: $35 a year in Colorado; $42 per year out of state. Foreign countries: $42 surface, all countries, 6-8 weeks for delivery; $135 air, all other countries (average). Mexico, $48 air; Canada, $55 air. Postmaster: Send address changes to: Denver Catholic Register, Circulation Dept., 1300 S. Steele St., Denver, CO 80210 or e-mail circulation@archden.org. Editorial: 303-715-3215 or editor@archden.org Advertising: 303-715-3253 or dcrads@archden.org Circulation: 303-715-3211 or circulation@archden.org Online: www.DenverCatholicRegister.org General Manager Karna Swanson Editor Roxanne King Business Manager Michael O'Neill Faithful heralds of the 'Joy of the Gospel' of marriage ple's conscience. Let us ask for God's grace and mercy in preparation for the synod. Let us teach by example. Let us remem- ber the words we pronounce at the ordina- tion of priests: "Let them meditate on your law day and night, have read, and teach what they have be- lieved, and practice what they will effectively proclaim the joy of the good news of marriage and married people to be open to conversion and to God's grace and mercy. As a young seminarian I read Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book "The Cost of Discipleship." His distinction be- tween "cheap" grace and "costly" grace changed my heart FILE PHOTO BY MARCO BRIONES/DCR ARCHBISHOP Samuel Aquila is all smiles at a Mass at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church Dec. 8, 2013, in this Denver Catholic Register fi le photo.

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