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CATHOLIC LIFE I 3 DENVER CATHOLIC REGISTER I DECEMBER 11, 2013 oly Pope launches missionary revolution em Univer- CHRISTOPHER STEFANICK How do you solve a problem like Pope Francis? about School for the as pubtten at tute for was inPaul II's e aposnio Ing of the priests sible to POPE Francis exudes joy as he waves to a crowd of faithful. or said rd fromBY KARNA SWANSON ve read Pope Francis marked the end 'EVANGELII e been of the Year of Faith by giving the GAUDIUM' ways to Church an "an impressive gift," yer." Read the pope's apostolic says Father Felix Medina, paser Trayexhortation here: http://www. tor of Queen of Peace Parish in retreat vatican.va/holy_father/ Aurora. director. francesco/apost_exhortations/ The offering came in the form priestly documents/papa-francesco_ of a post-synodal apostolic exesortazione-ap_20131124_ hortation titled "The Joy of the God to evangelii-gaudium_en.html Gospel." The document is the God in concluding statement of a meetcationing of bishops (officially called a "I prefer a Church which is ssed in synod) held last year at the Vat- bruised, hurting and dirty beaid. "In ican on "The New Evangeliza- cause it has been out on the as born tion for the Transmission of the streets, rather than a Church Christ's Christian Faith." which is unhealthy from being In holy Father Medina told El Pueblo confined and from clinging to its figured Católico that the document— own security," the pope writes. "If Christ's known also by its title in Latin, something should rightly disturb , to live "Evangelii Gaudium"—"sheds us and trouble our consciences, e, to live new light on our mission," and it is the fact that so many of our of the that it provides a framework to brothers and sisters are living t's own bring the Church forward into without the strength, light and a new stage of evangelization consolation born of friendship l blessthat reaches out to all sectors of with Jesus Christ, without a comon the society. munity of faith to support them, dalupe. The pastor noted that the pope without meaning and a goal in pe was "invites us to 'recover the original life." bearing freshness of the Gospel,' and ere the to find 'new avenues' and 'new Renewed focus her the paths of creativity' to 'offer everyAccording to Father Medina, Son in one the life of Jesus Christ.'" the Holy Father offers an "honest Spirit," "It is a document of para- analysis" of the current cultural con for mount importance," he added, context in which we are called priestly "given that our pastoral work is to be evangelizers. "Secularizaoriented primarily toward those tion, individualism, the crisis of st as a who already practice the faith." the family, subjective relativism s well- In the letter, Pope Francis in- and a failure to transmit the faith dgeablesists that the Church "cannot are some of the phenomena in he said.passively and calmly wait in our which we are immersed." He added that Pope Francis ly, withchurch buildings," adding that it needs to move "from a pastoral "contrasts the individualistic sadto SJV's ests." ministry of mere conservation to ness of isolating materialism so a decidedly missionary pastoral common in our modern societies with the joy of the missionary 15-3215;ministry." w.twitter. REAL LIFE CATHOLIC PHOTO BY MAZURCATHOLICNEWS.ORG disciple who has been freed from selfishness to seek their own interests for the everlasting love of Christ." In this context, explained Father Medina, Pope Francis underlined that the missionary work of today "needs to focus on the essential, attractive and necessary aspect of the Gospel, which is the saving love of Jesus Christ, and not get lost, at least in its infancy, in its doctrinal consequences." "Today it is necessary to convey the beauty of the good news," he said, "and it is essential to use kerygmatic language, which is neither criticism, nor moralism, nor theory, but rather a testimony of life." Something more Father Medina noted that parishes also need to adjust to this new missionary focus, and activities "that help the maintenance and self-preservation of the faith is not enough." "Today we need parishes that are more welcoming, that are in a 'permanent state of mission,' that form missionary disciples that go out to find the lost sheep with the love of the Gospel," he said. "Parishes need a deep renewal so that they are 'nearer to people,' 'environments of living communion and participation,' and 'mission-oriented.'" "As a pastor and as a missionary," Father Medina concluded, "I am convinced that if this work is properly received, prayed, reflected upon and put into practice, we will see many fruits of holiness and conversion in our parishes and faith communities." A NOTE FROM THE EDITOR Hi, Readers! distribution aims to improve our delivery service. Here's a friendly reminder that the Denver Catholic Register traditionally does not publish the last week of December or the first week of January. Therefore, the Dec. 18 issue will be the last print edition of the Register for 2013. The first print issue in 2014 will be Jan. 8. These are the latest steps the Register is taking in our ongoing efforts at excellence and superior stewardship. As always, you are invited to share your comments regarding these changes at editor@arch den.org or call 303-715-3215. In other news, the Register is returning to mail delivery with the Jan. 8 issue. The newspaper is also returning to our former printer, Signature Offset. We are excited about these changes as the newspaper will be printed on brighter, whiter paper, which makes for a more attractive product, and a return to mail Here's wishing all of our readers a blessed Advent and a joyful Christmas. Peace, Roxanne King Editor, Denver Catholic Register Pope Francis has laid out his plans for the Church in "Evangelii Gaudium" (EG). Rush Limbaugh read it and has concluded he's a Marxist. Politically conservative evangelicals fear they've lost an ally in the Catholic Church. The pro-gay marriage lobby and Planned Parenthood are disillusioned after reading paragraphs 66 and 213, and rightly so. Pius X Society sympathizers are on edge after reading 108. "Left-leaning" Catholics who were hoping for a female priesthood are deflated after reading paragraph 104. Mainstream media labels him a progressive. Whose side is this man on anyway? That he's getting the entire world's attention is undeniable. (I was recently interviewed on Al Jazeera TV about him. That's a first for me!) But I think most of the world, from Rush to HuffPost to Al Jazeera, has absolutely no idea how to read him. That's because most of the world is examining the 265th successor of Peter through the wrong lens. The Church has never fit the hyper-politicized lens the Western World has come to see all things through. We're "right of center" on abortion and gay marriage. We're "left of center" on immigration and the need to care for the poor. Maybe that's because our "center" is Jesus Christ. The only paradigm that explains everything Pope Francis is saying and doing is the Great Commission. He's evaluating all things Catholic in light of the question, "Does this 'make disciples' (Matt 28:19) effectively?" And he's making it clear that the Great Commission doesn't only entail talking about Jesus, though that is an essential part, but also, shining the light of Jesus Christ into every aspect of human life, from economics to life issues to marriage. Pope Francis is an evangelist, plain and simple. But he's no ordinary evangelist. Though he's taken his name after Francis of Assisi, our pope is clearly a missionary in the spirit of "the other St. Francis." St. Francis Xavier was a 16th-century Jesuit missionary who may have baptized more people than anyone in history. He was also a bit of a wild man. His desire to share the Gospel in its purest form probably drove the more mild manned, yet good people around him crazy! He once wrote to his superior, "Many, many people ... are not becoming Christians for one reason only: there is nobody to make them Christians. Again and again I have thought of going round the universities of Europe, especially Paris, and everywhere crying out like a madman, riveting the attention of those with more learning than charity: 'What a tragedy: how many souls are being shut out of heaven and falling into hell, thanks to you!'" That's a man who liked to "shake things up." The one thing that made his skin crawl was an evangelistically impotent Church. He challenged people deeply, to the point of annoying them. Likewise, anyone who's read the pope's apostolic exhortation without feeling a bit challenged hasn't read it with an open heart. Pope Francis isn't endearing himself to "the left" or "the right"—those poles that have so painfully torn apart the Church since Vatican II. His apostolic exhortation gives the jab of a shepherds staff to those parts in each of our hearts that would cling to either a liberal social gospel without the cross, or to a "high church" Catholicism that isn't willing to become "bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets (EG 49)." Those who have come to experience the Church as a conservative fortress to keep sinners out rather than as a launching pad for a mission to serve the world, sinners included, are rightly threatened by Francis. Those who had hoped the pope's desire to "shake things up" would manifest as a new, liberal theology are rightly disappointed. He's not a theologian, interested in developing doctrine. He's a pastor and his passion is developing the strategy of the new evangelization that was set forth by his predecessors, even in regard to the way he exercises his own office (EG 16). Things might get a bit messy with a papacy bent on spending all of it's energy exploring how to most effectively impact the See Stefanick, Page 4

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