Tuesday, April 10, 2018

'Gaudete et Exsultate': Francis puts 'exhort' back into exhortation

https://www.ncronline.org/news/opinion/distinctly-catholic/gaudete-et-exsultate-francis-puts-exhort-back-exhortation
MGB:_We do not do works of mercy to find joy, we do them because we are sharing joy. We are not grateful because things are good, we seek gratitude in the Lord to acknowledge the good done for us and thereby feel Grace. Gratitude is an action, not a feeling, as any recovered drunk will tell you.

This is not smug encyclical. It requires we move forward, not defend the powerful. It is a warning to Catholic Capitalists and Calvinists. It should make Mr. Sensenbrenner a bit uncomfortable. As for abortion, there is no conflict on the left except for the lazy who would not move more forcefully toward a tax supported living wage. We cannot ban our way into a culture of life.

A teacher of mine looked at Newman’s work and said that the next evolution of the Church was a call for holiness. It looks like we are getting there.

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