I loved reading through Pope Francis’s Joy of the Gospel because what we have here is a message that we
should really take time to read and reflect on, especially during this Lenten
season. He writes this in a way that is clear and easy for the average Catholic
to fully understand, as well as a profound way, which still leaves a deep
impact on us. Pope Francis opens up with how when we accept the Gospel and we
accept Christ in our hearts, our lives will be of boundless joy and no longer
be filled with loneliness (Evangeli
Gaudium 4). I love this opening
because when I have been teaching my students Morality this quarter, we talked
about how by accepting Christ’s love we encounter true happiness. Sometimes we
try to find this happiness through other means, whether it’s through the
“pursuit of frivolous pleasures” such as constant video games or drinking, or
just other interests that are not very God-centered. As a result, we listen
less to God’s voice and more to other aspects of a conscience that is not
well-formed (5). When we take time to
form a good conscience through prayer and time with Christ, we are more able to
pursue the interests and will that God calls us to pursue.
Lent and Easter are a time in which we can understand what
true joy looks like. Joy will not always be as a form of pleasure and ease and
the sense that our demands are met; sometimes true joy is a form of suffering,
testing, difficulty. Other times it takes detaching ourselves from obligations
and instead finding simplicity in persevering and remaining strong in our faith
(7). There are several days where if I described joy as pure pleasure, then I
would be miserable as a teacher and minister, constantly trying to get my
students to listen while becoming easily frustrated and discouraged. Other days
when I am uncertain of my calling or frustrated in my job search, I found
myself asking if the suffering was worth being faithful when I was unsure about
where I was meant to be called. However, I realized that though at times
suffering was tough, I felt stronger in my faith because I was able to remember
the joy that Jesus brings to us. Perseverance truly plays a strong role in
this.
A final point brought up is on P. 8 when Pope Francis
opens up with #11, stating “a renewal of preaching can offer believers, as well as the
lukewarm and the non-practicing, new joy in the faith and fruitfulness in the
work of evangelization.” On one hand I read this and realize how at times it’s
easy for us to dismiss the heart of the message, Christ’s crucifixion and
resurrection, because of how many times we have heard it. It’s nothing new.
However, the problem with that mindset is that we do not grow and become closed-minded.
Instead, we need to hear it more, especially so that way we can become firm in
our faith. We then are able to evangelize, or spread the good news, to those
who do not believe in Christ or rejected Him in the past (9). Christ died to
save us, He gave his whole life up because He loved us, and He wants us to
spread this message of love and hope and even suffering to everyone. By
spreading this message and understanding the suffering, we an attain true joy
and happiness. We can become Fishers of Men (and women).
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