Reading the Joy of the Gospel I cannot help but wonder, has Pope Francis has seen us in action?  American Catholics manage to stand before what we believe is God’s actual presence and recite in a serious monotone “Glory to God in the highest….” Only when it is sung does the Gloria sound closer to the to the hymn of praise it really is.

In Evangelii Gaudium I find encouragement. The pope speaks of the gospel with complete confidence in all it brings from God to us. His hope is clear--that the message carries the power to touch and transform lives, institutions and our world. He sketches out that we can be imperfect carriers of what God has given us, and that we walk through a challenging and troubled world.  The power of the message, with its divine love and mercy, means there must be a way to offer others the gift of what Jesus came to give us. To Pope Francis the Gospel is “good news” in every meaning of the words.

I am sure I am extra receptive to what he says right now. There is a deeper reflective thread running through my own life about my own “mission” in life and where I stand with it before Him. As I look at where I am effective as well as faithful, I am refreshed by the words and the actions of the Holy Father. He seems to say that nothing that we do is too small when done in faith. The Gospel here is big enough to back up our well- meant attempts if we are willing to carry it, touch with it and learn from our efforts. “What counts above all else is ‘faith working through love’ (Gal 5:6). Works of love directed to one’s neighbour are the most perfect external manifestation of the interior grace of the Spirit” (EG 37).  Look what this man does with a touch, a smile or a hug….

It’s not that he says we can solve all problems or that anything can be immediately fixed. He works with a long term view of time.  It is just that everything matters: the Gospel, the people, faith, worship, hard work, study, preparation, dialogue between us and God, and between each other.  There are parts of Evangelii Gaudium that I want to gather up. Then they can be unwrapped for those times when things do not seem to be working, and there is no visible help to be found.                                                                                                                                                                                             image from: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/66/Gloria_5_(init).png