7th Sunday of Easter, Year B 13th May, 2018
Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad) is an apostolic exhortation of Pope Francis on the call to holiness in today’s world.
It is a personal letter addressed to each of us inviting us all to put God, not ourselves at the centre of our lives.
There are 5 chapters and 66 pages.
Chapter 1. The call to holiness.
Chapter 2. Two subtle enemies of holiness.
Chapter 3. In the light of the Master.
Chapter 4. Signs of holiness in today’s world.
Chapter 5. Spiritual Combat, Vigilance and Discernment.
‘Rejoice and be Glad’ (MT 5:12), Jesus tells those persecuted or humiliated for his sake. The Lord asks everything of us and in return he offers us true life, the happiness for which we were created. He wants us to be saved and not to be settled for a bland and mediocre existence. The Pope’s goal is to repose the call to holiness in a practical way for our own time, with all its risks, challenges and opportunities. For Our Lord has chosen each one of us ‘to be holy and blameless before him in love’ (Eph 1:4).
Here are some extracts :-
Technology: ‘Modern tech consumerism can leave no room for God's voice to he heard.’
Your Vocation: ‘Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife as Christ does for the Church. What do you for a living? Be holy by laboring with integrity and skill in the service of you brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or a godparent? Be holy by patiently teaching he little ones how to follow Jesus, Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain.’ Prayer: ‘Prayer is most precious, for it nourishes a daily commitment to love. Our worship becomes pleasing to God when we devote ourselves to living generously and allow God’s gift, granted in prayer to be shown in our concern for our brothers and sisters.’
Mercy: ‘We have to say that mercy is the fullness of justice and the most radiant manifestation of God’s truth. It is the key to heaven.’
The Unborn: ‘Our defence of the innocent unborn, for example, needs to be clear, firm and compassionate, for at stake is the dignity of a human life, which is always sacred and demands love for each person, regardless or his or her stage of development.’
Holy: ‘The word ‘happy’ or ‘blessed’ this becomes a synonym for ‘holy’. It expresses the fact that those faithful to God and his word, by their self-giving gain true happiness.’
Fr Ray Armstrong CM