Yesterday's Scripture readings emphasized the "love of neighbor" that forms the second great commandment found in the Book of Leviticus. The Gospel expanded that notion to emphasize that it is not simply enough to love those who love us, but that we must love our enemies, doing good to those who hate us. In the last section of the Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Francis reflects on the Gospel imperative to bring the force of the Gospel on those issues which divide us. His reflections include the need to work for peace, ecumenism, dialogue between people of different faiths, and the need to ground ourselves in the power of the Resurrection and the Holy Spirit to nourish the missionary vocation that is all of ours.
This section, perhaps more than any other in this document, Pope Francis reveals some of the motivation which inspires the actions we have witnessed in his brief pontificate. My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an extra or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing. All around us we begin to see nurses with soul, teachers with soul, politicians with soul, people who have chosen deep down to be with others and for others. But once we separate our work from our private lives, everything turns grey and we will always be seeking recognition or asserting our needs. We stop being a people. (Evangelii Gaudium, 273)
Even though Jorge Maria Bergoglio has only been on the world's radar for a little more than eleven months, people everywhere know that he has been on the cover of magazines, voted "Man of the Year," and has been drawing crowds so large that his weekly audiences have not been able to move into the audience hall. We have seen him embrace people who struggle with illness and disability. We have seen him wash the feet of Muslims. We have marveled at his ability to go "off script" and emphasize a point with his homey wisdom. On St. Valentine's Day he met with 10,000 engaged couples and shared his thoughts on successful marriages. He has welcomed saints and sinners alike to the little city-state that we regard as the cultural and political center of the Catholic community. Though there are those who claim that all of this is nothing more than a media campaign to overcome the negative press brought about by the sexual abuse crisis, paragraph 273 clearly indicates that Pope Francis sees himself as a missionary whose sole purpose in life is to bring the joy of the Gospel to all peoples. He does this in the hopes that all Catholics will see themselves in a similar way.
I don't think that there can be any question that this Apostolic Exhortation has caught the imagination of many people. I have been having so many conversations with fellow Franciscan friars, with other clergyman and religious, occasioned by this document. In a little fewer than 100 pages, Pope Francis has laid out a map that will help us to understand the journey he is currently on and how we can join him in that journey. As we begin every liturgical procession we announce: Procedamus in Pace! "Let us proceed in place."
Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator