Transcript The Joy of the Gospel

The Francis Effect:
His Theology of Mission
Rev Noel Connolly SSC
Head of Mission & Culture
The Broken Bay Institute
Conjoint Lecturer, School of Humanities & Social Science
The University of Newcastle
The Joy of the Gospel
 I.
A joyful, positive message
 II.
A warm & beautiful Church
 III. A missionary Church
 IV. A merciful, involved Church
 V.
A poor Church serving the poor
 VI. A discerning, pilgrim Church
I.
A joyful, positive message
 An inspiring vision rather than a critique of the world
 A joy ever new, a joy ever shared. #1
 “A sinner” who has experienced the healing love of
Christ
 And wants to share this
 Francis confessed that "perhaps we have reduced our
way of speaking about mystery to rational
explanations, but for ordinary people the mystery
enters through the heart." This leads him to
understand the missionary role of the church not as
winning an argument but as offering something
beautiful. “Only the beauty of God can attract.”
II.
A warm, beautiful Church that
can dialogue
 We need a church unafraid of going forth into their
night. We need a church capable of meeting them on
their way. We need a church capable of entering into
their conversation.
 "Unless we train ministers capable of warming people's
hearts, of walking with them in the night, of dialoguing
with their hopes and disappointments, of mending
their brokenness, what hope can we have for our
present and future journey?"
 We need to know and show joy
III. A missionary message
 Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own
interests and concerns, there is no longer room for
others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer
heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the
desire to do good fades. #2
 “Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in
isolation and comfort.”. #10
 I prefer a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty
because it has been out on the streets, rather than a
Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from
clinging to its own security. #49
IV. A merciful, involved church
 What “the church needs most today is the ability to heal wounds and to
warm the hearts of the faithful; it needs nearness, proximity. I see the
church as a field hospital after battle.”
 The Church must be a place of mercy freely given, where everyone can
feel welcomed, loved, forgiven and encouraged to live the good life of the
Gospel. #114
 The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide
open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should
always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there
looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door. …. This is especially
true of the sacrament which is itself “the door”: baptism. The Eucharist,
although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect
but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak. #47
For Jesus mercy takes precedence
over holiness
 Jesus doesn’t demand formal rites of repentance
 Often he just dines with “sinners”, touches or is
touched by them
 He understands that those who lack everything are
also condemned to live in shame without honour and
dignity
 This does not mean that commandments are
unimportant, but spiritual progress takes time and
right now they need acceptance, love and confidence
 Grace comes before judgement in the reign of God
V.
A poor Church that serves the
poor
 Reading the Scriptures also makes it clear that the Gospel is not merely about our
personal relationship with God. #180
 To evangelize is to make the kingdom of God present in our world. Yet “any partial
or fragmentary definition which attempts to render the reality of evangelization in
all its richness, complexity and dynamism does so only at the risk of impoverishing
it and even of distorting it” #176
 It is essential to draw near to new forms of poverty and vulnerability, in which we
are called to recognize the suffering Christ….. I think of the homeless, the addicted,
refugees, indigenous peoples, the elderly who are increasingly isolated and
abandoned, and many others. #210
 Special place for the poor …it means working to eliminate the structural causes of
poverty and to promote the integral development of the poor. #188
VI. A discerning, pilgrim Church
 Deus semper major
 Pilgrim church always searching, crossing frontiers &
journeying to the outskirts to find God in all things
 Respecting others and befriending the world
 We will need to develop skills of discernment
 Discernment done in consolation and not out of fear
Questions for Reflection
Are we able to share the joy/hope that is
within us?
How can we present a warmer, more merciful
and beautiful image of Church?