Reminders for the New Year

Many churches distributed the Catholic Extension Calendar on New Year's Day this year.  A beautifully illustrated calendar, it contains excerpts from the first encyclical of Pope Francis:  The Joy of the Gospel.

Not everyone got a copy this year; our church attendance is running larger this year than last.  So, before I give my copy to a good friend, I thought I'd capture the excerpts here, for myself and for others:

Jesus, the Evangelizer par excellence and The Gospel in person, identifies especially with the little ones.  This reminds us Christians that we are called to care for the vulnerable of the earth.

God's Word, listened to and celebrated, above all in the Eucharist, nourishes and inwardly strengthens Christians, enabling them to offer an authentic witness to the Gospel in daily life.

An attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterize the dialogue with the followers of non-Christian religions.

John Paul II asked us to recognize that "there must be no lessening of the impetus to preach the Gospel" to those who are far from Christ, "because this is the first task of the Church."

Mother of the living Gospel, wellspring of happiness for God's little ones, pray for us.

The joy of the Gospel is such that it cannot be taken away from us by anyone or anything.

Evangelization aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and God's plan for his or her life.

The rise and growth of associations and movements mostly made up of young people can be seen as the work of the Holy Spirit, who blazes new trails to meet their expectations and their search for a deep spirituality and a more real sense of belonging.

Faith also means believing in God, believing that He truly loves us, that He is alive, that He is mysteriously capable of intervening.

I want a church that is poor and for the poor.  They have much to teach us.  Not only do they share in the sensus fidei, but in their difficulties, they know the suffering Christ.  We need to let ourselves be evangelized by them.

Wherever there is life, fervor, and a desire to bring Christ to others, genuine vocations will arise.

True faith in the incarnate Son of God is inseparable from self-giving, from membership in the community, from service, from reconciliation with others.  The Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to the revolution of tenderness.