20131204
Journal: December 4, 2013
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Acceptance              Betterment              Commerce              Death              Happiness              Morality
Pope Francis On Capitalism              Pope Francis On Family            Pope Francis On Women's Rights

This was a Pope Francis day; quotes from Apostolic Exhortation, Pope Francis, 2013; my comments follow quotes

"We are far from the so-called “end of history”, since the conditions for a sustainable and peaceful development have not yet been adequately articulated and realized." (¶ 59)

Perhaps the "45% of the World's Defense Budget" could be used for food, to advance the pope's mission to lead to acceptance of minimal food and shelter to enable full spiritual life. I define poverty as "essentials for life" rather than in term of the average income.

"Isolation, which is a version of immanentism, can find expression in a false autonomy which has no place for God. But in the realm of religion it can also take the form of a spiritual consumerism tailored to one’s own unhealthy individualism. The return to the sacred and the quest for spirituality which mark our own time are ambiguous phenomena. Today, our challenge is not so much atheism as the need to respond adequately to many people’s thirst for God, lest they try to satisfy it with alienating solutions or with a disembodied Jesus who demands nothing of us with regard to others. Unless these people find in the Church a spirituality which can offer healing and liberation, and fill them with life and peace, while at the same time summoning them to fraternal communion and missionary fruitfulness, they will end up by being taken in by solutions which neither make life truly human nor give glory to God." (¶ 89)

Commerce: I suspect I could be considered an "immanentist", even an isolationist. I suspect you are mostly a "transcendentalist", but whether God is here or there, both agree, God is. You, my liege, call for evangelical spread of the word of God, as a good disciple of the Lord; but not all of us are such dedicated disciples as the clergy. Our task is to live the life of the Lord, spreading the word by the example of our life. Occasionally telling others in our daily conversations about the joy of life, about the Lord, may be appropriate, but not often because such words are usually unnecessary if the example is true. If the neighbors ask, answer, don't preach, be brief rather than lecture, smile rather than frown. I have read your wonderful "Exhortation" and you tear at my heart with your accuracy and depth of sorrow in describing de-humanizing consequences of our materialist-finance driven world. Notwithstanding, I would have word with thee about several items left unsaid and several said that confuse me.

"Unless these people find in the Church a spirituality …." (¶ 89)

I hope you mean by "Church" our church, not your church; the church of humanity, not just the church of Rome. We do all listen to you, and we do all have these common, increasingly common, problems you so artfully describe. Related;

"We see then that the task of evangelization operates within the limits of language and of circumstances …. " (¶ 45)


Yes, my liege, but I hope you mean by evangelism, living according to the Gospels, rather than preaching about it. I note that your "Exhortation" is directed to other clergy like yourself who have chosen to lead and teach. Not all of us are such dedicated disciples. The Gospels have somewhat different requirements for dedicated disciples (e.g. living as mendicants) and for others less inclined to total dedcation. Many of us others look to you for spiritual guidance as well, not just Catholic laity, or even Christian laity, but Buddhists, Confucians, and, well ….. everyone. You speak to the world, most of us don't.

Happiness           Morality: So for us, living according to the Gospels is best summarized in the Sermon on the Mount and its often repeated ideas of forgiveness of others rather than punishment, acceptance of their choices as full human beings created, like everyone, in the image of God. Some say it's all boiled down in the Great Commandments. This life of not harming others and not judging others leads, in my reading of the red words, to peace in life now and, perhaps, heaven later.

Death: Many have trouble with the promise of rewards in the afterlife, so they often turn to "real" material life for rewards. Competing with medical technology and material comforts is hard, especially if getting into heaven requires suffering now to get rewards after you die. I think the Gospels say you can have heaven here and now; "Be ye therefore perfect, like your Father in heaven". The Gospels are a big "If-Then" statement; to paraphrase, IF - "I can come like an thief in the night". THEN - "Are you ready?"

Betterment: Many are not ready. They feel, "There is too much left to do, including more good to perform, more evil to defeat, more wealth to create, or just more moments of the 'joy de vivre'. I think this misses Jesus' whole point; and this is the word I would have with thee.

Desire to change the world, desire for a "better" world causes so much of the world's grief by providing false hope that is often never be met. Jesus said Caesar's world will always have problems, because the moral basis is enhancement of power and its surrogate, wealth. Those that are good at politics will win, at least temporarily, as did Dante Geulph family in 1300 before the Blacks exiled him.

"It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction” (¶ 15)".

Acceptance So what is there in the church that attracts? As you skillfully describe, the joy of life in Christ. How is that life achieved? By mind and thought and feeling, none of which need more than about 20 calories per kilogram. "Developed" countries use about 100 that "life" energy, and to what end? Long life? Not really, most increase in average life span is due to reduced infant mortality which is mostly due to teaching mothers to wash before breast feeding babies with hands dirty after wiping defecation. Our evangelical task is to live the life Jesus recommends. Occasionally telling others in our daily conversations about the joy of life in Jesus, about the Lord, may be appropriate. Often it is the joy we emanate that makes words unnecessary. If the example is true, the neighbor will ask about the joy (he will ask about false joy too, as when smiles mask manipulative motives). Answer, don't preach, be brief rather than lecture; smile rather than frown; talk of heaven on earth not of hell; talk of peace to be had now rather than after death; talk of accepting God's world rather than improving it; thank God for a perfect world rather than curse God for an imperfect world.