By Jean Welch Hill–
In his apostolic exhortation, Gaudete Et Exsultate, Pope Francis reminds us of St. John Paul II’s observation that “If we truly start out anew from contemplation of Christ, we must learn to see him especially in the faces of those with whom he himself wished to be identified.”
This reminder is an important one, especially now when Catholics are drawing arbitrary lines amongst ourselves; lines between “true” and not-so-true Catholics, liberal vs. conservative Catholics, pre vs. post-Vatican II Catholics. What Pope Francis and St. John Paul II seem to be telling us is that men create these lines that do little more than emphasize one aspect of a person’s personality over all others. The popes might accept this tendency in us, if the aspect we highlighted was our shared humanity, rather than our different points of view.
So who did Jesus seek to be identified with? Everyone. Prostitutes and tax collectors, the sick and poor, the downtrodden and the triumphant, friends, fishermen, family, enemies, soldiers, anyone who hungered, thirsted, suffered or was imprisoned. I.e., everyone. So whom should modern Catholics accept into their midst, invite to their pews, break bread with? All those same people who are hungry, thirsty, suffering. It isn’t up to us to decide if they hunger or thirst for the “correct” things, sing the “correct” way, pray the “correct” way, support the right causes or show the right devotion. It is merely up to us to ask ourselves if Jesus would care for this person. Since that answer is always going to be yes, our path is clear—we must treat each person as an equal partner with us in God’s creation.
Once we embrace our call to treat everyone as a beloved child of our common Father, our lives must change. Pope Francis explains it best in the Exhortation, “We cannot uphold an ideal of holiness that would ignore injustice in a world where some revel, spend with abandon and live only for the latest consumer goods, even as others look on from afar, living their lives in abject poverty.” In short, we must become engaged in the myriad issues that impact human life and dignity, from abortion and euthanasia, to immigration, poverty and war.
As Pope Francis further reminds us, “we cannot forget that the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others. …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 concern for our brothers and sisters.”
Contemplate Christ, build the Kingdom of God, change the world, my friends.
