Crusade Meditations

SUMMER 2018

The Priest: Witness to the Joy of the Gospel

In our world and culture today, we see an emptiness, a sadness, a despair which drives people and especially our youth to seek love and happiness in ways which only deepen their despondency: in pleasure, in consumerism, in the "quick fix" of addictions, in useless games, texting and the superficiality of social media among many other things. So many today have lost or have never known the joy of the Gospel, the truly good news that GOD became man and lived among us, He forgives us and wants to raise us up to His Kingdom, a Kingdom of love and communion with the Father. Only in God will man find the true meaning of his life and his happiness, yet how shall this message be known if there is no one to preach? And how can they accept the message unless it is accompanied by the witness of a life on fire with Christ. If one is not on fire for Christ, the Holy Spirit's anointing will not really divinize and all talk about tenderness, mercy and compassion will only amount to a secular humanism empty of divine power and grace.

Pope Francis writes, "The People of God need to be guided by pastors whose lives are spent in service to the Gospel" (November 27, 2016). A true pastor knows that the "truth" of the Gospel is not something abstract; it is a truth for life in concrete situations, in the everyday life of man. He who preaches the Gospel must therefore be near to his flock, that men may experience in and through him the closeness of Jesus, the merciful gaze and forgiveness of Jesus, the acceptance and encouragement of Jesus in concrete situations. How many of us have experienced the joy and consolation of a word of a priest in a critical moment, a word of advice or encouragement, a word of compassion or understanding, a word that lifted us up so that we saw now with the eyes of faith – and knew that this word came from the Heart of Jesus, just for me! And then joy filled our hearts, our love and commitment to God was renewed, and we stood above the vacillations of life once again.

Past Crusade Meditations