More synod follow up from Fr. Longenecker

Sensible stuff:

Last week a priest friend admitted to me that he finds Pope Francis to be “an enigma.” This is because Pope Francis, in his own people-centered ministry, reveals to the world how very complicated and difficult it is to live out the joy of the gospel. The Catholic Church sets out the dogmas, doctrine, and disciplines of the faith very clearly. She establishes the rule, regulations, and rubrics of religion, but to apply them in real life is a constant challenge. The rules and doctrines are necessary, but they are the map for the journey, they are not the journey itself. The rules promote the love of Christ in the world, but love, like art, is messy, unpredictable, and alive.

It is Francis’s ability to take some risks and plunge into the abundant unpredictability of life that is the mark of his ministry and the point of his papacy. His words on the family can also be applied to the whole enterprise of attempting to live out the Catholic faith in the world. To live the gospel of joy one has to take time to encounter God, to “waste time” in prayer, in worship, in ministry and mission.

Pope Francis is saying to the church and to the world, “The family and the Faith are not easy. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get to work. Let’s make a mess if we have to, so that we can live the family and the faith full of life, love, abundance and joy.”