The Heart of the Gospel

In the six paragraphs under the section entitled "From the heart of the Gospel," Pope Francis attempts to explain the content of his dream. He has called us to be a missionary church, to go beyond our brick and mortar worship spaces into the world preaching the Gospel. He cautions that our preaching can be misunderstood by the media which usually tries to focus on "hot button issues." Most stories that form the content of the evening news are no more than three to five minutes worth of reporting. Consequently, the news people try to focus our attention on those areas that will catch and capture our attention.

When speaking of the Gospel, that kind of reporting does a great disservice to our evangelizing efforts. We all know what the so-called hot button issues are: abortion on demand, euthanasia, homosexual marriage, contraception, the ordination of women, sexual abuse of minors or vulnerable adults, etc. There is no question what the Church teaches on any of these things. The Pope, however, wishes us to concentrate on the core or heart of the Gospel. He writes: When we adopt a pastoral goal and a missionary style which would actually reach everyone without exception or exclusion, the message has to concentrate on the essentials, on what is most beautiful, most grand, most appealing and at the same time most necessary. The message is simplified, while losing none of its depth and truth, and thus becomes all the more forceful and convincing (Evangelii Gaudium, 35).

In speaking of the core or heart of the Gospel, he goes on to say: What counts above all else is faith working through love (Gal 5:6). Works of love directed to one's neighbor are the most perfect external manifestation of the interior grace of the Spirit: The foundation of the New Law is in the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is manifested in the faith which works through love (Evangelii Gaudium, 37).

It is from this core that the teachings of the Church are formed. St. Paul speaks of the works of the flesh and the works of the spirit. As we pore over his writings, it becomes evident that the works of the flesh are anything that leads us away from God while the works of the spirit are anything that leads us toward God. St. Paul also teaches us that three things shall last: faith, hope, and love. He goes on to say that the greatest of these is love. So Pope Francis correctly and powerfully illustrates that we must approach the world with works of love directed toward our neighbors.

The Pope has been criticized because he doesn't raise the issues, the hot-button issues that have become the focus of modern media when reporting about the Church. In fact, he has mentioned these issues. However, far more prevalent in his preaching is this core issue of the Gospel. God forgives because God loves. God is the embodiment of compassion and mercy because God is love. This is, in fact, the likeness of God, the likeness in which we have been created, saved, redeemed, blessed and inspired. When we live lives filled with the works of love and direct that love toward all people, especially those with whom we disagree, then we will be preaching an authentic Gospel.

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator