Continuing the theme of conversion through life’s obstacles, we read:
18. In this way, led by God’s grace, we shape by many small gestures the holiness God has willed for us, not as men and women sufficient unto ourselves but rather “as good stewards of the manifold grace of God” (1 Pet 4:10). The New Zealand bishops rightly teach us that we are capable of loving with the Lord’s unconditional love, because the risen Lord shares his powerful life with our fragile lives:
“His love set no limits and, once given, was never taken back. It was unconditional and remained faithful. To love like that is not easy because we are often so weak. But just to try to love as Christ loved us shows that Christ shares his own risen life with us. In this way, our lives demonstrate his power at work – even in the midst of human weakness”. [New Zealand Catholic Bishops’ Conference, Healing Love, 1 January 1988]
Pope Francis and/or his researchers have looked far and wide among the world’s bishops, especially at the peripheries, to find witness for fruitful teaching for the wider Church. This is traditionally a Roman thing, the absorption of the useful for the benefit of society, even if it comes from outside expected sources. A return to this approach is very laudable for modern Roman Catholicism.
You can check the full document Gaudete et Exsultate on the Vatican website.
Catholic Sensibility 