Pope Francis takes a stab at the theme, A Church open to renewal. I think it’s safe to say for the most part, we’re not really. But here and there, there’s hope.
35. Let us ask the Lord to free the Church from those who would make her grow old, encase her in the past, hold her back or keep her at a standstill.
Front porch siblings will complain about the “but …” I think it illustrates a clear perception that extreme thinking is usually a problem, and that steering to the middle is the most mature. We can still get surprised by keeping people to one side and the other:
But let us also ask him to free her from another temptation: that of thinking she is young because she accepts everything the world offers her, thinking that she is renewed because she sets her message aside and acts like everybody else. No! The Church is young when she is herself, when she receives ever anew the strength born of God’s word, the Eucharist, and the daily presence of Christ and the power of his Spirit in our lives. The Church is young when she shows herself capable of constantly returning to her source.
Perhaps better phrased than “the middle” is to keep focused on the source, Christ and the sacraments. Any comments?
Remember to check Pope Francis’ Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation on this link at the Vatican site.
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