Fr. James Mallon on Pope Francis

If you think of evangelization as the Church's way of getting people to become Catholic, you would be wrong.

The goal of evangelization is to invite those who do not know Jesus, to come and meet him. Jesus is the head of the Church, so it makes sense that the invitation to meet him leads to his Church.

I'd like to share with you a short video by Fr. James Mallon (Divine Renovation) which I really like.  (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FpB-itQl9XY)

Fr. Mallon's work was inspired by Pope Francis' body of writing (which he details in the video), so it is particularly fitting that he reflects on the Pope's work this week.

He caught my attention in this video, when he said:

"Our ministry, is fundamentally, a call, an invitation for people in the church to look outward, it's not about inviting people outside of the church to look inwards."

Fr. Mallon refers to Pope Francis' thought, saying, "Unless the church is an outward facing church, it becomes sick, self-referential, in itself, of itself, for itself. 

Formation and learning is important, but my guess is that many of us are more prepared than we realize to look outward. All of us have the capacity to respond lovingly and joyfully to those we meet, like Pope Francis did.

What are we waiting for?

Janet Cassidy
Email me at:  jmctm2@gmail.com

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