There are Christians whose lives seem like Lent without Easter (Let's see what the Spanish says here "Hay cristianos cuya opción parece ser la de
una Cuaresma sin Pascua. Pero reconozco que la
alegría no se vive del mismo modo en todas las
etapas y circunstancias de la vida" The Spanish more literally says something like: There are Christians whose option seems to be a Lent without Easter. But I recognize that they joy would not live the same mode in all the stages and circumstances of the life....There are some people that are called to live their lives as penance for whatever reason, and we should not demean them for this...I think seem is trying to undercut the point that's being made in this part of the text)...The thing about joy is that it is not an emotional super high where everything's all perfect all the time...Joy is a state of being, a fruit of the Holy Spirit, but it doesn't mean emotional super high...That is to say, someone can seem down, and yet at the same time be joyous...Introverted personalities can probably understand where I'm coming from better) . I realize of course that joy is not expressed the same way at all times in life, especially at moments of great difficulty. Joy adapts and changes (I wouldn't say joy adapts or changes as God does not change, and if Joy is a fruit of the Holy Spirit, it's an aspect of God in us..rather, I'd say our joy is constant, but our expressions always change), but it always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty that, when everything is said and done, we are infinitely loved. I understand the grief of people who have to endure great suffering (Some of us really endure it for His sake), yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of faith slow- ly revive as a quiet yet firm trust (Joy is constant, the expression, not so much), even amid the greatest distress: “My soul is bereft of peace; I have forgotten what happiness is... But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies nev- er come to an end; they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness... It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (Lam 3:17, 21-23, 26). (Happiness is temporary, Joy is permanent)
7. Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be
happy if a thousand conditions were met (Well, again, happiness is temporary, joy is permanent). To some extent this is because our “technological
society has succeeded in multiplying occasions
of pleasure (or some would call this hedonism), yet has found it very difficult to engender joy (Well of course, because things of this world do not bring joy in the strict sense) ”.2 I can say that the most beautiful
and natural expressions of joy which I have seen
in my life were in poor people who had little to
hold on to (They are not bound to the gods of materialism). I also think of the real joy shown
by others who, even amid pressing professional
obligations, were able to preserve, in detachment
and simplicity, a heart full of faith. In their own
way, all these instances of joy flow from the infinite love of God, who has revealed himself to
us in Jesus Christ. I never tire of repeating those
words of Benedict XVI which take us to the very
heart of the Gospel: “Being a Christian is not the
result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the
encounter with an event, a person, which gives
life a new horizon and a decisive direction” (Amen).3
8. Thanks solely to this encounter or renewed encounter – with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption (You can bet the temptations are there).
We become fully human when we become more
than human (Grace transforms us unto like Him, something that we can't do by ourselves), when we let God bring us beyond
ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of
our being. Here we find the source and inspiration of all our efforts at evangelization. For if
we have received the love which restores mean-
8
ing to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? (Well, by our own selfishness wanting things for ourselves...Something that extroverts do not seem to get about those of us that are introverted, our natural tendency is to keep things interior...If people want to know something, by all means let them ask, but we're not going to go out and proclaim "I'm happier than you, nah nah nah, etc." )
life is attained and matures in the measure that it is offered up in order to give life to others. This is certainly what mission means (Well, literally mission means sent from the Latin...you might recognize Ite missa est :p)...doesn't necessarily giving life to others...per se)”.5 Consequently, an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! (But what if they actually did come back from a funeral and given the opportunity to evangelize...often the funeral Liturgy is a chance to evangelize lapsed Catholics)....LEt us look at the Spanish text again, and re-translate...Por consiguiente, un evangelizador no debería tener permanentemente cara de funeral....A better translation: For consequence, an evangelizer should not have permanently face of a funeral...Now this translation makes more sense...to say someone shouldn't have a face of a funeral, this is true, it would be difficult (not impossible) to reach someone with a depressed face)
Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, that “delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow... And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ”.6 (More translation issues: Recobremos y acrecentemos el fervor, «la dulce y confortadora alegría de evangelizar, incluso cuando hay que sembrar entre lágrimas [...] Y ojalá el mundo actual —que busca a veces con angustia, a ve- ces con esperanza— pueda así recibir la Buena Nueva, no a través de evangelizadores tristes y desalentados, impacientes o ansiosos, sino a través de ministros del Evangelio, cuya vida irradia el fervor de quienes han recibido, ante todo en sí mismos, la alegría de Cristo ».6...Better translated: We recover and create the fervor..The sweet and comforting of to evangelize, including when there which to sow enter tears. And actually, the world actual, which looks to sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, can receive also the Good News not through evangelizers sad and desolate, or impatient, but through ministers of the Gospel, whose lives radiate the fervor who have received before all in themselves, the joy of Christ...The literal translation of these words tends to make me a bit more sense. That is to say, sure we should be joys and our lives should radiate such joy....but again, Joy is permanent, and not something that is expressed in an emotional super high...For sure there are cultural differences as to expressions, but the Roman way tends to be a bit more solemn and serious. The Byzantine way tends to be ornate with beauty....each must find their comfort zone....and work from it...While we're sometimes called to go outside of our comfort zones, God equips us with the grace to do what is necessary. )
More commentary tomorrow or within the coming days...this is a huge document which I'm trying to understand paragraph by paragraph, and as you can see, some of the nuances are lost in translation....seriously, the Vatican needs a better Spanish to English translator...I offer my services for much less than necessary (as long as I can get private Masses with the Emeritus daily :p))
-
2 Ibid. 8: AAS 67 (1975), 292.
-
3 Encyclical Letter Deus Caritas Est (25 December 2005),
8
ing to our lives, how can we fail to share that love with others? (Well, by our own selfishness wanting things for ourselves...Something that extroverts do not seem to get about those of us that are introverted, our natural tendency is to keep things interior...If people want to know something, by all means let them ask, but we're not going to go out and proclaim "I'm happier than you, nah nah nah, etc." )
II. The delightful And comforting joy of
evangelizing
9. Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any per- son who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others (Epic translation fail: Here's the Spanish: El bien siempre tiende a comunicarse. Toda
experiencia auténtica de verdad y de belleza busca
por sí misma su expansión, y cualquier persona
que viva una profunda liberación adquiere mayor
sensibilidad ante las necesidades de los demás... My translation: The good always tends to communicate itself. All experience authentic of truth and of beauty searches by itself its expansion and that any person that lives a profound liberation aquires greater sensibility before the necesities of the others....This is very much true, in the words of our dear Emeritus Pope "The Truth itself is attractive." We don't need to dress the Truth up in a fancy package, as all people sincerely desire the Truth...The 2nd half of the statement, that a person aquires greater sensibility before the necesitities of others...that is to say Love of God, should transform to love of neighbor, but serving God in of itself is good thing, though we should be attentive towards others). As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good (The Spanish text at this point says: Por eso, quien quiera vivir con dignidad y plenitud no tiene otro camino más que reconocer al otro y buscar su bien. My translation: Therefore, who wants to live with dignity and plentitud does not have other way more than to recognize the other and look for your good...To say though that good is dependent on recognition kind of to me seems a bit trivial....What if the other does not wish to be recognized? What if the other is happy where they are? Well, this most certainly doesn't mean we don't try to evangelize and teach them the Truth of the Faith, but..there are those that desire to be hidden...and for good reason...;). In this regard, several sayings of Saint Paul will not surprise us: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14); “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
10. The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane, but with no less intensity: (Another translation fail sponsored by the Vatican: The Spanish says: La propuesta es vivir en un nivel superior, pero no con menor intensidad, which is of course translated: The proposal is to live in a level superior, but not with less intensity...Honestly, who's translating this? Sigh, but I'll be perfectly honest, I have zero clue what's going on with this sentence...less intensity? Is there any place where the Gospel is being intensely lived? (I speak generally)...really?):
“Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others...(The Spanish text says: La vida se acrecienta dándola y se debilita en el aislamiento y la comodidad. De hecho, los que más disfrutan de la vida son los que dejan la seguridad de la orilla y se apasionan en la misión de comunicar vida a los demás...I'd translate it slightly differently...The giving life grows and is debilitated in isolation and the comfort, Of fact, they enjoy life more be those who leave the security of the shore and know passion in the mission of to communicate life to the others....But again, there are those that thrive in isolation...most introverts qualify under this...While certainly there are times of lonliness being in isolation, in general, those of us that look inward in our understanding of the universe...wouldn't agree with this statement...I barely get excited about speaking, let alone get excited about anything....)
”.4 When the Church summons Christians to take up the task of evangelization, she is simply pointing to the source of authentic personal fulfilment. For “here we discover a profound law of reality: that
4 fIfTh generAl conference of The lATIn AmerIcAn And cArIbbeAn bIshops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 360.
9. Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any per- son who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others (Epic translation fail: Here's the Spanish: El bien siempre tiende a comunicarse. Toda
experiencia auténtica de verdad y de belleza busca
por sí misma su expansión, y cualquier persona
que viva una profunda liberación adquiere mayor
sensibilidad ante las necesidades de los demás... My translation: The good always tends to communicate itself. All experience authentic of truth and of beauty searches by itself its expansion and that any person that lives a profound liberation aquires greater sensibility before the necesities of the others....This is very much true, in the words of our dear Emeritus Pope "The Truth itself is attractive." We don't need to dress the Truth up in a fancy package, as all people sincerely desire the Truth...The 2nd half of the statement, that a person aquires greater sensibility before the necesitities of others...that is to say Love of God, should transform to love of neighbor, but serving God in of itself is good thing, though we should be attentive towards others). As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good (The Spanish text at this point says: Por eso, quien quiera vivir con dignidad y plenitud no tiene otro camino más que reconocer al otro y buscar su bien. My translation: Therefore, who wants to live with dignity and plentitud does not have other way more than to recognize the other and look for your good...To say though that good is dependent on recognition kind of to me seems a bit trivial....What if the other does not wish to be recognized? What if the other is happy where they are? Well, this most certainly doesn't mean we don't try to evangelize and teach them the Truth of the Faith, but..there are those that desire to be hidden...and for good reason...;). In this regard, several sayings of Saint Paul will not surprise us: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14); “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).
10. The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane, but with no less intensity: (Another translation fail sponsored by the Vatican: The Spanish says: La propuesta es vivir en un nivel superior, pero no con menor intensidad, which is of course translated: The proposal is to live in a level superior, but not with less intensity...Honestly, who's translating this? Sigh, but I'll be perfectly honest, I have zero clue what's going on with this sentence...less intensity? Is there any place where the Gospel is being intensely lived? (I speak generally)...really?):
“Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of communicating life to others...(The Spanish text says: La vida se acrecienta dándola y se debilita en el aislamiento y la comodidad. De hecho, los que más disfrutan de la vida son los que dejan la seguridad de la orilla y se apasionan en la misión de comunicar vida a los demás...I'd translate it slightly differently...The giving life grows and is debilitated in isolation and the comfort, Of fact, they enjoy life more be those who leave the security of the shore and know passion in the mission of to communicate life to the others....But again, there are those that thrive in isolation...most introverts qualify under this...While certainly there are times of lonliness being in isolation, in general, those of us that look inward in our understanding of the universe...wouldn't agree with this statement...I barely get excited about speaking, let alone get excited about anything....)
”.4 When the Church summons Christians to take up the task of evangelization, she is simply pointing to the source of authentic personal fulfilment. For “here we discover a profound law of reality: that
4 fIfTh generAl conference of The lATIn AmerIcAn And cArIbbeAn bIshops, Aparecida Document, 29 June 2007, 360.
9
life is attained and matures in the measure that it is offered up in order to give life to others. This is certainly what mission means (Well, literally mission means sent from the Latin...you might recognize Ite missa est :p)...doesn't necessarily giving life to others...per se)”.5 Consequently, an evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! (But what if they actually did come back from a funeral and given the opportunity to evangelize...often the funeral Liturgy is a chance to evangelize lapsed Catholics)....LEt us look at the Spanish text again, and re-translate...Por consiguiente, un evangelizador no debería tener permanentemente cara de funeral....A better translation: For consequence, an evangelizer should not have permanently face of a funeral...Now this translation makes more sense...to say someone shouldn't have a face of a funeral, this is true, it would be difficult (not impossible) to reach someone with a depressed face)
Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, that “delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow... And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, discouraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervour, who have first received the joy of Christ”.6 (More translation issues: Recobremos y acrecentemos el fervor, «la dulce y confortadora alegría de evangelizar, incluso cuando hay que sembrar entre lágrimas [...] Y ojalá el mundo actual —que busca a veces con angustia, a ve- ces con esperanza— pueda así recibir la Buena Nueva, no a través de evangelizadores tristes y desalentados, impacientes o ansiosos, sino a través de ministros del Evangelio, cuya vida irradia el fervor de quienes han recibido, ante todo en sí mismos, la alegría de Cristo ».6...Better translated: We recover and create the fervor..The sweet and comforting of to evangelize, including when there which to sow enter tears. And actually, the world actual, which looks to sometimes with anguish, sometimes with hope, can receive also the Good News not through evangelizers sad and desolate, or impatient, but through ministers of the Gospel, whose lives radiate the fervor who have received before all in themselves, the joy of Christ...The literal translation of these words tends to make me a bit more sense. That is to say, sure we should be joys and our lives should radiate such joy....but again, Joy is permanent, and not something that is expressed in an emotional super high...For sure there are cultural differences as to expressions, but the Roman way tends to be a bit more solemn and serious. The Byzantine way tends to be ornate with beauty....each must find their comfort zone....and work from it...While we're sometimes called to go outside of our comfort zones, God equips us with the grace to do what is necessary. )
More commentary tomorrow or within the coming days...this is a huge document which I'm trying to understand paragraph by paragraph, and as you can see, some of the nuances are lost in translation....seriously, the Vatican needs a better Spanish to English translator...I offer my services for much less than necessary (as long as I can get private Masses with the Emeritus daily :p))
