Gaudete et Exsultate (Our Sunday Visitor)

Pope Francis has been pope for five years now, and given how old he was when he was elected, it is an impressive feat in and of itself. In that time, he has preached mercy and implored us to tend to the neglected and poor of the world. Unlike John Paul II and Benedict XVI before him, Pope Francis has not written as much as his predecessors. He has only issued two Encyclicals and Three Apostolic Exhortations in that time. Today, I would like to tell you about his third Apostolic Exhortation entitled Gaudete et Exsultate. I will not be offering a review, as who am I to judge the Pope's writings? Our Sunday Visitor published this in a paperback format that spans 83 pages and is divided into five chapters:

1. The Call to Holiness
2. Two Subtle Enemies of Holiness
3. In the Light of the Master
4. Signs of Holiness in Today's World
5. Spiritual Combat, Vigilance and Discernment

The book begins with a call to be saints and live a life of holiness in our day-to-day lives. He speaks of the process of sainthood and talks about the likes of Blessed Maria Gabriella Sagheddu and Saint Teresa Benedicta of the Cross. This leads him to again calling us to live a life of holiness and be saints in our daily interactions with others. He then tells us about the two enemies to holiness - Gnosticism and Pelagianism. Both of these were heresies in the early times of Christianity but are still rearing their ugly heads centuries later. One elevated knowledge to an unhealthy degree, and the other glorified personal effort as a path to salvation. Chapter Three looks at the teachings of Jesus, primarily the Beatitudes as a counter-cultural way Christians should be living their lives. The last two chapters focus on how we should live our lives loving God and our neighbor and spiritual warfare, because it is going to be a battle every day to live the life we are called to live, and we need to be prepared for that.

This book was provided to me for free by Our Sunday Visitor.