The Contagious Joy of the Gospel
Pope Francis welcomed over 500,000 wet pilgrims at Belonia Park with these words:
To say that Jesus is alive means to rekindle our enthusiasm in following him, to renew our passionate desire to be his disciples. What better opportunity to renew our friendship with Jesus than by building friendships among yourselves! What better way to build our friendship with Jesus than by sharing him with others! What better way to experience the contagious joy of the Gospel than by striving to bring the Good News to all kinds of painful and difficult situations!
World Youth Day offered a very intentional time to renew friendship with Jesus by building friendships with others. Every day life can be like that too. It does not really take a trip around the world to be intentional about our faith, at least, it should not. Sometimes we fail to make building our friendships a priority in daily life. We get lost in the hustle and bustle of things to do, check lists, work, home work, parenting and other tasks that consume our lives.
And sometimes we forget to bring the contagious joy of the Gospel with us to situations. Things can be overwhelming and difficult. Life can throw us a curve ball. People get sick, die, hurt themselves and others. In these moments we must be most intentional about bringing the love and mercy, and yes, contagious joy of the Gospel with us.
Today's Challenge:
Take time to intentionally spend with a friend - and search for Christ in that moment.
Reflection Questions:
1. What gets in the way of my spending quality time with others
2. How can I be intentional about looking for Christ in moments with friends?
3. How am I called to bring the contagious joy of the Gospel to others?