Evangelii Gaudium I: A Joy Ever New, A Joy which is Shared
Well, I'm moving slowly into Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation on Evangelization and find the introduction comfortingly familiar. The pope's words reinforce what I have often said when I was sidewalk counseling outside abortion mills. There is nothing too big for Jesus. He is always there with outstretched arms, but He never forces our free will. If we walk away from Him He will not drag us kicking and screaming back. He simply waits, like the father of the prodigal son, for us to "come to our senses."
"[W]henever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms....Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. No one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by this boundless and unfailing love." 3
