A Blooming
Band of Joyful
Missionary
Disciples
How would you respond if Jesus appeared and spoke right to you:
“I want to live through you today.”
Fr. Patrick Gonyeau
L
ike a great red wine aging with beauty, Evangelii
Gaudium, The Joy of the Gospel, continues to inspire
the heart, mind, and imagination of the Church, and
for good reason! A transcendently majestic chord of hope for
the New Evangelization rings out throughout this apostolic
exhortation by Pope Francis, published in 2013.
From its opening lines calling the Church
to embark upon a new chapter of evangeliza-
tion marked by the joy of the gospel (known
through encountering Jesus), to the closing
chapter (“Spirit-filled Evangelizers”) that
leaves readers riveted, this document is serv-
ing as Holy Spirit imbued rocket fuel for any tak-
ers interested in truly embarking on the New
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Evangelization, personally and communally.
One of the eager recipients of this rocket
fuel has been the Archdiocese of Detroit,
under the leadership of Archbishop Allen
H. Vigneron.
On the heels of November’s Synod 16,
in a city on the rise, home to the anointed
Sacred Heart Major Seminary, in the heart
Sacred Heart Major Seminary | Mosaic | Spring 2017
of an archdiocese whose humble yet bold
chief shepherd has called for a total DNA
change in the Church from maintenance to
mission, the pump is being primed for God’s
glory to be manifested in new splendor, as
the archdiocese rises up with the true love,
vigor, and devotion of a joyful band of mis-
sionary disciples.
Best of all, we’re not just dreaming and
talking in theory. The renewal has already
begun. The good Lord wants his Church to
hear, “Keep coming, dig in and give me your
whole heart, striving eagerly to live in my love
and will and you will know my joy and glory.”
With the pump primed, let’s look at some
key practicalities we can implement in our
daily lives to continue to bloom, as Arch-
bishop Vigneron says, as “a joyful band of
missionary disciples.”