That Christianity gives joy and breadth is also a thread that runs through my whole life. Ultimately someone who is always only in opposition could not endure life at all.
In proclaiming the faith and in administering the sacraments every priest speaks on behalf of Jesus Christ, for Jesus Christ.
The Eucharist is "the source and summit of the Christian life."
“If you believe what you like in the Gospels, and reject what you don’t like, it is not the Gospel you believe, but yourself.”
Assuredly, the word of truth can be painful and uncomfortable. But it is the way to holiness, to peace, and to inner freedom. A pastoral approach which truly wants to help the people concerned must always be grounded in the truth. In the end, only the truth can be pastoral.
Lest anyone think that I am alone in bemoaning the attempts of some to create a false dichotomy between evangelisation and proselitysm - and I would in many cases argue, a false distinction altogether -, Steve Skojec makes a similar point:
So DeusExMachina thinks that the firing of some scandalous bloggers has more to do with the realisation by the National Catholic Register that earning a living from a dying gang - what he calls "ZombieChurch" - is a bad business modell.
Distinctions Matter
Distinctions Matter Forward
Missale Romanum
Pre-1951 Calendar