On Black Friday, a caution from the Pope

Certainly the timing of today's release of Pope Francis' Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium is not at all connected to the great madness that will soon envelope the United States of America, either on Thanksgiving Day or the following, dubbed Black Friday, as consumers try to buy more things they weren't thankful for the day prior.

In the second paragraph of his lengthy reflection on the joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis directs our attention to what he sees as "the great danger in today's world:"

The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ (Evangelii Gaudium, 2).

Before you head out with your shopping lists, be sure to take Pope Francis' words to prayer. 

Francis quotes Benedict at least 20 times

I have just printed Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), the Apostolic Exhortation of His Holiness Pope Francis and am looking forward to reading it.

When I studied history in college, we were frequently encouraged to judge the quality of an historical work both by the references cited and by the index provided.  There is no index to Evangelii Gaudium - which is not surprises - but the footnotes are impressive.  Including the table of contents and the notes, the exhortation prints out at 82 pages (using the European A4 paper), more than I expected, and contains 217 references.  It's an impressive number, to be sure.

Looking through the notes, one sees quickly that Pope Francis quotes extensively from his predecessors, most notably Blessed John Paul II and Benedict XVI, whom he quotes or references not fewer than 20 times.  When you remove that pages taken up by the table of contents and the references, that averages out, roughly, to one quote or reference from Benedict XVI every 3.45 pages.

I wonder how the media will spin that.