There are two visions of how to be a Catholic in the world today. One is similar to that of Ezra at the time when the Chosen People returned from Exile; namely, that the people of God are called to be a “remnant,” to hold onto our values in the face of a hostile world. The other vision is expressed in the story of the sending forth of the twelve. In that vision the people of God are to go out into the world and “proclaim the Kingdom of God and to heal the sick.” This is the vision of Pope Francis, full of hope and confidence in the power of the gospel. For the Holy Father, the world needs the “joy of the gospel.”
