A busy day yesterday. In the morning I was in Doncaster to take my turn at the 40 Days For Life vigil at the local abortion clinic.(www.40daysforlife.com/sheffield). Despite the cold and rain there was a resilient group of up to 10 at a time praying the Rosary and the Stations of the Cross by the clinic entrance. While I was there only one car entered- quite a contrast with the clinic in Manchester where I've joined vigils in the past and where young women come and go constantly. Tried to keep in mind while praying that this is all about charity in its real sense: love for the helpless and marginalised, love even for those we disapprove of and those involved in evil.
In the evening to a parish discussion of themes from 'Evangelium Gaudii'. All rather downbeat and negative and it was only really after I'd got home and looked at the extracts we'd been considering that I realised why. Pope Francis has an unfortunate tendency to nag and carp at his flock (while being terribly nice to atheists,Muslims and anyone else non-Catholic). Here we were being admonished not to be sourpusses, not to squabble, not to..oh, I don't know. My mother had a tendency to do the same and it backfired:I eventually ignored her and so, of course, lost some perfectly sensible advice along with the negative stuff. Still, most people seem to lap it up. I shall stick with Pope Benedict's rather more measured and kindly Lenten addresses.
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