The Entertainment Apostolate

What is the Joy of the Gospel? We heard on a recent silent retreat that joy is a response in the presence of what we love. If we love the Gospel, then we will have the joy of the Gospel. This year, organically among the men of the seminary, I feel us more clearly loving the Gospel, and I am having a lot more joy of the Gospel. 
 
Jesus describes love in an amazing way, according to St. John. For whomever loves Him, Jesus says that the Father and He, “will come to him and make our dwelling with him” (John 14:23). I think He is saying that, by the power of love, whomever we love comes to be a part of us. We then respond to this presence. We cannot be unaffected by the persons we love. We are touched by them. Like a Newton’s cradle of metal balls, when they are struck by something we are struck by the same blow. This year we felt the joy of the saints on two occasions because we put ourselves right up against them. This is the powerful impact of loving.
 
The first event was the feast of St. Matthew. The highlight of this night was singing about the forgiveness and friendship between Matthew and the Apostle St. Peter. The second highlight was singing “How Great Thou Art” to God. St. Matthew, while he was alive, had the great joy of loving Jesus, and being loved by Jesus. Matthew rejoiced at being forgiven, and enjoyed the friendship of Jesus and the other disciples. In his life, St. Matthew put himself right up next to Jesus. In our lives, we put ourselves right up next to St. Matthew by having a cookout and bonfire on his feast day. Like a Newton’s cradle, the joy of the Gospel struck St. Matthew and passed right through him into us, and we rejoiced.
 
The second event was the feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower. She was happiest making small acts of kindness. We celebrated by praying together, honoring her with roses, and making ice cream sundaes. We are coming together much more often as a community to pray at night. One brother took the initiative on October 1st to print out an extra prayer to St. Therese that we recited together. One brother bought a bouquet of roses so each man could place a rose in front of her statue. Another brother bought ice cream, cookies, and whipped cream so we could enjoy sweet flavors. These three small acts of kindness combined into a joyful night.
 
I am having a lot of fun this year at seminary, and underlying all the fun is a deep sense of joy.

I think a major reason is the way we are letting the Gospel impact us as a community. St. Josemaría Escrivá said, "It is urgent that we strive to re-Christianize popular celebrations and customs. It is urgent that public amusements should no longer be left to face the dilemma of being either over-pious or pagan. Ask God to provide laborers for this much-needed work which could be called the 'entertainment apostolate’.” Now that I have felt the joy of re-Christianized celebrations, I will ask God to provide these laborers! It is eye-opening to realize that if I love the saints, then they will come into contact with me and will bring their joy into my life. This, for me, is the joy of the Gospel, and one of the most fun parts of seminary.

To read last week's post on John Henry Newman--Our Newest Saint--please click here.