Pope Francis's apostolic exhortation, fittingly published in April, is full of springtime hope. It speaks candidly to the Christian amid the messiness of day-to-day life; it honestly addresses the difficulties of discipleship, while reminding us of our dignity as children of God. It makes some impressive affirmations of orthodoxy, alongside quirky insights that are themselves a sign of how Christian life is not a formula but an adventure.
Such were my thoughts when Amoris Laetitia came out almost exactly two years ago. My admiration for the document prevented me from worrying too much about the odd ambiguous sentence here or there. But the last two years have shown Catholics that it is precisely the ambiguities and silences and confusions that matter. And that experience has colored responses to this week's apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be glad). Gaudetecontains much wisdom (see, for instance, paragraphs 14–18 on holiness, 29–30 on distraction, and 82 on forgiveness). But it contains other things, too, which may count for more in the long run.
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