Below is another awesome guest post from Rachel Chow, Master’s student in Theology at Notre Dame (and CSPRI research assistant).<\/p>\n
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This semester, the CSPRI Catholic Social Teaching reading group (join us if you\u2019re in the South Bend area!<\/a>) has been discussing Pope Francis\u2019 Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium<\/i> (The Joy of the Gospel<\/i>), and at times it left me wondering what the joy of the evangelization would actually look like.\u00a0 Then the video of Sr. Cristina Scuccia, a 25-year-old Ursuline nun performing<\/a> Alicia Keys\u2019 \u201cNo One\u201d on Italy\u2019s The Voice, <\/i>fell into my lap <\/i>last month. <\/i><\/p>\n httpv:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=TpaQYSd75Ak<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Here is how I think Sr. Cristina captures exactly what Pope Francis is talking about in Evangelii Gaudium<\/i> (EG<\/i>):<\/p>\n \u201cThe joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded.\u00a0 That is what the angel proclaimed to shepherds in Bethlehem: \u2018Be not afraid; for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which will come to all people\u2019 (Lk 2:10)\u201d<\/i> (EG <\/i>no. 23).\u00a0 How might one reach people all over the world with the Good News?\u00a0 Sr. Cristina\u2019s choice to sing on The Voice<\/i> seems to do just that.\u00a0 She sings not just for those who have already come to believe the Gospel message or who find themselves in the pews at Mass, but for anyone who will listen \u2013 the audience, the judges, her fellow Ursuline sisters, anyone who cares to watch her on TV or the internet.\u00a0 \u201c[Pope Francis] always says we should go out and evangelize\u2026I am here for this!\u201d she tells the judges enthusiastically.\u00a0 Although I could not have understood what she said without the magic of closed captioning, the language she chose to speak in \u2013 the language of joy \u2013 can be understood by everyone.\u00a0 \u201cYou could understand what was going on without knowing what was being said,\u201d Brian Starks, CSPRI\u2019s director, mentioned after he watched the video for the first time, \u201cI will have to try the closed captioning next time, but seemed almost better without it the first time!\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cGod\u2019s word is unpredictable in its power\u2026The Church has to accept this unruly freedom of the word, which accomplishes what it wills in ways that surpass our calculations and ways of thinking\u201d<\/i> (EG <\/i>no.22).\u00a0 Who would have guessed that a video of an Ursuline nun in a simple habit singing on an Italian reality show would be watched 43 million times by people around the world!\u00a0 Certainly not the nun herself, who came simply to share the gift of her voice, as she told judge Raffaella Carr\u00e0.\u00a0 And who would have guessed that she could bring a rapper to tears in a matter of minutes?\u00a0 Certainly not the rapper, J-Ax, whose entire body reflected his deep amazement throughout the entire video.\u00a0 As Andy Staron (Wheeling Jesuit University) noted in an excellent blog post<\/a> soon after the video came out, \u201c[Evangelization] can mean calling attention to the presence of God in the most unlikely places. Even on a tv show.\u201d<\/p>\n \u00a0\u201cThe Gospel joy which enlivens the community of disciples is a missionary joy\u2026This joy is a sign that the Gospel has been proclaimed and is bearing fruit\u201d (no.21).<\/i>\u00a0 The joy we see in this video is not only that of Sr. Cristina as she sings and interacts with the judges, but that of her fellow nuns and of the judges.\u00a0 Watching backstage, her Ursuline sisters jump up and down and cheer excitedly during and after her performance.\u00a0 When Sr. Cristina chooses J-Ax to be her coach, he runs up onstage and hugs her, swinging her around.\u00a0 \u201cGoodness,\u201d as Pope Francis notes, \u201calways tends to spread\u201d (EG <\/i>no. 9).<\/p>\n So I see this video as Evangelii Gaudium <\/i>come to life. \u00a0I really hope Pope Francis gives Sr. Cristina the call she (jokingly) waits for.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Below is another awesome guest post from Rachel Chow, Master’s student in Theology at Notre Dame (and CSPRI research assistant). _________________________________________________________________________ This semester, the CSPRI Catholic Social Teaching reading group (join us if you\u2019re in the South Bend area!) has … Continue reading