2014-02-13
Des O'Donnell OMI
Previous articles by Des
(Comments
welcome here)
(2014-03-30: Index
to Evangelii Gaudium)
An
introduction to
EVANGELII
GAUDIUM
To
encourage a complete reading of this great document, I have recorded significant
sentences from each paragraph. Hopefully
they will also give readers a quick reference to any section of the exhortation.
The numbers refer to paragraphs in the letter.
- Desmond O’Donnell
desomi@eircom.net
-
THE
JOY EVER NEW, A JOY WHICH IS
SHARED
The
joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter
Jesus. -1
The
great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the
desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart. 2
Whenever
our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and
concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. 2
I
invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter
with Jesus Christ. 3
Let me say this once more: God
never tires of forgiving us; we are the ones who tire of seeking his
mercy…..Time and time again he bears us on his shoulders. 3
No
one can strip us of the dignity bestowed upon us by God’s
boundless unfailing love. 3
I find it thrilling to reread
this text: ‘The Lord, your God is in your midst, a warrior who gives you the
victory; he will rejoice over you with gladness, he will renew you in his
love; he will exult over you with
loud singing, as on the day of festival’ – Zephaniah
3.17. 4
‘My child, treat yourself
well, according to your means…..Do not deprive yourself of the day’s
enjoyment’ Sirac 14:11,14 What
tender paternal love echoes in these
words ! 4
The
Gospel, radiant with the glory of Christ’s cross, constantly invites
us to rejoice….. Why should we not also enter this stream of joy ? 5
I
understand the grief of people who have to
endure great suffering, yet slowly but surely we all have to let the joy of
faith slowly revive as a quiet yet firm trust, even amid the greatest distress.
6
Joy adapts and changes,
but always endures, even as a flicker of light born of our personal certainty
that, when everything is said and done, we
are infinitely loved. 6
Technological society
has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very
difficult to engender joy. 7
‘Being
a Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter
with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon & a decisive
direction’ – Pope Benedict. 7
Thanks solely to the
encounter – or renewed encounter –
with God’s love, which blossoms into an enriching friendship, we are
liberated from our narrowness and self-absorption.8
We
become fully human when we become more than human, when we let God bring us
beyond ourselves in order to attain the fullest truth of our being.
8
11.
THE DELIGHTFUL AND COMFORTING JOY OF EVANGELIZNG
Any
person who has experienced a profound
liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others.9
Life grows by being given
away,
and it weakens in isolation and comfort. Indeed, those who enjoy life most are
those who leave security on the shore and become excited by the mission of
communicating life to others. – L.Amer
Bishops 10
When
the Church summons Christians to take up the task of evangelization,
she is simply pointing to the source of authentic
personal fulfilment. 10
Eternal
Newness
A renewal of preaching
can offer believers, as well as the lukewarm and the non-practicing, new joy in
the faith. 11
With
this freshness he (Christ) is always able to renew our lives and our
communities, and even if the Christian message has known periods of darkness
and ecclesial weakness, it will never grow old. 11
The
life of the Church should always reveal clearly that God
takes the initiative, that ‘he loved us first’ 1
Jn.4.19. and that ‘he alone gives the growth’ 1
Co.3.7 12
God
asks everything of us, yet at the
same time he offers everything to us. 12
Jesus
leaves us the Eucharist as the Church’s daily remembrance of, and deeper
sharing in, the event of the Passover. cf. Lk.22.19
13
The
believer is essentially one who remembers. 13
111.
THE NEW EVANGELIZATION FOR THE TRANSMISSIN OF FAITH
New
evangelization is animated by the fire of the Spirit, so as to inflame the
hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in community worship. 14
In
the new evangelisation we can also include those members of the faithful who
preserve a deep and sincere faith, expressing it in different ways, but seldom
taking part in worship. 14
Instead
of seeming to impose new obligations, Christians
should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to
horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. 14
Many of those who do not know
Jesus Christ
or who always rejected him are quietly seeking God……even in countries of
ancient Christian tradition. 14
Instead
of seeming to impose new obligations, Christians should
appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty
and who invite others to a delicious banquet.
14
It
is not by proselytising that the Church grows, but by
attraction. 14
We
cannot passively wait in our church buildings; we need to move from a pastoral
ministry of mere conservation to a decidedly missionary pastoral ministry. 15
The
scope and limits of this Exhortation
Nor
do I believe that the papal magisterium should be expected to offer a definitive or
complete word on every question which affects the Church and the world. 16
It
is not advisable for the Pope to take the place of
local bishops in the discernment of every issue which arises in their
territory. In this sense, I am conscious of the need to promote a sound decentralization.
16
Chapter
1. THE CHURCH’S MISSIONARY TRANSFORMATION
1.
A
CHURCH WHICH GOES FORTH
God’s
word is unpredictable in its power…..The Church has to accept
this unruly freedom of the word that accomplishes what it wills in ways that
surpass our calculations and ways of
thinking. 22
Let us try a little harder to
become involved. Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. …. He tells his
disciples: ‘You will be blessed if you do this’ Jn.13.17
24
The
first step, being involved and supportive, bearing fruit and rejoicing
An evangelizing community
gets involved by word and deed in
people’s daily lives; it bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself
if necessary, and it embraces human life, touching the suffering flesh of Christ
in others. 24
The Church evangelizes and is
herself evangelized through the beauty of
the liturgy. 24
11.
PASTORAL ACTIVITY AND CONVERSION
I am aware that nowadays documents
do not arouse the same interest as in the past, and that they are quickly
forgotten. 25
I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along
the path of pastoral and missionary
conversion which cannot leave things as the presently are. Mere
administration is not good enough. 25
There are ecclesial structures which can hamper efforts at evangelization.
Even good structures are only helpful when there is a life constantly driving,
sustaining and assessing them. 26
An
ecclesial renewal which cannot be deferred
I
dream of a missionary option that is a missionary impulse capable of
transforming everything so that the Church’s
customs, way of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures
can suitably be channelled for evangelization of today’s world rather than for
her self-preservation. 27
The
parish
is not an outdated institution; precisely because it possesses great
flexibility, it can assume quite different contours depending on the openness
and the missionary creativity of the pastor and community. 28
If the
parish proves itself capable of self-renewal and constant adaptivity, it
continues to be the Church living in the midst of the homes of her sons and
daughters. This presumes that it really is in contact with the homes and lives
of its people, and does not become a useless structure out of touch with people
or a self-absorbed cluster made up of a chosen few. 28
Other
Church institutions,
basic communities and small communities, movements and forms of association are
a source of enrichment for the Church
30
The bishop must above all allow
the flock to strike out on new paths. 31
In his mission of fostering a
dynamic, open and missionary communion the
bishop will have to develop the means
of participation proposed in Canon Law. 31
The
bishop…..will
have a desire to listen to everyone, and not simply to those who would tell him what
he would like to hear. 31
The principle aim of
participatory processes should not be
ecclesiastical organization but rather the missionary aspiration of reaching
everywhere. 31
As
Bishop of Rome, I must be open to suggestions which can help make the
exercise of my ministry more faithful to the meaning which Jesus wished to give
it. …. We have made little progress in this regard.
32
Episcopal
conferences
are in a position to contribute to in many and fruitful ways to the concrete
realization of the collegial spirit. Yet this desire has not been fully
realized. Excessive centralization ….. complicates the Church’s life and her
missionary outreach. 32
Pastoral
ministry in a missionary key seeks to abandon the complacent attitude that says:
‘We have always done it this way’.
33
111.
FROM THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL
Instant
communication and an occasionally biased media can lead to part of the
church’s moral teaching being taken out of the context which gives them
meaning. The biggest problem is when the message we preach then seems identified
with those secondary aspects. 34
Pastoral ministry in a
missionary style is not obsessed with the disjointed
transmission of a multitude of doctrines to be insistently imposed……the
message has to concentrate on the essentials. 35
In Catholic doctrine there
exists an order or a ‘hierarchy’ of
truths …. This holds true as much
for the dogmas of faith as for the whole corpus of the Church’s teaching,
including her moral teaching. 36
What counts is ‘faith
working through love’ (Gal.5.6). The foundation of the
New Law is in the grace of the Holy Spirit, who is manifested in the faith
that works through love. St. Thomas
Aquinas. 37
In itself mercy is the greatest of the virtues, since all the others revolve
around it and, more than this it makes up for the their deficiencies. - St.
Thomas Aquinas 38
An
imbalance
occurs when …….. those virtues which ought to be most present in preaching
and catechesis are overlooked. The same happens when we speak more law than
about grace, more about the Church than about Christ, more about the Pope than
about God’s word. 38
When preaching is faithful to
the Gospel, the centrality of certain
truths is evident and it becomes clear that Christian morality if not a form
of stoicism or self denial. 39
1V.
A MISSION EMBODIED WITHIN HUMAN LIMITS
It
is the task of exegetes and theologians to help the judgement of the Church to
mature. 40
Differing
currents
of thought in philosophy, theology and pastoral practice, if open to being
reconciled by the Spirit in respect and love, can enable the Church to grow. 40
(Some people) long for a monolithic body of doctrine guarded by all and leaving no room for
nuance…..but in fact, a variety serves to bring out and develop different
facets of the inexhaustible riches of the Gospel. 40
There are times when the
faithful, in listening to completely orthodox language, take away something
alien to the authentic Gospel of Jesus Christ, because that language is alien to their own way of speaking to and understanding
one another. 41
We constantly seek ways of
expressing unchanging truths in a
language which brings out their abiding newness. 41
Faith always remains
something of a cross; it retains a
certain obscurity which does not detract from the firmness of it assent. 42
We need to remember that all
religious teaching ultimately has to be reflected in the
teacher’s way of life. 42
Certain
customs
not directly connected to the heart of the Gospel, even some with deep
historical roots, are no longer properly understood and appreciated….We should
not be afraid to re-examine them. 43
St. Thomas Aquinas pointed
out that the precepts which Christ and the apostles gave to the people of God
‘are very few’. 43
The precepts enjoined by the
Church, should be insisted on with
moderation. 43
Pastors
and the lay faithful who accompany their brothers and sisters in faith or on the
journey of openess to God must always remember that ‘imputability
and responsibility for an action can be diminished or even nullified by
ignorance, inadvertence, duress, fear, habit,
inordinate attachments or other psychological or social factors’ (The
Catholic Catechism 1735) 44
The task of evangelization
operates within the limits of language
and of circumstances …. without renouncing the truth, the goodness and he
light which it can bring whenever perfection is not possible. 45
A
missionary heart never closes itself off, never retreats into its own security, never
opts for rigidity and defensiveness. 45
V.
A MOTHER WITH AN OPEN HEART
A
Church which goes forth is a Church whose
doors are open. 46
Often
it is better to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen
to others. 46
The Church must go first not
so much to our friends and wealthy neighbours, but above
all to the poor, and the sick, those who are usually despised and
overlooked, ‘those who cannot repay you’(Lk.
14.14) 48
I
prefer a Church that is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out
on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and
from clinging to its own security. 49
I do not want a Church
concerned with being at the centre and then ends up being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures. 49
More than by fear of going
astray, my hope is that we will be moved by the fear
of remaining shut up within
structures which give us a false sense of security, within rules which make
us harsh judges, within habits which
make us feel safe, while at our door
people are starving and Jesus does not tire of saying to us: ‘Give them
something to eat’ Mk.6.37
49
Chapter
2. AMID THE CRISIS OF COMMUNAL
COMMITMENT
1.
SOME
CHALLLENGES OF TODAY’S WORLD
In
our time humanity is experiencing a
turning point in its history as we can see from the advances being made in
many fields ……. The hearts of many people are gripped by fear and
desperation, even in so-called rich countries. 52
No
to an economy of exclusion
As
‘Thou shalt not kill’ sets a
clear limit to safeguard the value
of human life, today we also have to say ‘thou
shalt not’ to an economy of exclusion and inequality. 53
No
to the new idolatry of money
Today
everything comes under the laws of
competition and survival of the fittest, where the powerful feed upon the
powerless. 55
Masses of people find
themselves excluded and marginalised:
without work, without possibilities, without any means of escape. 53
Human
beings are themselves considered consumer goods
to be used and then discarded. We have created a disposable culture which is now
spreading. 53
Can
we continue to stand by when food is
being thrown away and people are starving ?
53
Human
beings themselves are considered consumer good to e used and then discarded.
53
Trickle
down theories
express a crude and naïve trust in the goodness of those wielding economic
power. 54
A profound human crisis:
the denial of the primacy of the human person !...... man is reduced to one of
his needs alone: consumption. 55
The
thirst for power and possessions
knows no limit …… In this system whatever is fragile, like the environment,
is defenceless before the interests of the deified market 56
Corruption
and
self-serving tax evasion have taken on worldwide dimensions. 56
No
to a financial system which rules rather than serves
Before
this attitude – the autonomy of the marketplace – lurks a
rejection of ethics and a rejection of God. 57
The
Pope loves everyone, rich and poor alike, but he is obliged in the
name of Christ to remind all that the rich must help, respect and promote
the poor. 58
When
a society is willing to leave a part of itself on the fringes, no political
programmes or resources spent law
enforcement or surveillance systems can indefinitely guarantee tranquillity.
59
Some claim that the solution
(to poverty) is an ’education’ that would tranquilize them and make them
tame and harmless. 60
In a culture where each
person wants to be bearer of his or her own subjective truth, it becomes
difficult for citizens to devise a common plan which transcend individual gain
and personal ambitions. 61
Some
cultural changes
In
the prevailing culture, priority is given to the outward, the immediate, the
visible, the quick, the superficial and the provisional. What is real gives way
to appearances. 62
The Catholic faith of many
peoples is nowadays being challenged by the proliferation of new religious
movements, some of which tend to fundamentalism while others seem to propose
spirituality without God. 63
We are living in an
information-driven society which bombards us indiscriminately with data – all
treated as being of equal importance …… which leads to remarkable
superficiality in the area of moral development.
64
Today we need to provide an
education which teaches critical thinking and encourages the development of
mature moral values. 64
Despite the tide of
secularism, ….. the Catholic Church is considered a credible institution by
public opinion, and trusted for solidarity and concern for those greatest need. 65
How much good has been done
by Catholic schools and universities around the world. 65
The family which is the
fundamental cell of society is experiencing a profound cultural crisis, as are
all communities and social bonds. 66
Marriage tends
to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be
constructed din any way or modified at will. 66
The individualism of our
postmodern and globalised era favours a lifestyle which weakens the development
and stability of personal relationships and distorts family bonds.
67
Challenges
to inculturating the faith
We
find among the most needy, a moral
resource which preserves the values of an authentic Christian humanism.
68
The
immense importance of a culture marked by faith cannot be overlooked.
68
Each
culture and social group needs
purification and growth. In the case of the popular cultures of Catholic
peoples, we can see deficiencies which need to be healed by the Gospel. 69
It
is also true that at times greater emphasis is placed on the outward expressions
and traditions of some group, or on alleged private revelations which could
replace all else. 70
Challenges
from urban cultures
We
need to look at our cities with a contemplative gaze, a gaze of faith which sees
God dwelling in their homes, in their streets and squares. 71
People
in cities must often struggle for survival and this struggle contains within it
a profound understanding of life which often includes a deep religious sense, 72
A
completely new culture has come to life, and continues to grow in our
cities….. Through the influence of media, rural areas are being affected by
the same cultural changes. 73
Cities
are the scene of mass protests where thousands of people call for freedom, a
voice in public life, justice….. which if not properly understood will not be
silenced by force. 74
What
could be significant places of encounter and solidarity often become places of
isolation and mutual distrust. 75
We
have to realize that a uniform and rigid programme of evangelization is not
suited to this (modern) complex reality.
75
11. TEMPTATIONS FACED BY
PASTORAL WORKERS
The
contribution of the Church in to-day’s
world is enormous. …. This witness
comfort and sustains me in my own efforts to overcome selfishness and to give
more fully of myself. 76
I
am aware that we need to create spaces
where pastoral workers can be helped and healed, places where faith itself in
the crucified Jesus is renewed where the most profound questions and daily
concerns are shared. 77
Yes
to the challenge of missionary spirituality
Today
we are seeing in many workers, including consecrated
men and women, an inordinate concern for their personal freedom and
relaxation, which leads them to see their work as a mere appendage to their
life. 78
Once
can observe in many agents of evangelization, even though they pray, a
heightened individualism, a crisis of identity and a cooling of fervour. 78
At
times our media culture and some intellectual circles convey a marked
scepticism with regard to the Church’s message. 79
Pastoral
workers can fall into a relativism
….. which consists in acting as if God did not exist, making decisions as if
the poor did not exist, setting goals as if others did not exist. 80
No
to selfishness and spiritual sloth
Many
lay people fear that they may be asked to undertake some apostolic work and they
seek to avoid any responsibility that may take them away from their free
time….. Something similar is also happening with priests
who are obsessed with protecting their free time. 81
(
Apostolic work) can result in a state of paralysis
and acedia because of activity undertaken badly, without adequate
motivation, without a spirituality which would permeate it and make it
pleasurable. 81, 82
The
biggest threat of all gradually takes shape: the grey
pragmatism of the daily life of the church, in which all appears to proceed
normally, while in reality faith is wearing down and degenerating into
small-mindedness. 83
(Among
pastoral workers,) a tomb psychology
thus develops, and slowly transforms Christians into mummies in a museum. 83
No
to a sterile pessimism
‘Some
see nothing but prevarication and ruin. We feel we must disagree with those prophets
of doom who are always forecasting disaster ….. Divine Providence is leading
us to a new order of human relations’. (John XX111)
84
The
evil spirit of defeatism is brother to the temptation to separate, before its time,
the wheat from the weeds; it is the fruit of an anxious and self-centred trust. 87
In
some places a spiritual ‘desertification’
has evidently come about, as a result of attempts by some societies to build
without God or to eliminate their Christian roots.
86
Yes
to the new relationships brought by Christ
To
go out of ourselves and to join others
is healthy for us. To be self-enclosed is to taste the bitter poison of
immanence, and humanity will be worse for every selfish choice we make. 87
The
Christian ideal will always be a summons to overcome suspicion, habitual
mistrust, fear of losing our privacy, all the defensive attitudes which
today’s world imposes on us. 88
Some
people want a purely spiritual Christ, without flesh and without a cross. 88
They
also want their interpersonal relationships
provided by sophisticated equipment, by screens and systems which can be
turned on and off on command. The Gospel tells us constantly to run the risk of
a face-to-face encounter with others. 88
The
Son of God, by becoming flesh, summoned us to a revolution
of tenderness. 88
Isolation….in
the realm of religion can take the form of spiritual
consumerism tailored to one’s own unhealthy individualism. 89
Genuine
forms of popular religiosity are incarnate, ….. Their devotions are fleshy,
they have a face. They are capable of fostering relationships and not just
enabling escapism. 90
In
other parts of our society, we see the growing attraction to various form of ‘spirituality’
of well-being’ divorced from any community life or to a ‘theology of
prosperity detached from responsibility for our brothers and sisters. 90
The
solution will never be found in fleeing from a personal and omitted relationship
with God which at the same time commits us to serving others.
91
Learning
to find Jesus in the face of others, in their voices, in their pleas……never
tiring of our decision to live in
fraternity. 91.
We
are called to be witness to a constantly new way of living together in fidelity
to the Gospel. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of community
! 92
No
to spiritual worldliness
Spiritual
worldliness,
which hides behind the appearance of piety and even love of the Church, consists
in seeking not the Lord’s glory but human glory and personal well-being.
93
Spiritual
worldliness can be fuelled by …….. a
purely subjective faith whose only interest is a certain experience of set
of ideas…… imprisoned in one’s own thoughts and feelings.
94
Spiritual
worldliness (can be expressed by) ….. those who ultimately trust in their own
powers and feel superior to others because they observe certain rules or remain
intransigently faithful to a particular
Catholic style from the past. 94
Spiritual
worldliness can be seen in some people in whom we see an ostentatious preoccupation
for the liturgy, for doctrine and for the Church’s prestige. 95
Spiritual
worldliness can express itself in a fascination with social and political gain,
or pride in their ability to manage
practical affairs …. Meetings, dinners, receptions, management,
statistics, plans and evaluation whose principal beneficiary is not God’s
people, but the Church as an institution. 95
We
waste time talking about what needs to done like spiritual masters and pastoral
experts who give instruction from on high…. We lose contact with the real
lives and the difficulties of our people. 96
God
save us from a worldly Church with superficial
spiritual and pastoral trappings ….. cloaks in outward religiosity bereft
of God. Let us not be robbed of the Gospel. 97
No
to warring among ourselves
Spiritual
worldliness leads some Christians to war with other Christians who stand in the
way of their quest for power, prestige, pleasure and economic security… a
spirit of exclusivity. 98
I
ask Christians in communities throughout the world, to offer a radiant and
attractive witness of fraternal communion. 99
Beware
of the temptation to jealousy ! We
are all in the same boat and headed for the same port ! Let us ask for the grace
to rejoice in the gifts of each other, which belong to all. 99
It
always pains me to discover how some Christian communities,
and even consecrated persons, can tolerate different forms of enmity, division,
calumny, defamation, vendetta, jealousy and the desire the impose certain ideas
at all costs, even to persecutions which appear as veritable witch hunts. 100
How
much good it does to love one another,
in spite of everything. 101
To
pray for a person with whom I am irritated is a beautiful step forward in
love, an act of evangelization….. Let us now be robbed of the ideal of
fraternal love. 101
Other
ecclesial challenges
Lay
people are, put simply, the vast majority of the People of God. The minority –
ordained ministers – are at their service. 102
Room
has not been made for laypeople to speak
and to act, due to excessive clericalism which keeps them away from
decision-making. 102
The
Church acknowledges the indispensable contribution which women
make to society….. We need to create still broader opportunities for more
incisive female presence in the Church. 103
The
presence of women must also be
guaranteed in the workplace and i n the various other settings where important
decisions are made both in the Church and in social structures. 103
Demands
that the legitimate rights of women
be respected….. present the Church with profound and challenging questions
which cannot lightly evaded. 104
The
reservation of priesthood to males…….
Can prove especially divisive if sacramental power is too closely identified
with power in general. 104
As
adults we find it difficult to listen patiently to them
(youth), to appreciate their concerns and demands and speak to them in a
language they can understand. 105
Our
efforts in the field of education do not produce the results expected. 105
Despite
the present crisis of commitment and communal relationships, many young
people are making common cause before the problems of our world and are
taking up various forms of activism and volunteer work.
106
A
dearth of vocations
to priesthood and to the consecrated life is often due to a lack of contagious
apostolic fervour in communities which results in a cooling of enthusiasm and
attractiveness. 107
Whenever
we attempt to read the signs of the times, it is helpful to listen to young
people and the elderly. 108
Chapter 3
THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL
There
can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation
of Jesus as Lord. 110
The
Church as the agent of evangelization, is more than an organic and hierarchical
institution. 111
-
THE ENTIRE
PEOPLE OF GOD PROCLAIMS THE GOSPEL
The
Church is first and foremost a people
advancing on its pilgrim way towards God. 111
The
Church is a mystery
rooted in the Trinity….. transcending any institutional expression however
necessary. 111
A
people for everyone
It
is important to know that the first word, the
true initiative, the true activity comes from God. 112
The
salvation which God has wrought, and the Church proclaims joyfully, is for
everyone…….Jesus did not tell his apostles to form an exclusive and elite group. 113
The
Church is God’s leaven in the midst of humanity. 114
The
Church must be a place of mercy freely given where everyone
can feel welcomed, loved, forgiven, encouraged to live the good life of the
Gospel. 114
A
people of many faces
The
concept of culture is valuable for grasping the various expressions of the
Christian life present in God’s People. 115
When
properly understood, cultural diversity
is not a threat to Church unity. 117
It
is not essential to impose a specific cultural form, no matter how beautiful or
ancient it is, together with the Gospel. 117
We
cannot demand that peoples of every continent, in expressing their Christian
faith, imitate modes of expression which European nations developed at a
particular moment in their history. 118
We
are all missionary disciples.
In
all the baptised,
…the sanctifying power of the Spirit, is at work, impelling us to
evangelisation. 119
Anyone
who has truly experienced God’s saving love, does not need much time or lengthy
training to go out and proclaim that Love. 120
Each
of us should find a way to communicate
Jesus, wherever we are….. our falling short of perfection should be no
excuse. 121
The
evangelising power of popular piety.
Popular
piety
is an ongoing and developing process, of which the Holy Spirit is the principal
agent. 122
Popular
piety
manifests a thirst for God which only the poor and the simple can know.
123
Popular
piety discovers and expresses the content (of faith) more by way of symbols
than by discursive reasoning. 124
I
think of the steadfast faith of those mothers tending to sick children who,
though perhaps barely familiar with the article sof the creed, cling to the
Rosary. 125
Underlying
popular piety, as a fruit of the inculturated Gospel, is an active
evangelizing power which we must not underestimate. 126
Expressions
of popular piety
have much to teach us;’ for those who are capable of reading them, they are locus
theologus which demands our attention.
127
Person
to person
Being
a disciple means being constantly ready
to bring the love of Jesus to others…… on the street, n the city square,
during work, on a journey. 127
The
first step
is personal dialogue, when the other person speaks and shares his or her joys,
hopes and concerns for loved one. Only afterwards is it possible to bring up
God’s word. 128
If
the circumstances are right, a fraternal and missionary encounter could end with
a brief prayer. 128
This
communication (of the Gospel) takes place in so many
different ways that it would be impossible to describe them all. 129
Charisms
at the service of a communion which evangelises
The
Holy Spirit also enriches the entire evangelising Church with different
charisms. …. They are gifts of the Spirit integrated into the body of the
Church. 130
The
Holy Spirit alone can raise up diversity,
plurality and multiplicity while at the same time bringing about unity. 131
Culture,
thought and education
Proclaiming
the Gospel message to different cultures also involves proclaiming it to professional,
scientific and academic circles. 132
I
call on theologians to carry out this service – bring the Gospel message
to different cultural contexts and groups – as part of the Church’s saving
mission. 133
Universities
are outstanding environments for articulating and developing this evangelising
commitment in an interdisciplinary and integrated way. 134
Catholic
schools …. Are a most valuable resource for the evangelisation of culture. 134
11 THE HOMILY
The
homily is the touchstone for judging a
pastor’s closeness and ability to communicate to his people. 135
It
is God who reaches out to others
through the preacher, and that he displays his power through human words.
136
The
liturgical proclamation of the words of God…… is not so much a time for
meditation and catechesis as a dialogue
between God and his people. 137
The
liturgical context
The
preacher must know the heart of his community in order to realise where its desire
for God is alive and ardent. 137
The
homily should be brief and avoid taking on the semblance of a
speech or a lecture. 138
In
the context of the liturgy, the homily is part of the offering made to the
Father and a mediation of grace. 138
A
mother’s conversation
The
same Spirit (of mother-child love) who inspired the Gospels and who acts
in the Church also inspires the preacher at each Eucharist. 139
Words
which set hearts on fire
Dialogue
is much more than the communication of a truth. It arises from the
enjoyment of speaking and it enriches those who express their love for one
another through the medium of words. 142
The
challenge of an inculturated preaching consists in proclaiming a synthesis, bot
ideas or detached values. There your synthesis is, there lies your heart. 143
The
preacher has the difficult task of joining
loving hearts, the heart of the Lord and his people. 143
To
speak from the heart means that our hearts must not
just be on fire, but also enlightened by the fullness of revelation and by
the path travelled by God’s people in the heart of the Church. 144
III. PREPARING TO PREACH
Preparation
for preaching is so important a task that a
prolonged time of study, reflection and pastoral
creativity should be devoted to it. 145
A
preacher who does not prepare
is not ‘spiritual’; he is dishonest and irresponsible with the gifts he has
received. 145
Reverence
for truth
The
first step, after calling on the Holy Spirit in prayer, is to give our
entire attention to the biblical text which needs to be the basis of our
preaching. 146
To
interpret a biblical text
we need to be patient …… and to give it our time, interest and undivided
attention. 146
Preparation
for preaching requires love. 146
The
biblical text which we study is two or
three thousand years old; its language is very different from that which we
speak today.147
Our
most important goal is to discover its
principal message, the message which gives structure and unity to the text. 147
We
need to relate the central message of the text to the teaching of the
entire bible as handed on by the Church.
148
One
of the defects of a tedious and ineffectual preaching is precisely its inability
to transmit the intrinsic power of the
text which has been proclaimed. 148
Personalising
the word
The
preacher ought first of all to develop a great personal
familiarity with the word of God. 149
The
preacher needs to approach the word with a
docile and prayerful heart so that it may deeply penetrate his thoughts and
feelings and bring about a new outlook in him. 149
Greater
or lesser degree of holiness of the
minister has a real effect on the proclamation of the word. 149
If
we have a lively desire to be the first
to hear the word which we preach, this will surely be communicated to
God’s faithful people. 149
Whoever
wants to preach must be the first to let
the word of God move him and become incarnate in his daily life. 150
Today
too, people prefer to listen to witnesses: they thirst
for authenticity and call for evangelisers to speak of a
God who they themselves know. 150
We
are not asked to be flawless,
but to keep growing and wanting to grow as we advance along the path of the
Gospel. 150
What
is essential is that the preacher be
certain that God loves him, the Jesus has saved him and that his love has
always the last word. 151
The
Lord wants to make use of us a free and creative beings who let his
word enter our own hearts before passing it on to others. 151
Christ’s
message must truly penetrate an possess
the preacher, not just
intellectually but in his entire being. 151
Spiritual
reading
Lection Divina
consists of reading God’s word in a moment of prayer and allowing it to
enlighten and to renew us. 152
A
common temptation is to think about what
the text means to other people. 153
God
always invites us to step forward and does not demand a full response if we are
not yet ready. 153
An
ear to the people
A
preacher has to contemplate the word, but he also has to
contemplate his people. 154
He
needs to be able to link the message of the biblical
text to the human situation. 154
The
spiritual sensitivity for reading God’s
message in human events is much more than simply finding something
interesting to say. 154
What
we are looking for is what the Lord has
to say in this or that particular circumstance. 154
Preparation
for preaching is an exercise in evangelical
discernment. 154
Let
us keep in mind that we should never respond to questions
that nobody asks. 155
Homiletic
resources
Some
people think they can be good preachers because they know what ought to be said,
but pay no attention to how is should be
said. 156
Active
love of our neighbour is shown by refusing to offer others a
product of poor quality. 156
One
of the most important things to learn is how to use
images in preaching. 157
A
good homily should have an idea, a
sentiment and an image. 157
If
we wish to adapt to people’s language and to reach them with God’s word, we
need to share in their lives and pay loving attention to them. 158
Another
feature of a good homily is that it is positive. It is not so much concerned with
pointing out what shouldn’t be done, but with suggesting what we can do
better. 159
Positive
preaching always offers hope,
points to the future, does not leave us trapped in negativity. 159
1V
EVANGELISATION AND THE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING
OF THE KERYGMA
The
first proclamation (of the Gospel) calls for formation
and maturation. 160
Evangelisation
aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and
God’s plan for his or her life. 160
It
would not be right to see this call to growth exclusively or primarily in
terms of doctrinal formation. 161
Growth
has to do with ‘observing’ all that the Lord has shown us as the way of responding
to his love. 161
The
first and greatest of the commandments
is …… ‘This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved
you’ 161
The
process of response and growth is always preceded by God’s
gift (of Baptism) 162
Kerygmatic
and mystagogical catechesis
On
the lips of the catechist the first
proclamation must ring out over and over: ‘Jesus Christ loves you; he gave
his life to save you: and now her is living at your side every day to enlighten,
strengthen and free you’. 164
We
must announce the first proclamation one way or another throughout the process of
catechesis, at every level and moment.
164
The
priest
……….. ought to grow in awareness that he himself is continually in need of
being evangelised. 164
The
centrality of the kerygma ….. has to express God’s saving love
which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part; I should not
impose truth but appeal to freedom. 165
The
evangeliser must have an attitude which
fosters openness to the message: approachability, readiness for dialogue,
patience, a warmth and welcome that Is non-judgemental. 165
Mystagogic
initiation
which has developed in recent decades, has to do with a progressive experience
of formation involving the entire community. 166
Mystagogic
initiation
has (also) to do with a renewed appreciation of the liturgical signs of
Christian initiation. 166
Every
catechist would do well to attend to the
‘way of beauty’. …. Showing that to believe in him
and to follow Christ is not only something right and true, but also
something beautiful. 167
Every
expression of true beauty
can be acknowledged as a path leading to an encounter with the Lord Jesus. 167
It
can be helpful to stress again and again the attractiveness and the ideal of a
life of wisdom, self-fulfilment and enrichment. 168
Rather
than experts in dire predictions, dour judges bent on rooting out every threat
and deviation, we should appear as joyful messengers of challenging proposals, guardians of goodness and beauty which shine forth in a life of
fidelity to the Gospel. 168
Personal
accompaniment in the process of growth
The
Church will have to initiate everyone – priests, religious and laity – into the
art of accompaniment which teaches us to remove ours sandals before the
sacred ground of the other. 169
The
pace of accompaniment must be steady and reassuring, reflecting our closeness
and our compassionate gaze which heals, liberates and encourages growth
in the Christ life. 169
Spiritual
accompaniment must lead others ever closer to God, in whom we attain true
freedom. 170
Some
people think they are free if they can avoid
God; they fail to see that they remain existentially orphaned, helpless,
homeless. They cease being pilgrims and become drifters.170
To
accompany others would be counterproductive if it became
a short of therapy supporting their self-absorption and ceased to be a
pilgrimage with Christ to the Father. 170
Listening,
in communication,
is an openness of heart which makes possible that closeness without which
genuine spiritual encounter cannot occur. 171
Listening
helps us to find the right gesture and
word which shows that we are more than simply bystanders. 171
Anyone
can have grace and charity, and yet falter
in the exercise of virtues because eof contrary inclinations. 171
We
need a pedagogy which will introduce people step by step to the full
appropriation of the mystery. 171
Each
person’s situation before God and their life in grace are mysteries which no
one can full know or understand. 172
The
Gospel tells us to correct others and to help them to grow on the basis of a
recognition of the objective evil of their actions, but without making
judgements about their responsibility and culpability. 172
Our
personal experience of being accompanied and assisted, and of openness to those
who accompany us, will teach us to be patient
and compassionate with others and to find the right way to gain their trust,
their openness and readiness to grow. 172
Spiritual
accompaniment is clearly distinct from every kind of
intrusive accompaniment or isolated self-realisation. Missionary disciples
accompany missionary disciples. 173
Centred
on the word of God
All
evangelization is based on the Word of God, listened to, meditated upon, lived,
celebrated and witnessed to. The sacred
Scriptures are the very source of evangelisation. 174
The
preaching of the word,
living and effective, prepares for the reception of the sacrament, and in the
sacrament that word attains its maximum efficacy. 175
Chapter 4
THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF EVANGELIZATION
To
evangelise is to make the kingdom of God
present in our world. 176
1.
COMMUNAL AND SOCIAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THE KERYGMA
The
content of the first proclamation has an
immediate moral implication centred on charity. 177
To
believe in a Father who loves all men and women with infinite love means
realising that he thereby confers upon them an
infinite dignity. 178
Confession
of faith and commitment to society
To
believe that the Son of God assumed our human flesh means that each human person
has been taken up into the very heart of God. 178
To
believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in everyone means realising that he
seeks to penetrate every human situation.
178
Evangelisation
is meant to cooperate with the liberating
work of the Spirit. 178
Our
brothers and sisters are the prolongation
of the incarnation for each of us. 179
The
kingdom and its challenge
Reading
the Scriptures makes it clear that the Gospel is not
merely about our personal relationship with God. 180
Our
personal relationship to God should not be seen simply as an
accumulation of small personal gestures to individuals in need. 180
To
the extent that God reigns within us, the life of society will be a setting for universal
fraternity, justice, peace and dignity. 180
Bother
Christian preaching and life, then, are meant to have an
impact on society. 180
The
Church’s teaching on social questions
God
wants his children to be happy in this world too…… for he has created all things
four our enjoyment, the enjoyment is for everyone. 182
An
authentic faith ….. always
involves a deep desire to change the world, to transmit values, to
leave this earth somewhat better than we found it. 183
The
Church cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the
fight for justice. 183
It
is up to Christian communities to analyse with objectivity the situation
which is proper to their own country. 184
11.
THE INCLUSION OF THE POOR IN SOCIETY
Our
faith in Christ who became poor, and was always close to the poor and the
outcast, is the basis of our concern for the integral development of society’s
most neglected members. 186
In
union with God, we hear a plea
Each
individual Christian and every community
is called to be an instrument of God for the liberation ad promotion of the
poor. 187
‘How
does God’s love abide
in anyone who has the world’s goods, and sees a brother or sister in need and
yet refuses help’ (1 Jn.3.17) 187
(Hearing
the Gospel) means working to eliminate
the structural causes of poverty and to promote the integral development of
the poor, as well as small daily acts of solidarity in meeting the need of those
w encounter. 188
(The
Gospel) presumes the creation of a new mindset which thinks in terms of
community and the priority of the life of all over appropriation of good by the few. 188
Changing
structures without generating new
convictions and attitudes will only ensure that those same structures will
become, corrupt, oppressive and ineffectual. 189
The
more fortunate should renounce some of
their rights so as to place their goods more generously at the service of
others. 190
There
is enough food for everyone and hunger is the result of poor
distribution of goods and income. The problem is made worse by the generalised
practice of wastefulness. 191
We
are not simply talking about ensuring nourishment…… but also education,
access to healthcare and above all employment. 192
Fidelity
to the Gospel, lest we run in vain
We
incarnate the duty of hearing the cry of the poor when we are deeply
moved by the suffering of others. 193
The
apostle James teaches us that our mercy
to others will vindicate us on the day of God’s judgement. 193
Whenever
we have an opportunity to perform a work of mercy,
we should rejoice. 193
The
message (of mercy) is so clear and direct, so simple and eloquent that no
ecclesial interpretation has the right to
relativise it …. or to obscure or weaken its force. 194
We
should not be concerned simply about falling into doctrinal error, but about
remaining faithful to this light-filled path of life and wisdom. 194
We
may not always be able to reflect adequately the beauty of the Gospel, but here one sign that we should never lack: the option for those who are
least, those whom society discards. 195
Sometimes
we prove hard of heart and mind; we are forgetful, distracted and
carried away by the limitless possibilities for consumption and distraction
offered by contemporary society. 196
The
special place of the poor in God’s people
God’s
heart has a special place for the poor, so much so that he
himself became poor. 197
I
want a church that is poor and for the poor. 198
Our
commitment does not consist exclusively in activities and programmes of
promotion and assistance ….. but above all an attentiveness which considers
the other in a certain sense as one with ourselves. 199
Only
on the basis of real and sincere closeness
can we properly accompany the poor on their path of liberation. 199
The
worst discrimination which the poor suffer is lack
of spiritual care. 200
None
of us can think that we are exempt
from concern for the poor and for social justice. 201
The
economy and the distribution of income
He
need to resolve the structural causes of
poverty cannot be delayed ….
Because society
needs
to be cured of a sickness which is weakening it. 202
The
dignity of each human person and the pursuit of the common good are concerns
which ought
to shape all economic policies. 203
We
can no longer trust in the unseen forces
and the invisible hand of the market. 204
I
ask God to give us more politicians
who are genuinely disturbed by the state of society,
capable
of sincere and effective dialogue aimed at healing …. the evils in our world. 205
It
is becoming increasingly difficult to
find local solutions for the enormous global problems
which
overwhelm local politics with difficulties to resolve. 207
Any
Church community, if it thinks that it can comfortably go its own way without
creative
concern
and effective cooperation in helping the poor to live with dignity ….. will
also risk
breaking
down. 207
210A
church community however much it may talk about social issues and criticise
governments
will
easily drift into spiritual worldliness camouflaged
by religious practices, unproductive
meetings
and empty talk. 207
If
anyone feels offended by my words, I would respond that I speak with affection and
with
the
best intentions …. My words are not those of a foe or opponent. 208
I
am interested only in helping those
who are in thrall to an individualistic, indifferent and
self-centred
mentality to be freed from unworthy chains. 208
Concern
for the vulnerable
The
current model with its emphasis on
success and self-reliance, does not appear to favour
An
investment in efforts to help the slow, the weak or the less talented.
209
It
is essential to draw near to new forms of
poverty and vulnerability in which we recognise the suffering Christ. 210
I
am pastor of a Church without frontiers, a Church which considers itself mother
to all. 210
I
have always been distressed at the lot of those who are victims various kinds of
human trafficking. 211
The
infamous network of crime – human trafficking – is now well established in
our cities, and many people have blood on
their hands as a result of their comfortable and silent complicity. 211
Doubly
poor are those women who endure situations of exclusion, mistreatment and violence
since they are frequently less able to defend their rights. 212
Among
the most vulnerable for whom the Church wishes to care with particular love and
concern are unborn children. 213
We
have done little to adequately accompany women
in very difficult situations where abortion appears as a quick solution to
their profound anguish. 214
There
are other weak and defenceless beings who are frequently at them mercy of
economic interests or indiscriminate exploitation. I am speaking of creation as a whole. 215
We
human being are not only beneficiaries of but also stewards of other creatures.
…. The desertification of the soil and the extinction of a species are a painful disfigurement. 215
All
of us as Christians are called to watch over and protect
the fragile world in which we live and all its peoples. 216
11
THE COMMON GOOD AND PEACE IN SOCIETY
True
peace
does not act as a pretext for justifying a
social structure which silences or appeases the poor, so that the more affluence
can placidly support their lifestyle. 218
The
dignity of the human person
ranks higher than the comfort of those who refuse to renounce their privileges.
When these values are threatened, a prophetic voice must be raised. 218
In
the end, a peace which is not the
result of integral development will be doomed. 219
Participation
in public life
is a moral obligation. 220
Time
is greater than space
‘Time’
has to do with fullness as an expression of the horizon which constantly opens
before us, while each individual moment has to do with limitation as an
expression of enclosure. 222
We
need to give priority to actions which generate new
processes in society …….. to the point where they bear fruit in
significant events. 223
(We
need) to generate processes of people-building
as opposed to obtaining immediate results which yield easy, quick short-term
political gains but do not enhance human fullness. 224
Evangelisation
calls for attention to the bigger picture,
openness to suitable processes and concern for the long run. 225
Unity
prevails over conflict
Conflict
cannot be ignored or concealed. It has to be faced. But if we remain trapped in
conflict, we lose our perspective, our horizons shrink and reality itself falls
apart. 226
It
is a willingness to face conflict head on, to resolve it and to make it a link in a
chain of a new process. ‘Blessed are the peacemakers’ (Mt. 5.9) 227
Communion
amid disagreement can only be achieved by those great persons who are willing to go beyond the surface of the conflict, and to see others in their
deepest dignity. 227
The
locus of the reconciliation of difference is within ourselves, in our own lives,
ever threatened as they are by fragmentation and breakdown. 230
Realities
are more important than ideas
It
is dangerous to dwell in the realm of words
alone, of images and rhetoric. Realities are greater than ideas. This calls
for rejecting various means (8) of masking reality. 231
People
do not follow some politicians and religious leaders because they are stuck
in the realm of pure ideas and
end up reducing politics or faith to rhetoric. 232
(The
Gospel) impels us to put the word into
practice, to perform works of justice and charity which make the word
fruitful. 233
The
whole is greater than the part
We
need to pay attention to the global
so as to avoid narrowness and banality. Yet we also need to look to the
local, which keeps our feet on the ground. 234
People
get caught in an abstract, globalised
universe, admiring the glitter of other people’s world or at the other
extreme, they turn into museum of local
folklore, a world apart. 234
The
global
need not stifle, nor the particular prove barren. 235
It
is the sum total of persons within society which pursues the common good,
which truly has a place for everyone. 236
The
Church passes down to us and sends us forth to proclaim the
polyhedron principle (many levels) in
prayer, fraternity, justice, struggle and celebration. 237
1V
SOCIAL DIALOGUE AS A CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE
Evangelisation
involves dialogue with states,
dialogue with society, cultures, the sciences and other believers keeping ever
in mind the life and suffering of human beings. 238.
The
new evangelization calls on every
baptised person to be a peacemaker, and a credible witness to a reconciled
life. 239
Based
on the principles of subsidiarity and solidary,
it is the responsibility of the state to safeguard and promote the common
good of society. 240
Dialogue
between faith, reason and science
Faith
is not fearful of reason;
on the contrary it seeks and trusts reason, since the light of reason and the
light of faith both come from God. 242
Whenever
the sciences arrive at a conclusion which reason cannot refute,
faith does not contradict it. 243
Ecumenical
dialogue
The
credibility of the Christian message
would be much greater if Christians could overcome their divisions. 244
Christians
are pilgrims journeying alongside one another. this means that we must have sincere trust in our fellow pilgrims. 244
If
we concentrate on the convictions we share,
and if we keep in mind the principle of the hierarchy of truths, we will be able
to progress decidedly towards common expressions of proclamation, service and
witness. 246
We
Catholics have the opportunity to learn more about the meanings of episcopal
collegiality and their experience of synodality from our Orthodox
brothers and sisters. 246
Relations
with Judaism
The
Church, which shares with Jews an
important part of the Scriptures, looks upon the people of the Covenant and
their faith as one of the sacred roots of her own Christian identity.
247
The
friendship which has grown between us makes us bitterly and sincerely regret
the terrible persecutions which they have endured ....... especially those
that have involved Christians. 248
The
Church is enriched when she receives
the values of Judaism. 249
Interreligious
dialogue
An
attitude of openness in truth and in love must characterise the dialogue with
followers of non-Christian religions……. in spite of form of fundamentalism on
both sides. 250
In
dialogue (with non-Christian religions) ever friendly and sincere, attention
must always be paid to the essential bond between dialogue
and proclamation. 251
Together
with us the followers of Islam adore the one, merciful God, who will judge
humanity on the last day. 252
Christians
should embrace with affection and respect Muslim immigrants to our countries in
the same way that we hope and ask to be received and respected in countries of
Islamic faith. 253
Non-Christians,
by God’s gracious initiative, when they are faithful to their own consciences,
can live justified by the grace of God and thus be associated with the paschal
mystery of Christ. 254
Social
dialogues in a context of religious freedom
The
fundamental human right to religious freedom
includes the freedom to choose
the religion which one judges to be true and to manifest one’s religious
beliefs in public. 255
Intellectuals
and serious journalists
frequently descend to crude and superficial generalisations in speaking of the
shortcomings of religion. 256
We
feel close to those who do (are not) part
of any religious tradition, yet sincerely seek the truth, goodness and
beauty which we believe have their highest expression and source in God. 257
Believers
and non-believers agree
able to engage in dialogue about fundamental issues of ethics, art and science,
and about the search for transcendence. 257
There
is an inescapable social dimension of the Gospel message, and I encourage
all Christians to demonstrate it by their words, attitudes and deeds. 258
Chapter 5
SPIRIT-FILLED EVANGELISERS
Spirit-filled
evangelisers
means evangelisers fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit.
259
The
Holy Spirit grants the courage to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with
boldness. 259
Without
prayer all our activity risks
being fruitless and our message empty. 259
No
words of encouragement will be enough unless the fire of the Holy Spirit burns
in our hearts. 261
-
REASONS
FOR A RENEWED MISSIONARY IMPULSE
Spirit-filled
evangelisers are evangelisers who prayer and work. 262
Mystical
notions
without a solid social and missionary outreach are no help to evangelisation. 262
Dissertations
or social or pastoral practices
which lack a spirituality which can change hearts are not help to evangelisation.
262
Without
prolonged moments of adoration, of
prayerful encounter with the word, of
sincere conversation with the Lord our easily become meaningless ….. our
fervour dies out. 262
The
Church urgently needs the deep breath of
prayer… prayerful reading of
God’s word and perpetual adoration
of the Eucharist at every level of ecclesial life. 262
There
is also the risk that some moments of prayer can become an excuse for not
offering one’s life in mission … and lead Christians to take refuge in some false
forms of spirituality. 262
Every
period of history is marked by the presence of human
weakness, self-absorption, complacency and selfishness and concupiscence
which preys upon us all. 263
Personal
encounter with the saving love of Jesus
The
primary reason for evangelising is the love of Jesus which we have received.
What kind of love would not feel the need to speak of the beloved ? 264
The
best incentive for sharing the Gospel comes from contemplating it with love. We
need to recover a
contemplative spirit to realise that we have been entrusted with a treasure.
246
Sometimes
we lose our enthusiasm for mission because we forget that the Gospel responds to
our deepest needs since we were created for friendship with Jesus
and love of others. 265
There
already exists in individuals and peoples an
expectation, even an unconscious one, of knowing the truth about God, about
man, and how we are to be set from sin and death. 265
Our
infinite sadness can be cured only by an
infinite love. But this conviction has to be sustained by our own constantly
renewed experience of savouring Christ’s friendship. 265,6
A
true missionary, who never ceases to be a disciple, knows that Jesus
walks with him, speaks to him, breathes with him, works with him. 266
A
person who is not convinced,
enthusiastic, certain and in love, will convince nobody.
266
If
we wish to commit ourselves fully and perseveringly, we need to leave every
other motivation behind. 267
The
spiritual savour of being a people
To
be evangelisers we need to develop a spiritual taste for being close
to people’s lives and to discover that this is a source of greater joy.
268
Mission
is at once a passion for Jesus and a passion
for people. 268
Jesus
sends us to his people. He wants to make use of us to draw closer to his beloved
people. Without this sense of belonging,
we cannot understand our deepest identity. 268
Moved
by the example of Jesus we want to enter
fully into the fabric of society, sharing the lives of all, not from a sense
of obligation but from a personal decision which brings joy to our lives. 269
Sometimes
we want to be that kind of Christian who keeps the Lord’s wounds at arm’s
length. Yet Jesus wants us to touch the
suffering flesh of others. 270
Jesus
hopes that we will stop looking for personal and communal niches which shelter
us from human misfortune, and enter into
the reality of people’s lives and know the power of tenderness.
270
Clearly
Jesus does not want us to be grandees who look down on others, but men
and women of the people. 271
One
who does not love others ‘walks in darkness’1 J.2.11), ‘remains in
death’ (1. Jn. 3.14) and ‘does not know God’ (1 Jn. 4.8) 272
When
we encounter another person in love, we learn something new about God
……. We grow in faith. 272
Only
the person who feels happiness in seeking
the good of others, in desiring their happiness, can be a missionary. 272
We
have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing
light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing. 273
If
we are to share our lives with others, we have to realise that every
person is worthy of our giving. He or she reflects God’s glory. 274
We
achieve fulfilment when we break down walls and
our heart is filled with faces and names! 274
The
mysterious working of the risen Christ and his Spirit
‘Why
should I deny myself my comforts and
pleasures if I won’t see any result ?’ ….. This is a self-destructive
attitude. 275
Christ’s
resurrection
is not an event of the past; it contains a vital power which has permeated this
world. 276
Often
it seems that God does not exist:
all around us we see persistent injustice, evil, indifference and cruelty.
However dark things are, goodness always re-emerges and spreads.
276
Our
hearts can tire
of the struggle because in the end we are caught up in ourselves, in a careerism
which thirsts for recognition applause, rewards and status. 277
Faith
means believing that God marches
triumphantly in history with those who ‘are called and chosen and
faithful’ (Rev. 17.14) 278
The
kingdom
is here, it returns, it struggles to flourish anew. Christ’s resurrection
everywhere calls forth seeds of the new world. Even if they are cut back, they
grow again. 278
Because
we do not always see these seeds (of the kingdom) growing, we need an interior
certainty, a conviction that God is able to act in every situation, even amid apparent setbacks. 279
Fruitfulness
is often invisible,
elusive and unquantifiable. We know that our lives will be fruitful without
claiming to know how, or where, or when. None of our acts of love will be lost. 279
Keeping
our missionary fervour alive calls for firm trust in the Holy Spirit. So we need
to invoke the Spirit constantly. 280
There
is no greater freed than allowing oneself to be guided
by the Holy Spirit, renouncing the attempt to plan and control everything to
the last detail. 280
The
missionary power of intercessory prayer
One
form of prayer moves us particularly to take up the task of evangelisation and
to seek the good of others: it is the prayer
of intercession. 281
Our
prayer of gratitude to God for others
is a spiritual gaze born of deep faith which acknowledges what God is doing in
the lives of others. 281
God
is always there first but what our intercession achieves is that his power, his
love and his faithfulness are shown ever more clearly in the midst of is people. 283
11.
MARY, MOTHER OF EVANGELISATION
Mary
joined the disciples
in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit and thus made possible the
missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost. 284
Jesus’
gift to his people
Jesus
left us his mother to be our mother
……. The Lord did not want to leave the Church without this icon of
womanhood. 285
She
is the friend who is ever concerned that wine
not be lacking in our lives. 286
As
mother of us all, she is a sign of hope for
people suffering the birth pangs of justice. 286
Star
of the new evangelisation
We
ask the Mother of the living Gospel to intercede that this invitation to a
new phase of evangelisation will be accepted by the entire ecclesial
community. 287
Along
the journey of evangelisation we will have our moments
of aridity, darkness and even fatigue. Mary herself experienced these things
during the years of Jesus’ childhood. 287
Mary,
for many years, lived in intimacy with the mystery of her Son, and went forward
in her pilgrimage of faith. 287
Whenever
we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the
revolutionary nature of love and tenderness.
288
The
interplay of justice and tenderness, of
contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community
look to Mary as a model of evangelisation.
288
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