The "duty" to evangelize"Form together to evangelize. Report of Roman Pontifical Universities and InstitutionsThe Holy Father started in 2023 with a topic he has considered "urgent and decisive"and, as he would say in a Wednesday catechesis session, in particular the February 15: "The theme we have chosen is: 'The passion to evangelize, apostolic zeal'. Because evangelizing is not saying: 'Look, blah blah blah blah' and nothing more; there is a passion that involves you completely: the mind, the heart, the hands, the feet... everything, the whole person is involved with the proclamation of the Gospel, and this is why we speak of the passion to evangelize.".
Then, the Pope was interested in specifying that "from the beginning we had to distinguish this: being a missionary, being apostolic, evangelizing is not the same as proselytizing, one has nothing to do with the other.". "It is a vital dimension for the Church, the community of Jesus' disciples is born apostolic and missionary, not proselytizing. [The Holy Spirit shapes it to go out - the Church going out, going forth - so that it does not withdraw into itself, but is extroverted, a contagious witness to Jesus - even faith is contagious -, oriented to radiate its light to the ends of the earth.".
Shortly thereafter, after having seen Jesus in two sessions as the "the model" y "the master" of the announcement, he passed on to the first disciples and to the ".protagonist of the proclamation: the Holy Spirit". The February 22nd notedWe reflect today on the words of Jesus that we have just heard: 'Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit' (Mt 28:19). Go," says the Risen One, "not to indoctrinate, not to proselytize, no, but to make disciples, that is, to give everyone the opportunity to come into contact with Jesus, to know him and to love him freely".
He then added that baptizing is immersion in the Trinity: "Go 'baptizing': to baptize means to immerse and, therefore, before indicating a liturgical action, it expresses a vital action: to immerse one's life in the Father, in the Son, in the Holy Spirit; to experience every day the joy of the presence of God who is close to us as Father, as Brother, as Spirit acting in us, in our own spirit. To baptize is to immerse oneself in the Trinity"..
In his catechesis, the Pontiff stressed that only with the power of the Holy Spirit can the mission of Christ be carried out: "When Jesus says to his disciples - and also to us -: 'Go,' he does not communicate just a word. No. He also communicates the Holy Spirit, because it is only thanks to him, to the Holy Spirit, that Christ's mission can be received and carried forward (cf. Jn 20:21-22). The Apostles, in fact, remained locked up in the Upper Room out of fear until the day of Pentecost arrived and the Holy Spirit descended upon them (cf. Acts 2:1-13). And at that moment the fear disappears and with their strength these fishermen, most of them illiterate, will change the world. The proclamation of the Gospel, therefore, is realized only in the power of the Spirit, who precedes the missionaries and prepares hearts: He is 'the engine of evangelization'".
Why, what and how to advertise
1) "Why advertise. The motivation lies in five words of Jesus that we would do well to remember: 'Freely you have received, freely give. These are five words, but why advertise?", the Pope asked himself in February. Here is the answer: "For freely I have received, and freely I must give. The proclamation does not start from us, but from the beauty of what we have received freely, without merit: to meet Jesus, to know him, to discover that we are loved and saved.
It is such a great gift that we cannot keep it to ourselves; we feel the need to spread it, but in the same style, that is, freely. [This is the reason for the proclamation. To go and bring the joy of what we have received.".
2)"What to announce? Jesus says: 'Go and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand'. This is what must be said, first of all and always: God is near. Let us never forget this. Closeness is one of the most important things about God. There are three important things: closeness, mercy and tenderness."said Francisco.
3) "How to proclaim: with our testimony". "This is the aspect on which Jesus elaborates the most: how to announce, what is the method, what should be the language to announce", the Pope reflected. "It is significant: it tells us that the form, the style is essential in witnessing. Witnessing does not involve only the mind and saying something, the concepts: no. It involves everything, mind, heart, hands, everything, the three languages of the person: the language of thought, the language of affection. It involves everything, mind, heart, hands, everything, the three languages of the person: the language of thought, the language of affection and the language of action. The three languages.
The Holy Father asked and answered a key question here: "And how do we show Jesus? With our witness. And finally, by going together, in community: the Lord sends all the disciples, but no one goes alone. The apostolic Church is entirely missionary and in mission she finds her unity. Therefore: go gentle and good as lambs, without worldliness, and go together. Here is the key to proclamation, this is the key to the success of evangelization"..
Evangelii nuntiandiof St. Paul VI
The March 22A few days before beginning to present the witnesses and their testimonies, Pope Francis had dedicated his catechesis to what he called "'...".magna carta magna' of evangelization in the contemporary world: the apostolic exhortation '.Evangelii nuntiandi'. of St. Paul VI (December 8, 1975)".
"It's current, it was written in 1975, but it's as if it was written yesterday." the Pontiff stressed. "Evangelization is more than a simple doctrinal and moral transmission. It is first of all witness: one cannot evangelize without witness; witness of the personal encounter with Jesus Christ, the Incarnate Word in whom salvation has been accomplished. An indispensable witness because, above all, the world needs 'evangelizers who speak to it of a God whom they themselves know and are familiar with'".
"It's not conveying an ideology or a 'doctrine' about God, no." said the Holy Father, quoting St. Paul VI. "It is to transmit God who becomes life in me: this is to bear witness; and also because 'contemporary man listens more willingly to those who bear witness than to those who teach, [...] or if he listens to those who teach, it is because they bear witness'. Witnessing to Christ, therefore, is both the primary means of evangelization and an essential condition for its efficacy, so that the proclamation of the Gospel may be fruitful. To be witnesses".
Evangelization, linked to holiness
Finally, Pope Francis quoted and commented on the words of St. Paul VI: zeal for evangelization springs from holiness. "In this sense, the witness of a Christian life entails a path of holiness, based on Baptism, which makes us 'sharers in the divine nature, and therefore truly holy' (Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, 40). A holiness that is not reserved to a few; that is a gift of God and requires to be accepted and to bear fruit for us and for others. We, chosen and loved by God, must bring this love to others. Paul VI teaches that 'zeal for evangelization' springs from holiness, it springs from a heart that is filled with God.".
"Nourished by prayer and above all by love for the Eucharist, evangelization in turn makes the people who carry it out grow in holiness. At the same time, without holiness the word of the evangelizer 'will hardly make a breakthrough in the hearts of the people of this age,' but 'runs the risk of becoming vain and unfruitful'."he added.
"Then, we must be aware that the recipients of evangelization are not only the others, those who profess other faiths or who do not profess them, but also 'ourselves', believers in Christ and active members of the People of God."said the Pope. "And we must convert every day, accept the word of God and change our lives: every day. This is the evangelization of the heart. In order to give this witness, the Church as such must also begin with the evangelization of herself.".
