With a more recovered tone of voice, and on some occasions standing, the Holy Father presided this morning, the feast of St. LuciaThe Pope, virgin and martyr, held the 30th and last session of the cycle of catechesis on the passion to evangelize, the apostolic zeal of the believer, in the Paul VI Hall of the Vatican. The theme of the Audience has been "EffatáThe "Open Church", based on the Gospel passage of the healing of a deaf-mute by Jesus (Mk 7:31-35).
Numerous Mexican chants to the Virgin of Guadalupe, whose feast day was celebrated yesterday, preceded the catechesis, along with shouts of Viva el Papa!
The Pontiff insisted once again that "let us not forget to ask for the gift of peace for the peoples suffering from the war, especially for Israel, Palestine and the tormented Ukraine". He recalled the pain and suffering of these peoples, and called for a humanitarian cease-fire, because humanitarian aid is urgently needed in Gaza. He also called for the release of all hostages, and again cried out: "No to war, yes to peace".
"Launch ourselves into the sea of the world."
In his meditation, the Pontiff recalled that "Effatá"is an expression that the celebrant says at the moment of baptism, while touching the ears and lips of the baptized. "It is a call to open and expand the whole person to receive the proclamation of Jesus and go out on mission."
"Let us allow the Lord to touch our tongues and ears, to open them, to untie them to announce his presence that liberates and comforts everyone, especially those who suffer most," the Pope said. "May he fill us with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to fan the flame of divine love in the hearts of all, without fear, with courage. Abandoning personal securities and trusting in the call of Jesus will make us launch out into the sea of the world, ready to go and announce to all peoples what we have seen and heard."
"Let us not forget," continued the Holy Father, "that the Lord calls us to open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit, to listen to his voice and to allow ourselves to be impelled by the passion to evangelize; this is a task that concerns every Christian. (...) "We too, who have been given the effetá of the Spirit in baptism, we are called to open ourselves. "Open up," Jesus says to every believer and to his Church: open up because the message of the Gospel needs you to be witnessed to and proclaimed! Open yourself, do not close yourself in your religious comforts and in the "it has always been done this way"! Open yourself, Church, to the breath of the Holy Spirit, who urges you to be missionary, evangelizing!".
"The love we give"
The "Effatá (Open yourself)" of Jesus, "is an invitation to rediscover the joy of mission in the fire of the Spirit. Missionary zeal, in fact, is not propaganda to gain consensus, it is not proselytism, nor is it filling one's head with notions, but rather to ignite in the heart the spark of God's love. To paraphrase a beautiful expression, we could say that the heart of those to whom we proclaim is not a vessel to be filled, but a fire to be lit," the Pope explained.
Therefore, "apostolic zeal does not depend on organization, but on ardor; it is not measured by the consent we receive but by the love we give. (...). The message is clear: to be shepherds of God's people, we must be fishers of men, ready to leave the shores of our own security to set sail with the Gospel on the sea of the world".
Francis also invited us to examine ourselves with these questions: "Let us also ask ourselves: Do I really love the Lord, to the point of wanting to proclaim him? Do I want to become his witness or am I content to be his disciple? Do I take the people I meet to heart? Do I bring them to Jesus in prayer? Do I want to do something so that the joy of the Gospel, which has transformed my life, may also make theirs more beautiful?
"Celebrate at Christmas the coming of the Christ Child."
In his greeting to the pilgrims in various languages, the Holy Father invited "all of us, as baptized Christians, to bear witness to Jesus and to proclaim him. Let us also ask for the grace, as a Church, to carry out pastoral and missionary conversion" (French language). To English-speakers he reminded them of the Advent and the ChristmasI welcome all English-speaking pilgrims, especially the groups from Malaysia and the United States of America. To each of you, and to your families, I wish you a fruitful Advent journey to celebrate at Christmas the coming of the Child Jesus, the Savior of the world. May God bless you.
To the German-speaking people he recalled "may St. Lucy, Virgin and Martyr, whose liturgical memory falls today, help us to make Christ shine with our witness of faith, light of the peoples".
The Pope told the Arabs that "by virtue of baptism, every Christian is called to be a prophet, witness and missionary of the Lord, by the power of the Holy Spirit and to the ends of the earth. May the Lord bless you all and protect you always from all evil.
He emphasized to the Poles that "a special way of living Advent in your country is to participate in the Masses. Rorate caeli. May this beautiful tradition, which expresses the expectation, together with Mary, of the coming of the Savior, become an opportunity to give witness to your living faith".
And he encouraged Spanish-speaking people "not to forget that the Lord calls us to open ourselves to the breath of the Holy Spirit to listen to his voice and allow ourselves to be impelled by the passion to evangelize; this is a task that concerns every Christian. May Jesus bless you and the Holy Virgin watch over you".
Finally, in Italian, Francis recalled St. Lucy, and pointed out that "in some parts of Italy and Europe it is customary to exchange gifts on this feast because of the proximity of Christmas. I would like to invite you all to exchange the gift of friendship and Christian witness, which is a precious gift".
