The ChosenIn the skin of the apostles and the holy womenTo the thresholds of the apostlesMissionaries who allow themselves to be evangelizedDuring the general audience, the Holy Father resumed the cycle of catecheses on the apostolic zealThe proclamation of "the joy of the Gospel," which is born of a relationship with God. After "having seen in Jesus the model and the master of proclamation, we move on today to the first disciples," the Pope said. Last Wednesday, Francis synthesized and commented on his recent apostolic journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan.
As usual, a summary of the catechesis was translated into several languages, including Arabic. Before giving the Blessing, the Pope invited everyone to "bear witness to the Gospel every day", and recalled "the beloved and martyrized Ukraine"He prayed that "his cruel sufferings would soon come to an end". Earlier, he had also prayed in a special way for the sick.
"This is what must be said, first and foremost: God is near. We, preaching, often invite people to do something, and that is fine; but let us not forget that the main message is that He is close to us," began the Pope, who divided his catechesis into three parts: why announce, what to announce, and how to do it, commenting on chapter 10 of the Gospel according to St. Matthewwhich he invited to read.
"The proclamation must give primacy to God, and to others the opportunity to welcome Him, to realize that He is near," Francis stressed as he reflected on the first disciples. The Gospel tells us that 'Jesus appointed twelve to be with him and to send them out to preach' (Mk 3:14). This means that 'being' with the Lord and 'going out' to proclaim him - we could say, contemplation and action - are two dimensions of Christian life that always go hand in hand.
In the final synthesis, the Pope pointed out that "the gift of knowing Jesus, which we have received freely, we are also freely called to share with others. What we proclaim is the love of God, which transforms our lives. And the way to transmit it is with simplicity and gentleness, without attachment to material goods and together, in community. No one goes alone, the Church is missionary, and in mission she finds her unity".
"I encourage you to read the Gospel often and to confront our lives and our apostolates with the words of Jesus, which show us the way to be disciples and missionaries after the measure of his Heart. May God bless you," the Pope said.
"The announcement is born from the encounter with the Lord".
In the introduction to his message, the Pope affirmed that "There is no going without being", and neither is there "being without going". First of all, there is no going without being: "Proclamation is born of an encounter with the Lord; all Christian activity, especially mission, begins there. Witnessing to him, in fact, means radiating him; but, if we do not receive his light, we will be extinguished; if we do not frequent him, we will carry ourselves instead of him, and all will be in vain. Therefore, only he who is with Jesus can carry the Gospel of Jesus".
"But, equally, there is no being without going," he added. "In fact, following Christ is not an intimate fact: without proclamation, without service, without mission, the relationship with Him does not grow."
The Holy Father noted that, in the Gospel, the Lord sends the disciples before they have completed their preparation. "This means that the experience of mission is part of formation. Let us remember then these two constitutive moments for every disciple: to be and to go. He called the disciples before sending them out, Christ addresses a discourse to them, known as the "missionary discourse". It is found in chapter 10 of the Gospel of Matthew and is like the 'constitution' of the proclamation".
In relation to the three aspects mentioned above, these were some of the Pope's words:
1) Why proclaim. "The motivation lies in five words of Jesus that will do us good to remember: 'Freely you received it; freely give it to others' (v. 8). 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, in gratuitousness". "The joy of being children of God must be shared with our brothers and sisters who do not yet know it! This is the reason for the proclamation.
2) "What to announce? Jesus says: 'Go and proclaim that the kingdom of heaven is at hand' (v. 7). It has been related at the beginning.
3) How to announce. "This is the aspect on which Jesus elaborates the most; 'I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves' (v. 16). He does not ask us to know how to face the wolves, that is, to be able to argue, counterattack and defend ourselves. We would think like this: we become relevant, numerous, prestigious and the world will listen to us and respect us. No, I send you like sheep, like lambs. He asks us to be like this, to be meek and innocent, ready to sacrifice; in fact, the lamb represents this: meekness, innocence, surrender. And He, the Shepherd, will recognize His lambs and protect them from the wolves".
On this aspect, added the Pope, who is the Pastor of the universal Church, as indicated in point 882 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, "it is striking that Jesus, instead of prescribing what to take on mission, tells us what not to take"; "that we should not rely on material certainties, that we should go into the world without worldliness. This is how it is announced: showing Jesus more than speaking about Jesus". "And finally, going together: the Lord sends all the disciples, but no one goes alone. The apostolic Church is entirely missionary and in mission she finds her unity," he concluded.
