The Pope has dedicated 29 general audiences from January 11 to December 6, 2023 to the passion for evangelization. First of all, we should ask ourselves if evangelization is something that really "impassions" us Christians.
At the same time, the fact that an entire year has been dedicated to this theme undoubtedly highlights the priority that evangelization has in Francis' teachings.
What evangelization is or what it consists of is something that should be evaluated according to its own teachings, since it is a word that has been used since the beginning of time. Vatican Council II has been acquiring different meanings. It began by signifying the first missionary proclamation of the faith.
Today it means the entire apostolic work of the Church: everything that is done in her, both individually by individual Christians and institutionally, to spread the message of the Gospel, the "good news" of salvation in Christ. All this, knowing that it is not simply a matter of "informing" about a message, but of continuing to exercise the "divine pedagogy" of Revelation: with deeds and words, communicating a message that is, at the same time, Life for each person and for the world.
The contemporary magisterium conceives evangelization as a process with different stages or moments (cf. Paul VI, Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi1975, n. 17 ff.): each of them is distinguished from the others and represents, at the same time, a dimension that in some way is present in all of them. Thus, for example, the first is the witness, which is like the preparation for the first proclamation (kerygma).
However, both are still present in the later elements. "Evangelization, we have said, is a complex step, with varied elements: renewal of humanity, witness, explicit proclamation [clear proclamation of Jesus Christ], adhesion of the heart, entry into the community, acceptance of the signs [sacraments], apostolic initiatives. These elements may seem contrasting, even exclusive. In reality, they are complementary and mutually enriching. Each of them must always be seen as integrated with the others." (ibid., 24).
Due to space constraints, we limit ourselves here to presenting the first part of the catechesis (up to and including March 22). That is, the first eight Wednesdays, in which the Pope explained the nature and structure of evangelization. Then, and almost to the end, he showed us the figures of Christians who have left us an exemplary testimony of what passion for the Gospel means.
All Christians must be "Church in going out".
Francis introduced his catechesis as ".an urgent and decisive theme for Christian life: the passion for evangelization, that is, apostolic zeal. [...] This is a vital dimension for the Church, the community of the disciples of Jesus is born apostolic and missionary".. Everything starts from the call to the apostolate (January 11, 2023) that Christ addressed to his apostles (cf. Mt 9:9-13).
From the beginning it is revealed who is the protagonist of the evangelization that manifests the being "going out" of the Church: "...".The Holy Spirit shapes her going out - the Church going out, going forth - so that she does not close in on herself, but is extroverted, a contagious witness of Jesus - faith is also contagious - spreading out to radiate her light to the ends of the earth.".
But what happens if this apostolic ardor wanes, eclipses or cools?"When Christian life loses sight of the horizon of evangelization, the horizon of proclamation, it becomes sick: it closes in on itself, becomes self-referential, atrophies. Without apostolic zeal, faith withers. Mission, on the other hand, is the oxygen of Christian life: it invigorates and purifies it.".
The Pope is preparing to "to rediscover the evangelizing passion, starting from Scripture and the teaching of the Church, in order to draw apostolic zeal from its sources.". And it begins with the call of Matthew, whom Jesus chooses after looking at him with mercy (cf. Mt 9:9-13) and changing him interiorly, healing him of his miseries. The apostle begins his task from his own home, from his own environment, with those who know him. He went there and gave an attractive and joyful witness of Jesus.
Jesus, model and teacher of proclamation
In fact, the model of evangelizing proclamation is Jesus himself (cf. General Audience, January 18, 2023). "God does not stand contemplating the fold of his sheep, nor does he threaten them so that they will not leave. Rather, if one goes out and gets lost, he does not abandon it, but seeks it out. He does not say, 'She's gone, it's her fault, it's her own business!' The pastoral heart reacts differently: the pastoral heart suffers, the pastoral heart takes risks. It suffers: yes, God suffers for those who leave and, as he weeps for them, he loves them even more.".
In evangelization, therefore, it is not a matter of seeking others so that they may be "one of us" (which would be mere proselytism), but of loving them so that they may be happy children of God. "Because without this love that suffers and risks, our life does not go well: if we Christians do not have this love that suffers and risks, we run the risk of shepherding only ourselves. Shepherds who are shepherds of themselves, instead of being shepherds of the flock, dedicate themselves to combing sheep. We must not be shepherds of ourselves, but shepherds of all.".
Jesus is not only a model, but also a master of evangelizing proclamation (cf. General Audience, January 25, 1992). In his preaching in the synagogue of Nazareth (cf. Lk 4:17-21), Jesus manifests the essential elements of proclamation: joy, because he affirms that he has been anointed and "sent to bring the Good News to the poor(v. 18); liberation, because he has come to proclaim liberation to the captives (ibid.), not to impose burdens, but to show the beauty of the Christian life; light: he comes to restore the "..." (ibid.).sight for the blind(ibid.) bringing the light of sonship, because life is illuminated when we know we are children of the Father; healing, because it comes to "..." (ibid.).to set the oppressed free"(ibid.) for the sicknesses and faults of sin (cf. v. 19); and, finally, amazement, before the action of God's grace.
And all this without forgetting that it is a "happy announcement", precisely because it is addressed "to the poor. "To welcome the Lord, each one of us must become 'poor inside'. With that poverty that makes you say... 'Lord, I need forgiveness, I need help, I need strength'".
Root, content and mode of the announcement
And what did Jesus' disciples do? What was their first apostolate like? (cf. General Audience, Feb. 15, 2023). He called them and "instituted twelve, whom He called apostles, to be with Him and to send them out to preach, to preach the gospel." (Mk 3:14). Following the tradition of Christian preaching, the Pope points out this need to "be" with Jesus in order to be able to "go", to evangelize; and vice versa (for there is no "being" without "going").
And there he underlines three aspects: firstly, the reason for evangelization, the beauty and gratuitousness of the proclamation of faith; its content (the closeness, mercy and tenderness of God); and finally, the fundamental aspect, the witness of the faith., which involves thought, affection and action. Other conditions are: humility and meekness, detachment and ecclesial communion.
The Holy Spirit and the "principle of proclamation".
Jesus commands "make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit"(Mt 28:29). The protagonism of the Holy Spirit is seen continually after Pentecost, in the book of the Acts of the Apostles (cf. General Audience, 22 Feb. 2023). The historic decision of the "Council of Jerusalem" (cf. Acts 15:28) teaches us what the Pope calls "the principle of proclamation", that is to say: "Every option, every use, every structure, every tradition must be evaluated to the extent that it favors the proclamation of Christ.".
If it is important to start from surveys and sociological analyses of the situation, challenges, expectations and complaints, it is much more important to start from our own experiences of the Spirit (to seek them out, study them, interpret them).
The duty of evangelization
The Pope dedicated two audiences to the teachings of the Second Vatican Council on evangelization. In the first, he presented evangelization as ecclesial service (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-2) (cf. General Audience, 8-III-2023). Since the Holy Spirit is the principle of unity and life, "architect of evangelization"This is always done by transmitting what we have received. in Ecclesia. This ecclesial dimension of evangelization is important, because there is always the temptation to go "alone", especially when there are difficulties and more effort is required.
"Equally dangerous -the bishop of Rome said. is the temptation to follow easier pseudo-church paths, to adopt the mundane logic of numbers and polls, to rely on the strength of our ideas, programs, structures, on the 'relationships that matter'.". And that, he says, is secondary.
You have a lot of resources in "the school of the Second Vatican Council"(and specifically in the decree Ad gentes, on the missions) we learn that the impetus for evangelization arises from God the Father's love for all, because no one is excluded.. It is the duty of the Church to continue the mission of Christ and to follow the same path of poverty, obedience, service and immolation until death, a path that ends in the resurrection.
Therefore, apostolic zeal is not enthusiasm, but God's grace and service.. And that corresponds to all Christians, not only to those who preach. That is why: "If you do not evangelize, if you do not set an example, if you do not give testimony of the Baptism you have received, of the faith the Lord has given you, you are not a good Christian.". What we have received we must give to others, with a sense of responsibility, even if it is sometimes by difficult paths.
This is also expressed in the "creative search for new ways of proclaiming and witnessing, for new ways of encountering the wounded humanity that Christ took upon himself. In short, new ways of rendering service to the Gospel and of rendering service to humanity.".
On the following Wednesday (cf. General Audience 15-III-23), Francis insisted on the declaration of the Council: ".The Christian vocation, by its very nature, is also a vocation to the apostolate."(Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity, 2). This is, in the Church, for all and the responsibility of all, each according to his or her own condition and gifts. It is therefore also the duty of the laity, who are made sharers in the priestly, prophetic and kingly mediation of Christ.
We all have the vocation to serve others, and for that we must try to dialogue, to begin, among ourselves, to know how to listen to each other and to flee from the vanity of positions.
– Supernatural Evangelii nuntiandithe magna carta magna of evangelization
The magna carta of evangelization is the apostolic exhortation of St. Paul VI Evangelii nuntiandi (EN) of 1975. The Pope elaborated on this text in his audience of March 22.
Paul VI points out that evangelization is more than a simple doctrinal and moral transmission: it is first and foremost a witness.. Pope Montini famously said: "The world needs "evangelists who speak to them about a God whom they themselves know and treat familiarly." (EN, 76). "Contemporary man listens more willingly to those who bear witness than to those who teach [...], or, if they listen to those who teach, it is because they bear witness." (EN, 41).
This is, following the witness of Christ and united to Him, the primary means of evangelization (cf. ibid.) and an essential condition for its efficacy (EN, 76), so that the proclamation of the Gospel may be fruitful. Witness, says Francis, is "to transmit God who becomes life in me".
The Pope notes that witness includes professed faith, that is, faith that transforms our relationships, criteria and evaluations. "Witness, therefore, cannot do without consistency between what is believed and what is proclaimed and what is lived." That is why the opposite of witnessing is hypocrisy. Hence the question: Do you believe what you proclaim? Do you live what you believe? Do you proclaim what you live?
In this sense, the witness of Christian life implies the path of holiness, based on baptism: "...".Paul VI teaches that zeal for evangelization springs from holiness, flows from a heart full of 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." (EN, 76). At the same time, without holiness the word of the evangelizer "It will hardly make a breakthrough in the hearts of the men of this time. It runs the risk of becoming vain and infertile". (ibid.).
It is also important to be aware that the recipients of evangelization are not only others, but also ourselves. This is why Paul VI says that "the Church as such must also begin to evangelize itself". (EN, 15).
This means, Francis points out, "to walk a demanding path, a path of conversion, of renewal"without taking refuge in the "it has always been done this way". To this end, we must enter into dialogue with the contemporary world, weave fraternal relationships, seek spaces for encounter, carry out good practices of hospitality, welcome, recognition and integration of the other and of otherness, and care for the common home that is creation.
As a synthesis of the catechesis, in his last audiences (from November 15 to December 6), the Pope emphasized four fundamental characteristics of evangelization: the proclamation of evangelization is joy; it is joy for all; it must be joy today (in a way that is meaningful and relevant in today's circumstances); and it must be joy as a gift of the Holy Spirit. "In fact -warns the Bishop of Rome-In order to 'communicate God', the joyful credibility of the witness, the universality of the proclamation and the timeliness of the message are not enough. Without the Holy Spirit, all zeal is vain and falsely apostolic: it would be ours alone and would not bear fruit.".
