At the weekly General Audience, Pope Francis continues his series of catecheses on apostolic zeal, reflecting on the Christian mission of sharing the joy of the Gospel.
By Devin Watkins
Pope Francis reflects on his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudiumin his catechesis on apostolic zeal at the General Audience on Wednesday.
Mgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, official of the Secretariat of State, read the catechesis prepared by the Pope, since he is still recovering from lung inflammation.
He focused on the relevance of the Christian proclamation of the joy inherent in the message of Christ.
Contemporary pessimism
“Today you almost always hear bad things,” he noted, admitting that wars, climate change and widespread injustices give credence to this contemporary pessimism.
The Pope said technological progress and individualism often combine to surrender our natural desires for greatness to a “ravenous economic logic.”
“We could even say that we find ourselves in the first civilization in history which globally seeks to organize a human society without the presence of God, concentrated in immense cities which remain horizontal despite their dizzying skyscrapers. »
The biblical Tower of Babel comes to mind when considering this vicious circle, the Pope said.
He stressed that the temptation of unified human thought is to descend into nationalism and lust for power.
‘Here and now’ of salvation
In response to this situation, Pope Francis said Evangelii Gaudium sought to invite the Church to evangelize our cultures by understanding humanity’s new ways of relating to God and others.
“Jesus can only be proclaimed by inhabiting the culture of his time; and always taking to heart the words of the Apostle Paul concerning the present: “Behold, now is the acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation,’” he said.
The truth, added the Pope, becomes more credible when we bear witness to it with our lives.
Filling society with the joy and hope of the Gospel
He then offered a more positive vision of contemporary culture, emphasizing that the Gospel offers a message of hope for every age, including our own.
“Apostolic zeal is never a mere repetition of an acquired style, but the testimony that the Gospel is alive here for us today,” he said.
The Church, the Pope said, must go out into the streets of our world to promote encounter and unity, rather than shouting the name of Jesus from a balcony.
In conclusion, Pope Francis said that the Church must be at the crossroads of society, so that Christians can fill our pessimistic societies with the hope and joy of the Gospel.
“Let us make Jesus’ desire our own: to help other travelers not to lose the desire for God, to open their hearts to Him and to find the One who, today and always, gives peace and joy to humanity. »
