The General Audience this morning, Wednesday 15 November 2023, took place at 9:00 am in St. Peter’s Square.
In his address in Italian, the Pope continued the cycle of catechesis Passion for Evangelisation: the apostolic zeal of the believer. Proclamation is joy.
At the general audience, Francis said he wanted to summarise the catechesis on apostolic zeal in the light of Evangelii Gaudium: the proclamation of Christ is always young, today’s man and society “which leaves the spaces of religious meaning deserted” need it.
After summarising his catechesis in the various languages, the Holy Father addressed special expressions of greeting to the faithful present.
The General Audience concluded with the recitation of the Pater Noster and the Apostolic Blessing.
The following is the text of the complete catechesis, the greetings, and the words of the Holy Father in English.
***
Catechesis. The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 26. Proclamation is joy
Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!
After encountering several witnesses of the proclamation of the Gospel, I propose summarizing this cycle of catechesis on apostolic zeal in four points, inspired by the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium, whose tenth anniversary we celebrate this month. The first point, which we will see today, the first of the four, cannot but relate to the attitude on which the substance of the evangelizing gesture depends: joy. Joy. The Christian message, as we have heard from the angel’s words to the shepherds, is the proclamation of “a great joy” (Lk 2: 10). And the reason? Good news, a surprise, a beautiful event? Much more, a Person: Jesus! He is the God made man who came to us. The question, dear brothers and sisters, is therefore not whether to proclaim it, but how to proclaim it, and this “how” is joy. Either we proclaim Jesus with joy, or we do not proclaim him, because another way of proclaiming him is not capable of bringing the true reality of Jesus.
This is why a Christian who is discontented, a sad Christian, a dissatisfied, or worse still, resentful or rancorous Christian, is not credible. This person will talk about Jesus but no-one will believe him! Once someone said to me, talking about these Christians, “But these are po-faced Christians!”, that is, they express nothing, they are like that, and joy is essential. It is essential to keep watch over our sentiments. Evangelization works in gratuitousness, because it comes from fullness, not from pressure. And when one evangelizes – one would try to do this, but it does not work – on the basis of ideologies: the Gospel is a proclamation, a proclamation of joy. Ideologies are cold, all of them. The Gospel has the warmth of joy. Ideologies do not know how to smile; the Gospel is a smile, it makes you smile because it touches the soul with the Good News.
The birth of Jesus, in history as in life, is the source of joy: think of what happened to the disciples of Emmaus, who could not believe their joy, and the others, then, the disciples all together, when Jesus goes to the Upper Room, could not believe their joy. The joy of having the risen Jesus. An encounter with Jesus always brings you joy, and if this does not happen to you, it is not a true encounter with Jesus.
And what Jesus does with the disciples tells us that the first to need to be evangelized are the disciples. The first who to need to be evangelized are us: we Christians. And this is very important. Immersed in today’s fast-pace and confused environment, we too indeed may find ourselves living our faith with a subtle sense of renunciation, persuaded that the Gospel is no longer heard and no longer worth striving to proclaim. We might even be tempted by the idea of letting “others” go their own way. Instead, this is precisely the time to return to the Gospel to discover that Christ “is forever young, he is forever a constant source of newness” (cf. Evangelii gaudium, 11).
Thus, like the two at Emmaus, one returns to daily life with the enthusiasm of one who has found treasure: they were joyful, those two, because they had found Jesus, and he changed their life. And one discovers that humanity abounds with brothers and sisters waiting for a word of hope. The Gospel is awaited even today. People of today are like people of all times: they need it. Even the civilization of programmed unbelief and institutionalized secularity; indeed, especially the society that leaves the spaces of religious meaning deserted, needs Jesus. This is the right moment for the proclamation of Jesus. Therefore, I would like to say again to everyone: “The joy of the Gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew”. Do not forget this. And if anyone does not perceive this joy, they should ask themselves if they have found Jesus. An inner joy. The Gospel takes the path of joy, always, it is the great proclamation. “I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed … encounter with Jesus Christ (ibid., 1, 1.3) Each one of you, take a little time and think: “Jesus, you are within me. I want to encounter you every day. You are a Person, you are not an idea; you are a travelling companion, you are not a programme. You, Jesus, are the source of joy. You are the beginning of evangelization. You, Jesus, are the source of joy!”. Amen.
_________________________________________
Special Greetings
I welcome all the English-speaking pilgrims taking part in today’s Audience, particularly the groups from England, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea and the United States of America. Upon all of you and upon your families, I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!
____________________________
Summary of the Holy Father’s words
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
In our continuing catechesis on apostolic zeal, we now turn to the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and its summons to a renewed proclamation of the “joy of the Gospel”. The reason for that joy, which was first announced by the angels in Bethlehem, is our personal encounter with Jesus, who, now risen from the dead, offers us the promise of new and eternal life.
We see this in the Gospel story of the disciples who met the risen Lord on the road to Emmaus. With their hearts set afire by the Word of God that he proclaimed to them, they then recognized him in the breaking of the bread and joyfully returned to Jerusalem to announce his resurrection to the others.
Like those disciples, we too need to encounter the Lord ever anew in his Word and his sacramental presence, in order to share the liberating message of the Gospel with others. In our troubled world, so many people await a word of hope. May all Christians take up the challenge of sharing the joy of their own encounter with the risen Lord, the new life bestowed by his Spirit, and the freedom born of trust in his promises.
