The Joy of the Gospel: Evangelii Gaudium

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Questo implica «eliminare le cause strutturali delle disfunzioni della economia mondiale»: Benedetto XVI, Discorso al Corpo Diplomatico (8 gennaio 2007): AAS 99 (2007), 73. To be holy does not require being a bishop, a priest or a religious. We are frequently tempted to think that holiness is only for those who can withdraw from ordinary affairs to spend much time in prayer. That is not the case. We are all called to be holy by living our lives with love and by bearing witness in everything we do, wherever we find ourselves. Are you called to the consecrated life? Be holy by living out your commitment with joy. Are you married? Be holy by loving and caring for your husband or wife, as Christ does for the Church. Do you work for a living? Be holy by labouring with integrity and skill in the service of your brothers and sisters. Are you a parent or grandparent? Be holy by patiently teaching the little ones how to follow Jesus. Are you in a position of authority? Be holy by working for the common good and renouncing personal gain. [14]

V Konferencja Ogólna Episkopatu Ameryki Łacińskiej i Karaibów, Dokument z Aparecidy (29 czerwca 2007) 380. John Henry Newman, List z 26 stycznia 1833, w: The Letters and Diaries of John Henry Newman, vol. III, Oxford 1979, s. 204. Benedetto XVI, Omelia nella Santa Messa di apertura dell’Anno della fede (11 ottobre 2012): AAS 104 (2012), 881. The fact that their hearts burned for the word of God prompted the disciples of Emmaus to ask the mysterious Wayfarer to stay with them as evening drew near. When they gathered around the table, their eyes were opened and they recognised him when he broke the bread. The decisive element that opened the eyes of the disciples was the sequence of actions performed by Jesus: he took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to them. Those were the usual gestures of the head of a Jewish household, but, performed by Jesus Christ with the grace of the Holy Spirit, they renewed for his two table companions the sign of the multiplication of the loaves and above all that of the Eucharist, the sacrament of the sacrifice of the cross. Yet at the very moment when they recognised Jesus in the breaking of the bread, “he vanished from their sight” (Lk 24:31). Here we can recognise an essential reality of our faith: Christ, who breaks the bread, now becomes the bread broken, shared with the disciples and consumed by them. He is seen no longer, for now he has entered the hearts of the disciples, to make them burn all the more, and this prompts them to set out immediately to share with everyone their unique experience of meeting the Risen Lord. The risen Christ, then, is both the one who breaks the bread and, at the same time, the bread itself, broken for us. It follows that every missionary disciple is called to become, like Jesus and in him, through the working of the Holy Spirit, one who breaks the bread and one who is broken bread for the world. Cfr. Catechismo della Chiesa Cattolica, 1910; Pontificio Consiglio della Giustizia e della Pace, Compendio della Dottrina Sociale della Chiesa, 168.Benedetto XVI, Discorso in occasione della proiezione del documentario “Arte e fede – via pulchritudinis” (25 ottobre 2012): L’Osservatore Romano (27 ottobre 2012), p. 7. Meditazione durante la prima Congregazione generale della XIII Assemblea generale ordinaria del Sinodo dei vescovi (8 ottobre 2012) : AAS 104 (2012), 897. Evangelii Gaudium Sunday calls us to be joyous in proclaiming our faith. “ Evangelii Gaudium” is Latin for “Joy of the Gospel ”. The day supports the work carried out by the Mission Directorate on behalf of the Bishops’ Conference. The Father’s plan is Christ, and ourselves in him. In the end, it is Christ who loves in us, for “holiness is nothing other than charity lived to the full”. [24] As a result, “the measure of our holiness stems from the stature that Christ achieves in us, to the extent that, by the power of the Holy Spirit, we model our whole life on his”. [25] Every saint is a message which the Holy Spirit takes from the riches of Jesus Christ and gives to his people.

San Tommaso d’Aquino, Summa contra Gentiles, I, VII; cfr Giovanni Paolo II, Lett. enc. Fides et ratio (14 settembre 1998), 43: AAS 91 (1999), 39. Jan PawełII, Posynodalna adhort. apost. Ecclesia in America (22 stycznia 1999), 27: AAS 91 (1999), 762. As the Apostle Paul confirms, the love of Christ captivates and impels us (cf. 2 Cor 5:14). This love is two-fold: the love of Christ for us, which calls forth, inspires and arouses our love for him. A love that makes the Church, in constantly setting out anew, ever young. For all her members are entrusted with the mission of proclaiming the Gospel of Christ, in the conviction that “he died for all, so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again” (v. 15). All of us can contribute to this missionary movement: with our prayers and activities, with material offerings and the offering of our sufferings, and with our personal witness. The Pontifical Mission Societies are the privileged means of fostering this missionary cooperation on both the spiritual and material levels. For this reason, the collection taken on World Mission Sunday is devoted to the Pontifical Society for the Propagation of the Faith. Questo atteggiamento si trasforma anche in un ringraziamento a Dio per gli altri: «Anzitutto rendo grazie al mio Dio per mezzo di Gesù Cristo riguardo a tutti voi» ( Rm 1,8). Si tratta di un ringraziamento costante: «Rendo grazie continuamente al mio Dio per voi, a motivo della grazia di Dio che vi è stata data in Cristo Gesù» ( 1 Cor 1,4); «Rendo grazie al mio Dio ogni volta che mi ricordo di voi» ( Fil 1,3). Non è uno sguardo incredulo, negativo e senza speranza, ma uno sguardo spirituale, di profonda fede, che riconosce quello che Dio stesso opera in loro. Al tempo stesso, è la gratitudine che sgorga da un cuore veramente attento agli altri. In tale maniera, quando un evangelizzatore riemerge dalla preghiera, il suo cuore è diventato più generoso, si è liberato della coscienza isolata ed è desideroso di compiere il bene e di condividere la vita con gli altri.

Giving one’s life for the poor

Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines, Lettera pastorale What is Happening to our Beautiful Land? (29 gennaio 1988). Then, “as they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and walked with them” (v. 15). As when he first called the disciples, so now, amid their bewilderment, the Lord takes the initiative; he approaches them and walks alongside them. So too, in his great mercy, he never tires of being with us, despite all our failings, doubts, weaknesses, and the dismay and pessimism that make us become “foolish and slow of heart” (v. 25), men and women of little faith. Cfr Propositio 6; Conc. Ecum. Vat. II, Cost. past. sulla Chiesa nel mondo contemporaneo Gaudium et spes, 22. Jan PawełII, Posynodalna Adhort. apost. Ecclesia in Asia (6 listopada 1999), 19: AAS 92 (2000), 478.

V Konferencja Ogólna Episkopatu Ameryki Łacińskiej i Karaibów, Dokument z Aparecidy (29 czerwca 2007), 201. La gioia del Vangelo riempie il cuore e la vita intera di coloro che si incontrano con Gesù. Coloro che si lasciano salvare da Lui sono liberati dal peccato, dalla tristezza, dal vuoto interiore, dall’isolamento. Con Gesù Cristo sempre nasce e rinasce la gioia. In questa Esortazione desidero indirizzarmi ai fedeli cristiani, per invitarli a una nuova tappa evangelizzatrice marcata da questa gioia e indicare vie per il cammino della Chiesa nei prossimi anni.Por. Jan Paweł II, Posynodalna Adhort. apost. Familiaris consortio(22 listopada 1981), 34c: AAS 74 (1982), 123. Discorso di apertura del Concilio Ecumenico Vaticano II (11 ottobre 1962), 4, 2-4: AAS 54 (1962), 789. Giovanni Paolo II, Esort. ap. postsinodale Christifideles laici(30 dicembre 1988), 26: AAS 81 (1989), 438. I desire to express my closeness in Christ to all the men and women missionaries in the world, especially to those enduring any kind of hardship. Dear friends, the Risen Lord is always with you. He sees your generosity and the sacrifices you are making for the mission of evangelisation in distant lands. Not every day of our lives is serene and unclouded, but let us never forget the words of the Lord Jesus to his friends before his Passion: “In the world you will have tribulations, but be courageous: I have conquered the world!” (Jn 16:33). Giovanni Paolo II, Esort. ap. postsinodale, Christifideles laici(30 dicembre 1988), 51: AAS 81 (1989), 493.

Quando abbiamo più bisogno di un dinamismo missionario che porti sale e luce al mondo, molti laici temono che qualcuno li inviti a realizzare qualche compito apostolico, e cercano di fuggire da qualsiasi impegno che possa togliere loro il tempo libero. Oggi, per esempio, è diventato molto difficile trovare catechisti preparati per le parrocchie e che perseverino nel loro compito per diversi anni. Ma qualcosa di simile accade con i sacerdoti, che si preoccupano con ossessione del loro tempo personale. Questo si deve frequentemente al fatto che le persone sentono il bisogno imperioso di preservare i loro spazi di autonomia, come se un compito di evangelizzazione fosse un veleno pericoloso invece che una gioiosa risposta all’amore di Dio che ci convoca alla missione e ci rende completi e fecondi. Alcuni fanno resistenza a provare fino in fondo il gusto della missione e rimangono avvolti in un’accidia paralizzante. Jan Paweł II, Posynodalna Adhort. apost. Ecclesia in Asia (6 listopada 1999), 7: AAS 92 (2000), 458. Adversus haereses, IV, c. 34, n.1: PG 7 pars prior, 1083: «Omnem novitatem attulit, semetipsum afferens». Comité permanent de la Conférence Episcopale Nationale du Congo, Message sur la situation sécuritaire dans le pays (5 dicembre 2012), 11.Cfr V. M. Fernández, «Espiritualidad para la esperanza activa». Acto de apertura del I Congreso Nacional de Doctrina social de la Iglesia, Rosario (Argentina), 2011: UCActualidad 142 (2011), 16.