Pope Francis says "This is the spirituality that must always accompany us: preaching Jesus Christ with the power of the Spirit in the Church and with the Church." FULL TEXT
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ADDRESS OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS
TO THE NEOCATECHUMENAL COMMUNITIES
Paul VI Hall
Monday, June 27, 2022
We have heard the mission of Jesus: "Go, bear witness, preach the Gospel". And from that day the apostles, the disciples, the people all went forward with the same strength as what Jesus had given them: it is the strength that comes from the Spirit. “Go and preach… Baptize…”.
TO THE NEOCATECHUMENAL COMMUNITIES
Paul VI Hall
Monday, June 27, 2022
We have heard the mission of Jesus: "Go, bear witness, preach the Gospel". And from that day the apostles, the disciples, the people all went forward with the same strength as what Jesus had given them: it is the strength that comes from the Spirit. “Go and preach… Baptize…”.
But we know that, once we have baptized, the community that is born of that Baptism is free, it is a new Church; and we must let it grow, help it grow in its own ways, with its own culture ... This is the story of evangelization. All the same in terms of faith: I believe in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the Son who became incarnate, died and rose again for us, the Spirit who helps us and makes us grow: the same faith. But all with the modality of their own culture or the culture of the place where the faith was preached.
And this work, this pluricultural richness of the Gospel, which arises from the preaching of Jesus Christ and becomes culture, is a bit of the history of the Church: many cultures but the same Gospel. Many peoples, the same Jesus Christ. Many good wills, the same Spirit. And to this we are called: to go forward with the power of the Spirit, carrying the Gospel in our hearts and hands. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, not mine: it is of Jesus Christ, who adapts to different cultures, but it is the same. Faith grows, faith becomes uncultivated, but faith is always the same.
This missionary spirit, that is, to allow oneself to be sent, is an inspiration for all of you. I thank you for this, and I ask you for docility to the Spirit who sends you, docility and obedience to Jesus Christ in his Church. Everything in the Church, nothing outside the Church. This is the spirituality that must always accompany us: preaching Jesus Christ with the power of the Spirit in the Church and with the Church. And the one who is the head - let's say - of the different Churches is the bishop: always go forward with the bishop, always. He is the head of the Church, in this country, in this state ...
Go on. Courage! Thanks for your generosity. Do not forget the gaze of Jesus, who sent each of you to preach and obey the Church. Thank you very much!
And this work, this pluricultural richness of the Gospel, which arises from the preaching of Jesus Christ and becomes culture, is a bit of the history of the Church: many cultures but the same Gospel. Many peoples, the same Jesus Christ. Many good wills, the same Spirit. And to this we are called: to go forward with the power of the Spirit, carrying the Gospel in our hearts and hands. The Gospel of Jesus Christ, not mine: it is of Jesus Christ, who adapts to different cultures, but it is the same. Faith grows, faith becomes uncultivated, but faith is always the same.
This missionary spirit, that is, to allow oneself to be sent, is an inspiration for all of you. I thank you for this, and I ask you for docility to the Spirit who sends you, docility and obedience to Jesus Christ in his Church. Everything in the Church, nothing outside the Church. This is the spirituality that must always accompany us: preaching Jesus Christ with the power of the Spirit in the Church and with the Church. And the one who is the head - let's say - of the different Churches is the bishop: always go forward with the bishop, always. He is the head of the Church, in this country, in this state ...
Go on. Courage! Thanks for your generosity. Do not forget the gaze of Jesus, who sent each of you to preach and obey the Church. Thank you very much!
Source: Vatican.va - Image Screenshot
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