Pope Francis says "Please, let's move forward for peace, pray for peace, pray a lot for peace...We pray for the Palestinian people, we pray for the Israeli people, for peace to come." FULL TEXT

POPE FRANCIS at the GENERAL AUDIENCE
in the Vatican's Saint Peter's Square on Wednesday, 22 November 2023
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Catechesis. The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 27. Proclamation is for everyone
FULL TEXT Words of Pope Francis - Dear brothers and sisters,
After having seen, last time, that the Christian proclamation is joy, today let us focus on a second aspect: it is for everyone, Christian proclamation is a joy for everyone. When we truly meet the Lord Jesus, the wonder of this encounter pervades our life and demands to be taken beyond us. He desires this, that His Gospel is for everyone. Indeed, in it there is a “humanizing power”, a fulfilment of life that is destined for every man and woman, because Christ was born, died, and rose again for everyone. For everyone: no-one excluded.

In Evangelii Gaudium we read that everyone has “a right to receive the Gospel.

Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but ‘by attraction’” (no. 14). Brothers, sisters, let us feel that we are at the service of the universal destination of the Gospel, it is for everyone; and let us distinguish ourselves for our capacity to come out of ourselves. A proclamation, in order to be true, must leave behind one’s own selfishness – and let us also have the capacity to cross all borders. Christians meet on the parvis more than in the sacristy, and go “to the streets and lanes of the city” (Lk14:21). They must be open and expansive, Christians must be “extrovert”, and this character of theirs comes from Jesus, who make his presence in the world a continuous journey, aimed at reaching out to everyone, even learning from some of his encounters.

In this sense, the Gospel reports Jesus’ surprising encounter with a foreign woman, a Canaanite who begs him to cure her sick daughter (cf. Mt 15:21-28). Jesus refuses, saying that he was sent only “to the lost sheep of the house of Israel” and that “it is not fair to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs” (vv. 24, 26). But the woman, with the insistence typical of the simple, replies that “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table” (v. 27). Jesus is struck by this and says, “woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire” (v. 28). The encounter with this woman has something unique about it. Not only does someone make Jesus change his mind, and a woman, foreign and a pagan, but the Lord himself finds confirmation that his preaching should not be limited to the people to whom he belongs, but open to all.

The Bible shows us that when God calls a person and makes a pact with some of them, the criterion is always this: elect someone to reach others, this is the criterion of God, of God’s calling. All the Lord’s friends have experienced the beauty, but also the responsibility and the burden of being “chosen” by him. And everyone has felt discouragement in the face of their own weaknesses or the loss of their certainties. But perhaps the greatest temptation is that of considering the calling received as a privilege: please, no, the calling is not a privilege, ever. We cannot say that we are privileged compared to others – no. The calling is for a service. And God chooses one in order to love everyone, to reach everyone.

It is also to prevent the temptation of identifying Christianity with a culture, with an ethnicity, with a system. In this way, though, it loses its truly Catholic nature, or rather for everyone, universal: it is not a little group of first-class, chosen people. Let us not forget: God chooses some to love all. This horizon of universality. The Gospel is not only for me, it is for everyone; let us not forget this. Thank you.
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Special Greetings

I extend a cordial welcome to the Italian-speaking pilgrims, in particular to the faithful of San'Elpidio a Mare and Sant'Andrea in Andria, to the Musadoc cultural association, to the Sappers and Transmitters of Italy, to the Association of victims of violence.

I warmly welcome the participants in the National Assembly of Catholic Schools, hoping for effective recognition of their important educational work.

Finally, I greet the elderly, the sick, the newlyweds and the young people, including numerous school groups. Next Sunday, the last of Ordinary Time, we will celebrate the solemnity of Christ the King. I urge you to place Jesus at the center of your life, and from Him you will receive light and courage in every daily choice.

And let us not forget to persevere in prayer for those who suffer from wars in many parts of the world, especially for the dear people of Ukraine, the tormented Ukraine, and of Israel and Palestine. This morning I received two delegations, one of Israelis who have relatives as hostages in Gaza and another of Palestinians who have relatives suffering in Gaza. They suffer a lot and I heard how they both suffer: wars do this, but here we have gone beyond wars, this is not waging war, this is terrorism. Please, let's move forward for peace, pray for peace, pray a lot for peace. May the Lord put his hand there, may the Lord help us to solve the problems and not move forward with the passions that ultimately kill everyone. We pray for the Palestinian people, we pray for the Israeli people, for peace to come.

My Blessing to all!

I extend a warm welcome to the English-speaking pilgrims and visitors, especially the groups from England, Finland, the Netherlands, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea and the United States of America. Upon all of you I invoke the joy and peace of our Lord Jesus Christ. God bless you!

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