From St. Peter’s Square, Pope Francis once again expressed words of pain for the conflicts: ‘So many dead children, so many innocent dead.’ Reflections on Ukraine, Palestine, Israel and Myanmar. The catechesis on the Holy Spirit and the Church – for the first time translated into Chinese – dedicated to preaching: «Beyond 8 minutes it is not understood. Preach Jesus, not yourself.
Vatican City () – “So many dead children, so many innocent dead. Let us pray that the Lord leads us to peace. It is still to the suffering of countries at war that Pope Francis dedicates words full of pain, to remember how vulnerable the first victims of violence are in the world. “Let us not forget the tormented Ukraine, let us not forget Palestine, Israel, Myanmar,” he said this morning in the Wednesday general audience, during the final greetings dedicated to the Italian-speaking faithful, before a St. Peter’s Square packed with pilgrims.
“Please, let us continue praying for peace,” is the pontiff’s invitation. To not stop shedding light on the need for harmony and the future of so many towns and people. “War does not solve problems, war is bad, war destroys,” he added, condemning confrontation as a dispute resolution practice. “We pray for countries at war.” In a global scenario in which, in addition to the places known for months for the suffering inflicted and endured, new fronts seem to be ignited. As denoted by the tragic situation in Syria, never dormant but which has been revived in recent days with the advance of rebel militias and the instability of South Korea, where martial law was announced and then lifted in the last hours, while impeachment is requested.
Opening today’s general audience, Bergoglio continued the cycle of catechesis dedicated to the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Church. Today’s meditation had as its theme the proclamation of the Gospel “in the Holy Spirit”, and evangelization. After reading the passage of Scripture from Saint Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians (1 Cor 2:1.4-5) – read in Chinese for the first time since last week’s announcement – Pope Francis dedicated his reflection to Christian preaching, based on its two “constitutive elements”: Gospel and Spirit. Starting from the words of Peter, who describes the apostles as “those who announced the Gospel through the Holy Spirit.”
The Gospel has two main meanings in History. First of all, it refers to the canonical texts of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, which mean “the good news proclaimed by Jesus during his life.” In fact, after Easter, it becomes “the paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of the Lord.” “The preaching of Jesus, and later that of the Apostles, also contains all the moral duties that derive from the Gospel,” said Bergoglio.
For this reason, the apostolic exhortation Evangelii gaudium (2013) uses the word ‘kerygma’, or announcement. “It is necessary to start again and again from the announcement of what Christ has done for us.” His announcement is the “first”: “That which must always be heard again in different ways and which must always be proclaimed again during catechesis,” Francis added.
The Gospel is, therefore, the “content” of Christian preaching. Instead, the Holy Spirit is the ‘means’. “Preaching with the anointing of the Holy Spirit means transmitting, along with ideas and doctrine, the life and conviction of our faith,” he said. An action very difficult to achieve, but possible through prayer and “not wanting to preach ourselves, but preach Jesus the Lord.” Regarding non-egoistic preaching, the Pontiff said that if it exceeds eight minutes, “it fades away, it is not understood.” The faithful listeners spontaneously applauded these words, spoken from a distance. And addressing the preachers, he said: «You must preach an idea, an affection and an invitation to do. And not putting ourselves in the center “also implies not always giving priority to the pastoral initiatives promoted by us and linked to our own name, but rather collaborating willingly, if we are asked, in community initiatives, or that are entrusted to us out of obedience. ».
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