Today is a favorable time for evangelization, Pope says at general audience
November 29, 2023
Continuing his series of Wednesday catecheses on the theme of “the passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer,” Pope Francis devoted his November 29 general audience to the theme of “proclamation is for today.”
With the Pontiff still suffering from breathing difficulties, Msgr. Filippo Ciampanelli, an official of the Secretariat of State, read aloud the address to pilgrims gathered in Paul VI Audience Hall.
“In our continuing catechesis on apostolic zeal, we are reflecting on the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and its summons to proclaim the ‘joy of the Gospel’ in the here and now of this, our present age, Pope Francis said, in the words of the Vatican summary of his remarks. “We can easily grow discouraged in these times when God seems to have no place and the deepest desires of the human heart often appear to be stifled by an obsession with money and power.”
The summary continued:
Yet, Saint Paul reminds us that in God’s plan, this is the favorable time, the day of salvation.
Apostolic zeal, thus, impels us, who have known the transforming grace of God’s word and the joy of the Gospel, to find new ways to bring that treasure to the places where we live, study and work, and to embody with our lives, especially through respect, compassion, and the gentleness of our words, the love of Jesus for every individual.
May we, through our daily encounters, become witnesses of hope and bearers of the Gospel, who inspire all we meet to open wide the door to the One who alone can give joy and peace today and always.
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