On January 11, 2023, Pope Francis at his Wednesday audience, announced the beginning of a new series of catechesis. He described it as ‘‘dedicated to an urgent and decisive theme for Christian life: The passion for evangelization, that is, apostolic zeal.’’ This article will be the first of a series to reflect on these audiences.
Evangelization
To start, what exactly is evangelization and how exactly are we supposed to do this in our own lives? It is crucial to clarify that being apostolic and evangelizing is not the same as proselytizing. Rather, it is the vital dimension of a Church that goes forth. We are called to be outgoing, contagious witnesses of Jesus who radiate His light. However, Christians can lose sight of this apostolic ardor and become closed off. When this happens, Pope Francis describes Christian life as growing sick, self-referential, and atrophied.
“Without apostolic zeal, faith withers,” said the pope.
We live in a society that is in desperate need of love and healing; we must return to the foundations of the Church, cultivate apostolic zeal in our lives, and fulfill our mission to go make disciples.
Pope Franics outlined a series of ‘‘steps’’ that encompass the process of igniting the passion for evangelization: The gaze of Jesus, a movement, and a destination. To explain this, he reflects on the Gospel episode of the call of the Apostle Matthew.
The gaze of Jesus
The story starts with Jesus, who ‘‘saw a man’’. This is easy to overlook, but carries incredible importance. While others saw Matthew as a tax collector and traitor, holding him in contempt, Jesus saw him for who he was. Pope Francis reflected that “In the eyes of Jesus, Matthew is a man, with both his miseries and his greatness. Be aware of this: Jesus does not stop at the adjective — Jesus always seeks out the noun.” We see this happen repeatedly throughout Jesus’ ministry, with the woman at the well, the sick, and the outcasts. We all fall prey to judging others and reducing them to labels. But, Jesus seeks and sees our hearts. What He did for Matthew, He does this for all of us; we are all fully known and fully loved by God. He reaches beyond the adjectives given to us, past our suffering and flaws, into the depths of who we are. Pope Francis went on to say that “This gaze of Jesus that sees the other . . . is really beautiful and it is the beginning of evangelizing passions. Everything starts from this Gaze, which we learn from Jesus.” In the face of such pure and profound love, we can’t help but be moved.
A movement
The ‘movement’ that follows is broken down into two parts: A call and response. Jesus makes a call, saying “follow me,” and Matthew responds: “He rose and followed him.” Pay particular attention to the use of the phrase ‘He rose’. Why is this so relevant? Within the culture of the time, it was He who sat that had power and authority. Pope Francis said, “The first thing Jesus does is to detach Matthew from power: From sitting to receive others . . . He makes him leave a position of supremacy in order to put him on equal footing with his brothers and sisters, and open to him the horizons of service’’. In the Church, we should not be sitting around waiting for others to come to us but rather set out and seek others.
A destination
This movement culminates in us being sent to share the love of Christ with others. Where? Looking at the Gospel, Jesus first sends Matthew to the people like him, a feast with “a large crowd of tax collectors”. Evangelization starts with those we already know! We are sent to live our lives in Christ within our own families, our communities. You don’t have to travel to another continent to be a missionary. On the contrary, Christ calls us to evangelize right where we are, both in a physical and spiritual sense, equipping us with the gifts we need. Some may think that evangelization has to mean proselytizing on street corners or knocking on doors. Amazingly, it is simpler, yet infinitely more beautiful and profound than this.
Proclaiming Jesus
We are taught by Pope Benedict that “the Church does not grow by proselytism. Instead, she grows by ‘attraction.’” We do not seek to convince, but to bear witness. We are not proclaiming a cultural ideology, political party, or ourselves. We proclaim Jesus. Pope Francis teaches that it is in communicating the ‘‘beauty of the Love that has looked upon us’’ that will convince others. Bearing witness in the everyday allows the Lord to do the convincing.
This can be embodied by a time where Korean Sisters came to serve at a hospital in Buenos Aires due to a shortage of staff. Despite the Sisters not knowing any Spanish, the patients were happy. When a patient was asked what the Nun had said to him to produce this response, he said “Nothing, but with her gaze she spoke to me, they communicated Jesus.” May Christ use our gaze to reflect His own, touch the lives of others, and bring them closer to the Church.