In his second catechism on the passion for evangelization that began last Wednesday, Pope Francis reflected on Jesus and his pastoral heart that casts no one behind. The pope explained that Christians should imitate the emotions of the Father, witnessing his love for everyone.
(Vatican News Network) On the morning of January 18, Pope Francis presided over the public audience on Wednesday in the Paul VI Hall, and continued to give catechisms on the theme of “passion for evangelization, ie apostolic zeal”. The Pope emphasized that Jesus is the model of preaching. “Christ not only had the words of eternal life, but also made his life the word”. In the daily life of Jesus, “prayer, a close relationship with the Father occupies the first place”. He “was sent among us by the Father to do a mission for us”.
Pointing to an image depicting the life of Jesus, the Pope said: “Jesus himself provided this image, calling himself the Good Shepherd, the one who ‘laid down his life for the sheep’ (Jn 10:11). This is Jesus .In fact, being a shepherd is not just a job that takes time and a lot of heart; Sleeping together, and caring for the weakest sheep. In other words, Jesus did not do something for us, but gave us all, and gave his life for us. He had a shepherd’s heart (cf. Ezekiel 34:15). Shepherd us all.”
The Pope mentioned that in order to summarize the actions of the Church in one word, we often use the word “pastoral”. In order to evaluate our pastoral work, “we must contrast ourselves with the model, Jesus, the Good Shepherd”. First, we can ask ourselves, “Are we imitating him in drinking from the fountain of prayer so that we may be in harmony with his heart?” Imitating Jesus, as Dean abate Chautard put it, is “apostolic of all kinds.” The soul of work”. Jesus himself said clearly to his disciples: “Apart from me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
The Pope continued: “If we are with Jesus, we will find that his shepherd’s heart is always concerned with those who are lost, lost, far away. And what about us? For those who are a little difficult to deal with or who are a little difficult with us. People, our attitude is often: ‘It’s his problem, let him deal with it.’ But Jesus never said that, absolutely not. He went looking for people like that. He did that to all people, all marginalized man and sinner. It is for this that he is reproached: with sinners, because it is he who brings God’s salvation to sinners.”
The Good Shepherd loves all and is willing to save the lost. “God does not look at the fences of his flock, nor threatens them to let them go. If a sheep goes away and is lost, God does not abandon him, but seeks him,” the Pope emphasized. “God is sad for those who leave, weeps for him and loves him more. If we are far from the heart of the Lord, he will be sad. He is sad because so many do not know the beauty of his love and the warmth of his embrace”.
“However, in the face of this pain, God did not close himself, but took a risk: He let go of the ninety-nine sheep in safety, and risked himself to find the only one lost, so risky that even It’s irrational, but it fits the heart of His shepherd. He thinks about the departed, all those who leave Him, and that’s a constant concern in the heart of Jesus. And when we hear of someone leaving the church, we will What to say? ‘He can figure it out!’ No: Jesus taught us to think about those who have left us; Jesus is not angry or resentful, but always thinking about us. Jesus thinks about us, that is the passion of God. “
Do we have the same emotion, asked the Pope? We may see those who leave the flock as rivals or enemies. These people are encountered in schools, workplaces, and the streets of our cities. Why don’t we consider this a wonderful opportunity to witness the joy of our Heavenly Father loving them and never forgetting them?
The Pope explained, “This is not to persuade people to convert, no! It is to let them hear the Holy Word of the Father so that they can walk together. Evangelization is not to persuade people to convert. Doing so is an act of non-Christians, not faith. , nor evangelism.” The pope concluded by saying that the pastor’s heart is open to others and close to all. “Without this heart-wrenching and adventurous love, we can only shepherd ourselves,” not the flock. “If our life does not have this heart-wrenching and adventurous love, something is wrong.”
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