General Audiences

Pope at Audience: Are you disposed to let Jesus change your heart?

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

After having seen, two weeks ago, St Paul’s personal zeal for the Gospel, we can now reflect more deeply on the evangelical zeal as he himself speaks of it and describes it in some of his letters.

By virtue of his own experience, Paul is not unaware of the danger of a distorted zeal, oriented in the wrong direction… Read more »

Pope at Audience: Think about this – What can I do for others?

  Saint Peter's Square, the Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

This past Sunday, the Liturgy had us listen to the Passion of the Lord. It ended with these words: “They sealed the stone” (cf. Mt 27:66). Everything seemed over. For the disciples, that boulder signified the final end of their hope. The Teacher was crucified, killed in the cruelest and most humiliating manner, hung upon the infamous gallows outside the city – a public failure, the worst possible ending, it was the worst at that time… Read more »

Pope at Audience: We need to receive the word of God and change our life – every day

  Saint Peter's Square, The Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Today we will listen to the “magna carta” of evangelization in the contemporary world: Saint Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi (EN, 8 December 1975). It is topical, it was written in 1975 but it is as though it were written yesterday. Evangelization is more than just simple doctrinal and moral transmission… Read more »

Pope at Audience: God’s love is not only for a little group

  Saint Peter's Square, Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

In the last catechesis we saw how the first “council” in the history of the Church – council, like that of Vatican II –, the first council, was convened in Jerusalem over a matter linked to evangelization, namely the proclamation of the Good News to non-Jews – it was thought that Gospel should be proclaimed only to Jews… Read more »

Pope at Audience: How many of us pray to the Spirit?

  Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning and welcome!

In our catechetical itinerary on the passion for evangelizing, today we start from the words of Jesus that we have heard: ‘Go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit’ (Mt 28:19). ‘Go,’ says the Risen One, ‘not to indoctrinate, not to make proselytes, no, but to make disciples, that is, to give everyone the opportunity to come into contact with Jesus, to know and love Him freely… Read more »

Pope at Audience: why to proclaim, what to proclaim, how to proclaim

  Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

We continue our catechesis; the theme we have chosen is “The passion of evangelizing, apostolic zeal.” Because evangelizing is not saying, ‘Look, blah, blah, blah’ and nothing more. There is a passion that involves everything: the mind, the heart, the hands, going out… everything, the whole person is involved with this proclamation of the Gospel, and for this reason we talk about the passion for evangelizing… Read more »

Pope on Congo at Audience: Do not exploit, and go forward together

  Paul VI Audience Hall, the Vatican

Catechesis. The Apostolic Journey to the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Last week I visited two African countries: the Democratic Republic of the Congo and South Sudan. I thank God for permitting me to make this long-desired journey. Two “dreams”: to visit the Congolese people, custodians of an immense country, the green heart of Africa: together with Amazonia, they are the two lungs of the world… Read more »

Pope Francis at Audience: Life is an act of love and an invitation to love

  Paul VI Audience Hall, the Vatican

atechesis. The passion for evangelization: the apostolic zeal of the believer. 3. Jesus teacher of proclamation

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Last Wednesday we reflected on Jesus model of proclamation, on his pastoral heart always reaching out to others. Today we look to Him as a teacher of proclamation. Model of proclamation. Today, the teacher of proclamation Let us be guided by the episode in which He preaches in the synagogue of His village, Nazareth… Read more »

Pope at Audience: The pastoral heart suffers and the pastoral heart takes risks

  Paul VI Audience Hall, Vatican

Dear brothers and sisters, good morning!

Last Wednesday we began a cycle of catechesis on the passion of evangelization, on that apostolic zeal that should enliven the Church and every Christian. Today, let us look at the unsurpassable model of evangelization: Jesus. The Christmas Gospel defines him as the “Word of God” (cf. Jn 1:1). The fact that he is the Logos, that is, the Word, highlights an essential aspect of Jesus: He is always in relation, outgoing, never isolated, always in relation, outgoing… Read more »