In his March 22, 2023 Wednesday audience, Pope Francis discusses ‘‘The First Way of Evangelization: Witness’’ and evangelization in the modern world.
He looks to St. Paul VI’s Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi.
Though it was written in 1975, Pope Francis explains that it is as relevant today as if it had been written
yesterday.
He begins by establishing that “evangelization is more than just simple doctrinal and moral transmission,” but that it is first and foremost witness, which is indispensable from evangelization.
In the document Evangelii Nuntiandi, St. Paul insisted that evangelization is primarily a personal witness to the Gospel.
The relevance of witness
Why is witnessing to the Gospel so important?
To put it simply, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers” (EN, 41).
People are significantly more likely to connect to a story or personal testimony rather than a statistic or dry iteration of facts.
Witness is what makes proclaiming the Gospel alive and fruitful.
“The world is calling for evangelizers to speak to it of a God whom the evangelists themselves should know and be familiar with” (EN, 76).
The Pope goes on to say that it is also important to remember that witness includes professed faith.
He explains professed faith as a “convinced and manifest adherence to God the Father and Son and Holy Spirit”.
The faith that flows from this is one that transforms us and our relationships.
“Witness, therefore, cannot be separated from consistency between what one believes and what one proclaims, and what one lives. One is not credible just by stating a doctrine or an ideology, no. A person is credible if there is harmony between what he or she believes and lives” stated Pope Francis.
There are three fundamental questions posed by St. Paul VI that we are all called to respond to: Do you believe what you are proclaiming? Do you live what you believe? Do you proclaim what you live?
In other words, is there harmony in your life?
We must have consistency between our hearts, our beliefs, and the way we live our lives. If our lives do not reflect what we preach, we are hypocrites.
Pope Francis goes far enough to say that this kind of hypocrisy is a counter witness.
True witness requires we first have a relationship with God. If we are truly dedicating ourselves to Him, living in His light and love, our lives will be transformed.
Notably, the presence of mass media does not invalidate the need for personal witness.
St. Paul VI explains that while these tools present a great opportunity for the Church, they also present a challenge.
While social media provides the ability to spread the evangelical message to vast numbers of people, “it must have the capacity to pierce the consciousness of each individual, of implanting itself in his heart as though he were the only person being addressed” (EN, 45).
“For this reason, side by side with the collective proclamation of the Gospel, the other form of transmission, the person-to-person one, remains valid and important” (EN, 46).
People throughout our society are experiencing deep loneliness and isolation; they desire community and genuine relationships.
A journey of holiness
The witness of Christian life is intertwined with a journey of holiness, grounded in the Holy Spirit received at Baptism, and nourished by prayer and love for the Eucharist.
St. Paul VI teaches that the zeal for evangelization springs from this holiness — a heart that is filled with God — to make us sharers of the divine nature.
It can be easy to forget just how desperately the world is in need of our witness, and how much our witness requires holiness.
“The world which, paradoxically, despite innumerable signs of the denial of God, is nevertheless searching for Him in unexpected ways and painfully experiencing the need of Him . . . The world calls for and expects from us simplicity of life, the spirit of prayer, charity towards all, especially towards the lowly and the poor, obedience and humility, detachment and self-sacrifice. Without this mark of holiness, our word will have difficulty in touching the heart of modern man. It risks being vain and sterile” (EN, 76).
Renewal in the Church
The Holy Father urges us to remember that evangelization is not just addressed to others, but ourselves; evangelization increases holiness in the people who carry it out.
Our hearts are evangelized by receiving the Word of God and striving to change our lives every day.
For this to be accomplished, Pope Francis said the Church must start by evangelizing herself.
“If the Church does not evangelize herself, she remains a museum piece. Instead, it is by evangelizing herself that she is continually updated.”
Pope Francis offered that the Church should pray and listen unceasingly in order to experience constant conversion and ongoing renewal.
The Holy Father concludes his audience by inviting all of us to read Evangelii Nuntiandi so that we can all benefit from St. Paul VI’s legacy to evangelize.