Jesus, before He went up to heaven gave a great mission to the Church: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” (Mt. 28:19-20).
Since that moment, the Roman Catholic Church has the mission to preach the Gospel to all; however, this has not been an easy task. During the Church’s history we can see how the Church has been facing heresies, persecutions, blasphemies, and so on. Nevertheless, it is because of the action of the Holy Spirit that the Church continues her task to announce the Gospel to all mankind. For instance, in the Acts of the Apostles, we find the story of when the apostles were in jail for announcing the Gospel, and Gamaliel, one of the teachers of the law, defended them: “So now I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them; you may even find yourselves fighting against God” (Cf. Acts 5: 34-42).
Even though we have difficulties announcing the Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is upon us. This should be enough argument to spread the Gospel with happiness and joy. Pope Francis is making a great effort to remind us that there is joy announcing the Gospel. On November 24, 2013 (on the solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe), Pope Francis wrote the Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (EG) (The Joy of the Gospel). In this exhortation, the Pope is reminding us of the necessity to evangelize to all people through a missionary spirit that leads us to leave our churches and to spread the Word of God with joy. Joy is the central attitude of the gospel; therefore, we cannot be sad when we preach the gospel: “An evangelizer must never look like someone who has just come back from a funeral! Let us recover and deepen our enthusiasm, that ‘delightful and comforting joy of evangelizing, even when it is in tears that we must sow… And may the world of our time, which is searching, sometimes with anguish, some- times with hope, be enabled to receive the good news not from evangelizers who are dejected, dis- couraged, impatient or anxious, but from ministers of the Gospel whose lives glow with fervor, who have first received the joy of Christ’” (EG 10).
Let us help people to have a personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, who is the source of our happi- ness and joy. Let us participate in the liturgy celebrating the life because Our Jesus Christ is not death, but He is alive. Let us announce the Gospel with love and joy.
God bless you and the Blessed Virgin Mary be with you always!
Fr. George
