PROCLAIM THE GOSPEL

XXIX SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME: 2 Timothy 3:14-4:2

As we celebrate the Mission Sunday, the words of Paul to Timothy resound in the Church with renewed urgency:

"I solemnly urge you: proclaim the message; be persistent whether the time is favorable or unfavorable; convince, rebuke, and encourage, with the utmost patience in teaching." (2 Tim 4:1-2)

A renewed commitment

When Pope Benedict XVI initiated the campaign for a new evangelisation, it was far from his mind a new message, different from the one left to us by Jesus Christ; instead, Benedict XVI was thinking of a renewed effort and commitment to the proclamation of the Gospel. 

We cannot be shy and remain silent. We may be scared and puzzled, not knowing what to do in this frightening modern world, but we are invited to stand up and speak out with courage and boldness of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Paul puts it very clear: 

• Proclaim the message
• Be persistent
• At all times, favorable or unfavorable
• In all forms: convince, rebuke, encourage
• With patience

New challenges

Certainly, in this 21st century, we face new challenges and many different problems not encountered in the past, and we must find new ways and a new language, which may answer today's expectations. Many times, our language is old, difficult to understand and far removed from people's daily concerns. Our Message must be relevant for the people of  today and must speak to their hearts.

Pope Francis on our missionary duty

In his message for the Mission Sunday, Pope Francis wrote:

“Each community is therefore questioned and invited to make its own, the mandate entrusted by Jesus to the Apostles, to be his "witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth" (Acts 1:8) and this, not as a secondary aspect of Christian life, but as its essential aspect: 

we are all invited to walk the streets of the world with one’s brothers and sisters, proclaiming and witnessing our faith in Christ and making ourselves heralds of his Gospel.”