Proclaim the Gospel

[tonyg]

Proclaim the Gospel / Mk 16: 9-15

When Jesus had risen, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. She went and told his companions who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that he was alive and had been seen by her, they did not believe.
After this he appeared in another form to two of them walking along on their way to the country. They returned and told the others; but they did not believe them either.
Later, as the Eleven were at table, he appeared to them and rebuked them for their unbelief and hardness of heart because they had not believed those who saw him after he had been raised. He said to them, “Go into the world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.”

As the first week of the Easter season comes to a close, do we find ourselves as the Eleven Apostles, in disbelief? We as Christians proclaim our belief in the resurrection of Christ, but do we really believe? Will we doubt no longer only if we see him face to face, or if we place our hands upon the wounds of salvation? Jesus said, “Blessed are they who have not seen and believe.” Can we say without a doubt that we are among the Blessed that our Lord spoke about? If so, then no sign is needed, no further explanation is necessary, for we have been filled with the grace redemption; The Spirit of Christ resides within our hearts. We need only to live out the directive given to us by our Savior: “Go out into the whole world and proclaim the Gospel to every creature.” Praise God!

 

[juliamajor]

As Francis of Assisi said “Preach the Gospel. And if necessary, use words!” Any idiot can proclaim anything.But living what you believe and say is proclamation enough!

 

[Fidelis]

As Francis of Assisi said “Preach the Gospel. And if necessary, use words!” Any idiot can proclaim anything.But living what you believe and say is proclamation enough!

Not quite.That is only half of what the Church means by evangelization. According to Pope Paul VI in his magnificent post-Vatican II Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii Nuntiandi (On Evangelization in the Modern World":

1. Above all the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians who, in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something that is not seen and that one would not dare to imagine. Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live: Why are they like this? Why do they live in this way? What or who is it that inspires them? Why are they in our midst? Such a witness is already a silent proclamation of the Good News and a very powerful and effective one. Here we have an initial act of evangelization. The above questions will ask, whether they are people to whom Christ has never been proclaimed, or baptized people who do not practice, or people who live as nominal Christians but according to principles that are in no way Christian, or people who are seeking, and not without suffering, something or someone whom they sense but cannot name. Other questions will arise, deeper and more demanding ones, questions evoked by this witness which involves presence, sharing, solidarity, and which is an essential element, and generally the first one, in evangelization."[51]

All Christians are called to this witness…

So far so good. HOWEVER:

22. Nevertheless this always remains insufficient, because even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run if it is not explained, justified - what Peter called always having “your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you all have” - and made explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus. The Good News proclaimed by the witness of life sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life. There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God are not proclaimed. The history of the Church, from the discourse of Peter on the morning of Pentecost onwards, has been intermingled and identified with the history of this proclamation. At every new phase of human history, the Church, constantly gripped by the desire to evangelize, has but one preoccupation: whom to send to proclaim the mystery of Jesus? In what way is this mystery to be proclaimed? How can one ensure that it will resound and reach all those who should hear it? This proclamation - kerygma, preaching or catechesis - occupies such an important place in evangelization that it has often become synonymous with it; and yet it is only one aspect of evangelization.
vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/apost_exhortations/documents/hf_p-vi_exh_19751208_evangelii-nuntiandi_en.html

 

[diggerdomer]

As Francis of Assisi said “Preach the Gospel. And if necessary, use words!” Any idiot can proclaim anything.But living what you believe and say is proclamation enough!

I’ve heard so many people refer to this wonderful quotation.

But…I’d really like to know…does anyone know exactly where St. Francis said this? I’ve yet to come across any of his writings/witness that explicitly share this.

I’m just beginning to wonder if we’re becoming the victims of an urban legend?

 

[NHInsider]

I found this on the “Ask a Franciscan” webpage run by St. Anthony’s Messenger:

Where Did St. Francis Say That?

Q: I keep seeing St. Francis of Assisi credited as saying, “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” I have looked in several places but cannot find where St. Francis said this.

A: This is a great quote, very Franciscan in its spirit, but not literally from St. Francis. The thought is his; this catchy phrasing is not in his writings or in the earliest biographies about him.

In Chapter XVII of his Rule of 1221, Francis told the friars not to preach unless they had received the proper permission to do so. Then he added, “Let all the brothers, however, preach by their deeds.”

I had been a Franciscan for 28 years—and had earned an M.A. in Franciscan studies—before I heard the “Use words if necessary” quote. That was during Msgr. Kenneth Velo’s homily at Cardinal Joseph L. Bernardin’s funeral in 1996.

About a year ago, a friend of mine used the Internet to contact some of the most eminent Franciscan scholars in the world, seeking the source of this “Use words if necessary” quote. It is clearly not in any of Francis’ writings. After a couple weeks of searching, no scholar could find this quote in a story written within 200 years of Francis’ death.

This saying and the “Peace Prayer,” which Francis certainly did not write, are easily identified with him because they so thoroughly reflect his spirit. Unfortunately, they would not have become as widespread if they had been attributed to “John Smith” or “Mary Jones.”

Exhaustive research on the origins of the “Peace Prayer of St. Francis” has led to Christian Renoux’s new book in French. This 210-page study (ISBN 2-85020-096-4) is described at www.electre.com under Les Editions Franciscaines.

An 11th-century French prayer is similar to the first part of the “Peace Prayer.” The oldest known copy of the current prayer, however, dates to 1912 in France. The prayer became more well known in other countries during World War I.

This prayer is sold all over Assisi today—but always under the title “A Simple Prayer.” Whoever linked it to St. Francis guaranteed a wide diffusion of the text. The same is true for the “Use words if necessary” quote. Both reflect St. Francis very well.

 

[diggerdomer]

I found this on the “Ask a Franciscan” webpage run by St. Anthony’s Messenger:

WOW! Thanks so much!