“"Called to make the Word of truth shine"”

4th Missionary Day

The desire to proclaim Christ also compels us to read history in order to glimpse within it the problems, aspirations, and hopes of humanity that Christ must heal, purify, and fill with his presence… This requires, first and foremost, a renewed personal and communal commitment of faith to the Gospel of Jesus Christ, «in a moment of profound change such as this one that humanity is experiencing.».

Indeed, one of the obstacles to the impetus of evangelization is the crisis of faith, evident not only in the Western world but also in a large part of humanity, which nevertheless hungers and thirsts for God and must be invited and guided to the bread of life and the living water, like the Samaritan woman who goes to Jacob's well and speaks with Christ. As the Evangelist John narrates, the case of this woman is particularly significant (cf. Jo (4:1-30): She encounters Jesus, who initially asks her for a drink but then speaks to her of new water, capable of quenching thirst forever. At first, the woman doesn't understand, focusing on the material level, but slowly she is guided by the Lord on a journey of faith that leads her to recognize Him as the Messiah… The encounter with Christ as a living Person who quenches the thirst of the heart can only lead to the desire to share the joy of this presence with others and to make it known so that everyone can experience it… The central point of the proclamation always remains the same: the Kerigma of Christ who died and rose again for the salvation of the world, the Kerigma of God's absolute and total love for every man and woman, culminating in the sending of the eternal and only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus, who did not disdain to assume the poverty of our human nature, loving it and redeeming it from sin and death through the offering of Himself on the cross.

Faith in God, in this design of love realized in Christ, is first and foremost a gift and a mystery that must be welcomed into the heart and life, and for which we must always give thanks to the Lord. But faith is a gift that has been granted to us to be shared; it is a talent received so that it may bear fruit; it is a light that should not remain hidden, but illuminate the whole house. It is the most important gift we receive in our lives and one that we cannot keep to ourselves… It is an expression of profound communion, sharing, and charity among the Churches, so that every person may hear, for the first time or again, the healing message and draw closer to the Sacraments, the source of true life.

(Pope Benedict XVI, message for the year 2012)