ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL
IN TODAY’S WORLD
39. Before all else, the Gospel invites us to respond to the God of love who saves us, to see God in others and to go forth from ourselves to seek the good of others.
Under no circumstance can this invitation be obscured! All of the virtues are at the service of this response of love. If this invitation does not radiate forcefully and attractively, the edifice of the Church’s moral teaching risks becoming a house of cards, and this is our greatest risk.... The message will run the risk of losing its freshness and will cease to have “the fragrance of the Gospel."
Gospel Links to Ponder: 1 Thessalonians 1:2-5
"We always give thanks to God for all of you and mention you in our prayers, constantly remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ. For we know, brothers and sisters beloved by God, that he has chosen you, because our message of the gospel came to you not in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction." (1 Thessalonians 1:2-5)
After word: Paul's message here suggests that it is God's love for us that empowers us to live in loving communion with one another and to radiate God's love to the world. Consider: Does
our love for one another reflect God's love for us? Do our actions and
ways of relating to one another model God's love for every human person?
Paragraph numbers are provided to help you find the
quotes for further study and to place these ideas in their original
context, should you wish to do so. To read the text in full, click here:
http://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/apost_exhortations/documents/papa-francesco_esortazione-ap_20131124_evangelii-gaudium.html#II.%E2%80%82Mary,_mother_of_evangelization
