Pope Leo XIV invited to adapt the announcement of the Gospel to the languages ”of our time” and asked to “welcome the questions and concerns that real life raises.”
“If the announcement of the Gospel remains the center of the mission, it is also true that it is not about communicating generic information or abstract truths, but about entering the concrete history, of welcoming the questions and concerns that realize real life, of speaking the languages of women and men of our time,” said León XIV.
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The Holy Father made these reflections upon receiving in the Vatican the general chapter of the daughters of St. Paul, a female religious congregation founded by Blessed Santiago Alberione in 1915. Also known as “Paulinas”, these consecrated are dedicated to evangelization with the social media.
The Pontiff found that before the challenges involved “that everyone can know and follow the Lord” seek “roads, instruments and languages” for evangelization.
“It is necessary to renew and revitalize it, so that the evangelical passion that encourages you can find its best expression,” he said.
The theme that the daughters of St. Paul have chosen for the General Chapter is “driven by the Spirit, to the listening of today’s humanity, we communicate the Gospel of Hope.”
The Pope recommended having two attitudes to live it “with renewed enthusiasm.” On the one hand, look up and, on the other, immerse yourself inside.
The Pope prevents attitudes of “self -sufficiency”
Thus he explained that the first is the basis for them to be “driven by the Holy Spirit” and to be prevented from attitudes of “self -sufficiency.”
“The personal commitment, the charisms that we put into circulation, the zeal of the apostolate and the instruments we use should never make us fall into the illusion and presumption of self -sufficiency,” he insisted.
The second attitude he recommended to seek new paths for the communication of faith is to immerse himself in history “listening to today’s humanity.”
“It’s about living the current culture and incarnating in the real life of the people you find,” he said.
On the other hand, the Pontiff considered that the service they offer to the Church and the world, working in the editorial production, in the digital universe, in the management of bookstores, in radio and television projects and in the biblical animation “is very valuable.”
High quality training
“I know that the efforts to carry out these multiple activities are sometimes heavy, especially since the complex current situations demand high quality professional training that, unfortunately, sometimes it clashes with the fact that forces, personal and material, are scarce. But we do not discourage ourselves! That is why I invite you to reflect on how to keep the charism alive, although it requires brave and demanding decisions,” he said.
Therefore, the Pope requested an “attentive discernment” about the works related to the apostolate and the need to renew them with a “balanced vision”, which knows how to keep the wealth of last history with the current resources and the current gifts.
“The communion generated by this perspective will undoubtedly help you overcome the risk of division between life and the apostolate,” he said.
Not being afraid of the “cultural and ecclesial winter”
On the other hand, he asked them to ensure that there is no separation “between what we preach and our daily life” and recalled the words of encouragement that Pope Francis dedicated to them in the absence of vocations.
“In this cultural and ecclesial winter that we are going through, you are not afraid of risking and continuing the way with a contemplative look full of empathy towards the men and women of our time, hungry for the good news of the Gospel,” he said when he cite the speech that the Argentine pontiff gave them in 2019.
Victoria Cardiel
Victoria Cardiel is a journalist specialized in social and religious information issues. Since 2013, he has covered all the news of the Vatican for various media, such as the Spanish news agency Europa Press, or the weekly of the Archdiocese of Madrid, Alfa and Omega.