120
151.âWe are not asked to be flawless, but to
keep growing and wanting to grow as we ad-
vance along the path of the Gospel; our arms
must never grow slack. What is essential is that
the preacher be certain that God loves him, that
Jesus Christ has saved him and that his love al-
ways has the last word. Encountering such beau-
ty, he will often feel that his life does not glori-
fy God as it should, and he will sincerely desire
to respond more fully to so great a love. Yet if
he does not take time to hear Godâs word with
an open heart, if he does not allow it to touch
his life, to challenge him, to impel him, and if
he does not devote time to pray with that word,
then he will indeed be a false prophet, a fraud,
a shallow impostor. But by acknowledging his
poverty and desiring to grow in his commitment,
he will always be able to abandon himself to
Christ, saying in the words of Peter: âI have no
silver and gold, but what I have I give youâ (
Acts
3:6). The Lord wants to make use of us as living,
free and creative beings who let his word enter
their own hearts before then passing it on to oth-
ers. Christâs message must truly penetrate and
possess the preacher, not just intellectually but in
his entire being. The Holy Spirit, who inspired
the word, âtoday, just as at the beginning of the
Church, acts in every evangelizer who allows
himself to be possessed and led by him. The
