EVANGELII GAUDIUM - page 194

194
which encourages, motivates, nourishes and gives
meaning to our individual and communal activi-
ty. Spirit-filled evangelization is not the same as
a set of tasks dutifully carried out despite one’s
own personal inclinations and wishes. How I
long to find the right words to stir up enthusi-
asm for a new chapter of evangelization full of
fervour, joy, generosity, courage, boundless love
and attraction! Yet I realize that no words of
encouragement will be enough unless the fire of
the Holy Spirit burns in our hearts. A spirit-filled
evangelization is one guided by the Holy Spirit,
for he is the soul of the Church called to pro-
claim the Gospel. Before offering some spiritual
motivations and suggestions, I once more invoke
the Holy Spirit. I implore him to come and re-
new the Church, to stir and impel her to go forth
boldly to evangelize all peoples.
I. R
easons
for
a
renewed missionary
impulse
262. Spirit-filled evangelizers are evangelizers
who pray and work. Mystical notions without
a solid social and missionary outreach are of no
help to evangelization, nor are dissertations or
social or pastoral practices which lack a spiritual-
ity which can change hearts. These unilateral and
incomplete proposals only reach a few groups
and prove incapable of radiating beyond them
because they curtail the Gospel. What is needed
is the ability to cultivate an interior space which
can give a Christian meaning to commitment and
1...,184,185,186,187,188,189,190,191,192,193 195,196,197,198,199,200,201,202,203,204,...224
Powered by FlippingBook