EVANGELII GAUDIUM - page 130

130
because it is the principal proclamation, the one
which we must hear again and again in differ-
ent ways, the one which we must announce one
way or another throughout the process of cat-
echesis, at every level and moment.
126
For this
reason too, “the priest – like every other member
of the Church – ought to grow in awareness that
he himself is continually in need of being evan-
gelized”.
127
165. We must not think that in catechesis the
kerygma gives way to a supposedly more “solid”
formation. Nothing is more solid, profound, se-
cure, meaningful and wisdom-filled than that in-
itial proclamation. All Christian formation con-
sists of entering more deeply into the kerygma,
which is reflected in and constantly illumines, the
work of catechesis, thereby enabling us to under-
stand more fully the significance of every subject
which the latter treats. It is the message capable
of responding to the desire for the infinite which
abides in every human heart. The centrality of
the kerygma calls for stressing those elements
which are most needed today: it has to express
God’s saving love which precedes any moral and
religious obligation on our part; it should not im-
pose the truth but appeal to freedom; it should
be marked by joy, encouragement, liveliness and
a harmonious balance which will not reduce
126
 Cf.
Propositio
9.
127
 J
ohn
P
aul
II, Post-Synodal Apostolic Exhortation
Pastores Dabo Vobis
(25 March 1992), 26: AAS 84 (1992), 698.
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