Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Rome (Agenzia Fides) - The proclamation of the Gospel does not take place through the imposition of pre-constituted cultural models. The liberation proclaimed by Christ reaches individuals and peoples when it is expressed in their "mother tongue", and is welcomed and transmitted to others through children and the simple, and not through the learned and the wise. Pope Francis recalled this today, during the Wednesday General Audience, as he resumed the cycle of catechesis, after the summer break, dedicated to rediscovering the passion for proclaiming the Gospel. Speaking before the variegated and festive crowd gathered in Paul VI Hall, the Bishop of Rome, who came from the American continent, today re-proposed as paradigmatic the story of the Virgin's apparitions in Guadalupe, which he called the "ever living source" of evangelization in the Americas. The Gospel - acknowledged Pope Francis at the opening of his catechesis - had already reached the continent prior to those apparitions, "but unfortunately it had also been accompanied by worldly interests", and the hasty approach "of transplanting and imposing pre-constituted models – European, for instance – had been taken, lacking respect for the indigenous peoples". The Virgin of Guadalupe, on the other hand, "appears dressed in the clothing of the indigenous, native peoples, she speaks their language, she welcomes and loves the local culture: Mary is Mother, and under her mantle every child finds a place".
The story of Guadalupe - Pope Francis repeated - attests that the Gospel is transmitted in the most suitable language, which is the "mother tongue". In this regard, the Pontiff asked the multitude of pilgrims gathered in Paul VI Hall for an applause for the many mothers and grandmothers who hand down the Gospel to their children and grandchildren: "faith" said the Pope "is passed on with life; this is why mothers and grandmothers are the first evangelizers". Furthermore, the story of Guadalupe confirms that the Gospel is always communicated "in simplicity: Our Lady always chooses those who are simple, on the hill of Tepeyac in Mexico, as at Lourdes and Fatima: speaking to them, she speaks to everyone, in a language suitable for all, in understandable language, like that of Jesus".
In Guadalupe, the Virgin Mary entrusts her message to Juan Diego, "a simple person, an indio of the people", because God "loves to perform miracles through the little ones". The Virgin appears to Juan Diego in December 1531 calling him “My most beloved little child Juanito” and sent him to the Bishop to ask him to build a church there where she had appeared. But the Bishop, on several occasions, did not believe him and took no notice of the message brought by Juan Diego.
Apostolic works - Pope Francis commented in this regard - always also know "the fatigue, the trial of proclamation". For those who bear witness to the Gospel there always come unforeseen obstacles, persecutions, "sometimes from the Church itself. To proclaim, in fact, it is not enough to bear witness to the good, it is necessary to know how to endure evil. A Christian does good, but also endures evil. Both go together; life is like that. Even today, in so many places, inculturating the Gospel and evangelising cultures requires constancy and patience, not being afraid of conflict, not losing heart. I am thinking of a country where Christians are persecuted, because they are Christians, and they can’t practice their faith easily and in peace".
In the proclamation of the Gospel - the Pontiff continued- there is always " the risk of a type of surrender" which, when faced with obstacles and resistance, leads people to back down, "becoming discouraged and perhaps taking refuge in one’s own certainties, in small groups, and in some personal devotions". In the story of Guadalupe, it is Mary herself who heartens Juan Diego and encouraged him to insist on his requests to bring to the Bishop: Our Lady, "while she consoles us, makes us go forward and thus allows us to grow, like a good mother who, while following her son’s steps, launches him into the world’s challenges". To Juan Diego, she promises to make the sign, the "proof" requested by the Bishop to grant credibility to his words. Our Lady comforts Juan Diego with disarming and unforgettable words: “Let nothing frighten you, let nothing trouble your heart... Am I not here, I who am your mother?” Pope Francis commented, adding other words to the written text of the catechesis – “Often times when we are in desolation, in sadness, in difficulty, Our Lady say this to us, too, in our hearts: Am I, your mother, not here? [She is] always close by us to console us and give us the strength to go on”. Juan Diego, encouraged by Mary, found some beautiful flowers in the middle of winter, put them in his cloak and offered them to the Mother of God, who invited him to take them to the Bishop as proof. He goes, waits his turn patiently - continued Pope Francis - and in the presence of the Bishop shows the flowers, when behold "the image of Our Lady appeared the fabric of the cloak, the extraordinary and living image that we are familiar with, in whose eyes the protagonists of that time are still imprinted". When there is willingness and when there is obedience - the Pontiff commented – "God’s surprises" arrive, who "can accomplish something unexpected, in the time and in ways we cannot foresee. And so, the shrine requested by the Virgin was built, and even today one can visit it.
In that Shrine - the Pope recalled in the concluding part of his catechesis - Juan Diego spends the rest of his earthly existence, proclaimingthe Gospel with his simple service of welcoming pilgrims. This is what - Pope Francis remarked - "happens in Marian shrines, pilgrimage destinations, and places of proclamation, where everyone feels at home – because it is the house of their mamma, the house of their mother – and experiences nostalgia for home, that is, the longing for the place where you find the Mother, Heaven. Faith is welcomed in these places in a simple way, the faith is welcomed in a genuine way, in a popular way. And as she told Juan Diego, Our Lady listens to our cries and heals our sorrows. We should learn this: when there are difficulties in life, we go to our Mother; and when life is happy, we also go to our Mother to share these things. We need, concluded the Successor of Peter, to go to these oases of consolation and mercy, where faith is expressed in a maternal language; where we lay down the labours of life in Our Lady’s arms and return to life with peace in our hearts, perhaps with the peace of little children. (GV) (Agenzia Fides, 23/8/2023)
