Friday, December 1, 2017

In Bangladesh: greeting the faithful outside

Before departing from the Apostolic Nunciature for his meeting with the Bishops of Bangladesh, the Holy Father paused outside the Apostolic Nunciature in Dhaka to greet the faithful who were waiting.


Greetings of His Holiness, Pope Francis
offered to a group of the faithful
outside the Cathedral in Dhaka

Good afternoon!

I thank you all for being here, Christian leaders, laity who are working in service to the Kingdom of God.

They told me that I should simply give some greetings and a word comes to mind: a word that I want to share with you.  The Apostle Paul used to say that he would hear within himself: Woe to me if I do not evangelize!

We want to live the gospel as a grace, a treasure, and we have received it freely.  We should ask the Lord to help us hear what Paul heard.  To feel fire, anxiety within our hearts to evangelize.  It is not a matter of proselytizing, no.  The Church, the Kingdom of God does not grow through proselytizing, it grows through our witness.  It's a matter of demonstrating by word and by deed the treasure that has been given to us.  And this is evangelization.  This is how I live, I live this word, so that others might see it; but it is not a matter of proselytizing.

I thank you for everything that you do, I thank you or your commitment, I thank you for demonstrating the gift that God has given to you.

And I dare to ask a favour of you: take care of the treasure that God has given you in the gospel.  The best way to care for it is by the grace of God.  For this reason, I ask you to pray hard, pray a lot to receive this grace and to protect the treasure.

In this way, we will continue along the road making this treasure of God known and seen.  It has been given to us freely; we should offer it freely as well.

And now, as brothers all together, let us ask for this grace, each one of us for others, by reciting aloud together the prayer that Jesus has taught us.

Our Father ...

May the Lord bless you and protect you.  May he make his face to shine upon you and grant you his peace.  May he reveal his face to you and grant you his grace.  Amen.

Don't forget to pray for me.

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