Pope: evangelizing means following the Holy Spirit, letting him push you

"It it’s not enough to read the Scripture, one must understand the meaning, find the “juice” by going beyond the “rind,” draw the Spirit that animates the letter".  "What is the sign that you, Christian, are an evangelizer? — Joy, even in martyrdom. May the Holy Spirit make you men and women lovers of Christ, and joyful in announcing His message of hope ".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Holy Spirit is the protagonist of evangelization, "evangelization is allowing the Holy Spirit to give you a little push" and "the sign that the Christian is an evangelizer, is joy".  The proclamation of the Gospel was at the center of the catechesis of Pope Francis for the first general audience of the extraordinary missionary month, during which he spoke of the theme: "He told him the Good News of Jesus (Acts 8:35). Philip and the ‘race’ of the Gospel on new roads.” (Biblical passage: from the Acts of the Apostles 8:5-8).

Speaking to the 20 thousand people present in St. Peter's Square, Francis said that "After Stephen’s martyrdom, the “race” of the Word of God seems to suffer a setback, given the outbreak of “a great persecution against the Church in Jerusalem” (Acts 8:1). Following this, the Apostles stayed in Jerusalem, while other Christians dispersed in other places of Judea and in Samaria. In the Book of the Acts, the persecution appears as the permanent state of life of the
disciples, in keeping with what Jesus said: “If they persecuted me, they will persecute you” (John 15:20). However, instead of extinguishing the fire of evangelization, the persecution fuels it even more".

"We have heard what Deacon Philip did, who began to evangelize the cities of Samaria, and numerous were the signs of liberation and healing that accompanied the proclamation of the Word. At this point, the Holy Spirit marks a new stage of the Gospel’s journey: he drives Philip to go and meet a stranger with a heart open to God. Philip rose and went with enthusiasm and, on a deserted and dangerous road he met a minister of the Queen of Ethiopia, the administrator of her treasure. This man, a eunuch, after have been in Jerusalem to worship, is returning to his country. He was a Jewish proselyte of Ethiopia. Seated in his chariot, he was reading the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, in particular, the fourth canto of the “servant of the Lord.” Philip ran to the chariot and asked him: “Do you understand what you are reading?” (Acts 8:30). The Ethiopian answered: “How can I, unless some one guides me?” (Acts 8:31). That powerful man recognized he had need of being guided to understand the Word of God. He was a great banker, he was the Minister of the Economy, he had all the power of money, but he knew that without an explanation he couldn’t understand; he was humble."

"And this dialogue between Philip and the Ethiopian makes one reflect also on the fact that it’s not enough to read the Scripture, one must understand the meaning, find the “juice” by going beyond the “rind,” draw the Spirit that animates the letter. As Pope Benedict said at the beginning of the Synod on the Word of God, “the exegesis, the true reading of Sacred Scripture, is not only a literary phenomenon, [. . . ]. It is the movement of my existence” (Meditation, October 6, 2008). To enter in the Word of God is to be willing to come out of one’s limitations to encounter God and be conformed to Christ who is the living Word of the Father."

 "This dialogue between Philip and the Ethiopian also makes us reflect on the fact that it is not enough to read Scripture, we need to understand its meaning, find the" juice "going beyond the" bark ", to draw the Spirit that animates the letter.  As Pope Benedict said at the beginning of the Synod on the Word of God, "exegesis, the true reading of Sacred Scripture, is not just a literary phenomenon, [...].  It is the movement of my existence "(Meditation, 6 October 2008).  Entering the Word of God is being willing to go out of one's own limits to meet God and conform to Christ who is the living Word of the Father.  So who is the protagonist of the fourth song of the servant of the Lord, which the Ethiopian official was reading?  Filippo offers his interlocutor the key to reading: that mild suffering servant, who does not react to evil with evil and who, even if considered failed and sterile and finally taken away, frees the people from iniquity and bears fruit for God,  it is precisely that Christ whom Philip and the Church all announce!  And with Easter he redeemed us all. "  "The meeting with Filippo pushes the Ethiopian to ask for Baptism to profess his faith in Lord Jesus".

But, as Francis observed, what pushed Philip to approach the carriage and the Ethiopian to stop is the Holy Spirit.  "If there is no Holy Spirit there is no evangelization", "evangelization is letting the Holy Spirit be the one to push you".

"After having made the Ethiopian meet with the Risen One — the Ethiopian encounters the Risen Jesus because he understands that prophecy — Philip disappears, the Spirit takes him and sends him to do something else. I said that the protagonist of evangelization is the Holy Spirit, and what is the sign that you, Christian, are an evangelizer? — Joy, even in martyrdom. And Philip went full of joy elsewhere to preach the Gospel. May the Spirit make baptized men and women who proclaim the Gospel draw others, not to themselves but to Christ."

In his greeting to French speaking pilgrims he concluded: "Joy is the characteristic of all Christians, disciples of Christ, dead and risen.  May the Holy Spirit make you men and women lovers of Christ, and joyful in announcing His message of hope "