Pope: we cannot be sad, discouraged evangelizers

The poor understand the Word of God better because they do not put up any barriers, they have an open heart to receive it. "The Word of God is not heard only through the ear, it enters through the ear but it is heard with the heart". Msgr. Angelelli, the "Romero d'Argentina".

Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The proclamation of the Gospel must be done with joy, with "an ear to hear the Word of God and an ear to listen to the people. There is no laboratory evangelization, evangelization is always 'body to body' with the people of God and with the word of God ".

Pope Francis said this during a  meeting with a group of 30 young people from the French diocese of Viviers, who arrived yesterday morning at the Vatican, returning from a pilgrimage to Argentina, in the diocese of La Rioja.

The young people stayed a month in the South American country,  addressing them the Pope recalled the events of two priests killed together in 1976 during the military dictatorship: Father Gabriel Longueville and Father Carlos Murias, both from the diocese of Viviers.

The Pope met he group yesterday morning and handed them the prepared text for the meeting, which speaks of "becoming servants and friends of the Lord embracing the risks of the mission to which he calls us". In the text Francis recalls the martyrs, witnesses of "Jesus, He who out of love gave his life for all men and for each of us". In addition to the religious also the bishop of La Rioja Enrique Angelelli, close to beatification, and a layman, Wenceslao Pedernera, all murdered.

The poor understand the Word of God better because they do not put up any barriers, they have an open heart to receive it. "The Word of God is not heard only through the ear, it enters through the ear but it is heard with the heart. " Praying together makes prayer stronger: the Pope underlined that it is sometimes necessary to be alone before God to encounter Him. But it is a physical solitude, because we must be aware "that the whole Church is with me, the whole community is with me". It is the certainty that animates the same hermit who knows he is united with the people of God.

The Pope then supported the importance of living in community even if one returns, after the pilgrimage, to the usual routine. It is necessary to confront, "remember and renew" the experience. The young - he says - must be accompanied by concrete things and challenges. It means giving value to "mutual understanding", "cooperation" and "praying together". "A group dialogue - he reiterates - must be a dialogue with the mind, to know what you are talking about, with your heart and your hands". For young people - he says - it is easier to get your hands dirty, to engage.

Speaking then of evangelization, Francis cited Paul VI’s Evangelii Nuntiandi: evangelization should be done with joy. One cannot be "sad evangelists, discouraged, without illusion, with a sour face".

Finally he recalled Father Gabriel Longueville and of Bishop Angelleli, called "the Romero d'Argentina". Son of Italian emigrants, man of God uncomfortable for the Argentine dictatorship for his commitment alongside the poor and workers. Like the Salvadoran, bishop Angelelli was also killed, but he officially died in a car accident on August 4, 1976. The truth was ascertained after 38 years, when two high ranking officers were sentenced to life imprisonment for Angelelli's murder. A defamatory campaign and resulting attacks had been going on for some time.

Before Bishop Angelelli, the bodies of two of his most committed priests were horrendously massacred and mutilated: the young conventual Franciscan Carlos Murias and the parish priest of Chamical, Fr Gabriel Longueville, a French priest, who worked together in the Chamical parish. Father Carlos had long been under  military surveillance for his commitment in favor of the poor. He was arrested on July 18 by a group of armed men and his friend Father Gabriel did not leave him alone, shortly after their lifeless bodies were discovered.