ADVANCING THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
Winning the World for the Sacred Heart of Jesus
The Charity of
Bread and Truth
Peter Herbeck
S
t. Bonaventure, in his biography of St. Francis of Assisi,
tells us that Francis “became a herald of the Gospel”
because “he realized that he was sent by God to win for
Christ the souls which the Devil was trying to snatch away.”
With single-minded dedication and tremendous energy, “he
went about the towns and villages, preaching the Kingdom
of God ‘not in such words as human wisdom teaches, but
in words taught him by the Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 2:13).”
St. Francis was “a sharp sword all fested in the life of St. Francis. The charity
on fire, zeal for the salvation of others of bread, exhibited in works of mercy, and
pierced the depths of Francis’ heart in his the charity of truth, communicated through
burning love.” According to Bonaventure, the preaching of the Gospel, are both esthis “was the reason he was so energetic sential. Francis cared for the physical and
social needs of the poor and marginalized,
in prayer, so active in preaching.”
St. Bonaventure gives us an important but his deepest desire was to bring people
insight into the heart of this great saint to Christ. In the words of St. Bonaventure,
of mercy. St. Francis was pierced in the “Christ gave himself up to death for the saldepths of his heart with burning love and vation of others, and Francis desired to folzeal for the salvation of others. That love low in his footsteps to the last.”
Pope Francis reminds us that we, the
moved him to pray and to preach.
baptized, are also sent
St. Francis is an ideal
model for us in this Ju“We need to recover by Jesus to preach the
Gospel. As he writes in
bilee Year of Mercy. He
both expressions
his apostolic exhortation
is known well for the
The Joy of the Gospel,
extraordinary works of
of mercy that were
“Today, as the Church
mercy that characterized
so profoundly
seeks to experience a
his life, but not recogmanifested in the
profound missionary renized for the passionnewal, there is a kind of
ate way he went about
life of St. Francis.”
preaching which falls to
preaching the Gospel.
He prayed for long hours, many times in each of us as a daily responsibility. It has
tears, for those who most needed to hear to do with bringing the Gospel to people
the Gospel. He extended the mercy of God we meet, whether they are our neighbors
or complete strangers” (no. 127).
in both words and deeds.
Pope Francis speaks as though bringing
We need to recover both expressions
of mercy that were so profoundly mani- the Gospel in words to our friends, neigh-
bors, and non-believers is a normal part
of the Christian life. But, in fact, speaking
about Jesus to others is a rare experience
for most Catholics in the United States.
To some, Pope Francis’ words may seem
a bit extreme, but he is simply echoing the
words of the Second Vatican Council in
its Decree on the Apostolate of the Laity: “An apostolate of this kind [lay apostolate] does not consist only the witness
of one’s way of life; a true apostle looks
for opportunities to announce Christ by
words addressed either to non-believers
with a view to leading them to faith, or
to the faithful with a view to instructing,
strengthening, and encouraging them to a
more fervent life” (no. 6).
My prayer in this Year of Mercy is that
all of us—clergy and laity, alike—will rediscover the preaching of the Gospel as
the normal means by which we extend the
mercy of Jesus to the world.
Peter Herbeck substitutes for columnist Dr.
Ralph Martin in this issue. He is vice president
and director of missions for Renewal Ministries. Peter holds an MA in Theology from Sacred Heart.
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