Apostolic Zeal: The “Contagiousness” of the Church’s Passion for Evangelization

Pope Francis has inaugurated a new cycle of catechesis for the Wednesday audiences, dedicated to an urgent and decisive theme for Christian life: the passion for evangelization, that is, apostolic zeal. This is, as the Holy Father explained, a vital dimension for the Church: the community of Jesus’ disciples is in fact apostolic, it is missionary, not proselytist and from the beginning we have to distinguish this: being missionary, being apostolic. Evangelizing is not the same as proselytizing, nothing to do with one thing with the other. This is a vital dimension for the Church, the community of Jesus’ disciples is born apostolic and missionary. The Holy Spirit molds her outgoing nature – the outgoing Church, that which goes out – so that she is not folded in on herself, but extroverted, contagious witness of Jesus faith is infected, too -, reaching out to radiate its light to the ends of the earth.

Below are the first of these catechisms.