In Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis shares profound insights and inspiration for embracing the joy of the Gospel. He acknowledges its depth –“I have dealt extensively with these topics with a detail which some may find excessive” (#18).
To make it more accessible, we’ve selected the below Evangelii Gaudium quotes that capture various themes and address different groups. These quotes offer a glimpse into the richness of Evangelii Gaudium, inviting us to consider how his teachings can resonate.
1. On Where We Should Preach the Gospel
“In fidelity to the example of the Master, it is vitally important for the Church today to go forth and preach the Gospel to all: to all places, on all occasions, without hesitation, reluctance or fear. The joy of the Gospel is for all people: no one can be excluded.” (#23).
2. On Complaining
“Sometimes we are tempted to find excuses and complain, acting as if we could only be happy if a thousand conditions were met. To some extent this is because our ‘technological society has succeeded in multiplying occasions of pleasure, yet has found it very difficult to engender joy’” (#7).
3. On Patience
“Evangelization consists mostly of patience and disregard for constraints of time” (#24).
4. On Atheism
“Today, our challenge is not so much atheism as the need to respond adequately to many people’s thirst for God, lest they try to satisfy it with alienating solutions or with a disembodied Jesus who demands nothing of us with regard to others.” (#89).
5. What Do Disciples Risk?
“The disciple is ready to put his or her whole life on the line, even to accepting martyrdom, in bearing witness to Jesus Christ, yet the goal is not to make enemies but to see God’s word accepted and its capacity for liberation and renewal revealed” (#24).
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6. On Marriage Today
“Marriage now tends to be viewed as a form of mere emotional satisfaction that can be constructed in any way or modified at will” (#66).
7. On Homilies
“We know that the faithful attach great importance to it, and that both they and their ordained ministers suffer because of homilies: the laity from having to listen to them and the clergy from having to preach them!” (#135).
8. On Evangelization
“Proclaiming Christ means showing that to believe in and to follow him is not only something right and true, but also something beautiful, capable of filling life with new splendour and profound joy, even in the midst of difficulties.” (#129).
9. Words to Pastoral and Ministry Workers
“It is striking that even some who clearly have solid doctrinal and spiritual convictions frequently fall into a lifestyle which leads to an attachment to financial security, or to a desire for power or human glory at all cost, rather than giving their lives to others in mission. Let us not allow ourselves to be robbed of missionary enthusiasm!” (#80)
“Some fall into it because they throw themselves into unrealistic projects and are not satisfied simply to do what they reasonably can. Others, because they lack the patience to allow processes to mature; they want everything to fall from heaven. Others, because they are attached to a few projects or vain dreams of success. Others, because they have lost real contract with people and so depersonalize their work that they are more concerned with the road map than with the journey itself” (#82).
10. Words to Women
“Demands that the legitimate rights of women be respected, based on the firm conviction that men and women are equal in dignity, present the Church with profound and challenging questions which cannot be lightly evaded. The reservation of the priesthood to males, as a sign of Christ the Spouse who gives himself in the Eucharist, is not a question open to discussion, but it can prove especially divisive if sacramental power is too closely identified with power in general” (#104).
Read a summary of Evangelii Gaudium here.
11. Words to Theologians and Academics
“I call on theologians to carry out this service as part of the Church’s saving mission. In doing so, however, they must always remember that the Church and theology exist to evangelize, and not be content with a desk-bound theology. Universities are outstanding environments for articulating and developing this evangelizing commitment in an interdisciplinary and integrated way” (#134).
12. Words to Bishops
“The bishop must always foster this missionary communion in his diocesan Church, following the ideal of the first Christian communities, in which the believers were of one heart and one soul (cf. Acts 4:32). To do so, he will sometimes go before his people, pointing the way and keeping their hope vibrant. At other times, he will simply be in their midst with his unassuming and merciful presence” (#31).
13. Words to The Young
“Even if it is not always easy to approach young people, progress has been made in two areas:
the awareness that the entire community is called to evangelize and educate the young, and the urgent need for the young to exercise greater leadership” (#106).
Feeling inspired by these Evangelii Gaudium quotes? For a complete summary of the document, check out our blog here!
Additional Resources
Ready to learn more about evangelizing after hearing the Pope’s call? Check out these helpful guides from our blog: How To Talk To People About Jesus: 3 Simple Ways, Catholic Evangelization: FOCUS’s Method, 10 Ways to Evangelize (as a Catholic), and How To Share Your Testimony (for Catholics).
Listen to Dr. Ted Sri share about the heart of a disciple in his talk from SEEK.
For dozens of guides and articles on discipleship, check out our blog page on FOCUS Equip.
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