“Whoever receives the faith is also called to share it. The light of the Lord, which shines into our darkness, is the light for the world. We owe this to all our fellow human beings.” (St. John Paul II)
So spoke Pope John Paul II, calling on all people to proclaim the Gospel. In doing so, he fulfilled his mission as Pope.
Nothing is closer to our heavenly Father’s heart than this. For this purpose, He sent His Son.
If we truly wish to love and—as we considered yesterday—enter into the miracle of selfless love, then there is nothing more important. If the desire no longer lives within us that all people may encounter the Son of God and follow Him, then some of the fire has gone out—the fire that for many centuries led missionaries to the ends of the earth to proclaim our Father’s love to the people there. But if this fire burns ever more dimly, what takes its place? What can replace our own way of helping people to recognize the One who gives us eternal life and to learn to listen to the voice of Jesus, who proclaims to us: “This is eternal life, that they know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)
Just as we are called by love to help those who have fallen into the hands of robbers—like the Good Samaritan—and not to pass by them, so too we cannot simply turn away from a world that has fallen into the hands of robbers and in which darkness is spreading ever more, without trying to do our part to proclaim the faith. We owe this to people for the sake of love!
Whether it’s convenient or not!