"This is truly the Prophet who is to come... No one ever spoke like this." The Lord speaks with great simplicity about the deepest things, and He does so in an attractive and evocative way. His words were understood both by doctors of the law and by the fishermen of Galilee.
The word of Jesus is pleasing and timely. He frequently insisted on the same doctrine, but He sought the most appropriate comparisons for those who heard Him: the grain of wheat that must die to bear fruit, the joy of finding lost coins, the discovery of a hidden treasure... And with images and parables, He has shown in an insuperable way the sovereignty of God the Creator and, at the same time, His condition as Father, who lovingly treats each of His children. No one like Him has proclaimed the fundamental truth of man, his freedom, and his supernatural dignity through the grace of divine filiation.
The multitudes sought Him out to hear Him, and many times it was necessary to dismiss them so they would depart. Christ has the words of eternal life, and He has left us the task of transmitting them to all generations until the end of time.
Today, too, people are thirsty for the words of Jesus—the only ones that can give peace to souls, the only ones that teach the way to Heaven. And all Christians participate in this mission of making Christ known. "All the faithful, from the Pope to the last baptized person, participate in the same vocation, the same faith, the same Spirit, the same grace... Everyone participates actively and co-responsibly—within the necessary plurality of ministries—in the single mission of Christ and the Church."
There is a great urgency to make the doctrine of Christ known, because ignorance is a powerful enemy of God in the world and is the "cause and root of all the evils that poison nations." This urgency is even greater in Western countries, as Pope John Paul II repeatedly pointed out: "We find ourselves in a Europe where the temptation of atheism and skepticism is becoming stronger; where a painful moral uncertainty takes root, with the disintegration of the family and the degeneration of customs; where a dangerous conflict of ideas and movements dominates."
Each Christian must be a witness to sound doctrine, a witness—not only by example, but also by word—of the Gospel message. And we must take advantage of any opportunity presented to us—knowing also how to prudently create those occasions—with our family members, friends, professional colleagues, neighbors; with those people we deal with, even if only for a short time, during a trip, a conference, shopping, or sales...
For those who wish to walk the path toward holiness, their life cannot be like a wide avenue of missed opportunities, for the Lord wants our words to echo His teachings to move hearts. "It is true that God respects human freedom, and that there may be people who do not want to turn their eyes to the light of the Lord. But much stronger, and more abundant, and more generous, is the grace that Jesus Christ wants to pour out upon the earth, using—now as before and as always—the collaboration of the apostles He Himself has chosen to carry His light everywhere."
HCD