Pope Francis continues his catechesis cycle on the Holy Spirit and the Bride, focusing this week’s General Audience on the role of preaching in the Church, encouraging preachers to rely on the Gospel’s content and the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
In continuing his cycle of catechesis on the Spirit and the Bride, Pope Francis dedicated his Wednesday General Audience to the evangelising work of the Holy Spirit in the preaching of the Church’s ministers.
Addressing the faithful gathered in St. Peter’s Square, the Pope reflected on the First Letter of Peter, in which the first Pope defined the apostles as “those who preached the good news to you [through] the Holy Spirit.”
Pope Francis explained that in this expression we find the two constitutive elements of Christian preaching, namely “its content, which is the Gospel, and its means, which is the Holy Spirit.”
Reflecting first on the content, Pope Francis recalled the use of the word “Gospel” in the New Testament.
It has two principal meanings, said the Pope. When it indicates any one of the four canonical Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), the word means “the good news proclaimed by Jesus during His earthly life.”
However, after the first Easter, the word “Gospel” assumes its new meaning “of good news about Jesus, that is, the Paschal mystery of the death and resurrection of Christ,” said the Pope.
He explained that this is what the Apostle Peter calls “Gospel” when he writes, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes.”
Source:Vatican news