The witness of the apostolic zeal to which Francis dedicates the catechesis at the general audience is a French-born saint who “lost his head for Jesus” and decided to settle in the Sahara among the Tuareg, where he drew strength from the Eucharist to proclaim the message of Christ “in poverty and secrecy.” As a prophetic figure of our time, he anticipated the Second Vatican Council
Adriana Masotti – Vatican City
“Today I want to talk to you about a man who made Jesus and his poorest brothers the passion of his life,” Pope Francis announced to the faithful in St. Peter’s Square for the Wednesday audience. He is Saint Charles de Foucauld, witness to the zeal in the proclamation of the Gospel and witness to gentleness, the search for dialogue and closeness to everyone. At the center of his life is the Eucharist, before which he remains in prayer and adoration for a long time, with the feeling that only the presence of Jesus here can bring him close to many non-Christian brothers. (Listen to the service with the Pope’s voice)
At the end of the general audience, Francis turned his thoughts to events in Palestine and Israel and invited believers of all religions to a day of…
“I lost my heart to Jesus”
“Saint Charles de Foucauld, beating heart of charity in the hidden life,” is the title of the catechesis. After living at a distance from God as a youth – according to Pope Francis – Saint de Foucauld said of himself after his conversion: “I have lost my heart for Jesus of Nazareth.” The Pope continues:
Brother Carlo therefore reminds us that the first step to evangelization is to have Jesus in our hearts, to “lose our heads for him”. If this doesn’t happen, we probably won’t be able to show it in our lives. Instead, we risk talking about ourselves, our group, a morality or, even worse, a set of rules, but not about Jesus, his love, his mercy. (…) I think it would be nice for each of us today to ask ourselves: “Do I have Jesus at the center of my heart?” Have I lost my head a little for Jesus?”
Make Jesus known throughout your life
De Focauld wants to deepen his knowledge of Jesus and imitate him. For this reason he visits the Holy Land where he lived, “spends many hours reading the Gospels” and, knowing him, he feels the desire to make him known to others. “When each of us – adds Pope Francis – knows Jesus better, the desire arises to make him known and to share this treasure.”
Yes but how? Like Mary in the Mystery of the Visitation: “in silence, with example, with life”. With life, because “our entire existence – writes Brother Carlo – must shout the Gospel”. And often our existence screams worldliness, it screams a lot of stupid things, strange things, and he says, “No, our whole existence must scream the gospel.”
The general audience in St. Peter’s Square
Do we believe in the power of the Eucharist?
Charles then decides to move to distant lands, he settles in the Sahara among the Tuareg, who are not Christians, and brings them his friendship and the silent and gentle witness of the Gospel. He has Jesus close to him in the Eucharist and trusts him with everything. The Pope continues:
So he prays for about ten hours a day at the feet of Jesus in front of the tabernacle, in the certainty that the evangelizing power is there and in the feeling that it is Jesus who brings him close to many distant brothers and sisters. And we, I wonder, believe in the power of the Eucharist? Does our outreach to others, our service, find its beginning and fulfillment there, in worship? I am convinced that we have lost the feeling of worship: we must recapture it.
“Every Christian is an apostle”
Pope Francis describes another aspect of Saint de Foucauld’s spirituality that “anticipates the times of the Second Vatican Council” and is that “every Christian is an apostle” and that the proclamation of the Gospel belongs to the entire people of God. But only in an attitude of prayer and listening to the Holy Spirit, always creative, is this possible. And regarding the laity, “saints, not mountaineers, who are in love with Jesus,” the Pope notes: “How much we priests need these lay people at our side, who believe seriously and teach us the way with their witness.” Then he continues:
Saint Charles de Foucauld, a figure who is a prophecy for our times, testified to the beauty of the transmission of the Gospel through the apostolate of meekness: he, who felt himself to be a “universal brother” and welcomed everyone, shows us the evangelizing power of tenderness. (…) The life of Jesus’ goodness led him to establish fraternal bonds and friendships with the poor, the Tuareg and those furthest from his mentality. Little by little, these bonds led to brotherhood, integration and appreciation of each other’s culture.
Greetings from Pope Francis to the believers in the square
How important it is to give even a smile
Goodness is also expressed with a smile, and in conclusion the Pope invites everyone to ask themselves: “We bring Christian joy, Christian gentleness, Christian tenderness, Christian compassion, Christian closeness to ourselves and to others.”