"Transmitting faith is not proselytism, it is another thing, it is bigger still. It is not looking for people who support this soccer team, this club, this cultural centre; this is fine but proselytism is not for faith. Benedict XVI put it well: 'The Church grows not by proselytism but by attraction'. Faith is transmitted, but by attraction, that is by witness ".
Vatican City (AsiaNews) - The Church grows "by attraction" and faith is transmitted through witness and love, Pope Francis said at Mass this morning at Casa Santa Marta, inspired by a passage from the Letter of St. Paul to the Corinthians.
Transmitting faith, in the words of Francis, does not mean "giving information", but "founding a heart", "in faith in Jesus Christ". Far from mechanically learning a booklet or some notions, being a Christian means being "fruitful in the transmission of faith", just like the Church, which "is Mother" and gives birth to "children in faith". "To transmit the faith is not to give information, but to found a heart, to found a heart in faith in Jesus Christ. To transmit the faith, it cannot be done mechanically: 'But, take this booklet, study it and then baptize it'. No. It is another path to transmit the faith: to transmit what we have received. And this is the challenge of a Christian: to be fruitful in the transmission of faith. And it is also the challenge of the Church: to be a fruitful mother, to give birth to children in faith ".
The Pope added that the transmission of faith passes through generations, from grandmother to mother, in an air that perfumes of love. One's beliefs travel not only with words, but with "caresses", with "tenderness", even "in dialect". And also in the work of home carers, who are almost a second mother. Foreign or not, cases of carers that transmit faith with care are increasingly common, helping to grow.
Therefore, the first attitude in the transmission of faith is surely love; while a second is witness. "Transmitting faith is not proselytism, it is another thing, it is bigger still. It is not looking for people who support this soccer team, this club, this cultural center; this is fine but proselytism is not for faith. Benedict XVI put it well when he said: 'The Church grows not by proselytism but by attraction'. Faith is transmitted, but by attraction, that is by testimony ".
Witnessing in everyday life what we believe makes us righteous "in the eyes of God", arousing curiosity in those around us. "And witness causes curiosity in the heart of the other and the Holy Spirit that curiosity takes and the work goes inside. The Church believes by attraction, grows by attraction. And the transmission of faith is given through witness, up to martyrdom. When we see this coherence of life with what we say, curiosity always comes: 'But why does he live like this? Why does he bring a life of service to others? And that curiosity is the seed that the Holy Spirit takes and carries forward. And the transmission of faith makes us righteous, justifies us. Faith justifies us and in its transmission we give true justice to others ".