The joy of evangelizing

Sometimes we think that evangelization consists of great speeches, audacious projects or distant missions. However, Christian experience - that of the saints, that of so many anonymous faithful, that of the Church throughout the centuries - shows that the proclamation of the Gospel springs, above all, from the concrete place where we are. Where Providence has sown us, there we are called to bear the fruits of salvation.

Sometimes that place is the village of origin, known and familiar; other times, as in my case, it is a Nordic country, silent and frozen for long months, where the language of daily testimony becomes more eloquent than any speech. Because evangelizing does not begin with speaking: it begins with living.

Evangelizing through life: the universal language

In Finland, where the word is restrained and the spaces are wide, I have discovered that the Christian is invited to evangelize with a new style: that of joyful simplicity, the serenity that disarms, the smile that opens doors, the service that makes the invisible visible. And I think that wherever you are - in a city neighborhood, in an office, in a university classroom, in a factory or in a crowded subway - you share exactly the same mission.

It is not about making noise, but about radiating. Not to conquer, but to accompany. Not to impose, but to propose with tenderness, with peace, with the kind firmness of those who know they have found a treasure they cannot keep to themselves.

Authentic evangelization always springs from joy. Not from a superficial optimism, but from the certainty of knowing that we are loved by God. When the Christian lives from this joy, the mission ceases to be a duty and becomes a natural overflow. Like someone who cannot avoid sharing the good news.

This is how the Gospel is making its way today: from heart to heart, from gesture to gesture. A new evangelization, yes, but profoundly ancient in its essence: that of the personal witness that makes Christ transparent.

The Pope's impulse and the world's clamor

In this time of the New Evangelization - to which recent Popes, including Pope Leo XIV, have given renewed impetus - we are reminded that the world does not need sad, fearful or hidden Christians. It needs confident witnesses who know how to look at every reality with the eyes of Christ and respond with his mercy.

Humanity, even the most secularized, continues to thirst. A thirst for goodness, a thirst for meaning, a thirst for hope that does not disappoint. And you and I, each in our own corner of the world, hold the Source in our hands.

To evangelize is to sow peace

When you live far from your country, you learn to appreciate the power of small gestures: a kind greeting, an unexpected help, a quiet conversation in an environment accustomed to silence. There I have discovered that evangelizing is, above all, sowing peace, the peace of Christ. And this sowing knows no frontiers, because it is Christ himself - the only Savior - who makes it fruitful and who offers salvation to all. We are only his open hands in the midst of the world.

Evangelization is not a strategic project, but a way of life. It is allowing Christ to speak through our looks, our words and, often, our silences. It is to walk through life leaving behind us a trail of serenity that invites us to ask ourselves where it comes from. And when someone discovers that this peace comes from Christ, we understand that he himself invites us to collaborate with him in the salvation of many, being humble witnesses of his love.

The Christian as a shining beacon

Not all of us have the vocation of preachers, but all of us -without exception- have the vocation of witnesses. The lighthouse does not shout: it is simply there, firm and luminous. The presence of the Christian in the midst of the world should also be like that: a reference that does not force, but orients; that does not pressure, but accompanies; that does not impose, but enlightens.

Evangelization begins in everyday life: in the family, at work, in our dealings with those who cross our path. At times a kind word will suffice; at others, heroic patience; at still others, the silent witness of fidelity, even when no one seems to see it.

Evangelization is not a burden, but a grace. It is not a burden, but a gift. And when we understand that our mission is simply to let Christ reach others through us, then everything changes.

Wherever you are, Jesus wants to reach you. He wants to embrace the people you see every day. But He wants to do it with your hands, with your smile, with your attitude. Evangelizing means allowing the closeness of Christ to become visible in you.