September 2025.

"Every missionary of the Gospel must always bear in mind this truth: it is the Lord who touches hearts with his Word and Spirit, calling people to faith and communion in the Church. Finally, Paul leaves us a very valuable teaching, drawn from his own experience. He writes: "For our Gospel did not come to you in words alone, but in power, in the working of the Holy Spirit, in superabundance" (v. 5). Evangelization, to be effective, needs the power of the Spirit, who animates the proclamation and diffuses in the one who brings it the "superabundance" of which the Apostle speaks. This term, "superabundance", in the original Greek, is pleroforìa : a term that expresses less the suggestive, psychological aspect, than the fullness, faithfulness, totality - in this case, of Christ's proclamation. A proclamation that, to be fulfilled and faithful, requires to be accompanied by signs, by gestures, like Jesus' preaching. Word, Spirit and certainty - understood in this way - are therefore inseparable, and help to ensure that the Gospel message spreads effectively."