Proclaiming the Gospel with Passion and Personal Encounter (To Bhimavaram Vicariate 11 July 2026)

 Proclaiming the Gospel with Passion and Personal Encounter
(Recollection Talk given to Bhimavaram Vicariate on 11 July 2026)

Dear Fathers and Sisters,

Good Morning to all of you! Thank you for your warm welcome and the invitation to share this time of recollection with you! It is a profound joy to stand before a community of evangelizers in the vineyard of the Lord, who are actively spending their lives for the service of the Gospel here in Bhimavaram Vicariate.

We are all active in the service of the Gospel through ministries in the Parishes or Schools or whatever other ministries you have in this Vicariate!

We are also aware of the Five-Year Pastoral Plan 2023-2027 of Eluru Diocese. We began the year 2023 with the motto “With Christ To Christ,” and the theme we reflected was “Synodality and Ecumenism.” We had objectives like ‘Parish Priests should know their sheep by name, the last and the least one in the parish’. Year 2024 was dedicated to ‘Catechism and Youth’. The year 2025 was dedicated to ‘Bible and Evangelization’.

The present year, 2026, is dedicated to ‘Priests and Religious’. The Plan of Action invites us to ‘Look back’ with Gratitude to God and ‘Look Ahead’ with Hope to the future! And the Year 2027 is dedicated to Sacraments and Family Apostolate!

I would like to reflect along with you on ‘How can we proclaim the Gospel with Passion and Personal Encounter? ’

Let us listen to the Word of God in Mathew 13:31-32: “The Kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man takes and sows in his field. It is the smallest of seeds, but when it grows up it is the biggest of all plants. It becomes a tree, so that the birds come and make their nests in its branches.”

We are very familiar with this text! Our presence here today is proof of this Gospel truth. Centuries ago, the seed of faith was planted in the soil of Andhra Pradesh by tireless missionaries. Today, we sit under the shade of that very tree. Of course, we are not simply sitting under that shade, but we are also working towards the growth of the Kingdom of Heaven!

We are driven by the same missionary fire and also by the words of Jesus Himself in Mark 1:38, “We must go on to the other villages around there. I have to preach in them also, because that is why I came.” We are also carrying the weight and glory of Jesus’ final mandate to his disciples in Mark 16:15: “Go into the world and preach the good news to all creation. Like St. Paul, our inner self must always be “Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

The Reality of Our Mission: Facing the Cold and Unresponsive

Preaching the Gospel is our compelling duty, and our most exhilarating (thrilling) experience! History shows us that when the Apostles preached, people were touched to the heart. They believed, were baptized, and Churches were founded. Great missionaries continued the apostolic tradition and inspired by the missionaries, we too have been continuing the same ministry as priests and religious wherever we are sent!

However, let us be honest about the reality we face today in our daily ministry: You notice that people are not coming to Church or parish meetings as they used to... Youth is easily distracted, seemingly drifting away, and hard to reach. We often encounter people who are cold, resistant, indifferent, and unresponsive.

When this happens, it is easy to fall into despair or pastoral fatigue. But as Pope Francis reminds us in Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel): “Nobody can go to war unless he is fully convinced of victory beforehand... Pastoral ministry in a bound world demands a missionary creativity.”

When the worst happens, have courage! Resistance is not a sign to stop; it is a sign to change our approach.

The Power of Personal Encounter: Moving Beyond Efficiency

We have been following different approaches, methods in the work of evangelization – normally we speak of witness of life and verbal witness... Whatever the approach, it should be warm, intense and personal contact. History proves that the priests or religious, who are capable of greater warmth or greater intensity of personal relationship, work the greater miracles of grace. They are not necessarily the most eloquent or the most highly educated. They are the ones capable of deep, authentic, and intense personal relationships.

St. John Maria Vianney, the Curé of Ars, was sent to a tiny parish where people were completely indifferent to religion. He did not start with great programs. He spent hours on his knees, and then he went out to meet his people one by one, learning their names, visiting their homes, and showing deep warmth. Within a few years, the entire town was transformed, and millions flocked to Ars.

Our Parishes, schools, hospitals, and social centers bring us in contact with thousands of people every day. But are these contacts merely functional, or are they transformational? It is very important to transform our institutions into spaces of personal encounter. Let us expose people, not to our organizational efficiency or administrative skills, but to our persons, our presence and our faith. This requires a radical virtue, namely, availability. And availability will always cost us something.

“Before we can proclaim, we must learn to listen. Personal encounter is not just about what we say to people, but how deeply we listen to them. In a world full of noise, a priest or a sister who truly listens without rushing to judgment becomes an oasis. Let us remember: listening is the first form of love.”

Reclaiming the Ministry of Presence: Village Visits

If we are open to people, we will make meaningful connections wherever we go. In rural and semi-urban places, frequent village visits remain our most powerful tool. Sadly, in many places, this beautiful practice has gone out of fashion, replaced by office work.

During village visits, we enter the real life of our people. We have the best opportunity to come in contact with any number of people during visits; if these visits are followed up, can bear abundant fruits. Once we have attended to our Catholic communities, visit the non-Catholic neighbours and relatives, meet the parents of non-Christian children studying in our schools, sit with the sick, and inquire about their work, daily labour, and the progress of their children.

Such visits and the warm relationship we build create a sense of mutual belonging and lead to interest in the Church and rarely to the acceptance of the Faith. The logic is beautifully simple: if we are interested in them, they are interested in us, and in the Master we serve.

The Example of Jesus

Let us look at the example of Christ Himself! In the Gospels, Jesus is never hidden away in an office. Jesus is constantly available to people, often in the midst of crowds, frequently visiting families and engaged in conversation with individuals and groups, ever attentive to the sick, to sinners, to children, to persons in any kind of need.

In his ministry and evangelization, Jesus faces acceptance and rejection with equal composure. For example, Jesus is not allowed to enter into Samaria (Luke 9:53), He is asked to leave the place where he had done a service (Luke 8:37), His life is threatened (Luke 4:29)… On the other hand, people flock to listen to him (Luke 6:17), to touch him, to have a glimpse of him from a distance.

So, as a visiting priest or sister, we will find our daily life perfectly mirrored in the life of Jesus.

Re-imagining our Institutions
The Convent: A Launchpad, Not a Fortress

“Religious are the agents to wake up the world. The Religious are called to creatively contribute towards making Christ’s presence visible in the world; they have to take the lead in it (Five Year Pastoral Plan, 79).

Every convent should have sisters dedicated to and available for village ministry - teaching catechism to children, instructing adults, comforting the sick, and bringing peace to disturbed families. When a religious sister walks into a village home, the people feel profoundly honoured.

Dear Sisters, the habit you wear is a flag of hope. Do not let the administration trap you within four walls. The local Church needs your maternal touch in the streets. When people see a Sister in their village, they don't just see a church worker—they see the tenderness of the Church. Let us never miss an opportunity to step out!

Schools: Powerhouses of Evangelization

Our schools must be more than academic centers; they must be powerhouses of evangelization. During the admission, keep an eye out for children from communities where the Gospel has not yet taken root. During the academic year, be attentive to the spiritual hunger of all students. Beyond the Classroom, utilize sodalities (associations, fellowships, societies…), attractive notice boards, Bible camps, missionary films, and inspiring stories of great saints to kindle a missionary fire in young hearts.

Maybe we could experiment with a vibrant Bible School or a youth Bible group to instil a deep, contagious love for the Word of God?

Parish Centre

“Priests are called ‘to be with Jesus’ (Mk 3:14). ‘To be with Christ’ means conforming oneself to Christ in every aspect of one’s life. The role of a shepherd is one of service, and not one of domination and authority. The various characteristics of a Good Shepherd, such as, the personal knowledge of the sheep, leading by example, mutual recognition and understanding between the shepherd and the sheep, preparedness to lay down one’s life for the sake of the sheep…are to be realized in the life of a preist (Five Year Pastoral Plan, 77).

The Parish Centre is the inspirer and the promoter of all activities within the Parish. Today the parish is often looked upon as merely an administrative unit, and the Parish Priest as just an administrator! The Parish, on the contrary, is the communion of believers, and the Parish Priest, along with his Assistants, is their spiritual animator and the architect of unity in the Parish. Under his guidance, all the apostolate takes shape, develops, and yields fruit. He encourages, strengthens, and follows up on various types of activities that go on in the Parish. He builds relationships among various persons, groups, and organizations. He reconciles contending groups and brings peace to divided communities. He sets a marvellous example of unity at the Parish Centre with his co-workers. The important task of the Parish Priest and his Assistant is to build up a community of faith, a community that prays.

Overcoming the Enemy of Routine

We all quickly fall into routine, and the parish community falls into routine even faster than us. The routine events of our apostolate, the ordinary or dry attitude of our co-workers (Assistant Parish Priest, Sisters, Catechists, teachers, and other collaborators), and the monotony of even our religious practices and our own sagging spirits…these and other things can put out the spark within us, and even more easily within the parish community.

To counter this, let us practice the Four Concrete Rules of Engagement:

1.      Answer a call immediately. When a person, a family or a community shows an interest in the Faith, respond immediately. Strike while the iron of the Holy Spirit is hot.

2.      Give importance to the healing ministry. Have faith and readily pray over the sick. It is the Lord who heals. He will convert hearts.

3.      Give big challenges to young people. Challenge them to lead a village night vigil, organize a medical camp, or create a short film on the faith of the elders… They will do the impossible for you.

4.      Be happy to “lose” money for the Gospel: scholarship for promising students, subsidizing good spiritual books and pilgrimages, evangelical programmes… Let us be rich toward God and generous toward the poor student and the spiritual growth of our flock.

Conclusion: The Evangelizer Must Be Evangelized

Let me conclude with a final thought. No work of evangelization is complete unless the evangelizer himself/herself is experiencing the power of the Gospel. When I preach about the conversion of hearts, my own heart must be undergoing a genuine, daily inner conversion. When I seek to bring people closer to God, I myself must be drawing closer to Him in deep, contemplative prayer.

We know from pastoral experience that parishes are rarely transformed by structural renovations alone. Parishes are transformed when the Parish Priest and the Sisters are visibly busy with their own self-renewal.

Let us pray for this grace during this recollection time, that we may not just be administrators of holy things, but living, walking icons of the encountering Christ.

Let us leave this recollection not just with new strategies, but with renewed hearts. Let us go forth, not as managers of an institution, but as firebrands of the Holy Spirit, setting our parishes ablaze with the love of Christ!

Thank you! And God bless you!