Pope Francis told thousands of pilgrims attending his general audience on Wednesday that “the strength of arguments” is not enough to convince people about Jesus Christ and his Church.

Concluding his 17-part catechetical series on “The Spirit and the Bride” this week, the Holy Father said “the first and most effective form of evangelization” is the love we show others. 

Pilgrims listen to Pope Francis’ address during his general audience on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Daniel Ibañez/CNA

“The apostle Peter exhorted the first Christians with these words: ‘Sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you’ (cf. 1 Pt 3:15),” the pope told his listeners gathered inside the Vatican’s Paul VI Hall.

“But he added a recommendation,” he continued. “‘Do it with gentleness and respect.’”

During this week’s catechesis, the Holy Father explained that Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit are inseparable “in the economy of salvation.”

Describing the Holy Spirit as “the ever-springing source of Christian hope,” the pope added that the theological virtue of hope “is the most beautiful gift that the Church can give to all humanity.” 

Pope Francis greets pilgrims during his general audience on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024, in the Paul VI Audience Hall at the Vatican. Credit: Vatican Media

Using the analogy of the Church as a boat, the Holy Father described the Holy Spirit as the “sail that propels it forward through the sea of history today as in the past.” 

“Hope is not an empty word or a vague wish that things will turn out well,” the pope told his listeners on Wednesday. “No, hope is a certainty because it is founded on God’s faithfulness to his promises.

“That is why it is called a theological virtue, because it is infused by God and has God as a guarantor,” he added. 

Prayers for peace, stability in Syria

Following the recent developments in Syria with the fall of the five-decade-long Assad regime in the country on Dec. 8, Pope Francis invited his audience to pray for the intercession of Our Lady to bring peace in the Middle East. 

Pope Francis blesses a pilgrim at his general audience at the Vatican on Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2024. Credit: Vatican Media

“I follow what’s happening in Syria at this delicate moment in our history,” he said. “I hope that we will reach a political solution that will not add to the division and conflict but will establish stability in the country.”

“I pray for the intercession of Our Lady that the Syrian population will live in peace, in security in their homeland and [that] the different religions can walk together in friendship in mutual respect for the good of the nation, afflicted by so many years of war,” he continued.

Before imparting his papal blessing to the thousands of international pilgrims inside the hall, the pope also asked for prayers for those suffering injustice in Ukraine, Palestine, Israel, and Myanmar. 

“War is always a defeat. Let us pray for peace,” he said. 

This article was originally published on Catholic News Agency.

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