Friday, September 13, 2024

“Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!” (I Corinthians 9:16-19, 22-27

John of Antioch (nicknamed Chrysostom, which means: Golden Mouth), was a great preacher, faithful to the Word of God. He used his eloquent oratories as a resource to instruct, correct and reproach. Following the example of the Apostle Paul, with whom he identified in his passion and responsibility for the proclamation of the Word, he expressed in a homily, “Woe to me if I did not preach the Gospel.” “God chose, he would say, the weakness of the world to confound the strong, and what is nothing, to destroy what is. Paul himself confirms this when he says: “I came to proclaim to you the testimony of Christ, not with sublimity of eloquence or wisdom, for I never boasted of knowing anything among you except Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Let us ask ourselves: How do I live my vocation? What passion moves me?