“It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but ‘by attraction’,” he quoted further.
“Brothers, sisters, let us feel that we are at the service of the universal destination of the Gospel; and let us distinguish ourselves for our capacity to come out of ourselves, to overcome every limit,” the pope said.
“Christians meet on the parvis more than in the sacristy, and go ‘to the streets and lanes of the city’,” the pope said. “They must be open and expansive, ‘extrovert’, and this character of theirs comes from Jesus, who makes his presence in the world a continuous journey, aimed at reaching out to everyone, even learning from some of his encounters.”
The pope also spoke about the role discernment plays in this process, noting that “the Bible shows us that when God calls a person and makes a pact with some of them, the criterion is always this: Elect someone to reach many others.”
But Francis warned against the temptation to conflate the notion of being the elected with having a sense of superiority.
“Perhaps the greatest temptation is to consider the call received as a privilege. Please no, the call is not a privilege, ever. We cannot say that we are privileged compared to others, no. The call is for a service. And God chooses one to love everyone, to reach everyone,” the pope instructed.