A few words from Pierre Goursat
sur on evangelisation
Spirit of Pentecost / Fire
We must proclaim the Lord because we have received a spirit of Pentecost, a spirit of power and boldness. If we stay in the warmth of our communities, we will rot in our communities
Exhortation on the Holy Spirit, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial 23/07/75
Now that Pentecost has come, let us no longer look at our own navel, but let us be caught up in this fire of love. And above all, we must go to our brothers
"Emmanuel" weekend 25-26/10/75
For me "the baptism in the Spirit" was the confirmation
to launch myself late in the world to announce it.
Letter n°8 to Françou Malcor 1973
Gathering in Vézelay 07/74
The love of God inflames our souls so that we may carry it to others. This is the spirit of Pentecost: an outpouring of the Spirit that must continue until the coming of our only Lord and Master and Friend.
Letter to Françou Malcor 06/08/72
So, you see, this is really a new Pentecost… Catholics have been praying for this new Pentecost and when it comes, they are astonished! So we have to change, and to change, it is the Holy Spirit who will change us. We ask him and he is waiting for that. He wants to change us, he wants to sanctify us.
But Peter and Paul did not wait to be perfect to announce Jesus. It is a spirit of Pentecost that Jesus sends us. So it’s not for our little inner comfort for our state of mind. He sends us to our brothers…
Gathering in Vézelay 07/74
A world that is chattering its teeth
and needs the witness of love to warm itself.
Cycle of youth weekends 23-24/01/82
We do not receive the baptism of fire for ourselves, but to bring it to others. Love is meant to spread. Let us not extinguish the Spirit!
Manuscript note
The Holy Spirit raises us as witnesses, he is the advocate of Christ. The Holy Spirit is the defender of Jesus, so it is in his interest that his witnesses do not ridicule him; hence, if we are witnesses, he gives us his strength. Let the Holy Spirit speak: it is he who, through the word, will testify in our place… To be victorious, we must be united with the Holy Spirit.
Preparatory notes for a teaching session summer 1980
God wants to replace our heart of stone with his Heart burning with Love, to communicate to us his ardent desire to save souls, to get them out of atheism, materialism and hedonism. For this, he wants to touch our hearts with his Love, to pierce them, to break them. [Adoration, the source of compassion, leads us to evangelization. Jesus, having made us perceive the suffering of his Heart broken by sin and above all the in-difference of men, asks us to announce to everyone, by all the means he shows us, the gentleness and tenderness of his Heart, his desire that every man return to him, let his pride melt away to let his heart speak and live. It is like a burning fire that the Lord wishes to kindle from our poor lives that together we dedicate to his service, to the growth of his Kingdom of Love.
Preparatory notes for a teaching 24/06/80
We must announce to the world the love of God. This love is unknown and disregarded. We must proclaim it. And that’s when we’ll have this spiritual battle because Satan will rage against us.
But Mary will protect us. So we have nothing to fear at all.
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 78 1st cassette
You see, you have to pray, pray without ceasing: you know that well, it’s all about doing it.
Secondly, you must love one another: it’s easy to say, it’s less easy to do.
And thirdly, we must proclaim the Lord because we have received a spirit of Pentecost, a spirit of power and boldness. You really have to believe it, and you have to pray for each other, so that you get it.
Exhortation on the Holy Spirit, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial 23/07/75
Being transformed by evangelizing
By evangelizing others, you come back evangelized. Your heart is open, you see the suffering and the hunger for the Lord of those people in the street, who know nothing. You have only one desire, it is to evangelize
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79
This fire of love for the Lord, we will only find it by evangelizing, by announcing the Love of Jesus. And by announcing the Love of God for us, (the Love) of the Father, well, it will fill our hearts.
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 78 1st cassette
It's getting out of yourself and going to others. And, if you do that...
you are caught in a fire of love.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
Talking about the Lord makes us burn and cleanses us from our sins. If love covers sin, how much love the Lord has! Ah, if we loved!…
Manuscript note
Not only is it our job to evangelize, but it evangelizes us. We are transformed, filled with the Lord. We who no longer know exactly where He is, well, we find Him in our mouth, we find Him in our heart and we are transformed. […] And all your problems will be much simpler if you are turned towards your brothers.
Exhortation on the Holy Spirit, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial 23/07/75
When you go to evangelize others, you come back evangelized. You have your heart opened, you see the suffering and the hunger for the Lord of those people in the street who know nothing and who are learning all this for the first time. You have only one desire left: to evangelize!
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 06/07/79
Evangelizing everywhere
Announcing the Gospel in a hostile world is indeed a difficult struggle: One must announce Jesus, even if there are fights
Community weekend in Touraine 19/11/88
And we love life passionately, don’t we? That is why we are so happy to have discovered its secret, which is a secret of love. It is this secret that we must proclaim. “What is said in your ear, proclaim it from the rooftops” said Jesus and also “I have come to light the fire (of love) on the earth and what do I desire but that it be lit?” So many young people who are dying of disgust in this city without love would need to hear this message, and it is a beautiful task for us to bring it to them.
Letter n°3 to Françou Malcor
We must announce to the world the love of God. This love is not known, is despised. We must announce it
Fraternity of Jesus Easter Retreat 78
Nowadays it is more and more necessary to announce Jesus. And announcing Jesus is not just going out into the street, but also into the workplace, and everywhere
Introduction to the teaching of Pastor Thomas Roberts, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial, July 17-22, 1976
In order for it to continue to spread we must proclaim it, as St. Paul says: “Woe to me if I do not evangelize!”
Exhortation on the Holy Spirit, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial 23/07/75
The Lord wants to send us to the squares, everywhere, to announce Jesus. To do this, it is obvious that we absolutely must change, or rather, that the Lord changes us. To change, to be truly changed as the Lord wants, we simply have to believe that He can change us.
Do you really believe that the Spirit of Love can come and set you on fire, transform you?
Interview on 23/05/76
There are always dangers in life, but we must act, we must live. This is what life is all about: the dynamism of love that gives us the joy of undertaking to save souls. We are here to save souls and the Lord will ask us to account for it. Pierre evokes Cardinal Suhard who was burned with missionary love and concludes: this takes us beyond France, first to Europe, then to Africa and then to America. Let’s really take Jesus everywhere.
Fraternity of Jesus Christmas 80 Retreat Teaching 1
Our duty is to proclaim Jesus, he said. It is everywhere that we must evangelize. So it is a real general obligation!
Community Weekend 24-25/11/84
Nowadays, it is more and more necessary to proclaim Jesus. So, announcing Jesus is not only going to the street but also to the workplace and everywhere. And then really having this energy, this energy for Jesus.
Introduction to the teaching of Pastor Thomas Roberts
2nd session of Paray-le-Monial, July 17-22, 1976
This way, we can avoid the other excuse: we don’t have time, we are all very busy! We answer: “But that’s not true, we have time: we can evangelize very well in our neighborhood. When you come back from work, you can evangelize very well. You can also go into the building. Finally, there are thirty-six ways to evangelize. The women can go to see their merchants, they can see the cashier or the janitor… And in the office, you don’t have to go to the CEO, you can just see all the simple people.” […] So there are a thousand possible opportunities for action.
Interview on 23/05/76
You really need to go to the office, to the factory, to wherever you go, you really need to talk about the Lord. So, if you are with the Lord, do it! You know very well that sometimes he says to us: “Talk to the cab driver – Oh no, no”; I do it, and it is the Lord who “will drive”! Therese of the Child Jesus – because she was in charge of the novices at the age of 24 – used to say: “I don’t worry at all about what the novices will think. [Lord, I remain on your Heart, I close my eyes and, with my little hand, I give what you have put in my hand for them.” Walk in faith, that’s what I want to explain to you. This is important.
Week-end communautaire 24-25/11/84
“Ah, that’s good, they are lucky, they travel and we stay here… Ah! it’s always the same and it’s always the same!” But I say: “My poor children, if you see that they do like St. Francis Xavier, well, you do like St. Therese of the Child Jesus, it’s as simple as that: she is patron saint of the missions like him!… So follow Therese of the Child Jesus, it is very necessary (for those who have left).” […]
You understand, we are all one: whether people leave or not, stay or not, we are all sent. What is amazing is that we are sent and we stay: we have all the benefit!
Community Weekend Spring '79
Evangelize without delay
We must leave our “cenacle” after having taken this rhythm of life in the Lord. […] We must really take this rhythm quickly because the Lord is in a hurry. He says to us, “I am sending you out into the whole world, go and do not waste time!”
Community Weekend Spring '79
The Lord has chosen us and the only thing we have to say is, like Paul, “Woe is me if I do not evangelize!” I am a “useless servant,” but I must evangelize! And then it’s not to say, “That’s wonderful, He chose me,” but to say, “That’s extraordinary, He chose me but I really have to be faithful.” We are poor guys, we are nothing, the Lord gives us everything. But, practically, we must first adore, we must thank, but we must trust and we must understand the importance of the deposit that he gives us. And that we say: “But Lord, this inheritance is ours. I had nothing to do with it.
I really need to make the most of what you are giving me.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 30-31/12/77
The apostles did not wait to be perfect to announce Jesus.
He sends us to our brothers
Gathering in Vézelay 07/74
It is we, the people of God, who are concerned to announce Jesus. And the Lord will not say to us: “But you were not a priest, you were not a deacon” and all that… He will say: “I asked you to come, you did nothing.” And you will be well hidden behind each other. He’ll say, “You, come here a minute. But what did you do? – Well…” So you see, we won’t look smart. So really, we have to get started!
Community Weekend 03/15/80
The Lord has given us great graces. We really need to realize that they are much greater than we think. […] We must understand that the Lord gives them to us in order to form us. If pagans received half of the graces we receive, they would scourge themselves, they would transform themselves to try to save others.
And on the day of judgment, they would say to us: “But how? You received these graces and you did not distribute them, you kept them for yourselves? And what did you do with all that? So really we say to ourselves, “Lord, have mercy on us, really we are weak, but, really, burn us with your love!”
Community Weekend 25/01/81
We will come to the Lord. But there are many who will turn to us at that time and say, “But you didn’t tell us enough about the love of the Lord! You didn’t tell us about all the graces we had.”
Fraternity of Jesus Christmas 82 Retreat 12/30/82
The truth is that Jesus said: “I have come to bring fire to the earth and what do I desire but that it be kindled? Now we are in a hurry, time is short, we must act. And we must act.
Community Weekend 21/06/81
We are not people in a rush, but time is of the essence.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
(about evangelization) Time is short, please hurry.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 08/78 09/08/78 morning
What do we do with our freedom? We may have two or three years left to be free. But we must proclaim Jesus everywhere. We really have to make sacrifices. We really have to live in love.
Community Weekend 03/15/80
We have no valid reason, in fact we are afraid, says Peter, we are afraid, and the fear does not come from the Lord, it comes from the devil. The devil is furious that we are evangelizing and he gives us the willies. And that’s what paralyzes us and makes us find good reasons not to do it. So, what is interesting is to say to ourselves that we should not put it off until tomorrow.
Community Weekend 24-25/11/84
Prayer and evangelism
When we obey the Church, we have all the treasures of the Church. In our obedience, through the whole community, [we benefit] from all the prayers of the Church, from all the beings who pray and suffer day and night for souls
Community Weekend 12/05/79
Practically we are a community of service, so we are not here to fall asleep but on the contrary to wake up! So if the Lord makes us grow, it is also because He really asks us to act. And it is obvious that at the moment he is asking us for more and more services… So, it is important that we are numerous to really listen to the Lord. It is not only necessary to have the number… but we must be more and more interior.
So we really need to pray more and more, to be more and more in adoration and to really ask the Lord to serve Him because the Lord is in a hurry. […] And we only have a short time to act.
So we must be more and more numerous and more and more in service, and more and more united in prayer, for action.
Introduction to the testimony on the pilgrimage to the Holy Land community weekend 14/10/79
But what is the Lord asking for by committing to ” The Emmanuel “? Why “Emmanuel”? Since the Lord is practical, since he became incarnate, this grace that is given to us is not given for nothing, it is given to us for something, because the Lord wants to do something. […] You don’t have to be completely blind at the moment to realize that things are going very badly. [Jesus cannot leave the world, his children, in darkness. That is why, by a very special grace and through no fault of our own, because I believe that each one of us is well aware of the extent to which “Emmanuel” exists only by the grace of the Lord, […] conversions are raining down, we feel very well that we have absolutely nothing to do with it. Many young people say, “Lord, you sent us to reap where we did not sow. Others have suffered perhaps for generations […] and then at some point the harvest comes. You realize right now that there is a huge harvest, “the fields are being made white for the harvest,” says the Lord. He says, “Pray to send out laborers.”
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
Let's ask Jesus to be simple, to be small, and to witness for Him. He will put such a fire in our hearts to bring his message everywhere.
First summer session in Paray-le-Monial 16/07/75
We ask the Lord to make us burn with love for the conversion of our brothers. Well, we must ask the Lord, all the days of our life from now on, to give us this burning fire for the conversion of sinners.
Community Weekend 25/01/81
(Peter reports the testimony of an evangelical group, Teen Challenge) They would say, “If we preach [on the street] the Word of God, it’s a sermon we’re giving if we haven’t prayed, whereas if we’ve prayed before, it’s the sword of the Spirit that goes through, and people are transformed.”
Exhortation on the Holy Spirit, 2nd session of Paray-le-Monial 23/07/75
As you pray, people’s hearts open up and they start talking. There are some, for example, who are very aggressive, who start to “yell” at you, and then you pray. And then after a while, they end up saying, “Oh yes, you know me, I suffered so much from a Catholic or…” They empty their bag. And we start talking to them. But it is not us who speak, it is Jesus. Since we are following Jesus, Jesus puts us on the road with the people he wants.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
In any case, for evangelization, if you haven’t prayed, it doesn’t work at all! If we prayed, people are transformed, it’s really extraordinary. The power of prayer is extraordinary! And people know it intellectually, but they don’t know it with their heart.
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
If we ask the Lord, if we beg him to set fire to our souls, well, he will do it. […] Then if we have this fire, we will be able to be truly missionaries. And we will transform France and the whole world!
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 12/83
When we pray, we are taken with a burning breath to convert sinners, but also to evangelize, to announce the Lord. At that moment it pushes you.
Interview by Jean-Marc and Françou Morin in Saint-Maurice 5-8/08/88
The Church today has grown cold. The only way to re-transform and revitalize the Church is through love; and that is the love of the Heart of Jesus. And this is demanded in adoration and in trusting prayer.
Session of Paray 09-21/07/77 Introduction to the teaching of Mgr Gaidon
It is not we who convert, it is the Lord who converts. And it is the souls who have suffered and offered their lives for the conversion of people who obtain it through us, but we only act as intermediaries.
Community Weekend 25/09/83
Fight to evangelize
For all of us, we are always afraid, we are always frightened, but if we overcome this fear that the devil gives us and we get over it, then we are strengthened and we are really transformed and we are joyful. And then finally we announce the Lord and we realize that people had only one idea deep down, that we tell them about the Lord.
Community Weekend 12/05/79
The only thing that people fear is to proclaim Jesus. […] We realize perfectly well that a “revolution of love” is much more dangerous than communism or anything else. […]
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
Those who want to evangelize will go with a whole evangelization team. When I say “evangelize”, it doesn’t automatically mean that they will all talk to everybody, but as they are a little bit afraid (as we all are a little bit afraid), they would come, and they would watch a little bit from afar as the others do; and then they would mingle little by little, or not mingle with the people, you know. But it already helps them to take a step in that direction.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
You are not asked to be successful,
you are told "you must go..."
Community Weekend 21/06/81
We’re missionaries. You leave if you can, and if not, you stay. You leave if you can, and if not, you stay but, in spirit, you are like Saint Therese of the Child Jesus (you see that it worked well enough!): Therese of the Child Jesus patroness of the missions! A little one in her convent like that, patroness of the missions! So what was she doing? It was not funny in her convent… Well, she was working for a missionary. […] When you do something, anything, it is love that transforms.
Fraternity of Jesus Retreat 30-31/12/77
It is important to be together to be able to stand and to evangelize. If you’re in an office and you’re proclaiming Jesus strongly, you’re going to be counter attacking, and that’s in any environment. It’s really spiritual warfare. In small groups, we stand. We evangelize
Community weekend 30-31/05/81
Serving the Church
There is not one of us who has been converted in the Emmanuel group, not one who has said to us, “Ah, but I have found Jesus, but I cannot enter the Church, so I am leaving.” None of us said that because, in discovering Jesus, we discovered the Church. But from within: the holy and immaculate Church, the Bride of Christ. He understood that. So, the rest, humanly speaking, if it doesn’t go well, they don’t care, but the essential thing is that they have understood. That is all.
"Emmanuel" inter-assembly day 13/03/76
So they apologize, they see that it doesn’t fit very well, but they excuse it. They have pain but they are of the Church, so they do not reject the Church, they cannot reject it: they cannot reject themselves. Ah, that’s extraordinary! It’s mysterious,” adds Pierre, “because the Lord, at the same time that He discovers Himself, He discovers His mystical body. It is really extraordinary!
Interview by Jean-Romain Frisch May or June 77
It is a grace of the Church, a grace of universality. The Lord has made us grow in the heart of his Church, (He) strengthens us in what is essential to the Church: the Eucharist.
Preparatory notes for a teaching 24/06/80
But first you have to love your Church. There are Catholics who always criticize everything. They are delighted with the Protestants because they say, “Finally I am liberated because there we can say what we want, we can think what we want; and then the Church this, the Church that.”
"From Prayer Group to Community" sessions in Paray 05-09/07/79 05/07/79
In relation to the Church, we have never had a problem, because we have always been faithful to the Church. Since the Renewal is on the whole good, instead of criticizing all the time, they [the members of the Renewal] are rather lenient.
Interview by Jean-Romain Frisch May or June 77
We must support our Pope [John Paul II]. [He fights courageously, he doesn’t have to use delaying tactics, he goes straight to the point because he knows what it is to fight […]; we must really support him. So it is precisely by our obedience, by our spirit of service, by this love of one another that we will have, that we will really be able to win the victory: Christ will be able to win the victory through us… Well, you are committed to love.
Community Weekend 12/05/79
You can say, “I don’t understand.” Obviously, if you understood, you would have no merit! To obey when you understand is within everyone’s reach, but to obey when you don’t understand, that’s really virtuous. […] And this is important on the human level, and it is even more important on the spiritual level. We obey and, in addition, we have found the treasure of the Church. When we obey the Church, we have all the treasures of the Church for all the souls who pray and suffer and who come to us and, in our obedience, they are all the prayers of the Church, of all the Carmelites, of all the beings who pray and suffer day and night. So it is really very effective.
Community Weekend 12/05/79
