The Lord’s missionary mandate includes a call to growth in faith:
“Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you.†Hence it is clear that the first proclamation also calls for ongoing formation and maturation. Evangelization aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and God’s plan for his or her life. All of us need to grow in Christ. Evangelization should stimulate a desire for growth, so that each of us can say wholeheartedly: ‘â€It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.â€
Along with the virtues, this means above all the new commandment, the first and the greatest of the commandments, and the one that best identifies us as Christ’s disciples: “This is my commandment , that you love one another as I have loved you.â€