Matters India Reporter
Kolkata, December 5, 2025 — At the Great Pilgrimage of Hope held in Penang, Malaysia last week (28 November), Cardinal Charles Maung Bo urged Catholics to rediscover joy as the heart of evangelization. “Smile is the start of evangelization,” he told hundreds of pilgrims, linking joy to Asia’s synodal journey of listening, service, and hope.
In a homily that blended pastoral warmth with prophetic urgency, Cardinal Charles Maung Bo of Yangon urged Asian Catholics to rediscover joy as the heart of their witness, declaring that “faith should begin with a smile, not solemnity or fear.”
Presiding over the Eucharistic celebration of the Great Pilgrimage of Hope in Penang, Malaysia, the 76-year-old Salesian cardinal told hundreds of pilgrims that evangelization must be rooted in human warmth and spiritual delight. “Faith is never supposed to look like we just drank bitter medicine… let the Good News start with a smile,” he said, drawing laughter and applause from the congregation.
Bo, former president of the Federation of Asian Bishops’ Conferences, lamented that Christians often take themselves “too seriously,” forgetting that joy is a spiritual gift that attracts others to Christ. “Smile is the start of evangelization,” he insisted. “Some of us are very serious. They’re very stingy with the smiles. Only human beings are given the gift of the smile.”
Linking joy to the ongoing synodal journey of the universal Church, Cardinal Bo called Catholics to walk together in listening, humility, and service. He urged the faithful to recognize Christ in everyday encounters — “in the tired mother, the migrant worker, or the young person scrolling on a phone.” Evangelization, he suggested, is not thunderous proclamation but quiet acts of love. “Jesus comes not in thunder, but in the smile of a child, the wisdom of a grandmother, the service of a priest, the courage of a young volunteer,” he reflected.
The cardinal outlined five “lights” guiding Asia’s synodal path: listening, servant leadership, embracing diversity, prioritizing the poor, and engaging youth. Joy, he emphasized, is the thread that unites them all. “Let us journey together as one family, one church, one continent of faith,” he exhorted. “Only love remains. Only the word of Christ endures.”
The Great Pilgrimage of Hope, drawing participants from across Asia, sought to renew the continent’s Catholic communities in faith and fellowship. Cardinal Bo’s homily, rich in imagery and pastoral counsel, set the tone for a celebration that looked beyond challenges to the enduring promise of hope.