Transcript Document

THE NEW
EVANGELIZATION
FOR THE
TRANSMISSION
OF THE CHRISTIAN
FAITH
Kingston Deacons - August, 2012
The XIII Ordinary General Assembly
of the Synod of Bishops
October 7-28, 2012
“The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the
Christian Faith”
The 50th Anniversary of the opening of the Second Vatican
Council
The 20th Anniversary of the publication
of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
The Inauguration of the Year of Faith
October 11, 2012
Preparation for Synod
Announcement: By Benedict XVI (at the end of the Special Synod for the
Middle East, October 24, 2010)
Lineamenta: includes questions to be answered by Bishop's conferences,
Bishops of Eastern Churches
Departments of the Roman Curia
Union of Superiors General
Individuals, Lay associations, ecclesial movements
Instrumentum Laboris: Collected and summarized responses due Nov. 1,
2011 (Released May 27,
2012)
Synod: October 7-28, 2012
Synod Documents:
Purposes of the Synod




To give new fervour to the faith and to the testimony of
Christians and their communities
To enliven and energize the church in undertaking a new
evangelization ( not just ad gentes but to the baptized)
Rediscover the joy of believing and a rekindling of enthusiasm in
communicating the faith
Faith is strengthened when it is given to others
Sections of the Instrumentum Laboris
I. Jesus Christ, The Good News of God to Humanity
II. Time for a New Evangelization
III. Transmitting the Faith
IV Revivifying Pastoral Activity
I. Jesus Christ, The Good News of God to Humanity
(I.L.11)
a.
b.
c.
d.
d.
Jesus Christ the Evangelizer
The Church, Evangelized and Evangelizing
The Gospel a Gift for Every Person
The Duty to Evangelize
Evagelization and Church Renewal
1. Jesus Christ, The Good News of God to Humanity
The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand;
repent and believe in the Gospel.
(Mark 1:15)
Personal Response:
What does this text mean to you?
What does Jesus Christ have to do with this declaration?
What does this mean for the modern Church?
GOOD NEWS
While the New Testament contains four writings called "gospels," there is in
reality only one gospel running through all of the Christian scriptures, the
gospel of and about Jesus Christ.
Our English word "gospel" translates the Greek term euangelion, meaning
"good news." This noun was used in the plural by the Greek translators of
the Old Testament to render the Hebrew term for "good news" ( 2 Sam.4:10;
possibly also 2 Sa.. 18:20,25).
But David replied to Rechab and his brother Baanah, sons of Rimmon the Beerothite:
As the LORD lives, who rescued me from all difficulty, in Ziklag I seized and put to
death the man who informed me of Saul's death, thinking himself the bearer of good
news for which I ought to give him a reward.
But Joab said to him: "You are not the man to bring the news today. On some other
day you may take the good news, but today you would not be bringing good news, for
in fact the king's son is dead."
The corresponding verb euangelizomai, "to proclaim good news," was
especially significant in preparing for the New Testament idea of "gospel,"
since this term is used by Deutero-Isaiah of announcing the great victory
of God that was to establish his universal kingship and inaugurate the
new age (Isaiah 40:9; 52:7; 61:1).
Go up onto a high mountain, Zion, herald of glad tidings; Cry out at the top of your
voice, Jerusalem, herald of good news! Fear not to cry out and say to the cities of
Judah: Here is your God!
Isaiah 40:9
How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings glad tidings,
Announcing peace, bearing good news, announcing salvation, and saying to Zion,
"Your God is King!"
Isaiah 52:7
The spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me; He has
sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim
liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, To announce a year of favor from
the LORD and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; To place on
those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, To give them oil of gladness in
place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. They will be called
oaks of justice, planted by the LORD to show his glory.
Isaiah 61:1
The word '” Gospel'” was known to and also used by secular authors.
It was used to announce a victory or a great event in the life of a Roman
emperor
An inscription from 9 B.C.E. found at Prienne in Asia Minor
celebrates the birth of Augustus with the words,
Everyone may rightly consider this event as the origin of
their life and existence. Providence has marvelously raised
up and adorned human life by giving us Augustus . . . to
make him the benefactor of a kind, our Savior, for us and
those who will come after us. But the birthday of God
(Augustus) was for the world the beginning of the joyful
messages which have gone forth because of him. . .
The Use of Gospel in the New Testament
To begin the first Christians had only “the Gospel” that is the good news which
Jesus proclaims “the kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe the good
news.” Mk 1:15
GOSPEL was oral and it was proclaimed by Jesus.
Second, Jesus' followers began to proclaim Him as the “gospel.”
Galatians 1:6-7; 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5
GOSPEL was proclaimed by the followers of Jesus as teaching about Jesus.
Third, Mark was probably the inventor of the literary genre we call “gospel.”
GOSPEL proclaimed becomes a text, a narrative, a story of Jesus words and
deeds
Some Considerations:
1. Christian faith is more than simply teachings, wise sayings, a code
of morality or a tradition. (I.L.18)
2. Christian faith is about an encounter and a relationship with Jesus
Christ. (I.L.19)
Consider the relationships in each of the following texts:
1) Matthew 9:9-13; 2) Mark 5:21-43; 3) Luke 12: 22-34; 4) John 4: 7-29
For each text describe the relationship which Jesus has with the other characters of
the text.
What qualities attract them / frighten them ?
If faith is a relationship with Jesus, describe the faith in these texts.
Personal Response:
What attracts you to Jesus ?
How is that relationship expressed in your own faith ?
How do you nurture the relationship ?
How does that attraction shape your ministry ?
Transmitting the faith means to create in every place and time the
conditions that lead to an encounter between the person and Jesus
Christ. I.L.18
The goal of all evangelization is to create the possibility for this
encounter. I.L.18
The encounter with Jesus is to be :
Intimate
Personal
Public
Communal
Jesus himself, the Good News of God, was the very first and
greatest evangelizer. I.L. 21
For Jesus the purpose of evangelization is drawing people into
his intimate relationship with the Father and his Spirit. I.L. 23
The way Jesus treated people is to be considered an essential
element of Jesus' method of evangelizing.
Jesus' evangelizing experience leads quite naturally to a
conversion experience
Those who accept the Gospel, as a gift and for the fruits it produces in
them, come together in the name of Jesus to preserve and nourish
their faith.
.
After Jesus' death and resurrection, the disciples proclaim the
gospel to everyone.
Work of the Spirit as at Penetcost.
That ministry continues to this day.
The Gospel is seen to be a gift for every person I.L. 28
We proclaim Jesus himself...
Jesus calls everyone to conversion for the Kingdom of
God.
Jesus draws near to those on the margins of society.
Sent to bring good news to the poor . . . Lk.14:18
Shows them the love of God...
Touches persons physically and spiritually. . .
Jesus heals and forgives . . .
Initiates a transformation and participation in the life of
God, who renews us in the present moment.
Evangelization consists in proposing the Gospel which transforms
the human individual, his world and his personal story. I.L. 31
The Church evangelizes when,
in virtue of the power of the Gospel proclaimed,
she takes every human experience and gives it rebirth through the
death and resurrection of Jesus, immersing each one in the
newness of Baptism and life according to the Gospel and in the
Son's relationship to his Father, so as to feel the power of the Spirit.
I.L. 31
“Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a
lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person,
which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.
[. . .] Since God has first loved us (cf 1 Jn. 4:10), love is
now no longer a mere command; it is the response to
the gift of love with which God draws near to us.”
Benedict XVI, Encyclical Letter Deus charitas est ( 25 December,
2005), 1
There are difficulties in making these experiences
contemporary and transmissible.
Sometimes, it seems that these historical works are part of a
past age and are confined there because they seem to lack
the ability to communicate the evangelical character of their
witness in the present day. I.L. 32
II. Time for a New Evangelization (I.L. 41)
a. The Question of a new Evangelization
b. Sectors of the New Evangelization
c. New Frontier of the Communications' Sector
d. Changes in the Religious Sector
e. Christians within these Sectors
f. Mission Ad Gentes, Pastoral Care
g. Parish Transformation and the New Evangelization
h. A Definition and its Meaning
The evangelizing ministry of the Church has changed form and
method through the years depending on places and situations.
I.L. 41.
Vatican II reminded us that “ groups among which the church
dwells are often radically changed, for one reason or another,
so that an entirely new set of circumstances may arise.” (
Vatican II, Ad Gentes, 6)
Today, we witness a cultural change which challenges our
mandate to proclaim the Gospel. I.L. 42
These changes are both positive and negative.
They advance human culture, increase knowledge, but they
also cause many to question values and some fundamental
aspects of daily life which affect people's faith.
If on the one hand humanity has derived undeniable benefits
from these changes and the Church has drawn from them
further incentives for bearing witness to the hope that is within
her (1 Pt. 3:15), on the other hand, there has been a troubling
loss of the sense of the sacred, which has even called into
question foundations once deemed unshakeable, such as faith
in a provident creator God, the revelation of Jesus Christ as the
one Saviour, and a common understanding of basic human
experiences: i.e. birth, death, life in a family, and references to
natural moral law. Even though some consider these things a
kind of liberation, there soon follows an awareness that an
interior desert results, whenever the human being, wishing to
be the sole architect of his nature and destiny, finds himself
deprived of that which is the very foundation of all things.
Pope Benedict XVI Apostolic letter motu proprio Ubicumque et semper Nov
21, 2010
From your perspective, what challenges face
the Canadian Catholic Community ?
TEN MAJOR FAITH STRUGGLES OF OUR AGE
Ron Rolheiser OMI
Http://www.ronrolheiser.com
1. The struggle with the atheism of our everyday
consciousness, that is the struggle to have a vital sense of God
within a secular culture which, for good and for bad, is the most
powerful narcotic ever perpetrated on this planet . . . the
struggle to be conscious of God outside of church and explicit
religious activity.
2. The struggle to live in torn, divided and highly-polarized
communities, as wounded persons ourselves, and carry
that tension without resentment and without giving it back
in kind . . . the struggle inside our own wounded selves to
be healers and peace makers rather than ourselves
contributing to the tension.
3. The struggle to live, love and forgive beyond the
infectious ideologies that we daily inhale, that is, the
struggle for true sincerity, to genuinely know and follow
our own hearts and minds beyond what is prescribed to
us by the right and the left. . . the struggle to be neither
liberal nor conservative but rather men and womwn of
true compassion.
4. The struggle to carry our sexuality without undue frigidity
and without irresponsibility, the struggle for a healthy sexuality
that can both properly revere and properly delight in this great
power . . . the struggle to carry our sexuality in such a way so
as to radiate both chastity and passion
5. The struggle for interiority and prayer inside of a culture
that in its thirst for information and distraction constitutes a
virtual conspiracy against depth and solitude, the eclipse of
silence in our world . . . the struggle to move our eyes
beyond our digital screens toward a deeper horizon.
6. The struggle to deal healthily with the dragon of personal
grandiosity, ambition, and pathological restlessness, inside of
a culture that daily over-stimulates them, the struggle to
healthily cope with both affirmation and rejection . . . the
struggle inside of a restlessness and over-stimulating
environment to habitually find the delicate balance between
depression and inflation.
7. The struggle to not be motivated by paranoia, fear,
narrowness and over-protectionism in the face of terrorism
and over powering complexity. . . the struggle to not let our
need for clarity and security trump compassion and truth.
8. The struggle with moral loneliness inside a religious,
cultural, political and moral Diaspora . . . the struggle to
find soul mates who meet us and sleep with us inside our
moral centre.
9. The struggle to link faith to justice . . . the struggle to get a
letter of reference from the poor, to institutionally connect
the gospel to the streets, to remain on the side of the poor.
10. The struggle for community and church, the struggle inside
a culture of excessive individuality to find the healthy line
between individuality and community, spirituality and
ecclesiology . . . the struggle as adult children of the
enlightenment to be both mature and committed, spiritual and
ecclesial.
The Sectors of the New Evangelization:
Must decipher the places new and old where the Gospel is to be
proclaimed:
- Cultural Sector: This is where secularization is taking place with
little or no reference to the
transcendent.
where
beleivers meet.
Also the place of our shared humanity
believers and nonPlace to introduce the gospel. . .
-Social Sector:
This includes the great migrations across the
world and into urban centres. Leads to
cultural
liquidity and loss of long
standing traditions.
This is globalization . . . can lead to
The Economy:
associated with inequality, violence,
greed and abuses
among nations
Increased separation of
rich and poor
Civic Life:
religious
Islamic and Asian
worlds.
New economic, political and
actors from the
Rich potential, fraught with
dangers
Science and Technology: wonderful achievements which can
benefit humanity also the
possibility of
excessive expectations and
manipulation.
New sector in Communications:
electronic and media culture.
Becoming a
forum of civic life
and social experience.Can
change the experience of reality
itself.
Changes in Religious Sector:Need for various forms of
spirituality
especially among the
young.
Fosters
religious experience
and re-establishes its centrality
in peoples lives.
Can also be
negative: religions
of the staus quo, new cults,
Emotional
and psychological
dominance.
Christians within these Sectors (I.L. 68)
Examining these sectors permits a critical reading of the way of life, the thinking and
the discourses which they espouse and can serve as a self-examination which
Christians are called upon to do, to see if the manner of life and the pastoral activity
of Christian communities are, in fact, suited to the task and avoidong inactivity by
attentively considering the future.
Lineamenta responses speak of : “silent apostasy,” weakening of faith, lack of
personal involvement, insufficient spiritual guidance,
Excessively bureaucratic church, removed from the concerns of average people, lack
of dynamism in of ecclesial communities, loss of enthusiasm, decline in missionary
zeal.
Ecessively formal character of liturgical celebrations, routinization of riotuals, lack of
deep spirituality.
Counter-witness ( abandon vocation, scandals, little sensitivity to everyday people)
The new Evangelization
should seek to orient every man and woman's human freedom
towards God,
the source of truth, goodness and beauty.
Mission Ad Gentes, Pastoral Care and a New Evangelization
A Blending of all components of ministry without boundary.
At home and abroad,
Requires a process of renewal :
- examination of self and the quality of evangelization in home
communities.
- Duty of everyone in the Church
- Examine the Church's life and pastoral activity by examing
one's
life of faith and involvement in Gospel proclmation.
Parish Transformation and the New Evangelization: ( I.L.80-84)
Foster a Christian life which is better capable of sustaining the faith of members and
illuminating, through witness, various areas of society:
“ Small Christian Communities” - “ Basic Christian Communities” - ways of “Being
Church”
- Concerned about parishes which can become too concerned about themselves.
- “Pastoral unity” speaks of inter parish cooperative efforts.
- Must rediscover missionary origins and outward focus.
-parishes are more than liturgical centres- must become centres for propogating and
bearing witness to the Christian experience – listening to people and ascertaining
their needs.
- faith is witnessed, faith is nourished and strengthened, God's plan for humanity is
discussed and enacted.
- Communities of joy – gathered by the Spirit – prepared to live one's vocation as
missionary.
Definition of the New Evangelization: ( I.L. 85)
Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith (Dec. 3, 2007)
In its precise sense, evangelization is the missio ad gentes directed to
those who do not know Christ.
In a wider sense, it is used to describe ordinary pastoral work, while the
phrase
“new evangelization” designates pastoral outreach to those who no
longer practice the Christian faith.”
- Primary concern is the Christian West ( Europe and North
America)
- Directed to the baptized who no longer practice.
- Directed at those living in an “interior desert”
One specific task of the new evangelization is to raise again the
question of God in places and situations of real-life which have
virtually eliminated the question.
Demands a very thorough examination and understanding of the root
causes of the situation.
Called by the Spirit of the risen Lord,
We are called to live the Good News as individuals, in our families,
as Church and in society, and to proclaim it with fresh zeal to persons
near and far, using new methods that divine Providence has placed
at our disposal.
III. Transmitting the Faith ( I.L. 89)
a. The Primacy of Faith
b. The Church Transmits the Faith which She Herself
c.
d.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Lives
The Pedagogy of the Faith
The Persons Involved in the Transmission of Faith
The Family, The Model-Place for Evangelization
Called to Evangelize
Giving an Account of one's Faith
The Fruits of the Faith
Announcing and proclaiming the Good News is not the task of
any one person or a select few, but rather a gift given to every
person who answers the call to faith.
The whole Church, in this very activity, continually rediscovers
her identity as a People gathered together by the Spirit to live
Christ's presence among us and discover the true face of God
who is Father.
Primacy of Faith
Transmission of faith is a fundamental act of the Church
It leads Christian Communities to articulate the basic
works of a life of faith:
Charity,
Witness,
Proclamation,
Celebration,
Listening,
Sharing.
The Church Transmits the Faith which she herself lives
Liturgy, most of all the Eucharist, transforms a community from a
simple gathering of people into a community which transmits faith
in God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Eucharist becomes a pattern for living that shapes the life of
the community and reaches outward, through the community, into
the world.
The Persons involved in the transmission of faith
The transmission of faith involves the whole Church.
Believers are gathered by the Spirit into communities to be
nourished by word and sacrament, by witness and proclamation.
Pastoral activity allows the Church to enter different, local, social
settings and from within, display the richness and variety of
ministries which bring life to everyday existence.
The parish becomes an important centre, not simply as a place of
religious services, but a gathering place for families and study
groups and service groups and a lived celebration of life.
The Family as the Model-Place for Evangelization
The Lineamenta responses emphasized the place of family in the
transmission of faith. Family is the place of witnessing a lived belief in
the dignity of persons and values of a Christian life-style.
Formation and transmission of faith from the very beginning of life.
Family needs the support for the faith community.
(As couples, raising children, educating children)
Called to Evangelize
Special call to evagelize:
1.) in consecrated life
2.) Flowering of groups and movements
Insitutes, cursillo, various charisms, Catholic Action
IV. Revivifying Pastoral Activity (I.L. 129)
a. Christian Initiation: An Evangelizing Process
b. The Demands of Initial Proclamation
c. Transmitting the Faith, Educating the Person
d. Faith and Knowledge
e. The Basis for an Evangelizing Pastoral
Programme
f. The Centrality of Vocations
This section of the I.L. begins with a text from the Gosepl of
Matthew:
Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Spirit,
20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have
commanded you.
(Mat 28:19-20 NRS)
The command to make disciples of all nations and to baptize
them gave origin, at different times in the history of the
Church and pastoral practice to transmit the faith and the
necessity of proclaiming the Gospel in human terms, which
are grounded in culture and present within them. I.L. 129
Vatican II declared:
“. . . With the help of the Holy Spirit, It is the task of the entire
People of God, especially pastors and theologians, to hear,
distinguish and interpret the many voices of our age, and to
judge them in light of the divine word, so that revealed truth
can always be more deeply penetrated, better understood
and set forth to greater advantage” Gaudium et Spes, 44
An increasingly clear understanding of the forms of
transmission of the faith, together with the emerging social
and cultural changes which are posing challenges to
Christianity today, have prompted the Church
to begin a general process of reflection and reassessment of
her pastoral programmes, particularly those devoted to
initiation into the faith, instruction and the proclamation of the
message of Christianity. ( I.L. 130)
How will the Church oversee the ongoing renewal of initiation
practices ??
What are your current practices around initiation into
the Faith ?
( Baptism, Confirmation, Eucharist )
Certainties from the Lineamenta about initiation into the
faith:
1. the customary entrance to Christian life is infant baptism.
The practice of infant baptism is seen as an indication of a
high level of inculturation of Christianity in their lands. The
choice to postpone baptism is often associated with
concerns around free choice for a child once he reaches
adulthood.
2. It is also a common practice of adults and adolescents to
request Baptism. Fewer than infant baptisms but the course of
preparation, the scrutinies and the celebration of the sacrament
are moments which nourish the faith of the catechumen and the
community.
3. The more active engagement of catecumens, parents and
godparents in preparing for sacraments of initiation ( Baptism,
Confirmation and Eucharist) leads to better participation in later
Christian life.
4. Many place have initiated a “post-baptismal” catecumenate.
Pastoral programmes for Baptism are one of the priorities of the
new evangelization. ( I.L. 135)
Admission to First Communion takes place in elementary school,
preceded by a course of preparation, which can also have
experiences of mystagogy and guidance in later years.
Greater variety is seen in the practices of preparation for
Conformation
Demands of Initial Proclamation
● How attract people's attention and interpret their
questioning and search for happiness?
● How appeal to non-believers ?
● How appeal to those who already believe?
What are your experiences of these types of proclamation?
How do these issues appear in your ministry?
How does this impact your Sunday homily?
What role is played by the following as Initial Proclamation:
Parish missions ?
Marriage preparation?
Novenas?
Marian devotions?
Transmitting the Faith, Educating the Person
Evangelization and education are related ( I.L. 147)
Catholic schools and universities are present throughout the world.
The institutions are intended to pass on to future generations basic
values of life and moral conduct.
They educate people in faith, discipleship and witness to the Gosepl.
What are your experiences of the Catholic School?
How must we approach questions of individualism and relativism?
The Basis for an Evangelizing Pastoral Programme ( I.L. 158)
“ Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers,
and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses . .
. It is therefore primarily by her conduct and by her life that the
Church will evangelize the world, in other words, by her living
witness of fidelity to the Lord Jesus, by her witness of poverty and
detachment, and by her witness of freedom in the face of the powers
of this world, in short, the witness of sanctity.”
Paul VI Apostolic Exhortation Evangelii nuntiandi ( Dec. 8, 1975)
Only those who have been evangelized themselves, and are
being evangelized, can evangelize. (I.L. 158)
Comment to your elbow partner.
We become witnesses when, through our actions, words and
way of being, Another makes himself present.
Witness could be described as the means by which the truth
of God's love comes to men and women in history, inviting
them to accept freely this radical newness. Through witness,
God lays himself open, one might say, to the risk of human
freedom.
Benedict XVI Post-synodal Apostolic Exhortation Sacrametum caritatis ( 22
February, 2007, 85
Centrality of Vocations
Hope that this synod leads to a better understanding of the call of all
the baptized to their missionary and evangelizing responsibility.
Must know how to speak in terms which are understandable.
At all times be accountable for that hope which is within you.
Encourage families and their role in evangelization.
Focus on priestly ministry and consecrated life.
Our fullest vocation is to be alive and to respond to God's love in our
lives, taking up tasks and ministries which help to build up the
Church.
Last Word
The new evangelization means giving the reason for our faith,
communicating the word of hope to a world which seeks salvation.
PEOPLE NEED HOPE
SO THEY CAN LIVE IN THE PRESENT MOMENT.
Approach the new evangelization with enthusiasm.
May the world, which seeks answers to the great questions of the
meaning of life and truth, experience, with renewed unexpecteness,
the joy of meeting Jesus through you.
Summary
1. Jesus Christ is the primary evangelizer drawing us into
relationship with God.
2. The Spirt animates the faith community to continue making
Christ present to the world and to draw all people into relationship
with God.
3.
The methods of evangelizing change with the times
4.
The current faith community must be revitalized in its ministry
5. Called to recognize new ways we make Christ present in
pastoral minstry, parish, sacrament and in faith witness
6.
Focused attempt to revivify pastoral activity in service of
proclaiming Good News to all.
May God bless us and the world through your ministries.