Transcript An Introduction to Catholic Evangelization

Catholic Evangelization
An Introduction
What Is Evangelization?
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
“Evangelizing means bringing the Good News
into all the strata of humanity, and through
its influence transforming humanity from
within and making it new. ... But there is no
new humanity if there are not first of all
new persons renewed by Baptism and by
lives lived according to the Gospel. The
purpose of evangelization is therefore
precisely this interior change ….
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
“[T]he Church evangelizes when she seeks to
convert, solely through the divine power of
the message she proclaims, both the
personal and collective consciences of
people, the activities in which they engage,
and the lives and concrete milieu which are
theirs.” EN 18.
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
“Evangelization is in fact the grace and vocation
proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She
exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in
order to preach and teach, to be the channel of
the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God,
and to perpetuate Christ’s sacrifice in the
Mass, which is the memorial of His death and
glorious resurrection.” EN 14.
How to Evangelize …
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
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Sharing stories of faith
Preaching
Catechesis
Sacraments
Mass media
Person to person
Personal devotion
Small communities
Go and Make Disciples 1992
“You have received the Spirit of Christ Jesus, which
brings salvation and hope; your lives are a witness of
faith.
“Whether you were baptized as a child or joined the
Church as an adult, you have a story of faith.
“Whether you sincerely live your faith in quiet or have a
great public ministry, you have a story of faith.
“Whether you have a grade-school knowledge of the
catechism or have a theological degree, you have a
story of faith.” NCCB.
St. Francis ...
“Preach the gospel
—if necessary, use words”
Not quite!
Regula non bullata 1221
“Those who are going among the Saracens and other
nonbelievers … can live spiritually among them in
two ways.
“One way is not to engage in arguments or disputes, but
to be subject to every human creature for God’s sake
and to acknowledge that they are Christians.
“Another way is to proclaim the word of God when they
see that it pleases the Lord ….”—St. Francis of Assisi.
Necessary, but Not Sufficient
“The Good News proclaimed by the
witness of life sooner or later has to be
proclaimed by the word of life. There
is no true evangelization if the name,
the teaching, the promises, the
Kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of
Nazareth, the Son of God, are not
proclaimed.” EN 22.
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
“This message is indeed necessary. It is unique.
It cannot be replaced. It does not permit either
indifference, syncretism or accommodation. It
is a question of people’s salvation. … It is
able to stir up by itself faith—faith that rests
on the power of God. It is truth. It merits
having the apostle consecrate to it all his time
and all his energies, to sacrifice for it, if
necessary, his own life.” EN 5.
Evangelii Nuntiandi 1975
“ Those who sincerely accept the Good News,
through the power of this acceptance and of
shared faith therefore gather together in
Jesus' name in order to seek together the
kingdom, build it up and live it. They make
up a community which is in its turn
evangelizing.” EN 13.
Redemptoris Missio 1991
“I sense that the moment has come to commit
all of the Church’s energies to a new
evangelization and to the mission ad gentes.
No believer in Christ, no institution of the
Church can avoid this supreme duty: to
proclaim Christ to all peoples.”—Pope John
Paul II.
Go and Make Disciples 1992
• GOAL 1: To bring about in all Catholics such
an enthusiasm for their faith that, in living
their faith in Jesus, they freely share it with
others.
Go and Make Disciples 1992
• GOAL 2: To invite all people in the United
States, whatever their social or cultural
background, to hear the message of salvation in
Jesus Christ so they may come to join us in the
fullness of the Catholic faith.
Go and Make Disciples 1992
• GOAL 3: To foster gospel values in our
society, promoting the dignity of the human
person, the importance of the family, and the
common good of our society, so that our nation
may continue to be transformed by the saving
power of Jesus Christ.
Why Young Adults Go to Church
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Responding to Human Longing...
• “At worship, they don’t feel they have contact with
God.”
• “They will do whatever to takes for them to have a
sense of contact with God.”
• “If liturgy could present people with an experience of
Christ, with contact with Jesus, it would come closer
to what people are actually seeking today.” Frank
DeSiano, Sowing New Seed, p. 79ff.
Evangelization and Catechesis
• Luke 24:13-35
Our Hearts Were Burning within Us
• “We will share with them the living word of God,
which can touch their hearts and minds and unfold
the deep meaning of their experience in the light
of all Jesus said and did.
• “We will trust the capacity of prayer and
sacrament to open their eyes to the presence and
love of Christ.
• “We will invite them to live and share this Good
News in the world.” NCCB.
The Source of Vocations
• A vocation comes from an experience with the
God who calls us to holiness.
• “The journey toward holiness is the path toward
finding and satisfying our hunger for meaning….”
• We are “to help young adults understand vocation
as primarily a call to holiness and Christian
maturity lived through single or married life, the
priesthood, the diaconate, or religious life.”
NCCB, Sons and Daughters of the Light (1996).
The Lay Apostolate
Apostolicam Actuositatem (1965)
“2. Since the laity, in accordance with their
state of life, live in the midst of the world
and its concerns, they are called by God
to exercise their apostolate in the world
like leaven, with the ardor of the spirit of
Christ.”
The Lay Apostolate
“The laity must take up the renewal of the
temporal order as their own special
obligation. Led by the light of the Gospel
and the mind of the Church and motivated
by Christian charity, they must act directly
and in a definite way in the temporal
sphere.” AA 7
The Lay Apostolate
“However, an apostolate of this kind does not
consist only in the witness of one's way of
life; a true apostle looks for opportunities to
announce Christ by words addressed either
to non-believers with a view to leading
them to faith, or to the faithful with a view
to instructing, strengthening, and
encouraging them to a more fervent life.”
AA 6.
The Apostolate of the Young
“Young persons exert very important
influence in modern society. ... They should
become the first to carry on the apostolate
directly to other young persons,
concentrating their apostolic efforts within
their own circle, according to the needs of
the social environment in which they live.”
AA 12.
Unity in All Things
“Whether the lay apostolate is exercised by the faithful
as individuals or as members of organizations, it
should be incorporated into the apostolate of the
whole Church according to a right system of
relationships. Indeed, union with those whom the
Holy Spirit has assigned to rule His Church (cf. Acts
20:28) is an essential element of the Christian
apostolate. No less necessary is cooperation among
various projects of the apostolate which must be
suitably directed by the hierarchy.” AA 23
The Importance of Formation
• “The apostolate can attain its maximum
effectiveness only through a diversified and
thorough formation.” AA 28.
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