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Pat Collins C.M, who has just finished a
two year sabbatical in the United States studying and reflecting on
the New Evangelisation, shares some of his thoughts.
 In
a previous article entitled “The Harvest is Great” (Goodnews
Sept/Oct 2007) I briefly described the New Evangelisation, called for
by Popes John Paul II, and Benedict XVI. The former explained that it
was not new in content, “The new evangelisation, begins with the
clear and emphatic proclamation of the gospel…it must in no way
compromise the distinctiveness and integrity of the Christian faith.”
In a talk given in 2000, the present Pope, went on to explain to catechists
in Rome that the New Evangelisation focuses on four key topics, conversion,
the kingdom of God, Jesus Christ and eternal life.
Although the Gospel is unchanging, the culture in which
it is proclaimed is changing all the time so the Good News has to be
inculturated i.e. expressed in a contemporary way that will make sense
to the people of our time. In par. 52 of his encyclical Redemptoris
Missio, Pope John Paul II said that inculturation, “means the intimate
transformation of authentic cultural values, through their integration
in Christianity and the insertion of Christianity in the various human
cultures.” To do this effectively, John Paul explained, a proclamation
is needed that is new in “ardor, methods and forms of expression.”
I think it would be true to say that there are two main
forms of evangelisation. On the one hand there are the traditional foreign
missions which seek to bring the Good News to unbelievers in foreign
countries e.g. in Africa or Asia, and on the other hand there is the
New Evangelisation which seeks to evangelise people who live in traditionally
Christian cultures like Ireland and Britain.
Who is the focus of the New Evangelization?
The new Evangelisation focuses on the following groups. Firstly, there
are practicing Catholics who are sacramentalised but not fully evangelised.
As we know, there are many people who, in spite of attending Church
on a regular basis, do not seem to have either a personal relationship
with Christ or a firm inner conviction that they are justified not by
their personal merit but by grace through their faith in Christ’s
saving death and resurrection (Cf. Gal 2:16). Often the faith that Church
goers profess on Sunday fails to have a discernible impact on the way
in which they live during the week, e.g. in matters of business and
sexual ethics.
Secondly, there is a good deal of talk about the un-churched,
i.e. people who are inactive for a long time and only turn up in church
for baptisms, deaths and marriages. Speaking about them, Paul VI said
in par. 56 of Evangelisation in the Modern World, “There are a
great numbers of people who have been baptised and, while they have
not formally renounced their membership of the church, are as it were,
on the fringe of it and do not live according to her teaching.”
Finally there are unbelievers such as agnostics and atheists
as well as members of other faiths such as Jews, Moslems, and Hindus.
We are called to evangelise them also. Cardinal Ratzinger, now Pope
Benedict XVI, warned in Dominus Jesus, that Catholics should avoid a
false form of political correctness which maintains that all religions
are equally valid ways to God. In spite of the fact that non-Christian
religions can be means of grace, as par. 16 of the Dogmatic Constitution
on the Church makes clear, we need to be convinced that what Paul said
in 1 Tim 2:5 is crucially important: “There is one God and one
mediator between God and men, the man Jesus Christ.”
Motives for evangelizing
First and foremost there is the great commission of Jesus in Mk 16:15.
Secondly, we try to share in the ardent zeal of Jesus to save those
who, as a result of un-repented sin, are on the wide road that leads
to perdition (Cf. Mt 7:13-14). As St Paul observed in Gal 5:19-21, “The
acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and
debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits
of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness,
orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live
like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Those who engage
in the New Evangelisation are animated by a heartfelt desire to reveal
the unconditional mercy and love of God in such an anointed way that
it enables people to admit, and confess their sins, while opening their
hearts to God’s liberating self communication in the Holy Spirit.
How shall we evangelize?
This is a huge subject. I will only make five overlapping points here.
Firstly, we need to realize
that a revolution is underway, one that is moving clergy and lay people,
alike, away from a maintenance to a missionary model of Church. Not
only will this require a fundamental change in our way of thinking,
it will also need to find expression in appropriate structural and practical
innovations.
Secondly, I believe that
every diocese needs a well resourced office for the New Evangelisation.
Every parish needs to have a purpose or mission statement which includes
a reference to the new evangelisation. I also believe that parish councils
need to have an evangelisation committee which intentionally targets,
if needs be with help from the diocesan office, the three different
categories of people already mentioned. They can do this for example,
by putting on such things as Life in the Spirit Seminars, the different
types of Alpha course, Cafe, RCIA, or Cursillo weekends. I think there
is a particular need to focus on young adults, many of whom are drifting
away from the Church.
Thirdly, we witness to
Christ by means of a Christian life well lived. By bearing silent witness
said Pope Paul VI in par. 21 of Evangelisation in the Modern World “these
Christians will inevitably arouse a spirit of enquiry in those who see
their way of life, Why are they like this? Why do they live this way?
Why are they among us? Witness of this kind constitutes in itself a
proclamation of the good news, silent but strong and effective.”
Fourthly, all of us as
individuals need to develop the courage and skill to do one-to-one evangelisation
both within and outside our family circle. As Pope Paul VI said in par.
46 of Evangelisation in the Modern World, “side by side with the
collective proclamation of the gospel, the other form of evangelization,
the person-to-person one, remains valid and important.” It is a
matter of seeing openings and knowing how to raise meaning of life topics
such as, what do you think happens after death? We need to know and
share the core message of Christianity. One way of doing this in a non-preachy
way is to share our own testimony. I think that each of us should write
and commit to memory a brief account of our religious awakening. It
should describe three things, what you were like before the awakening
occurred, the religious experience itself, and the effect it had on
your life.
Fifthly, we know that
not only did Jesus demonstrate the truth of what he preached by means
of deeds of power such as healing, exorcism and miracle working, he
commissioned the apostles and their successors to do the same in his
name. Thanks to the revival of the charisms in the contemporary Church,
many Christians can manifest the presence of the risen Lord by means
of supernatural deeds. Pope Benedict acknowledged this when he wrote,
“In the heart of a world adversely affected by rationalistic skepticism,
a new experience of the Holy Spirit has come about, amounting to a worldwide
renewal movement. What the New Testament describes with reference to
the charisms as visible signs of the coming of the Spirit is no longer
merely ancient, past history: this history is becoming a burning reality
today.”
Conclusion To make the
transition described in this short article is going to require a lot
of change, effort and commitment. I suspect that this kind of commitment
will kick start the fulfillment of a prophetic word spoken by Ralph
Martin in St Peter’s Basilica, on Pentecost Monday 1975. “A
time of darkness is coming upon the world, but a time of glory is coming
for my Church, a time of glory is coming for my people. I will pour
out on you all the gifts of my Spirit. I will prepare you for spiritual
combat; I will prepare you for a time of evangelism the world has never
seen.”
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How are you evangelising in your Parish?
Do you know there are effective resources to help parishes in
England, Wales & Scotland available from the SION Community?
We can offer:
- Parish Missions (one or two weeks including home & school
visits, celebratory services, faith sharing, prayer experience
to suit your parish needs)
- Training in ‘Passing On’ the message’
- Primary and secondary school missions
For more information contact:
SION Catholic Community,
Sawyers Hall Lane, Brentwood, Essex, CM15 9BX,
Tel: 01277 215011
Email: admin(at)sioncommunity.org.uk
Web: www.sioncommunity.org.uk
The Sion Community also have a branch that does similar work
in Ireland, called Ceili, headed up by founder of Sion Fr Pat
Lynch. They can be contacted on admin(at)ceilicommunity.net
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A Life Transformed
by David Palmer
I am a Chartered Accountant and trainer and
I start every course with the same words: “I was born an
Accountant and I believe in cost/benefit analysis for everything:
eating, sleeping, breathing, training courses…”. It’s
an attitude which God changed dramatically in 1996 when He became
the centre of my life.
I grew up in a Catholic family, was confirmed at
age 8, went to a Jesuit-run secondary school and effectively left
the Church at age 14 because God was irrelevant to me. I got married
in a Catholic Church because my family expected me to. When I
started taking my daughter to the Catholic primary school I felt
it would be hypocritical not to take her to Mass. After six years
of irregular Mass attendance I volunteered, so I thought, to read
at Mass and become a Eucharistic Minister. A job I took seriously
but not spiritually. My faith was limited to a grudging one hour
a week.
In 1996 I went on an Alpha course out of interest
- much as I would have gone on a tax planning course. I soon realised
that the course was about Jesus, who I had never thought of as
a real person before. The revelation that He had died for me was
mind-blowing. On the Holy Spirit weekend I was prayed with for
the first time in my life. To experience God’s love in the
quiet words spoken to me was a life-changing experience.
The impact varies from the silly: previously holidays
were Barcelona and Tenerife, now it’s Lourdes with HCPT,
Celebrate at Easter and the Walsingham New Dawn Conference; to
the sacred: my eucharistic ministry was transformed and I was
ordained a Permanent Deacon in June 2007. My priorities have been
transformed, making money is no longer my reason for living.
Grace builds on nature and over the years God has
brought me many opportunities to use my professional skills in
His service. Peter was a fisherman, and Jesus didn’t change
his work, just the nature of the catch from fish to men, and the
scope of his work from the Sea of Galilee to the
whole of the known world. As well as being a Deacon
in my home parish I am a volunteer worker for Catholic Evangelisation
Services and have helped in the development of many of the CaFE
resources. With my financial experience I am a Trustee of the
Sion Community for Evangelism and have been a Trustee for CREW
Trust for a number of years.
I still run finance training courses and believe
that I have a role in helping people use money and financial techniques
wisely in business. We are all called to be good stewards. I always
wear a cross and people ask me about it. Just by explaining that
I believe Christ wants us to live sensibly helps “add value”
to the learning and in some small way evangelises people.
I thank God for those who asked me to go on the
Alpha course that changed my life. I encourage all those who work
in parishes to run CaFE and Alpha courses regularly. Do not underestimate
the importance of bringing people closer to God. It is the most
important gift that you can give them.
Pope Benedict speaking on World Mission Sunday
last year prayed that there would be a renewed missionary awareness
in the Christian people and said, “Every Christian community
is born missionary, and it is precisely on the basis of the courage
to evangelize that the love of believers for their Lord is measured.”
This is quite a challenge, I wonder how our communities measure
up?
An inspiring new DVD resource (called Alive in
Christ) has been developed by CaFE (at Catholic Evangelisation
Services) working with the team from CASE (The Catholic Bishop’s
Conference Agency to Support Evangelisation) to help parishes
to become more outward looking. It will be sent to every parish
in England and Wales as part of the Home Mission Sunday Pack in
September.
We realise that Parish Priests have to wade through
piles of mail each day and so we want to alert them that it is
coming and ask them to look out for it. You could help by asking
your parish priest now if you could get a few people together
to look at the DVD after he has watched it. There are six very
practical sections showing how Catholics can spread the Good News.
It includes interviews with a number of people involved in missionary
initiatives and includes testimonies from people whose lives have
been changed as a result of these. This is a great opportunity
for parishes to form small evangelising teams to start looking
at the various opportunities that we have to share our faith with
others and we ask you to join with us in praying that this initiative
will stir up many people in the Church to be more missionary.
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Mission Bishop Backs National Invitation
To Set Up
An Evangelisation Team In Every Parish
Every parish should be encouraged and make a priority the setting
up of a parish evangelisation team says Bishop Malcolm McMahon,
who is Chair of the Bishops’ Conference Department for Evangelisation
and Catechesis.
The theme for this year’s Mission Sunday (21st
September 2008) is ‘Job For Life: Equipping Parishes For
Home Mission’ and every parish has been sent a DVD which
has been produced by Catholic Evangelisation Services (CaFE) in
collaboration with the Catholic Agency to Support Evangelisation
(CASE). Parishes are also being invited to send representatives
to regional evangelisation training days which will take place
between January – April 2009.
The Gospel for Mission Sunday is the Parable of
the Labourers in the Vineyard (Mt 20: 1 - 16); it provides a reminder
that God calls unlikely people to the work of evangelisation at
different times. Homily notes, bidding prayers, a children’s
liturgy sheet and much more can be downloaded from www.caseresources.org.uk
SMS technology will also support this year’s initiative.
Text ‘TEAM’ to 81025 to receive additional help. A second
collection is taken on Home Mission Sunday to support the work
of CASE. the agency is part-funded by this collection. For more
information
tel: 020 8458 3326.
E-mail: info(at)caseresources.org.uk
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RESOURCES
Pope Benedict speaking on World Mission Sunday
last year prayed that there would be a renewed missionary awareness
in the Christian people and said, “Every
Christian community is born missionary, and it is precisely on
the basis of the courage to evangelize that the love of believers
for their Lord is measured.” This is quite a challenge,
I wonder how our communities measure up?
 An
inspiring new DVD resource (called Alive in Christ) has
been developed by CaFE (at Catholic Evangelisation Services) working
with the team from CASE (The Catholic Bishop’s Conference
Agency to Support Evangelisation) to help parishes to become more
outward looking. It will be sent to every parish in England and
Wales as part of the Home Mission Sunday Pack in September.
We realise that Parish Priests have to wade through
piles of mail each day and so we want to alert them that it is
coming and ask them to look out for it. You could help by asking
your parish priest now if you could get a few people together
to look at the DVD after he has watched it. There are six very
practical sections showing how Catholics can spread the Good News.
It includes interviews with a number of people involved in missionary
initiatives and includes testimonies from people whose lives have
been changed as a result of these. This is a great opportunity
for parishes to form small evangelising teams to start looking
at the various opportunities that we have to share our faith with
others and we ask you to join with us in praying that this initiative
will stir up many people in the Church to be more missionary.
To view this resource or to download a free
copy please log on to www.faithcafe.org
and select the ‘Alive in Christ’ button or ring Catholic
Evangelisation Services on 01727 823803 for more details.
A Selection of CaFE Resources
Pass It On is the course
developed by Michelle Moran and the SION Community to train those
going out to help with their Mission programmes. It is available
on DVD and would be ideal training for a parish evangelisation
team to give them more confidence in their ability to share their
faith with others. It shows the importance of the witness of our
lives, helps us to share our own faith story and shows how to
proclaim the Gospel message in a way that is clear and understandable.
Knowing God Better is an ideal DVD course
to use for a mini-mission in the Parish. It is easy to run, fun
to watch and is a great introduction to encourage people to explore
their faith in a deeper way. Knowing God even Better is a great
follow-on course to this or could be used for a retreat day.
Believe – Reflections on the Creed
is the new CaFE course launched this year. Filmed in Israel, Rome
and around the UK, its documentary style and interviews with leading
men and women of faith make it suitable for committed Catholics,
and those with little faith formation. Its relaxed style also
makes it very suitable for those on the fringes of the Church
to draw them into the parish community.
Youth CaFE is the lively course designed
for teenagers that is being used widely to supplement preparation
for Confirmation. It is also a great way to start a youth ministry
in the Parish.
There is also Amazing Gift, an instructional
Mass presented for young people and Deeper which looks at forgiveness
and the Sacrament of Reconciliation. to run the sessions, suggested
ice-breaker activities and suitable games and reflections / responses
are also included.
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