Lives of witness

The call of Christ to his people is to “go and make disciples of all nations.” This command, a divine one, from Christ has been re-emphasized in the Catholic Church since the Vatican II Councils. The Blessed Pope John Paul II constantly called all Catholics to join in what he called a “new evangelization.” It is a call that “no believer or institution of the Church is exempt from, to proclaim Christ to all people.” The New Evangelization is a movement of grace in the Church, which is changing it to being a Church of “mission to the nations” than simple a Church merely concerned with its maintenance. 

John Paul II endeavored to assist the whole Church to recognize the need for a New Evangelization, expressing it as “new in ardour, methods and expression.” It looks for new, pioneering ways of proclaiming and witnessing to the Gospel. He considered the older methods of evangelization as not supportive enough because too many people in the world are so affected by the kind of culture in which they live that they cannot hear the proclaimed Gospel. For John Paul II the task is not simply one of “re-evangelization but new evangelization” because faith and culture have come apart and the Church must discern new ways of spreading the Gospel into today’s culture. He spoke of this task as one of the whole Church. He states, “God is opening before the Church the horizons of humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. 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. 

John Paul II calls the Holy Spirit the principal agent of the new evangelization. This indicates that God himself, through the presence of the Holy Spirit, is the principal source of this new movement within the Church. The movement is one that touches upon the very identity of the Church for the reason that the Church is both communion and mission. At its start, John Paul II expressed the philosophy of the New Evangelization. He invited all Christians to fall in love with Christ again. Furthermore, “to put out into the deep” and courageously take the Gospel into the heart of contemporary culture. 

This past week, representatives of the U.S. bishops released a new document, “Disciples Called to Witness: The New Evangelization”, in response to John Paul II’s call for new evangelization that focused largely on the Church’s need to build a “culture of witness.” The committee, led by Bishop David L. Ricken of Green Bay, Wisconsin, released the online resource to assist dioceses and parishes in reaching out to engage the faithful and support them in witnessing their faith through their lives. The document states that it is “primarily by her conduct and by her life that the Church will evangelize the world.”

The document explains that an only an estimated 23 percent of Catholics in the United States attend mass each week. Therefore the bishops placed a special emphasis on New Evangelization’s duty to “[welcome] back to the Lord’s Table all those who are absent, because they are greatly missed and needed to build up the Body of Christ.” They too noted that while evangelization has always been at the very core of the Church’s mission, we must remember what Blessed John Paul II called a New Evangelization. One that is “new in its ardor, methods and expression.” 

The bishops highlighted the New Evangelization’s call to re-purpose the unchanging content of the Church’s message in a new way, engaging the modern culture and keeping in mind the contemporary realities of secularism, globalization and the economy, as well as the pressure of science, technology and politics. With the bishop’s synod approaching, Pope Benedict XVI has suggested that New Evangelization be the central theme. Within the Vatican, he has worked to continue the work of his predecessor in creating a Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. 

Active participation in the New Evangelization, gives members of the Church the encouragement to reach out to those who have drifted away from their faith. This action allows them to carry out the Church’s work as “an agent of healing and reconciliation,” and present hope via this “personal encounter with the person of Jesus.” The bishops explained that when Catholics live out their faith they open up the hearts and minds of those surrounding them, providing for a turn towards Christ. This can open to door to the “gradual and lifelong process of conversion” to which all Catholics are called.  

Ask yourself these questions:

• How can we, believers, give and receive support to one another when learning to listen to the Spirit of God in fellowship for discipleship?
• Do you understand the purpose of gathering with other believers in an atmosphere of discipleship that centers on learning from the Triune God?
• Are you acting as just a student of Christ or a disciple of Christ?
• What must a believer, in a fellowship for discipleship, do in order to be able to improve his or her own ability to interact well with the Holy Spirit within?

Father, by the power of the Spirit, 

strengthen the Church’s commitment to the new evangelization 

and guide our steps along the pathways of the world, 

to proclaim Christ by our lives, 

and to direct our earthly pilgrimage 

towards the City of heavenly light.

May Christ’s followers show forth their love 

for the poor and the oppressed; 

may they be one with those in need 

and abound in works of mercy; 

may they be compassionate towards all, 

that they themselves may obtain indulgence and forgiveness from you.

Praise and glory to You, Most holy Trinity, 

You alone are God most high!