What is New About the New Evangelization and Who Needs It?

By Deacon Keith Fournier
10/21/2012
Catholic Online (www.catholic.org)

The message at the core of the New Evangelization is that - before all of this - people need an encounter with the Risen Jesus Christ

One of the things that's new about the New Evangelization is who it's directed to: our fellow Catholics. Another thing that's new about the New Evangelization is who does it: not just missionary orders, but every single Baptized Catholic is really called to say "yes" to their call to evangelization

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VATICAN CITY (Catholic Online) - Blessed John Paul II coined the phrase "New Evangelization" Among the many writings and speeches throughout his pontificate wherein he used it was his 1990 Encyclical Letter entitled "Mission of the Redeemer."

He wrote, "God is opening before the Church the horizons of a 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. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples".

Pope Benedict XVI continually calls us to this "New Evangelization". It is a central pillar of his pontificate and a hermeneutic through which we can understand his teaching Magisterium. He erected a Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization tasked with evangelizing countries where the Gospel was announced centuries ago, but where its presence in peoples' daily life seems to be all but lost.

The New Evangelization calls for an authentic renewal of the Church so that she can undertake a new missionary outreach to the world. Only a Church fully alive in the Lord and filled with His Spirit can carry out such an evangelical mission. We are the "living stones" (1 Peter 2:5) of the Church. We are members of Christ's Body. (1 Cor. 12:27) Catholics, all Catholics, need to personally encounter the Risen Christ.

On October 11, 2011 Pope Benedict released a letter entitled "The Door of Faith". (Porta Fidei) In this letter he wrote "The 'door of faith' (Acts14:27) is always open for us, ushering us into the life of communion with God and offering entry into his Church."

The opening day for the Year of Faith, October 11, 2012, was chosen to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the Second Vatican Council and the twentieth anniversary of the official release of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

As with everything this Pope does, the choice of the Image of a Door and the reference to the Acts of the Apostles, the New Testament account of the missionary activity of the Church of the First Centuries, was packed with meaning. It gives us a key to understanding what he believes is most necessary in our day.

As with every door, the door of faith must be opened. We must open it. Then, we must walk through it and enter into its fullness. Jesus is the door through which we enter to find Life. (John 10:9) The Christian Faith is about encountering a Divine Person, a Savior.

The chapter in the Acts of the Apostles from which the Holy Father quotes in his letter details the spread of the Christian faith into the world of the First Millennium. It speaks of the heroic missionary journey of Paul and Barnabas to the Gentiles.

Upon their return they give this testimony o the Christians of the Church of Antioch. "They called the church together and reported what God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith..."(Acts 14:27). The Pope is leading all of us to and through the Door of Faith, into a new encounter with the Risen Christ in the heart of the Church. This is so we can be missionaries in this new missionary age.

In his beautiful encyclical letter, God is Love (Deus Caritas Est) he wrote: "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." This emphasis on the necessity of encountering Christ is central to Pope Benedict's message, mission and apostolic ministry. It is also the heart of the New Evangelization.

We need to meet the Lord in order to be converted. We need to be re-catechized - and experience afresh the grace that comes from the Sacraments in order to grow into His likeness. Then, equipped to participate in the mission of the Church, we need to go nto the Third Millennium like Paul and Barnabus went into the First Millennium.

The Year of Faith is an invitation to encounter anew the Risen Lord Jesus, find our home in the heart of His Church and say "yes" to His invitation into the Mission of the Third Millennium of Christianity as loyal sons and daughters of that Church. We can witness the same kind of miraculous results that Paul and Barnabas did in the First Millennium.

In the summer of 2011 Pope Benedict XVI addressed these words to the faithful, "Today we live in an epoch of new evangelization. Vast horizons open up to the Gospel, while regions of ancient Christian tradition are called to rediscover the beauty of the ...

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1 - 4 of 4 Comments

Sylvester George Fernando
6 months ago
To everyone of my Cristian Brothren,
I give the peace that I have received from our Father through his only begotten SON!We are living in a day that is much worse than the days of our early Christian brothren lived witnessing barbarious persecution.Being chosen Christians,we do not live by our thoughts,words and deeds indeed!We are knowingly persecuting our own Christian belief,life and even Christ himself.Where are we heading for?The new evangelization has to take a re-birth in every mind of Western and European Christians.I say very specifically because in the golden yore,who had spread the word of God,and who imitated Christ to give the Living Christ to the whole world:as selfless missionaries,so many holy men and women risked their life to evangelize the world in the Far East.I would love to be with the young children of the West and the Europe to oversee the process of making them to re-discover Jesus Christ in their life as their forefathers did.If the West find the shortage of lay missionaries in their native land,they can easily bring in from the East!It was a time the West had its eyes in the East for material riches;why not now for spiritual riches?Why don't you seek the support of those Christian lay missionaries who are indebted to Christ and his saints,and of course to the people of the West and Europe?Its truly the innocent children of Christ in the West and Europe need the New Evangelization the most.My intuition says the West and Europe need the Eastern Lay Missionaries.Its fuming;before the fire break out,let us initiate New Evangelization.I do invite like-minded Christian brothren to share and care to ignite the Fire of Christ!
abey
6 months ago
The basis of the new Evangelization is to first know that God is Love, God is Holy, God is Good, which makes The Love to be Holy & Good.
Theresa H.
6 months ago
"What is New about the 'New Evangelization' and Who Needs It?" First of all, all of us Catholics need it; no matter how much we know, no matter how much we have studied our Catholic Faith via the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Documents from the Popes, Vatican II, etc.. No matter that we have a degree in Theology, we never "finish" growing in Faith, in the love of Jesus Christ. One of the great ways to "grow" is to partake of a "Group Study" of the "Catechism of the Catholic Church." I would imagine that there is someone in every parish, if a Priest or Deacon does not have time, or whatever, who has some catechetical-teaching background who is able to facilitate a class. We have a small group (not much interest among the majority) in our parish that meets weekly and thoroughly appreciates reading the Catechism together and sharing questions/thoughts on what we have read, turning to the footnote references, etc., etc.... Our Catholic Faith is supposed to be shared: "No one puts a lamp under a bushel-basket, but on a stand" for all to see.... (Mt 5:15ff) See if you can get a class started in your Parish; you will not regret it!
JayKaye
7 months ago
The best view non-believers or mis-believers need to understand is todays society (US) seems to have more and more gross cases of conduct than in the past, as we have seen society slip away from organized religious activities. There is a need for change, such as restoration of decency, self respect, and a true well-being only found in the Truth of His Word.
The Catholic church is the only church governed with a direct deciple of Jesus Christ, in Peter, our first Pope.
Not only is the tradition traced back to Jesus Christ and his followers, there is a foundation world wide that began through Christ, and it continues. The biggest fault of the church is it is governed by people and people are not flawless, rather, we have many shortcomings. Most of us make plenty of mistakes. These unfortunate character defects are a result of not living in His Word, as most of us fall short. Only through reconsiliation with Christ, not only following His Word, but continued growth in it, can we become better. That stands for the priests or others within the church, and the parishes, as well as non-practicing peoples. Standing within and working within the church is proven to be a step closer to living in His Word, so why can't people belong and practice their faith? The answer is, they can.

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