What is the New Evangelization?
In many ways the new evangelization is the original or old evangelization. What is important to understand in the work of evangelization is that the core message of the Gospels cannot be undermined or altered by "academic innovations." The Second Vatican Council and the Holy Father call for a "new springtime" in the church. The work of evangelization is critical to the life of the Christian. In the Great Commission called for by Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew.
19 Therefore go 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 I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Mathew 28:19-20
Pope John the II also calls the church to a refocusing of energies and efforts towards the work of the New Evangelization. In the mission "ad gentes" or "to the nations" Pope John II calls for all the churches’ resources and everyone working within the church to the mission of evangelization. From the Pope himself, the cardinals, Bishops Priests and laypersons, down to those to the lowest perceived position in the Church are called to work towards the New Evangelization. Throughout the history of the church those in the lowest perceived positions such as teachers or doormen have done great work in the area of evangelization from their witness to the Truth with love and charity and many have become saints in the process. The most critical aspect to the work of Evangelization is knowledge of the faith and an openness and docility to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives and in the work of our Ministry. It is not our work that we undertake but it's Christ`s work that we undertake and our effectiveness is limited only by our interfering with God's will and the limits we place on allowing the Holy Spirit to completely take over our lives and individual ministries. We must preach the Gospel constantly and we must do so with both our words and actions. John Paul II often calls us to use the modern means of the media to do the work of the New Evangelization. There is no better example of this than our beloved Mother Angelica of EWTN who responded to God’s call to the New Evangelization. Through her network the Eternal Word Television Network Mother Angelica and her nuns and the priests and brothers associated with this very special ministry reach Billions of souls each day with the Gospel Message, the Good News of Jesus Christ.
What are some of the main theological trends that have undermined the call to the New Evangelization?
One of the theological trends that impede the work of the New Evangelization is the notion that private revelation can somehow super-cede the words of Jesus in the Bible. All doctrine must be based on Biblical revelations and new theories are tested against this measure as well as the magisterial teaching of the Church. Anything that does not support what the Church already teaches and in fact contradicts what the church teaches is not of God and should be dismissed immediately.
Another theological misstep that interferes with the work of the New Evangelization is the misunderstanding of Invincible Ignorance and ecumenism. There seems to be some notion that "good people" despite their lack of faith in Christ as the true Son of God will somehow yield access to heaven. There also has been a misreading of the doctrine of invincible ignorance. Most of the world’s population has been born after Christ walked the earth and has been exposed to some degree of knowledge of Christ. Also the relativistic notion that all religions are equal and somehow provide access to heaven equal to Christianity is just plain false teaching and should be dismissed. The idea that the work of evangelization is already completed is another aspect of the new the thinking that undermines the work of the New Evangelization. In many ways the artifacts and evidence of Christian Culture are evident in our modern world, the buildings are here, the institutions which the Catholic Church has established are here but in many ways the cultural milieu has been tainted and distorted from the Christian Culture that existed for many years. Things like abortion, scientific theories that contradict natural law and other examples of anti-Christian thinking have cropped up and are well within the thinking of Christian households, these issues need to be addressed and these “spiritual weeds” need to be pulled and disposed of from the Christian Catholic household.
What is the message we have been entrusted to proclaim?
"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. John 3:16
The message the church is called to preach is actually very simple and straight forward. Modern man in all his intellectual capacity sometimes complicates and obscures the simplicity of God’s Plan for the world. The church’s mission is to preach God’s plan of salvation which is Jesus Christ. We are called to first live and love like Christ and then to preach his message. What is critical to understand is the sequence of events which needs to take place. There needs to be a sanctification and purification of ourselves in the light of the Gospel and then the work of preaching. God can still use imperfect instruments to do his work but it is often scandalizing and more damaging to have a person preach a message, and to then have that person caught behaving in a way that is contradictory to the message that he or she preaches or proclaims.
How can you say to your brother, 'Brother, let me take the speck out of your eye,' when you yourself fail to see the plank in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye. Luke 6:42
The truth isn’t something, the truth is someone as Fr. John Corapi often states and what we as Christians, need to preach with the aid of the Holy Spirit is Jesus Christ and him crucified. Jesus is the answer to ALL of man’s problems today, and we need to focus our lives and our preaching on Christ. There are certain doctrines and clarifications that need deeper intellectual work. Thus, the focus of our missionary and evangelization efforts need to be on the life of Jesus, who he is and what is message is. Jesus’ love for humanity, his power to save us from final damnation, his power to heal us in our current state of illness, and his power to care and provide for us is what our work of evangelizers is. While Christ is seen in the Blessed Sacrament at Mass, in the world it is through his disciples, his hands and feet that the work and message of evangelization happens. While preaching is an important aspect of evangelization, actions are equally important. In the life of mother Theresa, it was the work of caring for the poor that brought attention to her life, and the message of the Gospel followed. I do not believe that one follows necessarily the other, but there does need to be a concert and communion of words AND actions to bring credibility to our work in the New Evangelization.
How could the New Evangelization be implemented in parish settings?
There are many ways in which the New Evangelization can be implemented at the parish level. The first and most important way the Theology of the New Evangelization can be implemented is in the homily of the priest or deacon. The homily is one of the primary means of communicating the truths of the Catholic Faith to the congregation and is a prime opportunity for the homeliest, a priest or deacon, to proclaim the Good News ad gentes, to the world and his congregation. Without a concern for political correctness, an aversion to the dictatorship of relativism, the homilist can confront the moral issues of the day head on, as Jesus did in his ministry almost 2,000 years ago. Another means by which the work of the New Evangelization can take place in the parish setting is through the work of adult catechesis in the form of Bible studies for adults and parents as well as continuing faith education courses or lectures. The New Evangelization takes place both within the parish in evangelizing to those in the pews and equipping them to “go forth and make disciples of all nations.” Without proper catechesis to the laity, this cannot be done. Another means by which the work of the New Evangelization can take place within the parish is through public witness and activities. Life Chain, the March for Life, protesting in front of abortion clinics and other outward public demonstrations of Gospel values is a very concrete way in which the work of the New Evangelization can hit the streets and to begin to convert souls. Fr. Frank Pavone of Priests for Life is internationally recognized as both victims of abortion the women who are duped into having an abortion and he is a voice for the voiceless millions of children that are massacred each year under the guise of “healthcare procedures.” Father Pavone spreads his message with firmness, clarity and charity. Another example of work within the parish is the Parish Mission, where a preacher from outside the parish comes to give a series of talks on a special aspect of Theology such as God’s Mercy or the Eucharist. These theologically dense talks are refresher courses on theological truths for parishioners, new catechesis for others and evangelization work for yet other persons, depending where they are at on their spiritual life journey. All this work must however be done with love and charity at the forefront. It is only in a loving and charitable way that we can engage our fellow man to introduce them to the person and the message of Jesus Christ.