Are we evangelizing in our parishes?

Recently a man who had seen a TV episode of The Choices We Face, on which I talked about evangelization, contacted me. As a result he called me for support and clarification on some of what he was experiencing. He had formerly been an evangelical Christian, was now a Roman Catholic, and wanted to continue to evangelize people to Christ within the context of his parish. His parish was the diocesan Cathedral, so he wrote his Bishop asking how do ‘we’ evangelize
people to Christ in our parish? He understood the place of RCIA and had been through it himself, but was asking, what else do we do? He was simply trying to understand how the parish evangelized. After respectfully writing three times and receiving no response he decided he had apparently gotten his response.

I have often heard this type of concern voiced by Catholics regarding their parishes or (arch)dioceses.The questions raised go like this: What are the steps we are taking to make evangelization our priority mission? What is our evangelization plan and process for my parish? Does anyone know the evangelization game plan in our parish so that we are all know what is expected of us and how we can support it? If evangelization is really a priority to us as Catholics, why isn't it reflected in the budget? Do we know that it is the universal calling, privilege and responsibility of every baptized Christian? Do we as Catholics realize this incredible calling given to each of us isn’t intended to be some abstract, irrelevant educational exercise we hear and vaguely remember, but rather is the power of the Gospel that can change the lives of people we encounter who desperately need good news! Is anybody being taught how to personally evangelize in our seminaries or parishes?

There are many Catholics (clergy, religious and laity), who are life long Catholics, who are raising these questions about evangelization, in addition to brothers and sisters who were formerly from other Christian traditions. I for one being a committed ‘cradle Catholic,’ would like to publicly express my gratitude for those of us who have come from other Christian backgrounds and have a deep personal commitment to evangelization. Thank God for their zeal! Oh that all Catholics would be so concerned for those around us to know the love of Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior!

The fact is we have Catholics who want to evangelize and don’t find the necessary support or means to do it as parishes. The Church teaches that the laity are intended to be in the front lines of evangelization in our neighborhoods and in the market place. The laity are crucial in the new evangelization and they need the support of their priests to get out into the harvest fields and spread the good news! Evangelization is after all not an isolated act: it is ecclesial. (See Pope Paul VI’s, EN, 60).

This issue of parish evangelization is a very serious pastoral challenge for the Church here in the United States. Archbishop Malcolm Ranjith, Secretary of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Sacraments, speaking recently at a conference held in Rome on "The Parish and the New Evangelization," stated: "The Church exists only if it evangelizes, and the same is true for the parish. If a parish does not evangelize, it is only a building." Read the full article

The Magesterium teaches that evangelization is “the reason the Church exists.”(EN, 14) The universal mission of the Church we are taught is to be lived out at every level, in all institutions and in the lives of every baptized Christian (Mission of the Redeemer, 3). The US Conference of Bishops stated in “Go Make Disciples,” A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization, that the Bishops want “to make evangelization a natural and normal part of Catholic life and to give evangelizers the tools and support they need to carry out this ministry today.”

The bishops evangelization plan was written back in November 1992. It is worth asking ourselves as parishes how we are doing with evangelization becoming a natural and normal part of Catholic life in 2008? Since the place where the rubber meets the road for most people in terms of their Catholic life is the parish, what are we doing?

Three Steps parishes can take

I would like to offer three practical steps that we can take as parishes that can help us move forward in making evangelization the essential mission. I am not going to develop these points here, we do that in our Building Evangelizing Eucharistic Communities seminar. I am simply pointing out three practical areas worth parish staffs and councils discussing and considering in order to take some steps to move forward.

1. Provide ongoing opportunities for people to encounter Christ Jesus as Lord within the context of a welcoming relational community (of the parish). As a parish we need to have regular ways of inviting people to encounter the Lord Jesus, both for parishioners and those not connected with the parish.
Courses like Alpha, Life in the Spirit seminars and ChristLife’s Discovering Christ course are effective examples of courses that are offered over several weeks.
Retreats that evangelize people like Cursillo and Light of the World are also means of evangelizing people to Christ and fuller life in the parish.
Special events. Special events such as a music concert, a film, or our Christmas and Easter liturgies. These Masses have incredible potential for lovingly welcoming our annual Catholics to the parish through par the intro to the Mass and in proclaiming clearly at the homily the reason for the celebration of the Incarnation or Resurrection of Jesus and what it means for you! Also, having some type of event, course or retreat, to invite everybody to, which the presiding priest would personally invite all attending to come to. Having extra greeters who could pass out a welcoming leaflet and invitation to whatever it is we will offer to connect them to the love of God and our parish!

2. Develop an ongoing process of initiation in the parish that includes both actual evangelization of the participants (point one above) and practical life formation/catechesis. I am not talking about RCIA here (which is essential and needs to be taught well and in an ongoing manner). But here I am talking about formation (discipleship) for daily living as a Catholic follower of the Lord, e.g., How to have a personal prayer life; how the sacraments sustain and strengthen our daily life; reading Scripture as God’s word; Christian relationships; service and evangelizing, learning to deal with the world, the flesh and the devil, etc. Here at ChristLife we are piloting a new course entitled, Following Christ, which teaches on these basics of following Christ as Catholic disciple. We also have some video courses that help in this process.

3. Foster Community as part of the process. True interior conversion, the work of the Holy Spirit, is most effective when it occurs in the content of relationships. Without authentic Christian relationships within the context of the parish it is hard to expect anyone to make the shift from being ‘conformed to this world’ (See Romans 12:2) to a transformed Christian worldview and lifestyle. To live authentic Catholic lives we need each other! We can establish small Christian communities that spontaneously develop and flow out of the two previous points above if we make it a priority to pastorally care for their development.

We would be happy to personally talk with you or someone from your parish more about evangelization in your parish, if you would like. Contact us at: info@christlife.org May we all take active concrete steps to incarnate the calling of Christ our Lord and the Church to evangelize!

Hunger & Healing

"If you had known what these words mean, 'I desire mercy, not sacrifice,'you would not have condemned the innocent." -Matthew 12:7
ChristLife's latest podcast is dedicated to the healing power of Jesus in our lives when we hunger after Him, not because of anything in us, but because of His great love and mercy. Pete and ChristLife's director, Dave, discuss the awesome healing works of the Lord. Dave shares stories from Lakeland, Florida and the healing revival going on there. Also, Laura, a friend of ChristLife, shares her testimony of her hunger for the Lord and His healing power in her life! Listen in here, or press play below:

Evangelizing in Ireland

This is a great article that came out today via ZENIT news about a new evangelization initiative in Ireland. Its amazing how similar the situation in America is to the decaying Church in Europe. Bold initiatives like this are worthy of our prayers and imitation over here in America. The italics below is mine:

Sharing the Faith Anew in Ireland
Interview With Archbishop Martin of Dublin
By Dominic Baster

DUBLIN, Ireland, JUNE 23, 2008. In a bid to proclaim Christ afresh to a new generation of Irish who have lost sight of the Gospel, Archbishop Diarmuid Martin of Dublin has launched a major drive for evangelization.

The archbishop has invited all 200 Dublin parishes to join in a common program of missionary outreach and evangelization for the year 2009. Coordinated by the archdiocese's first episcopal vicar for evangelization, Father Ciaran O'Carroll, the project will involve education in the faith, liturgical and scriptural formation, outreach to young people, and work for justice and charity.

Archbishop Martin said that one of the priorities for the new office will be the evangelization of the family.

In this interview with ZENIT, Archbishop Martin discusses why the initiative has become necessary, why the family is so important to its success, and what Irish Catholicism has to offer to the world of today.

Q: Why have you decided that this initiative is necessary now?

Archbishop Martin: I believe our holiness offers contemporary society in 2008 a new manner of living. We need to bring the message of Jesus' love to our world -- it is a unique message of truth, justice and love.

Today, so many of those who were baptized as Christians no longer really know Jesus, and their way of living demonstrates that the message of Jesus touches their lives only in a marginal way.

On the one hand, I feel there is a real sense in which the Archdiocese of Dublin is mission territory. On the other hand, I have been greatly encouraged by the manner in which laypeople have been emerging as co-workers in providing pastoral care, bringing their unique charism to the Church willingly, generously and with competence. They are waiting to have the opportunity to do more and to do it differently. In this I discern the Lord speaking to us and challenging us all.

Q: What tangible results are you hoping to achieve in the course of the year?

Archbishop Martin: The first element in every form of ministry is conversion. Conversion is not a process of a single moment. Formation in the faith is ongoing and lifelong.

I would like as many homes in the diocese to be visited in the course of 2009. Many parishes have already done this and others are in the process of doing so. Hopefully it will be possible to give each home a copy of the Gospel for the year -- the Gospel which will be the object of all our reflection as we allow the Spirit to open our hearts.

Many of our Parish Pastoral Councils are also planning forms of partnership with the Church in poorer communities around the world, inspired by a sense of justice, care and of fellowship among the Churches. I would like to see new ways in which the archdiocese could also more visibly witness to this fellowship among the Churches, perhaps adopting each year a particular Church that needs our support.

As Pope Benedict reminds us, "The Church ... cannot and must not remain on the sidelines in the fight for justice."

Q: What will be the key elements of the new initiative?

Archbishop Martin: The Diocesan Office for Evangelization will provide technical and resource backup for the new missionary outreach. It will also help to coordinate the work of education in the faith, liturgical and scriptural animation, outreach to young people, and our work for justice and charity.

Evangelization and renewal, not only structural renewal but renewal in holiness, means reaching out to as many people as possible in the missionary spirit. Every aspect of diocesan life and of the diocesan administration will be focused on this program. Teams of priests, deacons and laypersons will be called to work together to support parish communities.

We have a strange situation in Ireland whereby, even after many years of religious education in Catholic schools, many young men and women come away only with a superficial understanding of the faith and a superficial commitment to the faith. Faced with strong trends of secularization, their faith comes under great stress and they are unable to engage in the debate between faith and daily life.

Q: You have identified the evangelization of the family as a key priority for the new initiative. Why is the family so important in the task of evangelization?

Archbishop Martin: Family is the fundamental base for passing on the faith to children and young people. Where the faith life of families is weak, evangelization will lose its roots. Where families totally delegate their responsibility for the formation of their children in faith to schools, they are losing sight not only of their responsibility but also of the special grace of the sacrament of marriage.

Q: Many have said that the traditional family is in decline in Western society. Why do you think this is, and how can the Church defend families?

Archbishop Martin: Today, all too often discussion of the family quickly degenerates into discussion of problems, of breakdown, of alternative models. Rarely do we speak of marriage and the family as resources for both the Church and society.

Rarely do we hear of the call of Christians to exercise their ministry in and through the sacrament of marriage, a sacrament which by its nature -- like all the sacraments -- is oriented toward the building up of the Church.

Evangelization of the family is a priority for our activities in parishes and throughout the diocese. Parish Pastoral Councils, on account of their predominantly lay character, foster a platform for reflection on the family as a resource for society and the Church. Together we can work on developing new resources for family-focused catechesis. A priority for our new Diocesan Office for Evangelization will have to be to find ways to support families in this task.

Q: What particular challenges are faced in the work of evangelization in Ireland today?

Archbishop Martin: I have said on a number of occasions that the numbers of those who regularly participate in the Eucharist in our diocese is dropping and many baptized Catholics no longer know Jesus. His message does not touch their lives.

Our catechesis was perhaps too moralistic, appearing as lists of rules for behavior in life, rather than as the response to the message of Jesus -- a demanding message, but one about the demands of love, which enables us to find the depth of our meaning.

But we cannot overlook the fact that in Ireland, the Church's good will was damaged by a series of scandals. As a Church community we must be attentive to anyone who feels that they have been wounded or hurt or abandoned by the Church in any way. The Church in Dublin must regain the good will of all. It must be a place where all the necessary measures for the safeguarding of children and vulnerable persons are in place. Measures for safeguarding children must be seen as a priority and not as a burden. The Diocesan Child Protection Service works with parish pastoral councils in providing training and assistance in this area.

Q: Ireland has a long tradition of sending missionaries around the world. Does the Irish vision of Catholicism still have something valuable to offer to the Church as a whole?

Archbishop Martin: The well-established commitment of the Irish people to the developing world, which has found a very welcome expression in the increased funding of overseas aid by the Irish government, owes much to our long tradition of Church missionary activity. Thank God that development issues are still issues that arouse passion within Irish society.

As Ireland continues to change, and thousands of people arrive here from around the world to make a new home for themselves and their families, Irish Catholicism has much to offer, by example. In our Festival of Peoples, celebrated on the feast of the Epiphany each year, I welcome people with their chaplains and community leaders from many countries in Europe and further afield.

I am pleased that the Church in Dublin has been at the forefront in welcoming and integrating those who have come more recently. The social, economic and political future of Ireland, with the particular challenges that the coming years will bring, will require that we all work together to build a society not just of anonymous next door neighbors but of people of varied backgrounds committed to building a new community.

For ways to reach out and Share Christ with those around you, checkout our Sharing Christ course.

Any comments on this article?

I personally am encouraged by the Archbishop's honesty when it comes to the very poor results concerning Catholic education and catechesis in the past. Its amazing in our work with Discovering Christ - how many older Catholics talk about how they never heard about a real living relationship with Jesus Christ... They talk about rules and regulations and Church issues... but "a loving relationship with their Savior"? Never heard of it.

His candid remarks about how Dublin is "mission territory" is the stark reality we find ourselves in, here in America. It makes you rethink those we feel "need to know Jesus Christ." I usually am very encouraged when I hear "so and so" is Christian or Catholic - and we should be - but we can never presume that person knows personally the wonderful love and truth and beauty of Jesus - and is living in his Presence daily!

On this topic, the diocese of Atlanta hosted a Eucharistic Congress last weekend. Over 25,000 Catholics attended. One of the main speakers, Fr. Tim Hepburn, spoke on the need for evangelization. Gashwin Gomes, a Catholic blogger who was at the event, reports on the first talk by Fr. Tim-

"The first main talk was by Fr. Tim Hepburn, a priest of the Archdiocese, who's recently finished a degree in the New Evangelization at Sacred Heart Seminary in Detroit. What an Spirit-filled priest! He said that one cannot assume that just by being Catholic one has faith. Faith is an intentional response. It doesn't just happened. So many Catholics have an unawakened faith. "You shouldn't even presume that just because I am a priest, I have faith!" "If a mouse were to jump up on the altar during Mass and eat the consecrated Species, would it receive the Real Body and Blood of Christ?" (Yes) "But would it receive the Eucharistic Lord?" (No!) "The Sacraments are Sacraments of faith. The power of the Eucharist only works if we are properly disposed. "So many Catholics have the faith of mice!"

Come Holy Spirit, deepen our faith! Awaken in those who've been touched by your Presence a deep, bold missionary zeal! Awaken the faith of those who've once known you! Help us to be your witnesses, come in power! We trust in you, Jesus!