synod for fabc 2 copy

faithof the

Christiantransmissionfor the

new evangelisation

New Evangelisation for the transmission of the

Christian Faith

New Evangelisers for the

New Evangelisation

"Therefore I believe that the most important thing, especially on such a significant occasion as this, is to revive in the whole Church that positive tension, that yearning to announce Christ again to contemporary man"

"During the Council there was an emotional tension as we faced the common task of making the truth and beauty of the faith shine out in our time, without sacrificing it to the demands of the present or leaving it tied to the past"

positive tension - revive it!

(Pope Benedict XVI - Homily of the Inaugural Holy Mass of the Faith Year, 11th Oct. 2012)

what is new evangelisation?It is not starting again but of entering in to the long path of proclaiming the gospel

which has run through the history..

It is a commitment, not to re-evangelisation but rather to a new evangelisation: new in its ardor, methods and expression (Bl. Pope John Paul II). (IL45) The new evangelisation is precisely the Church’s ability to renew her communal experience of faith and to proclaim it within the new situations.

new evangelisation

“The Church has received this solemn mandate of Christ to proclaim the saving truth from the Apostles and must carry it out to the very ends of the earth. Wherefore to promote the glory of God and procure the salvation of all of these, and mindful of the command of the Lord, ‘Preach the Gospel to every creature’ (Mk 16:15), the Church fosters the missions with care attention” (Lumen Gentium 16).

why new evangelisation?

Intellectual and ideological separation of Christ from his Church - " Church is God's family in the world” and that “the Church's deepest nature is expressed in her three-fold responsibility: of proclaiming the word of God, celebrating the sacraments, and exercising the ministry of charity.” (Deus Cartias est 25)


“re-proposal of Jesus Christ and his Gospel"- “in the countries where the first proclamation of the faith has already resonated and where churches with an ancient foundation exist, but are experiencing the progressive secularisation of society and a sort of ‘eclipse of the sense of God’…” (June 28, 2010). (cf Instrumentum Laboris 12, 52-53, 94)


The changing circumstances of today and the growing influence of secularism, materialism, individualism, fundamentalism etc..


Concepts such as incarnation, resurrection, redemption, sacrament and grace – core themes of theology used to explain our belief in Jesus Christ – have little meaning in the Catholic and the fallen away Catholic in a culture where rationalism prevails. (Instrumentum Laboris 20)


1. People who continue to grow in faith

3 categories

The objects of the New Evangelisation

3. People distanced from faith and the Church

2. Mission Ad Gentes - to people yet to accept faith

“It has been reaffirmed that appropriate catechesis must accompany preparation for Baptism, Confirmation and Eucharist. The importance of Confession, the sacrament of God’s mercy, has also been emphasised. This sacramental journey is where we encounter the Lord’s call to holiness, addressed to all Christians. In fact it has often been said that the real protagonists of the new evangelisation are the saints: they speak a language intelligible to all through the example of their lives and their works of charity”.

(Pope Benedict XVI - Homily of the concluding Holy Mass of Synod, 28th Oct. 2012)

1. People who continue to grow in faith

2. Mission Ad Gentes - to people yet to accept faith “There are still many regions in Africa, Asia and Oceania whose inhabitants await with lively expectation, sometimes without being fully aware of it, the first proclamation of the Gospel. So we must ask the Holy Spirit to arouse in the Church a new missionary dynamism, whose protagonists are, in particular, pastoral workers and the lay faithful. Globalisation has led to a remarkable migration of peoples. So the first proclamation is needed even in countries that were evangelised long ago. All people have a right to know Jesus Christ and his Gospel: and Christians, all Christians – priests, religious and lay faithful – have a corresponding duty to proclaim the Good News”.(Pope Benedict XVI - Homily of the concluding Holy Mass of Synod, 28th Oct. 2012)

3. People distanced from faith and the Church “The Church is particularly concerned that they should encounter

Jesus Christ anew, rediscover the joy of faith and return to religious practice in the community of the faithful. Besides traditional and perennially valid pastoral methods, the Church seeks to adopt new ones, developing new language attuned to the different world cultures, proposing the truth of Christ with an attitude of dialogue and friendship rooted in God who is Love. In various parts of the world, the Church has already set out on this path of pastoral creativity, so as to bring back those who have drifted away or are seeking the meaning of life, happiness and, ultimately, God. We may recall some important city missions, the “Courtyard of the Gentiles”, the continental mission, and so on. There is no doubt that the Lord, the Good Shepherd, will abundantly bless these efforts, which proceed from zeal for his Person and his Gospel.” (Pope Benedict XVI - Homily of the concluding Holy Mass of Synod, 28th Oct. 2012)

"Bartimaeus could represent those who live in regions that were evangelised long ago, where the light of faith has grown dim and people have drifted away from God, no longer considering him relevant for their lives. These people have therefore lost a precious treasure, they have “fallen” from a lofty dignity – not financially or in terms of earthly power, but in a Christian sense – their lives have lost a secure and sound direction and they have become, often unconsciously, beggars for the meaning of existence. They are the many in need of a new evangelisation, that is, a new encounter with Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God (cf. Mk 1:1), who can open their eyes afresh and teach them the path.” (Pope Benedict XVI - Homily of the concluding Holy Mass of Synod, 28th Oct. 2012)

Everyone – “The new evangelisation applies to the whole of the Church’s life"

who all are involved?

Everywhere – like St Paul – as if he is the only one to tell the good news to everybody.

where to evangelise?

Two great pillars of Evangelisation

"Confessio and Caritas"

how to evangelise?

“The Confessio should remain in heart and mouth. It must necessarily become public, because the faith carried within must be communicated to others, proclaimed, with the courage that derives from intelligence”.

Caritas – “it is the flame that kindles others and becomes the fire of charity. Word inseparably lived in love is the key to Evangelisation”

1. The renewal or deepening of our own faith

3 stages of new evangelisation

2. A new confidence in the truth of our own faith 3. Willingness to share our faith with others

4 qualities of new evangelisers 1. Boldness and courage of the Apostles and Saints

2. Connectedness to the Church, her Gospel and her pastoral presence 3. Sense of urgency - As Mary set off in haste in a long and difficult journey from Nazareth to a hill country in the village of Judea, there was no time to be lost because her mission was so important.

4. Joy - Joy must characterise the evangeliser. Ours is a message of great joy, Christ is risen. Christ is with us. Whatever our circumstances, our witness should radiate with the fruits of the Holy Spirit including love, peace and joy (Galatians 5:22).

the sevensectors

science and technologycivic life economy

socialculture

communication religion

7

key areasten

Joyful Witness

1ten key areas

Spiritual desertification "Recent decades have seen the advance of a spiritual

“desertification”. In the Council’s time it was already possible from a few tragic pages of history to know what a life or a world without God looked like, but now we see it every day around us...And in the desert people of faith are needed who, with their own lives, point out the way to the Promised Land and keep hope alive. Living faith opens the heart to the grace of God which frees us from pessimism. Today, more than ever, evangelising means witnessing to the new life, transformed by God, and thus showing the path"

ten key areas

personalEncounterWith

2

Jesus

ten key areas

We should evangelise ourselves first and convert to the power of Christ, who alone is

capable of making all things new

karygmatic proclamation leading to repentance, conversion and a decision of faith followed

by catechesis

First Proclamation

3ten key areas

The sinner who was converted becomes a messenger of salvation and leads the whole city to Jesus

Jesus's encounter with the Samaritan woman

"We no longer believe because of your word;

for we have heard ourselves, and we know that this is truly the saviour of the world"

'He told me everything I have done'

the confession leading to the question of faith

'could he possibly be the messiah?

Power of the Holy SpiritThe principal agent of Evangelisation

opens hearts and converts them to God

Power of the Word of God in encounter and catechesis

“the divine word will be ever more fully at the heart of every ecclesial

activity” (Verbum Domini, 1)

" the first word, the true initiative, only by inserting ourselves in to the divine initiative,

will we too able to become - with him and in Him -

evangelisers". (Pope Benedict XVI, first meditation)

• Dominant cultures pose questions to faith and the Church, only Gospel can bring light and heal the human weaknesses.

4 Seizing new opportunities for Evangelisation

• Globalisation as an opportunity for expanding the presence of the gospel.

• New forms of Poverty open new spaces for the service of charity and sharing the gospel.

• Migrations- with the weight of the sufferings that they bring- are occasions of spreading the faith and communion among its various forms.

Family, women and consecrated life

5

Ever since the first evangelisation, the transmission of the faith from one generation to

the next found a natural home in the family, where women play a very special role without diminishing the figure and responsibility of the

father.

Laity and Ecclesial Movements6

The most compelling responsibility that the Church has today is to re-awaken in all the baptised who have the common priesthood and the prophetic office. (IL 118) The Second Vatican Council identifies four main aspects of the mission of the baptised: the witness of their lives, works of charity and mercy, renewing the temporal order and direct evangelisation (cf. Lumen gentium, Apostolicam actuositatem). In this way, they will be able to give witness of a life truly coherent with their Christian faith, as individual persons and as a community. The laity cooperate in the Church’s work of evangelisation, as witnesses and at the same time as living instruments they share in her saving mission (cf. Ad gentes 41, proposition 45)

Ecclesial movements are an expression of the richness of the gifts that the Spirit bestows on the Church. We also thank these forms of life and of commitment in the Church, exhorting them to be faithful to their proper charism and to earnest ecclesial communion especially in the concrete context of the particular Churches. (Final message, 8)

Youth and New Evangelisation7

A Church where youth can be found by Jesus and where they can find Him. But for the Church to be the 'space' of a faith-encounter with the Lord, she must learn anew from Jesus in whom we meet God."

Are we the youth lost or has the Church lost us?

The Church is concerned about the youth of today, but not Pessimistic. Concerned because most aggressive attacks of our times happen to

flow together precisely on them - we have to take particular care for the encounter of youth

with Christ. (Final message, 9) In the New Evangelisation, the youth are not

only the future but also the present (and gift) in the Church. They are not only the recipients

but also agents of evangelisation, especially with their peers (proposition 51).

"shared walk”, “walking together” ...the famous walk of the Lord with the two disciples who were going to Emmaus, who

are to a certain extent an image of the agnostic world of today. Jesus, their hope,

had died: the world was empty. It seemed that either God did not exist or that o had no interest in us. With this despair in their

hearts, and yet with a little flame of faith, they walk on. Mysteriously, the Lord walks beside

them and helps them to understand better the mystery of God, his presence in history,

his silent walk with us." Pope Benedict XVI- luncheon meeting with the synod members on Oct 15th

Accompanying..

Ecumenical and inter- religious dialogue

8

option for the poor

9

Our efforts to help the poor “must also be accompanied by commitment to justice, with an appeal that concerns all, poor and rich. Hence, the social doctrine of the Church is integral to the pathways of the new evangelisation, as well as to the formation of the Christians to dedicate themselves to serve the human community in social and political life.

The Synod also recognises that “the many and ever new forms of poverty open new opportunities for charitable service: the proclamation of the Gospel binds the Church to be with the poor and to take on their sufferings like Jesus” (Final message, 6)

Education, science and technology, Social communication especially the new media and different expressions of art

10

The most effective form of the communication of the faith remains the sharing of the testimony of life, without which none of the “media” efforts will result in an effective transmission of the Gospel. Education in the wise and constructive use of social media is an important means to be utilised in the New Evangelisation. (Proposition 18)

New Evangelisation Jesus Youth&

Renewing/deepening our own faith YouCat study groups

Walk with Saints

A new way of celebrating/living our faith Pray for Priests

Prepare a gift of faith

Sharing our faith with others A silent Faith Walk with one person

Share the Good News with one new person Amen

What kind of faith we transmit to those around

us, especially to those entrusted to us. Is it a

weak faith or a faith that is strong and communicates

trust and confidence?

“The moment has come to commit all of the

Church’s energies to a new evangelisation and

mission ad gentes.” (Bl. John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer, 3)

Let us confidently entrust ourselves to Mary, our Mother. For as stars shine more brightly at night in the desert, so the light of Mary, star of the New Evangelisation, brightly shines in heaven on our way. Amen

• Deepening our Faith - Journeying with the Saints + form small groups for YouCat study

• People yet to be evangelised - new methods/ approaches addressing the contemporary challenges/possibilities.. karygmatic proclamation - only to Christians?

• Distanced from Faith and the Church - Influence of sects - a trained team to work/ support?

• Celebrating our Faith - During the faith year, can we do something to celebrate our faith ? Can we give a gift of faith to others?

• Witnessing - walking together - how effective we are now? Importance of a 'SILENT FAITH WALK'

• Personal Encounter Experience- bring,back the focus of the renewal of the baptism of the Holy Spirit

• New opportunities - migration of workers - new realities and challenges

• Role of family, women, grand parents in New Evangelisation

• Option for the Poor - new forms of poverty

• Education - a new model for the Jesus Youth Campus ministry?

• Scientific research and technology - how are we contributing to the Church and the society ?

• Social communication especially the new media

• Different expressions of art - what can we do to encourage small productions in campuses?

• Preparing Priests and religious for a 'New Evangelisation' in the context of the youth ministry

• Praying for Priests - He who receives a prophet because he is a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward. . . even a cup of cold water . . shall not lose his reward." (Mt. 10:41).

thank you

Manoj Sunny, India