As I continue to reflect on the theme of newness,it's important to remember this: God remains in charge of our renewal. (EG12). He guides and shapes it. As I mentioned in the last entry, some will be uncomfortable with 'Newness in faith' as it may often imply getting rid of, or neglecting the old. But we know that this is not the case here.The old, (or the memory dimension of our faith) (EG 13) is something that is a part of our religious experience and can't be neglected or forgotten ( that is why Francis describes the believer as 'one who remembers!'). (EG 13) So rather than seeing newness and remembrance as two opposite experiences, we recognize that in the Church, we have a great spiritual and liturgical act of devotion that is a remembrance ( the Eucharist) which is also a great source of renewal, and of change in our faith!
All these things come together in one act of worship, to give us....you guessed it: Joy. We remember, and in remembering, we experience 'inner growth ( Catechism 7) and are transformed into a new holiness that gives us the energy and courage to go out and share the joy with others by telling them about the powerthe Gospel has in our lives! And that good people, is WHY evangelization happens. It does not take place because ' we gotta fill the pews' or 'we gotta make money for the Church' or 'we have to convert those Atheists'. No... it takes place so that we can point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction.” (EG 14) As we saw in EG 9-10, a big part of the new evangelization will be sharing the joy with others, seeing their joy, and growing in it to allow our own personal fulfillment. But as we learn in EG 13 and 14, it's more than 'just sharing' something special with others.
The joy we receive isn't just a personal one: It's one that whole universal Church is alert to as she continues to be 'attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who helps us together to read the signs of the times. (EG 14) It was according to those promptings that the Synod for New Evangelization met last year to reaffirm that evangelization is a "summons addressed to all." (14) But rather than being a call to do something 'new', it's a call to put God at the center of what we already do. When we reach out to people in need, when we listen to people's struggles, when we give of our time for the benefit of others...that can be an opportunity for evangelization. We live by example, as Francis often tells us. We also aught to live in confidence: Although we're not necessarily being asked to convert every person we meet, we are asked to speak about our faith with greater ease. It's not proselytizing (which as we know, is an act that Francis is not too fond of) where all you're doing is speaking about what excites and inspires you in your prayer life, in scripture, or in the tradition of our Church.
So we're back to sharing then? Yes we are. It really is an integral part of the new evangelization. Forget the Bible thumping, prosletyzing, fear mongers on Street corners across Canada -I'm mostly familiar with the ones on St Catherine in Montreal, but I know they're everywhere!-. This is NOT what we're called to. We share and talk about our faith with people, we give our love for others, and we offer our commitment for the greater good with all people. This above all, is what I believe Pope Francis wants to see as the shape of the new Evangelization. Spreading the Gospel to the world is still central, but it's done differently, with more personal care and attention to the needs of others. A great challenge for our 21st century Catholic world.
13. Nor should we see the newness of this mission as entailing a kind of displacement or forgetfulness of the living history which surrounds us and carries us forward. Memory is a dimension of our faith which we might call “deuteronomic”, not unlike the memory of Israel itself. Jesus leaves us the Eucharist as the Church’s daily remembrance of, and deeper sharing in, the event of his Passover (cf. Lk 22:19). The joy of evangelizing always arises from grateful remembrance: it is a grace which we constantly need to implore. The apostles never forgot the moment when Jesus touched their hearts: “It was about four o’clock in the afternoon” (Jn 1:39). Together with Jesus, this remembrance makes present to us “a great cloud of witnesses” (Heb 12:1), some of whom, as believers, we recall with great joy: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God” (Heb 13:7). Some of them were ordinary people who were close to us and introduced us to the life of faith: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice” (2 Tim 1:5). The believer is essentially “one who remembers”.
14. Attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who helps us together to read the signs of the times, the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops gathered from 7-28 October 2012 to discuss the theme: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. The Synod reaffirmed that the new evangelization is a summons addressed to all and that it is carried out in three principal settings.[10]
In first place, we can mention the
area of ordinary pastoral ministry, which is “animated by the fire
of the Spirit, so as to inflame the hearts of the faithful who regularly take
part in community worship and gather on the Lord’s day to be nourished by his
word and by the bread of eternal life”.[11] In
this category we can also include those members of faithful who preserve a deep
and sincere faith, expressing it in different ways, but seldom taking part in
worship. Ordinary pastoral ministry seeks to help believers to grow spiritually
so that they can respond to God’s love ever more fully in their lives.
A second area is that of “the
baptized whose lives do not reflect the demands of Baptism”,[12] who
lack a meaningful relationship to the Church and no longer experience the
consolation born of faith. The Church, in her maternal concern, tries to help
them experience a conversion which will restore the joy of faith to their
hearts and inspire a commitment to the Gospel.
Lastly, we cannot forget that
evangelization is first and foremost about preaching the Gospel to those
who do not know Jesus Christ or who have always rejected him. Many of these
are quietly seeking God, led by a yearning to see his face, even in countries
of ancient Christian tradition. All of them have a right to receive the Gospel.
Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone.
Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish
to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a
delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by
attraction”.[13]
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