Sunday, January 19, 2014

The New Evangelization


Pastor in rural Georgia was visiting a hospital.
A parishioner had just given birth to a child.
He found the young father looking through the glass at his baby.
Baby was making all sorts of racket.
It’s OK – cleans out her lungs, gets her voice going.
Oh she’s mad as . . .  saw collar,  sorry father.
OK – but why is she mad?
Won’t you be mad – one minute you are with God in heaven and the next minute you are in Georgia.
You believe she was with God before she came here?    Oh yeah.
Will she remember?
Well, that’s up to her mother and me.  And the church. We’ve got to see she remembers, because if she forgets, she is a goner.

 She is a goner.
Fasting growing group in America – no religion    tripled in 30 years.
God is being pushed out – of personal iife – social life – political life - culture
75% Catholics – gone from Mass.
Second largest group in America after Catholics -   ex Catholics
Gone –
Personally it makes me crazy -  sign over front doors of College Seminary
Salus Animarum Suprema Lex   -    worry about their souls.

 Evangelize -  Like Baptist – look, there is the Lamb of God -   point the way.

 Missionary work of church – now has 3 dimensions

1)      Ordinary evangelization toward practicing Catholics, fueled by sacraments

2)      Mission toward non-Christians – used to occupy much energy, less now most have heard of Christ.

3)      New Evangelization -  not about a new message  &  not about boosting numbers – tries now to engage inactive Catholics -  to rediscover the person of Jesus and the beauty of the Catholic faith.      It is new because of who does it -  YOU     NEW because our culture has changed – we must understand it.       Biggest shift in church in 500 years.

 Great resource – Father Robert Barron -  Catholicism  -  Word on Fire
Go on You Tube -   type Father Robert Barron -  so much to learn.
Consider -  Father Barron’s New Evangelization for Lent  -   6 weeks  1 & ½ hour

 Will she remember? That’s up to her mother & me  -  the church – if not, she is a goner!