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Evangelization |
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While most American Catholics are familiar with evangelism, a fervent call to Christian conversion, evangelization is a relatively new term. This is hardly surprising, for the word only recently has gained currency. In 1975, Pope Paul VI issued the apostolic exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World, Evangelii Nuntiandi, in which he calls Catholic evangelization “the essential mission of the Church, [which] exists in order to evangelize, that is to say, in order to preach and teach, to be the channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile sinners with God” (14). The Catechism of the Catholic Church identifies evangelization as part of the laity’s “prophetic mission” (905). Pope John Paul II has often quoted Paul VI’s declaration, emphasizing the ever-increasing need for sound evangelization. What is this essential mission that the post-Vatican II Popes value so highly? Evangelii Nuntiandi offers a detailed description. Catholic evangelization is (1) a complex process made up of varied elements that (2) aims at the renewal of humanity through (3) witness, (4) explicit proclamation, (5) inner adherence, (6) entry into the community, (7) “acceptance of signs,” and (8) apostolic initiative (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 24). First of all, Catholic evangelization is an ongoing process involving both heart and head – quite different from the onetime acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior that televangelists typically stress. Jesus explained the experience of becoming his disciple in dynamic terms, inviting people to take up their crosses and follow. The Church evangelizes through a constant call to holiness, which individuals can achieve only through a lifetime of loving faithfulness and moral struggle, choosing good over evil in every passing situation. Audiences and Goals of Evangelization • Inevitably, the first objects of evangelization are practicing Catholics themselves, since one cannot share what one does not have. Unless Catholics are enthusiastic about their own faith, they will be unable to call forth faith in others. Parish evangelization committees often begin by working to revitalize the celebration of weekend Mass, bringing the worshiping community together around the Eucharist (CCC 2835). They may go on to help create an atmosphere of welcome in the parish, encourage the intensive study of Scripture, form small groups for prayer and fellowship, promote family activities, improve Catechism-based religious education programs for children and adults, encourage parishioners to carry their Christian commitment into workplace and marketplace, and in general give faith and Church a more prominent and conscious place in daily life. Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Mt 28:19). Because he died to save every human being, the Church has a solemn responsibility to be the instrument of salvation for all (CCC 767-768, 776). Millions of Americans, from prosperous suburbanites to city apartment dwellers to the citizens of quiet towns, have never heard the Catholic message or have heard it so weakly that it made little impression. The Church presents this message to them in ways collectively called “outreach.” On the parish level, the most successful and effective means of spreading the Gospel in recent years has been the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA), a nine-month program beginning with instruction and ending with acceptance into the Church at Easter. A host of other programs emphasizes a one-on-one invitation to faith that a parishioner might extend to an inactive Catholic (usually a family member or friend) or someone seeking a church community. At the same time, the Church is making greater use of the media, especially radio and television, to evangelize the general population. As the Holy Father’s 1995 encyclical That All May Be One, Ut Unum Sint, stresses, the Church is committed to the ecumenical movement and seeks the unity of all Christians. Thus, while she offers the Catholic faith to any who approach, she does not reach out aggressively to seek members from the ranks of other Christian communions. Yet the challenge to evangelize remains formidable. According to a 1994 Gallup poll, one-third of all Americans lack a religious affiliation; of the remaining two-thirds, forty-two percent say they seldom or never attend services. Inactive Catholics in the United States probably number at least twenty million, “unchurched” persons about eighty million. The most striking phrase in Pope Paul’s description of evangelization is “the renewal of humanity.” Christ died on the cross and rose again with no other purpose than to renew humanity. St. Paul says: “For we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. . . . The death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives for God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (Rom 6:9-11). Authentic conversion, which is evangelization’s goal, implies renewal. Still, individual conversion is insufficient. Personal conversion, multiplied and made visible in the outward life of the Church, naturally takes on a social (though not political) character and creates a dynamic for building God’s kingdom on earth. Pope Paul says evangelization “is a question not only of preaching the Gospel in ever wider geographical areas or to ever greater numbers of people, but also of affecting and as it were upsetting . . . humanity’s criteria of judgment, determining values, points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration and models of life which are in contrast with the word of God and the plan of salvation” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 19). Action for social justice may inspire onlookers to wonder about the source of Catholic moral energy and so lead them to God. It also helps shape human relationships according to scriptural ideals by stressing harmony over division, trust over hostility and suspicion, worship of the one true God over the many false gods abroad in contemporary culture. Finally, social action can correct laws, customs, and systems that perpetuate evil, for example, the so-called abortion right or the racism that tears the social fabric and makes a mockery of Jesus’ prayer “that all may be one.” Methods and Results of Evangelization • If conversion of minds and hearts leading to the renewal of humanity is the goal of evangelization, witness and proclamation are its primary methods. The word “witness” means “give evidence for,” as a witness testifies at a trial. While roles within the Church are changing rapidly, quiet witness remains the primary tool of the lay evangelizer. It consists simply in living according to Christian love and Christian conscience, in union with the Church. The man who attends daily Mass gives witness. So does the one who organizes a summer basketball league on inner-city playgrounds, though he may never speak of Christ. The woman who serves as extraordinary minister of the Eucharist gives witness. So, too, the one who does pro bono legal work for an indigent client. The high-school senior who volunteers as a retreat leader gives witness, as does the one who shovels an elderly neighbor’s walk. The assumption in these latter cases is of course that these persons are known to be Christians acting out of Christian motives. Proclamation, on the other hand, is declaring those motives. People “do good” for many reasons: benevolence, sympathy, a sense of duty, sometimes even pride or an intention to deceive. The evangelizer, whether clergy or lay, does good out of Christian conviction and does not shrink from saying so. Pope Paul insists: “There is no true evangelization if the name, the teaching, the life, the promises, the kingdom and the mystery of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God, are not proclaimed” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 22). Because Americans often see religion as a private affair, most explicit Catholic proclamation takes the form of Sunday homilies, statements from bishops individually and collectively, and other public declarations of faith and principle. However, there is a growing movement among Catholic laity to share their faith, in the spirit of St. Peter’s first letter: “Always be prepared to . . . [explain] the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pt 3:15-16). According to Paul VI, evangelization stimulates inner adherence and entry into the community. For Catholics, the community of faith, the assembly of believers, is the Church, and Catholic evangelization leads to membership in that assembly. The evangelizer invites inactive Catholics back to the practice of their religion and those with no religion to join the Church. Living as a Catholic, participating in the sacramental life of the Church, constitutes the “acceptance of signs” Pope Paul mentions. The primary sign is the Church herself, the instrument of salvation, the visible manifestation of the kingdom of God on earth, the leaven and salt that, in God’s good time, will effect the renewal of humanity. Catholics also accept the seven signs (sacraments) of the Church, especially Baptism, Reconciliation, and the Eucharist, as divinely given aids in attaining salvation (CCC 758-780). The final mark of evangelization is that it comes full circle; the zeal of converts is well-known. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it” (Mt 13:45-46). The evangelized becomes the evangelizer, offering the pearl of faith he has received so that it may pass from hand to hand in an unbroken chain leading both back to God and forward to God. Evangelization in America • The U.S. Catholic bishops responded to the promulgation of Evangelii Nuntiandi by declaring evangelization a priority and taking steps to weave it into the fabric of Church life. In 1992, they published Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the United States. The plan exists to guide dioceses and parishes in reevangelizing a nation that seems to be becoming progressively less Christian. It is organized around three great goals inspired by Evangelii Nuntiandi: (1) to awaken Catholics’ enthusiasm for the faith so that they are willing to share it with others; (2) to invite all Americans to salvation in and through the Church; and (3) to promote the dignity of the human person, the welfare of the family, and the common good so that the United States “may continue to be transformed by the saving power of Jesus Christ.” What does Catholic evangelization bring to America in pursuit of these goals? First of course the faith itself, an answer to society’s frustrated spiritual longings. Polls show that some ninety percent of Americans believe in God; almost as many affirm the divinity of Jesus. As already noted, however, this religiosity does not carry over into actual practice. Many of the Protestant communions so influential in the rise of the United States are losing membership at an alarming rate. The Catholic Church continues to grow, but is experiencing a worsening shortage of clergy and religious, while internal conflict divides the faithful. In this atmosphere, many turn to biblical literalism, to exotic New Age movements, even to witchcraft and Satanism, to express their need for the transcendent. The Church also contributes the Christian notion of love to U.S. culture. Christian love, agape in Greek, is not the shallow libido or sentiment that underlies much commercial advertising. It refers, rather, to an attitude of openness, respect, and benevolence toward others because they, too, are God’s creatures. Agape is a kindly and cooperative spirit, a concern for those in need and for social justice. Agape is thus the attitudinal basis for community. Critics of the American scene never tire of pointing out that the shared assumptions of three or four generations ago have dissolved. A once-cohesive society tends to become evermore a mere mass of unrelated individuals who happen to occupy the same space. Catholic tradition, with its powerful emphasis on the faithful as the People of God, counteracts such atomization. While evangelization may be a new concept for contemporary Catholics, there would be no Church if missionaries, starting with St. Paul, had not carried their message of salvation in Jesus Christ “to the ends of the earth.” The Church in the United States sprang from the dedication of European missionaries who, whatever their cultural limitations, walked in this great tradition. Now the past may be the future, as Pope John Paul II reminds us in his 1994 letter As the Third Millennium Draws Near, Tertio Millennio Adveniente: “The more the West is becoming estranged from its Christian roots, the more it is becoming missionary territory” (57). The need for Catholic evangelization can only grow. The Holy Father presents the third millennium as a wonderful opportunity for the Church critically to examine her past, repent her mistakes, and commit herself to an evangelization new in ardor, methods, and expression. Thus refreshed and intensified, Catholic Christianity, evangelical at its core, can continue the missionary journey. “The whole of the Christian life is like a great pilgrimage to the house of the Father, whose unconditional love for every human creature . . . we discover anew each day. This pilgrimage takes place in the heart of each person, extends to the believing community and then reaches the whole of humanity” (Tertio Millennio Adveniente, 49).
See: Apostolate; Christian Witness; Church, Nature, Origin, and Structure of; Economy of Salvation; Ecumenism; Media of Social Communications; Missionary Activity; Social Doctrine.
Russell Shaw. Our Sunday Visitor's Encyclopedia of Catholic Doctrine. Copyright © 1997, Our Sunday Visitor. |
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