By Fr. Ron Gagne, M.S.

For most of us womb-to-tomb Catholics, the word “evangelization” brings to mind images of a Protestant preacher in a tent revival meeting, trying to rouse and excite his listeners. And yet evangelization is a basic truth of our Catholic faith with which many active Catholics aren’t very familiar.

From Blessed Pope John XXIII’s call for a council, he spoke of the Church’s need for an aggiornamento (a bringing up to date), a reawakening of faith and a call to make the Gospel more accessible to the modern world. 

The documents of Vatican II stand witness to the renewed call to the kerygma (“the initial evangelistic proclamation of the gospel, emphasizing the salvific message of Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection”[1]) Vatican II calls the Church to become more “evangelical”. And, as the Council Fathers saw it, the responsibility to carry out this mandate “went beyond the call of the ‘professionals’ [such as clergy, religious and professional theologians] to include all members of the Church (Lumen Gentium, 16-17).”[2] 

Soon after the Council, Pope Paul VI called together a Synod of Bishops to discuss evangelization in the modern world. Then he asserted, in this landmark encyclical, Evangelii Nuntiandi, (On Evangelization in the Modern World), that the “[Church] exists to evangelize” and that “evangelization is the essential mission of the Church. (EN, 14)” [3] 

We get a clue to the meaning of evangelization when we hear Jesus say: “The words you gave me I have given to them. (Jn 17:8)” Evangelization simply means passing on what Jesus Christ has given to the Church.” [4]

A “New” Evangelization

With the initial use of the concept of a “new evangelization” by the Latin American Bishops in 1968 in their “Message to the People of Latin America”, they attempted to address “how the gospel can reach both the elite and the poor in equal manner and with intense fervor…The political and social conditions of Latin America resulted in a discernment that the Church must respond to these new situations with a new evangelization, methods that would bring the Gospel of Christ to all people, no matter their condition in life.” [5]

Blessed Pope John Paul II likewise used the concept of a “new evangelization” in a homily delivered in his home country of Poland in 1979. Years later, in his encyclical, Redemptoris Missio (On the Permanent Validity of the Church’s Missionary Mandate), he used the concept to “describe the situation of Catholics no longer practicing their faith or leaving the Church for other denominations.” (Redemptoris Missio, 33) [6] 

Then again in his exhortation, Ecclesia in America in 1999, Pope John Paul II further extended the meaning of “a new evangelization” by stating: “The program of a new evangelization… cannot be restricted to revitalizing the faith of regular believers, but must strive as well to proclaim Christ where he is not known. (Ecclesia in America, 74)”

Pope Benedict XVI has taken up the gauntlet and brought the vision of a “new evangelization” a step further by saying: “It is not a matter of preaching a word of consolation, but rather a word which disrupts, which calls to conversion and which opens the way to an encounter with the one through whom a new humanity flowers. (Apostolic Exhortation, Verbum Domini, 93)” 

In the Lineamenta (preparatory document) for the Bishop’s Synod on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, to be held in October, 2012, the vision has widened and deepened to include a desired transformation of culture by the faith of the Church. It also outlines a process, effects and support for those being evangelized: 

“Evangelization needs to be seen as the process through which the Church, moved by the Spirit, proclaims and spreads the Gospel in the whole world, in conformity with magisterial teaching which has been summarized in the following manner: ‘urged on by charity [evangelization] penetrates and transforms the entire temporal order, acquiring and renewing cultures, and is a witness among peoples of the new way of being and living, which is basic to the Christian identity. 

“Evangelization openly proclaims the Gospel, through an initial proclamation which calls persons to conversion; then, through catechesis and the Sacraments of Initiation, it initiates in the faith and the Christian life not only those who are converted to Christ but also those who have returned to the path of following him, incorporating both into the Christian community. 

“Likewise, evangelization continually nourishes in the faithful their gift of communion, through ongoing instruction in the faith (homilies and other forms of catechesis), through the sacraments and through works of charity, and always leads them to undertake the Church’s mission which sends all Christ’s disciples to announce the Gospel to the entire world through their words and deeds.’” [7]

La Salette and the New Evangelization

How familiar these themes for the new evangelization are to those of us familiar with the message of Our Lady of La Salette. She was a true evangelizer in the best sense when she appeared to the two children with her message of welcome, and her discussion about and concern for the daily lives of her people and their lackluster faith. In her message, she spoke of many elements mentioned in the words of the Lineamenta above!

1) Mary proclaims the gospel; she brings “good news” (initial proclamation) and invites her people to follow her Son.

2) She catechizes her people through her urging them to keep holy the Lord’s Day and honor her Son’s name. Using the local dialect, she continues, repeating what she said about the harvest and gives additional warnings about the coming famine.

3) She calls her people to conversion of heart (“If they are converted…”), inviting those who have lapsed in their faith to return. She discusses the importance of daily prayer, weekly Eucharist and their presence and genuine participation in the Mass. Her words also concern other good faith habits such as Lenten abstinence and finally, a call to act with dignity as mature human beings (“In Lent they go to the butcher shops like dogs”).

4) Mary reaches out in charity, asking Maximin about his father’s concern for his family’s livelihood (“I don’t know who will eat any [bread] next year if the wheat keeps us like this”). The Beautiful Lady’s concern for the two children gives them a living example of how to respond genuinely to the needs of others, how to act as true children of her Son!

5) Our Lady gives her children a mission – “Well, my children, will make this known to all my people.” Once she has completed her message – the message of her Son – she, in turn, urges them to take action themselves. As her Son’s children, they have a mission to share with (evangelize) others. Her message is one of faith (in Jesus), hope (in conversion and its blessings) and love (for others, especially those who have lost their faith).

All in all, we can learn much about evangelization from Mary’s message at La Salette. It is a clarion call to take our place in the Church’s mission of evangelization – through initial proclamation, catechizing, calling to conversion, reaching out in charity and, in turn, giving others a share in Christ’s mission. As Jesus explains: “The words you [Father] gave me I have given to them. (Jn 17:8)” It’s as simple and as challenging as that!

Footnotes:

 [1] “Reflections on the Component of Evangelization” by Frank Mercadante in Youth Ministry Access, Spring 2006, pg.1 (Copyright, Center for Ministry Development, 2005. See: http://www.christlife.org/resources/articles/ReflectionsEvangelization.pdf)

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid, pg. 2

[4] “A Primer on the Theology of Evangelization: Implications for the United States” by Fr. James a Wehner, STD, pg. 5.

[5] “What is ‘New’ About the New Evangelization?” by Fr. James A. Wehner, STD, pg. 3.

[6] Ibid., pg 4.[7] Lineamenta for the Bishop’s Synod on The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith, 12. [emphasis added]