New Evangelisation: A Church that Goes Forth

Indigenous Students after a liturgical dance

A small vendor at the corner of the market place had an interesting conversation with me about his own ordeal for not going to Church. He said that he has continuously to pray in recent times. He has neither time to pop into a Church to pray. It was his honesty that gripped my reflection on this vendor. He further explained that he has been a good person and has been honest in doing his business. He even has helped some of the poor people through his little contributions. His question was, whether he was wrong in the sight of God for not prayin

g and not going to Church? My immediate response was, well done good and faithful servant. You have not been malicious in your business; hence your work is prayer for you. It is said work is worship; an honest person does an honest work. The vendor gave me soaring thumbs up for my pragmatic approach to prayer especially in his life.

In a secular world “New Evangelisation” plays a significant role in the life of the people and the life of the Church. The postmodern ideals appeal to our mutative world. It is also true a robust dogmatic approach of the post-secular ethos have swept the nations to withdraw into a cocoon like life. At times, we wonder at our own world, which has constantly failed to uphold the religious and moralistic ideals. This has lead to steep decline in the religious commitment among the people of God. There is not an iota of attraction for people to hold on to religious ethos; ethos that Jesus came to teach, ethos that help us to love God and love our neighbour.

Our questions are different today. We ask questions are towards arriving at a genuine truth. Young people reason and question the way of the Church. Is there a way that can grip the young people to go to Church? One of the young persons told, that Church is in her heart, so why one has to go to Church to encounter God? One can encounter God and their neighbour right next to their house. Hence the New Evangelisation helps to understand to reach out to the people who are in need of our help. The possible drift among the Catholic folks can be avoided if we make New Evangelisation our own mission; mission of the Church.

Let us try to understand what is ‘New Evangelisation’? Pope Benedict XVI reflected three aspects of the New Evangelisation.

Firstly, “New Evangelisation applies to the ordinary pastoral ministry that must be more animated by the fire of the Spirit.” Jesus promised an advocate to us, that is a Paraclete, Holy Spirit to sustain the Church. In our present context, Holy Spirit guides our bishops and pastors to make decisions that renew the face of the earth. Holy Spirit helps animate the Church to encounter God in our day today lives both in the life of the Church and domestic Church, the family.

Secondly, “the Church’s task is to evangelise, to proclaim the message of salvation to those who do not know Jesus Christ.” Jesus sent the disciples to go to the ends of the earth and make disciples in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Hence, Church has been very a missionary Church, as it is said traditionally, missio ad gentes, or missions to the nations. We can draw our source from the early accounts of the apostles who went to the unknown lands to preach about Christ. It is a challenge to preach Gospel to the people who have not heard about Jesus. It is a naïve world, which is reluctant to entertain any religious aspects for it, can be deemed as un-scientific.

Thirdly, “the baptised whose lives do not reflect the demands of baptism. The Church 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.” It is a common jargon, which goes like this, “I was a Catholic…but I am not.” I understood from my Catechism that once you are baptised, you are always a Catholic. It is a trend in our Church to baptise with its pompous ceremony and after-baptismal party. There is certain amount of formation before and after baptism but eventually the zeal of our baptismal commitment slackens. Hence, we have a lot of the lapsed Catholics, who either do not practise or do not care to form themselves. There is a mediocre way of practicing our faith. I call them as, convenient Catholics; whenever its convenient one practices one’s faith.

Therefore, New Evangelisation is not doing new things to share the Gospel or doing creative ways of liturgy and other pieties but it is trying to share the Gospel to the people who are in need or people who are not aware of the Good News. The New Evangelisation is not specific action or activity of the Church, but rather a way of seeing a whole range of activities carried on by the Church to spread the Good News of Jesus Christ. As Pope Francis in ‘Evangelii Gaudium’ exhorted, the Church is a missionary Church and a Church that goes forth, we can be missionaries of New Evangelisation right in our families or in our work place by helping each other to experience God. This way, we can make New Evangelisation that goes forth to the frontiers of our society.