Why Renewal is Needed
What about the nones?
In surveys asking people about what religion or faith they hold, increasingly people select “none.” They are the unaffiliated, those with no religion and no specific faith.
That being said, we also know these people are searching:
- 75% of Americans want to grow spiritually
- 22% of Americans call themselves “spiritual but not religious”
We know the answer to this desire to grow spiritually: Jesus Christ.
- He is our hope, and we are called as His disciples to bring that hope to others.
- Our culture, our communities, our families are ripe for those who are called and sent, all of us as missionary disciples.
How Did We Get Here?
Every generation experiences challenges in faith and in this day and age, secularism has seemed to push God out of the picture, forcing us to focus on popular imagination. Secular culture leads us to think that all we have is ourselves and this moment and has also led to breakdowns of family life, respect for life, and a whole host of social ills including violence in our communities, depression, loneliness, isolation and despair. We need healing and redemption in Jesus Christ now more than ever.
Models of Evangelization and Parish Life Need to Change
Today, many people do not know Jesus Christ and often reject Him and His Church without knowing who He really is. Even many believers in the Church have a weak sense of who Jesus is and what it means to follow Him as a disciple. We cannot assume that faith will automatically be handed on to a new generation. We must proclaim the Gospel in new ways.
Inspiration from our Holy Fathers
Since the Second Vatican Council, our Holy Fathers have been clear: We must bring a world in need into an encounter with the Risen Lord, Jesus Christ. We take inspiration from their teachings and reminders, which affirm each other and offer a consistent exhortation to renew the face of the earth through evangelization and missionary discipleship.“Princeps Pastorum”
“Anyone who deems himself a Christian must know that he is bound by his conscience to the basic, imperative duty of bearing witness to the truth in which he believes and to the grace which has transformed his soul." (PP, no. 34)
Paul VI’s definition of Evangelization: “It has been possible to define evangelization in the terms of proclaiming Christ to those who do not know Him, of preaching of catechesis, of conferring Baptism and the other Sacraments” (EN, no. 17)
“…the Good News proclaimed by the witness of life, sooner or later has to be proclaimed by the word of life.” (EN, no. 22)
“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.” (EN, no. 22)
Definition of the Gospel: “…evangelization will also always contain – as the foundation, center, and at the same time, summit of its dynamism – a clear proclamation that, in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, made man, who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all men, as a gift of God’s grace and mercy.” (EN, no. 22)
“But evangelization would not be complete if it did not take account of the unceasing interplay of the Gospel and of man's concrete life, both personal and social. This is why evangelization involves an explicit message, adapted to the different situations constantly being realized, about the rights and duties of every human being, about family life without which personal growth and development is hardly possible, [60] about life in society, about international life, peace, justice and development- a message especially energetic today about liberation.” (EN, no. 29)
“Redemptoris Missio”
“I sense the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the missions ad gentes [to the nations]. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.” (RM, no. 3)
“Our own time, with humanity on the move and in continual search, demands a resurgence of the Church's missionary activity. The horizons and possibilities for mission are growing ever wider, and we Christians are called to an apostolic courage based upon trust in the Spirit. He is the principal agent of mission!” (RM, no. 30)
“The evangelical witness which the world finds most appealing is that of concern for people, and of charity toward the poor, the weak and those who suffer. The complete generosity underlying this attitude and these actions stands in marked contrast to human selfishness. It raises precise questions which lead to God and to the Gospel. A commitment to peace, justice, human rights and human promotion is also a witness to the Gospel when it is a sign of concern for persons and is directed toward integral human development.” (RM, no. 40)
“Novo millennio ineuente”
“This passion will not fail to stir in the Church a new sense of mission which cannot be left to a group of “specialists” but must involve the responsibility of all the members of the people of God. Those who have come into genuine contact with Christ cannot keep Him for themselves, they must proclaim him.” (NMI, no. 40)
“Lineamenta”
“Being Christian and ‘being Church’ means being missionary; one is or is not. Loving one’s faith implies bearing witness to it, bringing it to others and allowing others to participate in it.” (L, no. 10)
“People are able to evangelize only when they have been evangelized and allow themselves to be evangelized, that is, renewed spiritually through a personal encounter and lived communion with Jesus Christ.” (no.22)
"I dream of a ‘missionary option,’ that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything so that the church's customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today's world rather than for her self-preservation.” Evangelii Gaudium: The Joy of the Gospel"
In The Joy of the Gospel, Pope Francis calls for a ‘missionary option.’ In other words, he wants the Church to look outward and to reach beyond herself, as she seeks to bring Christ to the world. Every day, we see signs of pain and immense suffering even in places where we used to find comfort. We are also bearing witness to the new life and new possibilities that God offers us in the death and resurrection of His Son, which is why we must always turn and return to Jesus Christ, as He tells us, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” John 14:6
Through our personal encounters with Jesus in His community of disciples and His Church, will we find healing, forgiveness, and possibilities for new life that God offers us.
