The Church Exists to
Evangelize (Theory)
Father
Gaurav Shroff WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO EVANGELIZE? “Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She exists in order to evangelize.” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14) WHAT DOES JESUS DO?
LUKE 4:14-21
“And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee,
and a report concerning him went out through all the
surrounding country. And he taught in their
synagogues,
being glorified by all. And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up; and he went to the
synagogue, as his custom was, on the sabbath day. And he stood
up to read; and there was given to him the book of the
prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was
written, ’The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.’ And he closed the
book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down;
and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on
him. And he began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulDilled in your hearing.” WHAT DOES JESUS DO?
• Anointed – echrisen (christos) • Preach Good News –
euanggelisasthai (euanggelizo) • Sent – apestalken (apostello) • Proclaim – (kerusso) WHAT DOES JESUS DO?
•  Preach good news to the poor
•  Release to captives
•  Recovery of sight to the blind
•  Set at liberty those who are oppressed •  Proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord WHAT DOES JESUS DO?
•  Release – afesin (afesis) – pardon, forgiveness, liberty •  To set at liberty – apostelai (apostello) •  Oppressed – tethrausmenos (thrau) – think “thrall” – enthralled, enslaved THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
At the end of Matthew’s Gospel: Mt 28:19-20, the Great
Commission And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
THIS IS THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH. THIS IS ALWAYS THE
MISSION OF THE CHURCH. THIS IS WHY SHE EXISTS. THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation proper to the Church, her deepest identity. She 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, and to perpetuate Christ's sacriBice in the Mass, which is the memorial of His death and glorious resurrection. "
(Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14) THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
I wish to invite the Church to renew her missionary commitment. The present document has as its goal an interior renewal of faith and Christian life. For missionary activity renews the Church, revitalizes faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive. Faith is strengthened when it is given to others! It is in commitment to the Church's universal mission that the new evangelization of Christian peoples will Dind inspiration and support. (Redemptoris Missio, 1990) WHY A NEW EVANGELIZATION?
“Thirdly, there is an intermediate situation, particularly in countries with ancient Christian roots, and occasionally in the younger Churches as well, where entire groups of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a life far removed from Christ and his Gospel. In this case what is needed is a ‘new evangelization’ or a ‘re-­‐evangelization.’” (Redemptoris Missio, 33) THE FOCUS
"To this end, it is more necessary than ever for all the faithful to move from a faith of habit, sustained perhaps by social context alone, to a faith which is conscious and personally lived. The renewal of faith will always be the best way to lead others to the Truth that is Christ" (Ecclesia in America, no. 73). WHAT IS NEW?
"Look to the future with commitment to a New Evangelization, one that is new in its ardor, new in its methods, and new in its expression" "
(Blessed Pope John Paul II, Address to the Latin American Bishops) WHY A NEW EVANGELIZATION?
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, 27) POPE FRANCIS
In virtue of their baptism, all the members of the People of God have become missionary disciples (cf. Mt 28:19). All the baptized, whatever their position in the Church or their level of instruction in the faith, are agents of evangelization, and it would be insufDicient to envisage a plan of evangelization to be carried out by professionals while the rest of the faithful would simply be passive recipients. The new evangelization calls for personal involvement on the part of each of the baptized. (Evangelii Gaudium, 120) THE MISSION OF THE CHURCH
And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age.”
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Randy Hain is President of Serviam Partners Consulting/Coaching (www.serviampartners.com) and actively serves on a number of non-­‐
proEit boards in the Atlanta community. He is the Senior Editor for the Integrated Catholic Life™ (www.integratedcatholiclife.org) which he co-­‐founded with Deacon Mike Bickerstaff in 2010. Randy is a co-­‐founder of the Annual Atlanta Catholic Business Conference, the Catholic Business Cafe and leads the St. Peter Chanel Faith at Work Ministry NEXT WEEK ON ABLAZE
COMING NOVEMBER 2014