My
husband and I had the opportunity to hear Donald Cardinal Wuerl speak at the
Catholic Information Center on Monday night.
He recently arrived back in Washington after three weeks in Rome at the
Synod on the New Evangelization[i]. This morning, I am hanging on to his words
about being confident in God as I recover from the election results.
He spoke
about confidence being one of three missing elements that are identified
necessary to the spread of the faith and the success of the New Evangelization. First some background. Cardinal Wuerl said this Synod was very
pastoral. In other words, the
discussions focused on practical actions that Bishops can take to implement the
New Evangelization. He also mentioned
that the bishops are united in recognizing the challenges and that the meetings
were very positive. By positive he
explained that it seems as if a new Pentecost is sweeping the world wide
church.
The
first element, also described at the kerygma,
is the ability for individuals to know and believe in the proclamation that
Christ was born, lived on this earth, died, rose again and was seen by many,
ascended into heaven and sent the Holy Spirit to be with us. That Christ’s life described in scripture is
not just some story, but details the events that happened to Him.
Confidence
is the second element that is necessary for the New Evangelization. We must be confident in God’s providence. We
must know the Gospel message is true and believe in it. Belief in the kerygma determines how we live
our life. On days when we don’t understand what is happening in the world, we recognize
that God is in control. Our confidence
in the truth provides the essential foundation for the next element.
The
third element is that Catholics need to be willing to share their faith in all
situations. While “are you born again”
is not our tag line, the example of Evangelicals asking this of total strangers
is an action to emulate. To be bold
about our belief and to lovingly be able to share the teachings of the church
with friends, family, co-workers and strangers is the essence of the New
Evangelization. Sometimes we share in words, but we also share in our life
style and our actions.
On this
day, when I feel bruised and battered, I can find hope in having confidence
that our great and mighty Triune God is in control. Now, with whom should I
share the message!
[i] In finding a definition for the New Evangelization, I prefer
to use the word that Pope Benedict XVI applied to the process. He says we are to “repropose” the Gospel to
others. This whole process begins, however,
with a deepening of our own faith and then, as a result of all of this, the
desire to share the faith with others.
From Cardinal Wuerl’s blog - http://cardinalsblog.adw.org/2012/03/the-new-evangelization-in-brief/
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