 |
|
(Click Banner to go back) |
|
|
(Click Banner to go back) |
Evangelizing Catechetically
By Dr. Oralisa Martin, Oracle Religious Association
Catholic evangelization: where are we rooted? Where are we grounded that gives us authenticity for our identity? In reflecting on our own roots, consider that first Pentecost for the early church.
When Pentecost day came around, they all met in one room and suddenly heard what sounded like a powerful wind from heaven, the noise of which filled the entire house in which they were sitting. And something appeared to them that seemed like tongues of fire. These separated and came to rest on the head of each of them. "They were all filled with the Holy Spirit." And the Scripture goes on to say that there were devout men living in Jerusalem from every nation under the heavens. It was a global experience!
Everyone was amazed and astonished, bewildered by the fact that these men who were Galileans were speaking in the language of the persons present. And the Scripture begins to name where they were from Capadocia, Asia, Egypt, Lybia, Cyrene. In other words, from all over the world. And yet they hear them preaching "in our own language about the marvels of God" (Acts 2: 1 1 ) .
Everyone was amazed and unable to explain it. They asked one another what it all meant. In fact, some of them laughed it all off. Oh, these men have been drinking..."too much new wine" (Acts 2:13). Then Peter stood up with the eleven and addressed them in a loud voice, n Men of Judea, all of you, listen. Listen to what I have to say" (Acts 2:14). Now here is Peter who had been locked up in an upper room scared to death, who had a history of denying the Lord Jesus. But, having been filled with the power of the Holy Spirit, he stands up to explain that the men can't be drunk because it's early in the morning. On the contrary, he says, " It is the fulfillment of the prophet, Joel...in the days to come, it is the Lord who speaks, 'I will pour out my spirit on all humankind. Their sons and daughters shall prophecy. Your young men shall see visions; your old men shall dream dreams.'"
And then he goes on to talk about this Jesus of Nazareth, a man sent by God whom you crucified but whom God raised up. He's given the kerygma, the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus. He begins to connect and talk about when David said, "I see the Lord ever before me. With men at my right hand, I shall not be disturbed, for my heart is glad" (Acts 2:26). And he continues to talk about the resurrection. He shall not allow my body to undergo corruption.
Resurrection! Peter then moves into the teaching of what all of this meant; of what David has proclaimed through the psalms. So he's evangelizing. He's teaching meaning, he's catechizing. And he's bringing it on home to them. He says, "David wasn't talking about himself," he was foretelling of the coming of the one whose body would not undergo corruption." He was foretelling of the Christ, the Jesus, whom you crucified and whom God raised from the dead. "For this reason, the whole house of Israel can be certain that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36).
Their response? Hearing this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the apostles, "What are we to do?" What are we to do? You must repent and everyone of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You must repent and be baptized and receive the Holy Spirit.
What is the root of our Catholic evangelization? What gives authenticity to our identity? It is rooted in the Scripture, the experience of the early church, and the activity of the Holy Spirit upon the apostles. It is evangelizing and catechizing.
Evangelizing catechetically. "God so loved the world that in the fullness of time, God sent us Jesus, that whosoever shall believe shall have eternal life." We've got Jesus. God's only son. To evangelize is to proclaim the good news that God so loved the world that he sent us Jesus, that whosoever should believe would have eternal life.
Evangelization requires preaching. Catechesis requires teaching. Evangelization is preaching to the unsaved and catechesis is teaching the saved. I use the theme evangelizing catechetically because as we journey through the Scripture, we understand how Jesus himself evangelized and catechized. They work simultaneously.
The characteristics of evangelization are distinct from catechesis. Pope Paul Vl says in Evangelli Nuntiandi #14, " Evangelization is the essential mission of the church. It is the preaching of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. Evangelization seeks to proclaim the activity of God in humankind through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, it is out of evangelization that all other ministries flow."
Once people have heard of the Lord, and have encountered the living God so that they want more, they must be instructed in the Christian faith. And this is the role of catechesis. Pope John II says in Catechesis Tradendae, #20, "Catechesis is a ministry of the Word that instructs and forms Christians into discipleship by developing their understanding of the mystery of Christ in the light of God's Word." As Robert Hater reflects: "Catechesis educates and directs people in ways that are both direct and subtle so that they can assume the responsibilities of being an evangelized and an evangelizing community. "We're talking preaching and teaching. The bottom line is, we need a faith community witnessing. Bottom line is, of myself I can do nothing, but in Jesus Christ, I can do all things. In Jesus Christ who strengthens me, rooted in the Christian faith community there must be witnessing. While we emphasize the preaching of the good news and instructing people in the Christian faith, we need to understand that the faith community witnesses to the power of God at work. Somehow the faith community is called to preach in word and deed.
I want to share a story of an experience dear to my heart, and I carry it with me. First I want to say that I had on a black veil at this time, and I was visiting my older sister. As we were talking, noticed that there was a guy outside, stooping down, and my sister said, "Oh, Lord, no!" She opened the window and she said, "Mister, mister, please don't turn off that water. I've got two children. I'm a single parent! Please! "
He said, "Mam, I'm sorry. I'm just doing my job." And he lifted up the pink paper. She said, "Oh, no. Don't tell me I can't even provide water for my children." And just then my sister ran into the living room, dropped to her knees and said, "God, we need water! God, please! Don't tell me I can't even provide water for my children." I'm saying, "Come on, it's going to be all right." She said, "No, no, there's a God." And I dropped to my knees and I raised up my hands and I said, "Lord, God, I married you. And every man provides for his lady. I married you. We need water. We need water!" Just then my sister jumped up from that floor and she went to the mailbox and there was a check that somebody returned to her money from a bill that she had paid twice. And my sister said, "Mister, mister, don't turn off the water. Look, we've got the check. We can pay the water bill."
Then she told me, "Honey, we're going to St. Jude." I said, "St. Jude?" She said, "Yes, I'm going to St. Jude. I've got three dollars and some cents left, and I'm going to put it in a poor box." I said, "You're going to what?" I said, "You realize how many hamburgers we could get from McDonald's?" She said, "Look, girl, God provides. I'm going to put this money in the poor box and I'm going to pray that God will take care of every single parent trying to provide water and food for their children." So we went to St. Jude and I looked at that girlshe's unchurched. She is unchurched and I had a veil on my head. Enthusiasm about evangelization? If you knocked on her door, what would you tell her? How would you evangelize her to bring her back into the Catholic Church? To whom do we go for what and where do we bring them?
The Word of God must resonate with our lives so that in our existential reality, where deep meets deep, there is the living God. Then we can drop on our knees and say, "God, we need you. We need you." Evangelization is the proclamation of the good news. Bring my sister some good news, and let her minister to you. As she did to me. Let us not assume that we're going to give people God with the assumption that they don't know God or that they have no God relationship because they're not in our pews. There's much to be said in terms of evangelization.
We must share our experiences of what God has done for us. It is your story that says God is real and God is alive. And when you share that story, others will also share their stories. When two or three are gathered in the name of the Lord Jesus, then Jesus is there alive in their midst. They're alive in your midst.
So we're looking at evangelizing and we're looking at catechizing. We have heard the Scriptural command, "Go you forth and make disciples of all nations. Go forth and teach. Teach all that I have commanded you." Evangelize. We are commanded by God to go forth.
Sister Oralisa is a Doctor of Ministry, founder of the AfricanAmerican Catecheticel Conference, and author of Oracle: A Text for African American Youth Ministry
 |
(Notes taken during a telephone interview, March 1994)
First of all, I wish to express my gratitude, as Director of the Committee on Evangelization for the NCCB, to the National Institute for its fine work in highlighting the importance of preaching the Word of God. I am grateful for the way the Institute has provided n vehicle for responding to the Word of God by emphasizing the small, faith sharing process.
We need a truly evangelizing, dynamic preaching of the Word of God in our parishes. This kind of preaching, coupled with small, faith-sharing group response, will go a long way in getting our parishes to be more evangelized. It sounds so simple, evangelizing the parish community. What is essential to the evangelized is the preaching of the Word of God and the response of our people, not just sharing among themselves, but sharing with others, especially the unchurched. It is integrating Scripture, the Word of God, with programs of social justice, programs for the poor and the marginated among us.
It is an honor to work for the National Council of the Catholic Bishops and the United States Catholic Conference because we are in the forefront of sharing the Word of God. Through the pastoral letters, the NCCB and USCC confront issues of social concern and put them before the Catholic people of this country. They have highlighted issues such as domestic violence, prolife, capital punishment, migration and immigration issues, economic justice, and world peace. In fact, a recent NY Times editorial complimented the NCCB:
"...Archbishop John Cardinal O'Connor (NY) (who) last month lashed out at politicians who caricature the poor for political profit: 'It is increasingly rare for most of us...to believe that people can be poor, but honest, poor, but deserving of respect. Poverty is no longer blamed on anyone but the poor themselves. Contempt for the poor has become a virtue.' These views were underscored last week at the National Conference of Catholic Bishops...lbyl president, Archbishop Wm. H. Keeler of Baltimore, (who) warned against 'punitive welfare provisions' that would destroy fragile families and bury children deeper in poverty...the bishops' opposition to such cruelty was not partisan, but based on the Church's teachings about the 'dignity of life. "'
The New York Times, "Starving the Poor," Nov. 24, 1994, p.A32
Our country seems to be increasingly insensitive to the poor, more insecure and selfconcerned, and less concerned about the rights of immigrants and refugees. In general, we can say there is a fearful response from the general public. But the distinct role of evangelization is to turn away from fear and toward love and compassion,
My talks around the country emphasize the key role that evangelization has played in converting the hearts of the poor and marginated. Most of our social programs have been begun by evangelists: abolition, women's rights, higher education, the 1 2step program, civil rights. All have come about through the efforts of evangelists such as Jonathan Edwards, Sojourner Truth, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Julia Ward Howe, Martin Luther King, Jr. and, in their own time, Bishop Fulton J. Sheen and Billy Graham.
Today there seems to be a basic lack of trust among the American people. But the Word of God communicates trusting in God, for his mercy endures forever. In the great Gospel mandate in Matthew, 28, Jesus says, "I will be with you always, until the end of time."
Evangelists of other persuasions frequently stress the end of the world while Catholics stress the transformation of the world through the power of the Gospel.
In its role as evangelizer, the Catholic Church in the US is just beginning to realize its potential for social transformation. It is a beacon of hope for the world. The model for Catholic evangelization is the Holy Eucharist. As bread and wine are transformed into Divinity, this earth can be transformed into something more Christlike. That's the model and the vision.
And it's starting to happen little by little. I believe that people in the US are starting to realize that NOW is the Catholic moment. It is no accident that Pope John Paul 11 was named the man of the year by Time Magazine, and that Mother Teresa of Calcutta is the most well known religious figure in the world. People are looking for sanctity.
Evangelical Christians in the US are looking to the Catholic Church to uphold the Word of God as beyond ideology and trendiness. Many of our evangelical brothers and sisters respect the Catholic Church for holding up the Word of God as a spiritual guide for the world!
Actually, the Church is holding up the transcendence of the Word of God. We are not bending, not vulnerable to political correctness. We hold up the word of God as precisely the Word of God.
But what about the poor? I think that Americans, by and large, want to do something, but they become more selfabsorbed due to fear and to certain narcissistic trends in our popular culture. But the Catholic Church in the US today is confronting both the fear and the narcissism in order to bring us back to involvement with the poor. We do have The Catholic Worker, So Others Might Eat (SOME), and other opportunities to tap the innate compassion of Americans. in many ways, the Church is moving us forward to do more in families and small communities.
Just before his assassination, Robert Kennedy said, "We are a compassionate people." I agree with that and I think the Catholic Church is tapping that compassion, confronting our innately compassionate natures not only through the Church teachings which are summarized so beautifully in the new Catechism, but also through models in the lives of the saints. Al1 of the Catholic saints have been absorbed in God and in working with the poor. Many of our people don't know the saints those canonized and not canonized.
Evangelization is, after all, passing on our tradition sharing all of the stories.
Bruce Nieli, CSP, is Director of Evangelization for the NCCB.
|
Heavenly Father, Your Sacred Scriptures reveal the Good News that You love us. You have chosen us to reflect that love more abundantly by professing Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. May the Holy Spirit so transform our lives, that we increasingly proclaim the Good News to all creation. We ask You this in Jesus' name. Amen
 |
The Catholic Coalition on Preaching calls their 1995 National Conference "The Gathering." The conference will be held September 2427, 1995 at the Holiday Inn O'Hare in Rosemount IL. Info: Rev. Eugene Lauer, Center for Continuing Formation in Ministry, 1201 Hesburgh Library, Notre Dame, IN 46556. (219) 6315328.
The Seventh Annual Meeting of ACCSE/2000 North America and the Caribbean will convene May 1620, 1995 in the Atlanta Central Holiday Inn, Atlanta GA. Meeting will foster cooperation with the local church of Atlanta in preparation for the 1996 Summer Olympics. Info: Evangelization 2000, 3045 Fourth St. NE, Washington, DC 20017. (202) 5262814.
John Burke will lead a retreat on the Gospel of John June 1924,1995 at the St. Stephen Priory Spiritual Life Center, Dover, MA. Info: Fr. Michael DeTemple, OP, St. Stephen Priory, 20 Glen St., PO Box 370, Dover MA 02030. (508) 7850124.
The NCCE 12. Annual Conference will meet June 21 24,1995 in Oklahoma City, OK. The theme is "Evangelization and Catechesis." Walter Burghardt will preach opHning deY. Other speakers include Archbishop Beltran, Bishops Guillory and Vlazny, Mrs. Mimi Reilly, and Dr. Megan McKenna. Info: NCCE, 7494 Devon Ln. Manassas, VA 22111. (800) 786NCCE.
|
Redemptoris missio (On permanent validity of Church's missionary mandate) Pope John Paul II, 1990 Daughters of St. Paul 50 St. Paul's Avenue, Jamaica Plain, Boston, MA 02130 (617) 5228911
Evangelii nuntiandi (On evangelization in modern world) Pope Paul Vl, 1975 Daughters of St. Paul
Ad gentoa: Decree on the Church's Missionary Activity,
Documents of the Second Vatican Council, 1965
To The Ends of The Earth: A Pastoral Statement on World Mission
National Conference of Catholic Bishops, (NCCB) 1982. Office of Publications and Promotion
Services, U S Catholic Conference, 3211 Fourth Street, NE, Washington, DC, 20017
Go and Make Disciples: A National Plan and Strategy for Catholic Evangelization in the
United States (NCCB) 1992
Charged By The Spirit: Mission Is For Everyone Rev Joseph Donders, Mafr, Orbis Books, 1993
Maryknoll, NY lC545
Prayer for the New Evangelization Rev Tom Forrest, CSsR, Greenlawn Press, 1988
107 S. Greenlawn, South Bend, IN 46617
The Countdown Has Begun: The Story of the Global Consultation on AD 2000,
by Jay and Olgy Gary, AD 2000 Global Service Office, 1989
P.O. Box 129, Rockville, VA 23146
The GoodNews Letter is published three times a year by The National Institute for the Word of God. Story suggestions, news items, and correspondence are welcome and may be forwarded to the Editor
Easter, 1995
The National Institute for the Word of God 487 Michigan Avenue, NE Washington, DC 20017 Editor, Mary Ann McGuire, Ed D
|