In downtown Washington, I noticed this sign on the side of a bus stop. It seems that a group of atheists has purchased advertising space throughout the Washington Metro system with this depressing message.
“To spray paint or not to spray paint?”; Thatwas my question.
I had immediate thoughts of how I could possibly blunt this foolish message. Though I would never actually do such as thing, the use of spray paint came to mind. I was outraged to say the least. But, the most comforting part of my reaction was that I was not alone in my anger.
Don’t believe in Atheists? Join the Club!
I do not exactly have a poker face so my disgust was fairly obvious to others at the bus stop. Immediately, another of my fellow Washingtonians shared his disgust. Soon enough, several people at bus stop were praising God by talking about the ridiculousness of such an ad campaign. It should be noted that not one atheist was in sight to defend the sign.
“No weapon formed against you shall prosper!” – Isaiah 54:17
Here is the irony. A sign designed to insult our faith in God and turn others further away from Christ prompted a bunch of strangers to share our testimony of the goodness of God. It was almost like we were having church while waiting for a Metro bus. Now, admittedly, most church services don’t start with a deacon exclaiming, “Can you believe this mess?!” but, it was church nonetheless. This experience was proof to me that God’s prophecy to Isaiah was true – “No weapon formed again you can prosper. Every tongue you shall prove false that launches an accusation against you. This is the lot of the servants of the LORD, their vindication from me, says the LORD.” – Is 54:17.
The weapon in this case was a sign at a bus stop insulting our faith. The result was a group of Christians exclaiming their faith. When something like this happens, how could you NOT believe in God?
“The New Evangelization”
The Archbishop of Washington recently released a letter entitled “The New Evangelization.” As the title suggests, it concerns itself with the need to spread our faith as well as strengthen the faith of those who already call themselves Catholic. The need for evangelization takes on a new urgency when one realizes that the enemy is hard at work doing the exact opposite – just read the signs. And remember, if you don’t believe in God, you are more alone than you think!
In the Gospel for yesterday (Sunday’s) Mass the Lord Jesus healed ten lepers. Only one of them returned to thank him. And Jesus asked the following question:
Ten were cleansed, were they not? Where are the other nine? (Luke 17:17)
We have discussed before (HERE) that, when Jesus asks a question, you’re supposed to answer it yourself. Do not wait for some one else to answer it. Don’t just wait and see how someone in the Biblical story answered it. YOU answer it, for yourself.
So Jesus just asked us a question: Ten were cleansed were they not? Where are the other nine? OK, so where are they? “Who?”, you might ask. Well, think in terms of evangelization. Do you not know at least nine other people who need to return to God, to the Church and to the sacraments? The Lord is asking you (not the person next to you), “Where are the other nine?”
Now the question has a rhetorical quality to it. The Lord is not merely curious as to the physcial whereabouts of unchurched loved ones and friends. It would seem He also wants to know why they are not “here,” close to him in the sacraments. We saw in yesterday’s blog post (HERE) that the gospel is really in the form of a Mass and the leper kneeling before him to give thanks has a Eucharistic meaning. So, in this sense, the Lord wants to know why the missing “nine” are not kneeling before God in the great thanksgiving we call the Eucharist (a Greek word which means to give thanks) to render thanks and receive further blessings.
So where are the other nine?
Where is your spouse who fell away from the faith years ago?
Where is your son or daughter who stopped going to church in college?
Where is your brother?
Where is your co-worker who “used to be Catholic”?
And to the priest and parish leaders:
Where is that parishioner who used to be so dedicated and hasn’t been seen in months?
Where is the choir member who once sang all those solos?
Where is the parish secretary who got ill and had to retire but you haven’t contacted since?
Ten were made whole, were they not? Where are the other nine?
Why me? It is a true fact that we cannot be personally and primarily responsible for every one’s whereabouts and falling away from Mass. But neither can we be wholly detached from this matter. One day God asked Cain, “Where is your brother?” And Cain replied with a question, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Now, of course, Cain had other issues going on. (!) But aside from those, his question “Am I my brother’s keeper?” is demonstrably shallow. The fact is, we are our brother’s “keeper” in the sense that their whereabouts and well-being should be important to us. It should grieve us if they have drifted from God and the sacraments. Perhaps they did this because they were hurt, or are sick. Or perhaps they have grown lukewarm or have drifted into serious sin. Yes, “Where is your brother?”
And so, the question, “Where are the other nine?” is a question we must answer. And if that means that we must go and seek the other nine and find the answer, then we ought to get about doing it. We don’t need to start with lectures. Simple heart-felt questions can often be the best beginning:
How have you been?
I haven’t seen you in Church recently. Are you OK?
This is our mandate: to witness to others so that they reawaken to and rediscover the vital and inexhaustible friendship of Jesus Christ. Sisters and brothers, our eagerness and zeal for the task can be both the invitation and support for those who take their first steps back to the community of faith, as the ever deepening life within the seed is drawn to the light. At the individual level this action may be through a deepening of our own personal faith as well as outreach to others: a direct conversation about Catholicism, extending an invitation to Mass, or providing simple witnesses such as blessing ourselves before a meal in a restaurant, offering to pray for someone in need, keeping a devotional item on our desk at work or wearing a crucifix for others to see. (Disciples of the Lord, P. 13)
Our archdiocesan efforts to share the good news and invite others into the joy of new life in Christ are not simply a new program — one among many. I hope all of us will see the New Evangelization as a lens through which we see everything that we are doing but now in the light of our understanding of how important it is for each of us to tell the story, share the excitement and be that leaven where the faith has gone flat and that salt where the faith has lost its zest….We cannot simply invite from a distance. Instead, we search actively and carefully for our sisters and brothers who are away from the practice of their faith. (P. 15)
The Lord was surely glad to see that Leper come back and he is surely glad to see us at Mass on Sunday. Praise God! But he does have a heartfelt question for you and me, and for the Church. It is an evangelical question, and and a question that touches on the most fundamental mission we have. It is a question that we cannot utlimately ignore if we want to call ourselves the Lord’s disciples. It is a question you must answer: “Where are the other nine?” Where?
Spetember 16th is the feast of St. Cyprian and, since he is an important witness to the truth of the Catholic faith from antiquity, I want to present a few of his teachings below. Perhaps first just a short account of his life.
He was born to a rich, noble family about the year 210 A.D. His full name was Thascius Caecilius Cyprianus. Raised in a pagan family he would not convert to the faith until his mid thirties. He attended the finest schools and became a master of Rhetoric. He then took up a career in law. He, like many of his elevated social class, enjoyed a comfortable life without career worries and filled with the luxuries and pleasures of that his high social rank afforded.
We do not know that the exact time or manner of his conversion but it is clear from his writings that he became increasingly besieged by a feeling of emptiness and a hidden desperation. His own riches seemed burdensome and whatever pleasures they offered were empty. More and more he was disillusioned with the immorality of his age. He wrote sadly not only of the sexual immorality of his day but also of the horrible violence displayed in the arena and on the stage where the death of gladiators was entertainment for the crowds. He lamented the injustice and bribery in the courts where “justice” often went to the highest bidder. And then there was the neglect of the poor.
Cyprian had been introduced to the teachings of the Christian faith by Cecilanus, an elder in the Christian community of Carthage. He took instructions and was baptized on April 18, 246 at the Easter vigil. He was now thirty-six years old and newly baptized. On year later he was ordained a priest.
In 248 A.D. Donatus, the Bishop of Carthage died. It was the practice of the early Church in many parts of the ancient world to permit the members of the local Church to present a man for the office of Bishop. And so it was that after the burial of Donatus, a groundswell began that would lift Cyprian to the office of Bishop.
He proved a good administrator and was a prolific writer of many letters and treatises. Through these he provides an important glimpse into the beliefs and practices of the early Church.
He was exiled twice and eventually martyred on September 14, 258. I have placed an account of his martyrdom here: The Martyrdom of St Cyprian
That the early Church was Catholic in her beliefs and practices is clear from reading the Fathers of the Church, of whom Cyprian is one. I present here a brief listing of some of his teachings that emphasize the Catholicity of the early Church. It is clear that things such as Confession, Holy Communion, Church authority and unity were all established at this time and that those who disputed them were departed from the received apostolic and Catholic faith. As these debates continue today it is good to have a voice from antiquity so clearly rebuke the common errors of today:
TEACHINGS OF NOTE AFFIRMING THE ANCIENT BELEIF OF CATHOLIC TEACHING:
That the Church was both founded and intended by Christ as a necessary means of salvation and that those who wilfully depart from the Church thus sin against the unity willed by Christ. If someone does not hold to this unity of the Church can he imagine that he still holds the faith?…He cannot have God for his Father who does not have the Church for his mother. If anyone outside the ark of Noah was able to escape, then perhaps someone outside the pale of the Church may escape….Does anyone believe that in the Church this unity, which proceeds from the divine stability and which is welded together after heavenly patterns can be divided and can be separated by the parting asunder of opposing wills? Whoever holds not fast to this unity holds not to the law of God…(The Unity of the Catholic Church 4,6) Letter of Cyprian to All His People,” 43)
That unity with the successor to St. Peter, the Pope, was an essential ingredient and expression of Church unity.The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you, you are rock and upon this rock I will build my Church…and to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven and whatever things you bind on earth will be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth they shall be loosed also in heaven.’ (Mt 16:18-19). It is on one man that He builds the Church and although he assigns like powers to all the apostles after His resurrection ….nevertheless, in order that unity might be clearly shown, He established by His own authority a source for that unity which takes its beginning from one man alone. A primacy is given to Peter whereby it is clear that there is but one Church and one chair (“The Unity of the Catholic Church,” 4).
On the fact that there is one established faith and one altar around which ae are to gather: There is one God, and one Christ, and one Church and one chair founded on Peter by the word of the Lord. It is not possible to set up another altar or for there to be another priesthood besides that one altar and that one priesthood. Whoever has gathered elsewhere is scattering. (“Letter of Cyprian to All His People,” 43)
On the Confession of Sins to the Priests – St. Cyprian clearly taught that sins, especially serious sins, must be brought to the clergy for there to be reconciliation. His teachings in this regard are significant since they provide important evidence that the Sacrament of Confession was celebrated in the earliest days of the Church. St. Cyprian was bishop in the middle part of the Third Century. This means that by the middle 200’s A.D. confession was an expected remedy for serious sins. It is also interesting that Cyprian does not give lengthy explanations or defenses in requiring this practice of sinners under his care. This provides additional evidence that the practice of confession of sins to the clergy was an accepted or at least normative part of Church life that had been received from the earliest days. Here are some references to confession in St. Cyprian’s writings:
Finally, of how much greater faith and more salutary fear are those who…confess to the priests of God in a straightforward manner and in sorrow, making an open declaration of conscience. Thus they remove the weight from their souls and seek the saving remedy for their wounds, however small and slight they be…I beseech you, brethren, let everyone who has sinned, confess his sin while he is still in the world, while his confession is still admissible, while satisfaction and remission made through the priests are pleasing before the Lord. (“The Lapsed,” 28).
We [i.e. the Bishops of North Africa] think that no one should be held back from the fruit of satisfaction…We know by our faith in the Divine Scriptures, of which God Himself is the author and initiator, both that sinners are brought back to repentance and that pardon and forgiveness are not denied the penitent. Inasmuch as the Lord is merciful and kind, we find that none of those imploring and entreating his mercy should be prohibited from doing penance, then peace is able to be extended through His priests. (“Letter to Bishop Antonianus,” 55).
On the need to receive Communion worthily– The anxious cares of my office and the fear of God leave me no choice but to send you…words of admonishment…Certain priests behave, without a thought or fear of God or respect for their bishop…They acting contrary to the law of the gospel…before penance has been done, before confession of the most serious and grievous of sins has been made, before there has been the imposition of hands by the bishop and clergy in reconciliation, they have the audacity to make the offering on their behalf and give them the Eucharist, that is to say, to profane the sacred body of the Lord. And this in spite of the words of Scripture: “He who has eaten the bread or drunk the cup of the Lord unworthily, will be guilty of profaning the Body and Blood of the Lord.” (1 Cor 11:27) – (Letter 15 of Cyprian to the Martyrs and Confessors).
On the Necessity of frequently and worthily receiving Holy Communion – As the prayer [Our Father] continues we ask and say, “Give us this day our daily bread.” We ask that this bread be given us daily, so that we who are in Christ and daily receive the Eucharist as the food of salvation may not, by falling into some more grievous sin and then, in abstaining from communion, be withheld from the heavenly Bread, and be separated from Christ’s Body…He Himself warns us saying, “Unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, You shall not have life in you” (Jn 6:54). Therefore we ask that our Bread, which is Christ, be given us daily that we who abide and live in Christ, may not withdraw from His sanctification and from His Body. (Treatise on the Our Father, 18)
On the necessity of Baptism and why infants should be baptized – As far as concerns the case of infants you [Fidus] expressed your view that they ought not be baptized within the second or third day after their birth; rather, that the ancient law on circumcision ought to be respected and you therefore concluded that the newly-born should not be baptized and sanctified before the eighth day. Our Council [of African Bishops] adopted an entirely different conclusion. No one agreed with your opinion on the matter; instead without exception, we all formed the judgement that it is not right to deny the mercy and the grace of God to any one that is born….We must do everything we possibly can to prevent the destruction of any soul….For just as God draws no distinction between persons, so neither does He between ages, but shows Himself Father equally to all, being evenhanded in the distribution of His heavenly graces….In our view no one is to be prevented from obtaining grace…Rather, every one without exception, has the right to be admitted to the grace of Christ. We ought not be the cause for debarring anyone from access to baptism and the grace of God for He is merciful, kind, and loving towards all men. And whilst this is a rule that ought to be observed and maintained concerning the whole of mankind, it is our view that it is to be observed most particularly in the case of newborn infants; they have all the more claim upon our assistance and God’s mercy for the reason that, right from the very first moment they are born, in their crying and wailing they are doing nothing else but imploring our help (Letter 64 to Fidus, 2,3,5).
On the Power of Grace to Transform – St. Cyprian taught emphatically on the power of God’s grace to effect dramatic change in one’s life. This he did not so much by a long discourse as in a vivid description of his own experience of what God did for him. In this testimony written in 247 A.D. he describes first his condition before baptism and then turns to a beautiful description of the glorious freedom of the children of God. And I myself was bound fast, held by so many errors of my past life, from which I did not believe I could extricate myself. I was disposed therefore to yield to my clinging vices; and, despairing of better ways, I indulged my sins…But afterwards, when the stain of my past life had been washed away by means of the waters of rebirth, a light from above poured itself upon my chastened and now pure heart; afterwards, through the Spirit which is breathed from heaven, a second birth made of me a new man. And then in marvelous manner, doubts immediately clarified themselves, the closed opened…and what had been thought impossible was able to be done(Letter to Donatus, 4).
The letter is an excellent reflection and exhortation to the Church on “Job 1,” which is making disciples of all nations by bringing them to the obedience of faith and the sacramental life of the Church. We reflected on that last week as a prelude to the release of the Pastoral Letter. You can read that post here: It’s Time to Obey Christ and His Command that We Evangelize
In the Letter the Archbishop present a succinct and clear description of some of the central challenges we face in our culture when it comes to evangelization. These challenges affect evangelization not only outside the Church but inside as well. I’d like to present some excerpts of the Pastoral Letter in this regard and reflect on them is this post. The Archbishop’s words are in bold and italic black letters. My comments are indented and blue normal text face.
The Archbishop begins by describing the staccato quality of communication today:
[T]imes change. The contemporary culture has reached a point where it turns off what is not immediately accessible. Our society prefers to listen in sound bites, rather than in semesters. Slogans replace thoughtful explanations (Page 10).
Being a person of faith requires thoughtful reflection. Many of the truths of faith require more than a sentence to explain or understand. But attention spans are very brief today. We have remarked on this blog today that most Catholics want better and more meaty homilies. But most Catholics also want 7-10 minute homilies. But is 7-10 minutes a week really enough time for priests to teach thoughtfully? Can the deeper things of faith be compressed in this manner?
On television there is a “seven-second rule.” That is to say, the picture or camera angle must change at least every seven seconds or the station risks loosing viewers. What has television done to our attention spans? This visual “seven second rule” has bled over into a frantic pace of talking heads on TV who speak in a staccato-like manner about issues that really need more distinctions and greater time. But the rushed and hurried format of TV and radio have influenced how we expect to communicate. As the Archbishop points out this approach to communicating is not well suited to the careful explanations of the Catholic faith.
The Catholic faith is a smart and thoughtful system. Two thousand years of reflection means that we speak very carefully and with balanced distinctions learned over millenia. The modern setting makes it difficult to set forth these nuances and distinctions. The faith often requires careful balance. So this first challenge mentioned by the Archbishop is a tough one since it often means the conversation is over almost before it starts.
We must work hard to engage modern listeners. One of the ways I try to attract reader to a blog I write is by a catchy title. This is not always easy. But it is like a sound-bite, or a “hook” that catches attention. I also try to give a bold line summary of many paragraphs to help the reader’s attention span and get the main point out. As the Church seeks to better evangelize we too have to do a better job of initiating the conversation and holding people’s attention along the way.
The broad advances of globalization over a relatively short span of time have had significant effects on daily life…..The significance of neighborhood and local relationships seem less important to a highly mobile society. Entire generations have become disassociated from the support systems that facilitated the transmission of faith (pg 10).
The Hub of the Community – Most older Catholics, especially those who grew up in ethnic communities in larger cities, remember how important the neighborhood parishes were. They were the true hub of the community. You didn’t just go to mass there. You went to school there. All your closest friends were there. There were social clubs, movie nights, bingo, credit unions, etc. Many of the parishes taught English to immigrants and other life skills. My local parish in Chicago even had a pool and a skating rink! Most Catholics in urban centers identified their neighborhood by the parish name. “Where do you live?” “I live in St Al’s…..I’m St. Mary’s….” Catholics huddled close to their parish in those days. This is what the Archbishop means by “support systems.”
Faith, culture and neighborhood were tied closely together in those days. As Catholics moved to the suburbs some of the closeness diminished. As an entire generation moved not only out of the neighborhood but out of the area entirely, the “ties that bind” broke down and the connection between faith and culture became more distant.
Overcoming the obstacle? – With such a high degree of mobility and spread out neighborhoods the Church faces a significant challenge is remaining a significant fixture in people’s lives. I’d be interested in your ideas of how to overcome this challenge and become a more vital and broad based community for Catholics. I know in my own parish we’ve tried to reconnect with our neighbors by sponsoring a wide variety of social activities such as concerts, neighborhood meetings, and socials. I think people thirst for some connection to others. The key is how to get the Church once again be the palce that quenches that thirst.
Two generations of secularization have fashioned this time when some do not even know the foundational prayers, or understand the most basic of Catholic devotions, including Marian devotions, and many have not been introduced to the lives of the Saints. Still others do not sense a value in Mass attendance, fail to avail themselves of the Sacrament of Penance, and have often lost a sense of mystery. (Pg 10).
Yes, we have a lot of rediscovery to do. Here I see some signs of hope as younger Catholics have rediscovered the beauty of many Catholic practices and traditions. They are a small percentage of youth over all, but a vital remnant. It is almost like they went into Grandma’s attic and found some old tarnished things and brought them down like a treasure only to have Grandma say, “Oh that old thing?!” But we ought to encourage the young in their rediscovery. They may tend to romanticize the past, but proper distinctions can come later. For now let’s encourage the rediscovery of the sacred and traditional we notice in many of the young.
The Archbishop then effectively summarizes recent Papal teaching by giving a litany of trends that also challenge the proclamation of the faith and make the world hostile:
Consumerism suggests that our worth is found in the things we accumulate.
Individualism demands that we rely on no one but ourselves and our personal needs always take first place.
Skepticism pressures us to trust only what we can observe and measure, and purports to destroy the classical and time-tested relationship between faith and reason and threatens to reject the basic right to religious liberty and freedom of conscience.
The attempt to recast human sexuality as casual and entirely recreational has led to an untold weakening of and continued assault on marriage and family life.
Autonomy convinces us that fidelity to faith only restricts us. The popular absorption with constant activity leads us to believe that unless we are always busy and hectic we are behind schedule. (Pg 11)
Paradoxically, these trends not only challenge us but also open the door for us, since many have noted these trends are are, frankly, weary and wary of them. Here too, many young people say to me that it is things like these that have made the world seem untenable to them and the Church more reasonable. The tension of these trends incite a desire for change and open the door for us to provide a credible alternative.
Well, these are just morsels to whet your appetite. Please take time to read the whole letter. I will summarize more next week but don’t wait to get a copy or download the PDF.
This video depicts other problems and solutions to enhance evangelization:
The last words of someone are usually considered extremely important. Perhaps they express a final wish, or summarize what was most important to the person. Thus we do well to consider the final words of Jesus just before he ascended into heaven:
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, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matt 28:19-20).
This is often called the “Great Commission” in the sense that it is the overarching mission, job one, the standing orders for the Church, for any Catholic. There is nothing ambiguous about it either. Jesus says go! But where Lord? Everywhere! Every nation, every person. And Do what? Make disciples of them by drawing them into the sacramental life of the Church through baptism and teaching them everything I have commanded. Finally He bids us have no fear of this for he is with us to the end.
Pretty clear, right? And yet it is possible for the Church, a parish or a Catholic to push Job One down the list. Pray, sure, attend Mass, OK, tithe, I’ll try. Evangelize? Oops, I’m a little busy and rather shy too, you understand…..
Time to Obey – After years of declining Mass attendance, churches closing, schools, seminaries and convents shuttering their doors, children and family members no longer practicing their faith, perhaps it is just time to get back into the business of obeying Jesus Christ and his command that we evangelize. It’s not the job of some committee in the parish, it’s your job and mine. It’s not merely the pastor’s job, it’s the parishioners too. Remember, shepherds don’t have sheep, sheep have sheep. It’s easy to blame the Church or the liturgy or poor catechesis but the primary place the faith is handed on in the family. Pastor’s have to lead but the Pastor isn’t at your dinner table every night, not at your workplace, family gathering or neighborhood meeting. All of us have to do this, all of us must obey.
A Parish that Obeys has a Future – In my own parish, after years of declining numbers we’ve decided to obey Christ. I had been assigned to this parish in the early 90s and Mass attendance was at about 800 each Sunday, about average for a city parish. I left to pastor elsewhere in the diocese and upon my return to this parish I noticed a much emptier Church and looked to the usher counts for recent Sundays: 482, 502, 473, 512. In ten years the count had dropped 38%. 300 people had drifted away. People seemed unaware of this. When people disappear one by one over ten years it’s less noticeable. But I, returning after ten years noticed it. And my parish is not unique. Most parishes are down in numbers from what they used to be.
Now some folks like to “explain” declining numbers by talking about demographics, sociological trends, secularization and the like. But thank God, I’m blessed with a parish that wants to hear from God, which knows that God can make a way out of no way, a parish which prays for their pastor to get a Word from the Lord. And the Lord did not disappoint. The word was simple, “Obey.” Obey the great commission, obey Job One. The Lord seemed rather clear and put it on my heart to say to the Parish that if we will obey the Lord in this we have a future. If we do not obey him we do not deserve to exist. For too long the Catholic approach to evangelization was to open the doors and expect people to come. But Jesus sent them out to where people were to call and invite and evangelize. It’s time to obey.
So, for the past year we have been preparing through prayer and study to go forth in a door to door campaign into our neighborhood. Jesus sent his disciples out two by two and so we also will go in obedience. Almost Fifty people have agreed to make the weekly walk for 8 weeks starting September 11. Fifty will pray while we walk and others will prepare a meal on our return. We’re stepping out. I do not know if the Lord will give us many new souls or few but only this I know, if we obey, we have a future.
We are also reaching back into our families and inviting them back, listening to their concerns and setting forth a host of activities. These activities are designed to draw them back and interest our neighbors so we can get to know them and make the invitation to be disciples. We will have concerts, the blessing of the animals, Bible studies, civic meetings etc. Anything to get folks here and meet them, befriend them and invite them to discipleship. Just the beauty of our building and joy of our parishioners preaches Christ. I preparation I’ve been walking the neighborhood and meeting people.
In the Archdiocese of Washington as well we are getting focused anew on Job One. The Archbishop is preparing a pastoral letter on Evangelization. He’s been restructuring the Central Pastoral Administration around the task of evangelizing. We’re reaching out in new ways such as this blog, and preparing to do far more by revamping the Website, reaching out through Youtube, podcasting, direct and targeted e-mail, focused facebook pages and other social media. The Archbishop’s letter will reveal other plans as well. We want to be more pro-active and obey Christ by intensifying our work to explicitly evangelize using all the new methods available.
And perhaps you’ve heard that Catholic Radio has come in the last month to the Nation’s Capital: WMET 1160 AM. You can also stream the signal at their website here: http://grnonline.info/ The station presents EWTN programming and is part of the Guadalupe Radio Network. Soon enough, local programming will also be presented in addition to the EWTN lineup. This presents a great leap forward in the ability of the Archdiocese and the wider Church to fulfill the mandate of Jesus to evangelize, to proclaim the Gospel to everyone.
And what of you? How do you obey the mandate of Christ to evangelize? Every Sunday at Mass you are sent forth by the deacon or priest with these words: The Mass is ended, go in peace.” There’s that word again: Go. It means “Go and tell someone what you have heard and seen. Tell someone of Jesus whom you have met in this liturgy and who has ministered to you with his Word and sacrament. Tell someone what a difference he has made in your life.” Go.
These days evangelization comes in many different forms. Even if you’re shy, what does it take to do things like:
E-mail a friend a link about a great blog post or article you read?
There are great Catholic Websites and blogs. The New evangelization has made it easier to connect people to answers and resources. Sites like www.newadvent.org and the Catholic Answers website www.Catholic.com are rich veins information and encouragement.
Some of you who are technically savvy can help your pastor podcast his sermons or get them out on YouTube. Maybe you can help breathe new life into an out of date webpage.
Talk to your family members who are fallen away and ask them “where it hurts.” Find out what has kept them away and share the story of your own faith.
Get in the habit of inviting unchurched people to join you for special events at your parish. Not everyone is ready for a pew but a Chicken dinner might at least establish some connections where evangelization can take place.
Tell folks you’re praying for them and actually do it. Ask for prayer requests.
And pray, pray, pray for an increase, for a new springtime in the Church. Too many souls today are drifting and the Lord needs us to obey in order to save some.
The Bottom line is that we have got to get back into the business of obeying Jesus Christ in the mandate to Evangelize. To be a disciple means to obey. Jesus was not ambiguous about his final wish: Go, Go everywhere, in every available way. Go. Make disciples of everyone by drawing them into the sacramental life of the Church and teaching them everything the Lord has commanded. Go.
In the Gospel today the Lord shows forth that his plan for Evangelization is not just some sort of haphazard, shoot from the hip program where he wanders about aimlessly. Rather he had a plan to visit specific cities at specific times. And, in order to prepare for his visit, he sent an entourage ahead of him to prepare the town for his visit and also to arrange for the necessary preliminaries. The texts says quite clearly: At that time the Lord appointed seventy-two others whom he sent ahead of him in pairs to every town and place he intended to visit. (Luke 10:1).
Now these lead teams, these evangelizers, received seven basic instructions from the Lord on how to effectively evangelize. These seven basic habits are also for us who have receive the mandate to evangelize (cf Matt 28: 19). Let’s look at them briefly:
1. Supplication – Jesus said, The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest. Hence before any effective evangelizing takes place there must be prayer. In my own parish we are preparing to go out two by two in the Fall. Prior to this we have prayed for over a year, holding Eucharistic holy hours, praying at Mass and Bible study for a fruitful team of laborers sent, not by man, but by God. On Pentecost Sunday 50 people signed up to walk door to door. They are the fruit of prayer. So step one for effective evangelization is to have a praying community asking for laborers. When we go door to door fifty others have signed up to stay in Church and pray as we walk. Habit one: Pray!
2: Sobriety. The Lord tells them Go on your way; behold, I am sending you like lambs among wolves (Luke 10:3) We do have to be sober about the fact that we are in world that is both critical of and hostile to our faith. We are bound to experience persecution, ridicule, anger, being ignored, misunderstanding, misinterpretation, misrepresentations and just plain missiles. That we experience the world’s hatred or anger does not mean we have done anything wrong. The Lord was clear that the hatred of the world was a sign of true discipleship: If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you. Remember the words I spoke to you: ‘No servant is greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. (John 15:18-20). Too many Christians today want the world to like them and think that holiness is about winning a popularity contest and being nice. Well the fact is that Jesus did not end up on the cross by winning a popularity contest and just being nice. He had enemies and so do we. We are not to hate them. We are to love them but we have to be sober about accepting some degree of hatred from the world. And to those who have won the popularity contest and have no enemies Jesus warns: Woe to you when all men speak well of you, for that is how their fathers treated the false prophets (Luke 6:26). The true disciple and true evangelizer will experience some degree of hatred, anger and scorn. We must be sober about this. We do not look for a fight, but hatred will come. An old spiritual says, “I been ‘buked and I been scorned. I been talked ’bout sures yo’ born…..” Habit 2 is sobriety
3. Simplicity – The Lord tells us to travel light: Carry no money bag, no sack, no sandals; and greet no one along the way (Lk 10:4) We are to bring nothing along that will weigh us down or hinder our task. The fact is we all have a lot of baggage in this life that hinders us from the more important work of Evangelizing our family and others. Too many parents barely know their kids because they work long hours at jobs to pay for a life style that is too expensive. On top of this we add endless projects and pursuits that keep us running all over God’s green acre. Perhaps good in themselves, they become too much of a good thing and we end up barely knowing the first people we are to evangelize, our children. The Lord says, lighten up, less, is more, simplify and do with less. Do what is more important first: God, family, parish and community. Learn to prioritize and say “no” when necessary. Bottom line is that we have too much baggage, too many distractions and the Gospel goes unlived and unpreached. The unusual instruction “Greet no one along the way” means that we ought not allow any relationship to hinder us either. There are folks who can sidetrack us hinder our progress and we ought to limit such contacts charitably.
4. Serenity – The Lord says, Into whatever house you enter, first say, ‘Peace to this household’ (Luke 10: 5) Though the world may be hostile at times, the Lord tells us, upon entering into any place to say “Peace to the his household.” We do not go forth with hostility but with a serene joy and love. We must love those to whom we announce the Gospel. We are to radiate a serene confidence, joy and peace. We are not picking a fight or trying to win an argument. If we need to clarify a misunderstanding someone has we ought to do so peacefully and with serene confidence. Because we are confident in the truth we are serene in it. Shalom, peace is at our core, not hostility or aggressiveness.
5. Stability– The Lord instructs us Stay in the same house…..Do not move about from one house to another. (Luke 10:7) Thus the Lord tells us to find our place and stay there. In the end, the best evangelization takes place where there are deeper relationships. But deep relationships cannot exist when we are running all over the place and relating to others only superficially. We ought to stay put more with family, parish and community and have deep roots. Too many people barely know their own family. No wonder the faith is not passed on in the diffuse, rushed and sporadic climate of the family. Find home and stay there routinely. Build deep relationships.
6. Sensitivity – the Lord says Eat and drink what is offered to you,…..cure the sick in it and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God is at hand for you.’ In other words the Lord counsels simple human kindness where we do not criticize about unnecessary things like the quality of food, or matters of preference. Further he counsels that we have a charge to bring healing and help to others. We may cure the sick by physical cures but the kind of healing necessary is often more emotional and spiritual. We ought to manifest care for others. Even the simple act of listening to someone can bring great healing. Without simple human kindness, declaring that the Kingdom of God is at hand can not only be empty but it can make the kingdom seem odious. The say to others that the Kingdom of God is at hand means that they can start living a whole new life. We ought then to manifest kindness, bring forth cures by helping people find wholeness and healing from the many blows this world inflicts. The Kingdom of God is not only about doctrine, it is about healing, holiness, and the wholeness that comes from both as well as from true doctrine.
7. Soulful Joy– The disciples returned with great joy and the Lord celebrates with them and helps to deepen their joy. There is nothing worse than a sour-faced saint or a bored believer. In the end, the greatest evangelization is to manifest a joy at what God is doing in our lives. This joy is not a sentimental emotional joy necessarily but a deeper serene joy rooted in confidence, hope and love. Do people see you in this way? If they do the ground is fertile for evangelization. St. Peter says, Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have (1 Peter 3:15). Now of course giving an answer presupposes that someone notices the hope and joy in us and noticing this they ask. Does anyone notice this about you?
So then here are seven habits of divinely inspired evangelizers as taught by the Lord himself.
The first observation for this Sunday’s Gospel is that it provides a kind of remedy for the sappy portraits of Jesus that seem to predominate today. Such portraits present Jesus as the quintessential “nice guy” whose main task was to affirm people, befriend the poor and generally be “nice.” It is a true fact that he did affirm, he befriended the poor and did have some nice things to say. But it is also true that Jesus is firm and uncompromising in setting forth conditions for discipleship. In today’s Gospel Jesus is clear in his own resolve and demands the same from those will follow him. There are to be no excuses and no postponements. He wants a decision. He is clear as to what that decision must be and he is not willing to wait for an answer tomorrow. This is no sappy or syrupy Jesus. He is serious and sets forth sober principles that he expects to be followed.
In today’s Gospel we can find five disciplines of discipleship which are both taught and exemplified by Jesus.
1. Purposefulness – The Gospel opens today with this line: When the days for Jesus’ being taken up were fulfilled, he resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. (Luke 9:51)Jesus was resolute. He was heading to Jerusalem to suffer, die and rise. He had this for his purpose and would not be deterred from this goal. He was determined to undertake the great battle and the great mission entrusted to him. Everything he did was to be oriented to this goal. We too are summoned to be purposeful, to be determined and to have our life centered around the one goal of knowing God in order to love Him, serve Him, be saved by Him and spend eternity with Him. Everything we do must somehow be linked to this one thing. Other Scriptures speak of the necessity of being resolutely purposeful and of having our life centered on the one thing necessary: This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus (Phil 3:13) No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. (Mat 6:24) A double minded man is unstable in all his ways (James 1:8)
2. Perseverance – As the text of today’s gospel continues a certain Samaritan town rejects and will not receive Jesus or the missionary group accompanying him. When the disciples James and John saw this they asked, “Lord, do you want us to call down fire from heaven to consume them?” Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they journeyed to another village (Lk 9:54-56) Now the fact is that if we witness to Jesus Christ authentically we are going to experience some hatred and rejection. Jesus is not deterred by this rejection but simply moves on to the next town. He also rebukes James and John for being so thin-skinned and revengeful about it. We cannot allow our little egos to get in the way of witnessing to Christ. Neither can we allow vengeful anger to sidetrack us into hate and away from love. We must persevere in proclaiming the Gospel message in season or out of season, whether we are accepted or rejected. Some will reject us. Instead of stopping out of hurt or discouragement we are counseled to shake the dust from our feet and move on to the next town, or soul (cf Matt 10:14). By the way, Jesus perhaps had this incidence in mind when he (humorously?) gave James and John the nickname “Sons of Thunder.” (Mk 3:17) So perseverance in spite of hatred and persecution is the second discipline of discipleship taught and demanded by the Lord.
3. Poverty – As they were proceeding on their journey someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” Jesus answered him, “Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.” (Lk 9:57-58) Now this man apparently thought Jesus was headed somewhere high, perhaps to a palace. He probably figured on a worldly Messiah who was set to conquer and take charge and he wanted a place close to this new King in the palace. But Jesus rebukes the notion that following him will lead to this. In fact, it will lead to the cross. To follow Jesus will require that we learn to be poor to this world. Wealth, power, popularity and prestige entangle us with this world and keep us from our appointed task of proclaiming Christ crucified and finding our way home to heaven. We need to embrace a kind of poverty where we learn to simplify, pull free from worldly entanglements and travel light. We need not be destitute but neither should we be enamored of this world’s wealth. And frankly following Christ often means directly that we will experience financial impacts. The world know how to reward it’s own. But most often this reward comes at the cost of compromising the gospel. Living as a Christian often means we will live in a way that limits financial and other rewards. We won’t make easy compromises with sin or evil for profit or access. We won’t just take any job or be ruthless in the workplace. We won’t deal with unscrupulous people. We won’t lie on our resume, cheat on our taxes or take unethical short cuts. We will observe the Sabbath, be generous to the poor, pay a just wage and provide necessary benefits. We will pay the tithe. So pulling free of easy compromises and entanglements with the world and being “poor” to its riches is the third discipline of discipleship.
4. Promptness – And to another he said, “Follow me.” But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.” But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead. But you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God (Luke 9:59-60). We tend to think that the man’s Father has just died and thus cringe at the Lord’s “cruel” remark. But the text does not in fact say the man’s father has just died. Hence, a more likely understanding of this text which also respects the Lord’s response is that the man is really saying something like: “I want to follow you, but my father is getting up in years and I will surely have to care for him. Perhaps when I am free of family obligations I will follow you.” The fact is that we can have a thousand excuses to avoid making God our priority. We endlessly postpone whole hearted discipleship by saying “Perhaps when I retire I’ll be better about getting to Church and praying…..Perhaps when I get the raise I’ll be more generous to the poor.” And so we delay our conversion. Then finally retirement does come and we have other excuses such as, “Well I’m not as young as I used to be and it’s harder to get out and go to Mass or get more involved.” And the fact is that it has always been tomorrow that “I’ll do better.” Jesus is unimpressed with all the excuses and the promises about how things will be better “later.” He says, “Now.” The fourth discipline of discipleship is promptness. We must promptly obey God.
5. Permanence – And another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but first let me say farewell to my family at home.” To him Jesus said, “No one who sets a hand to the plow and looks to what was left behind is fit for the kingdom of God.” (Lk 9:61-62) This excuse sounds similar but Jesus different response points to another discipline of discipleship, that of permanence. Jesus teaches quite plainly that we are to set our hand to the Gospel plow and stop looking back to the world. The Letter to the Ephesians states well our call: Put off your old nature which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Eph 4:22-24). The second Letter of Peter says Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your call and election permanent (2 Pet 1:10). The Lord has called us from things like: Harmful habits, ruinous relationships, soul-killing sinfulness, and perilous pleasures. We are, by his grace to leave these things behind and not look back. Proverbs, 26:11 says, As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his foolishness. Clearly then we must cling to Christ. Going back and forth from the world to Christ is unacceptable. And old spiritual says, “Some go to Church for to sing and shout, before six months they’s all turned out.” The fifth discipline of discipleship is permanence.
This song says, Jesus says, “Here I stand, won’t you please let me in?” and you said “I will but tomorrow.” Tomorrow? Who promised you tomorrow. Better choose the Lord today, for tomorrow very well might be too late.
Today we celebrated Pentecost Sunday wherein the Church is strengthened and empowered for her great mission to go unto all the nations. The principal account of it took place in the first reading from the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2).
As we encounter the Church we find a Church that has been given quite a tall task:
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 (Matt 28:19-20).
And Luke adds a detail in his account:
Jesus said “Thus it is written that the Messiah would suffer and rise from the dead on the third day and that repentance, for the forgiveness of sins, would be preached in his name to all the nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And (behold) I am sending the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” (Lk 24:46-49)
And so the Church gathered in Jerusalem, about 120 in all, and prayed for nine days (the origin of the Catholic practice of “Novena” wherein one prays nine days for an intention). On the Tenth Day the Holy Spirit came. During those nine days we find the little Church somewhat fearfully gathered. There is no evidence that they are boldly seeking converts. They are a small community huddled together, fearful, behind closed doors, and awaiting a fulfillment of the promise of Jesus to send the Spirit. This was something they probably only vaguely understood.
So there’s the image: a community fearfully and apprehensively huddled together, wonder how they would ever Go unto all the nations when they were too afraid even to go out side the doors where the huddled together.
This is all about to change, but for a moment, grasp the picture and consider with me if it does not look a lot like many of our Catholic parishes today. Increasingly small communities that huddle together and talk only privately about the Lord but are afraid to go out of the doors of the Church and speak a word about the Lord. Perhaps they will be laughed at, scorned or asked questions they cannot answer. The general approach of most Catholic parishes in terms of evangelization does not seem to be to open the doors and go out but, rather to open the doors and hope people come in. But Christ said “GO.” And still we huddle together fearfully and with an inward focus. We spend most of our time talking about inward things like what color to paint the women’s restroom, who will be the new Holy Name Society President, why women can’t be ordained etc. All perhaps important issues to resolve but the main mission of evangelization is neglected and we focus on inward things too much.
Hence we are huddled together, fearful, and lacking in proper focus. Outside the Church doors is a world that needs to hear from us, but still we huddle together, timid and fearful of opening the doors and going out.
To be sure it is not wrong to huddle together. It is essential for us to gather each week as a community to ponder the word of the Lord, hear his teaching and plan, be fed and strengthened for our mission. But if all we do is huddle, we are missing the point.
Consider a football game. The offensive team always huddles before the play. This is essential to make sure all the team members are on the same page and know their roles. The quarterback makes clear what each is to do. But at a certain point it is time to break the huddle and come out and execute the play. If you went to a foot ball game where all they did was huddle you wouldn’t stay long. The huddle is not the game or the point, is to prepare the play. And then it is time to hustle up and run the play.
What would you think of a football player that was afraid to come out of the huddle and run the play? Perhaps he is afraid of getting hit or something. Well it’s clear that we’d think he’s a pretty poor excuse for a football player. But this is our struggle as Christians. Too many of us are afraid to come out of the huddle (the Mass) and run the play. What play you say? “Go there are make disciples of all nations…..” The deacon or priest says it at every Mass: “The Mass is ended, Go in peace.” And this is short for “Go make disciples….” And so it is that the huddle is supposed to break and we are to go out on the (mission) field. But in too many of our parishes this is not happening. We are not passing on the faith well even to our children, let alone strangers.
Come Holy Spirit – The early Church was also huddled together behind closed doors. But on that tenth day (Pentecost) the Holy Spirit descended on them as a strong rushing wind and tongues of fire. And suddenly they started speaking boldly. The next thing we notice is that the door is open and Peter preaches a sermon to the crowd so bold that three thousand are added to their number that day.
And the Church went forth that day, unto all the nations. Sure there were fits and starts but the mission to the world had begun. The huddle broke and the play was executed. Surely the Church would huddle frequently, but then they would break huddle and hustle up to the line to execute the play: Go therefore.
How about your parish? How about you? Don’t just huddle….., hustle! When the Mass concludes “Go in peace” don’t miss that this is a commissioning. Get out on the field and execute the play. Move the ball, gain some yards! And if you loose some yards, get back up, huddle up again, and hustle again. But don’t give up! First huddle then hustle.
Here is an excerpt from the Sermon I preached today at my parish here in Washington DC that makes some of these points. I am preparing my parish for a neighborhood outreach.
