EVANGELIZATION OF PARISHES

 

-          What do we want our parishes to be? We should give priority to a God-centered community. Also a society based on the civilization of love. It should be the center of breeding new generation that will build a new society. A responsible and people-centered community, where all talents are developed, all people and priests work hand in hand, where brotherhood and sisterhood is shared and realized. Does our evangelization or apostolate lead to these goals or is there any evangelization going on in our parishes?

-          Evangelization is the core of our goal in parish administration. It is the very essence of our baptism, confirmation or ordination. It should be our daily occupation. (Act 6:2-3), Peter, could never allow putting aside the preaching of the gospel for preoccupation with distribution of food. Gospel proclamation is not an option but a duty. (Cf 1Cor 9:16) when Paul says he should be punished if he were not to preach the gospel. Proclamation of the gospel takes priority over all other things. Paul VI says only the kingdom of God is absolute while the rest are relative. Evangelization must be done in a way that the gospel transforms all levels of humanity: Mankind criteria of judgement and determining values. Points of interest, lines of thought, sources of inspiration, models of life etc. In this way the gospel welcomes man’s model for education, and value of building society. If the gospel has to be the model of Education the church has got to listen unceasingly. The Church must constantly search for suitable means of evangelization. There is need to balance credibility and authenticity.

 

SOME POSSIBLE CHANNELS FOR EFFECTIVE EVANGELIZATION

 

a) Witness of life

The witness of life we live or have chosen is really the way foundation of the authenticity of our evangelization. Modern man today listens more to witness than to teachers. If to teachers, then they are witnesses.

b) A living preaching

Faith comes from what we preach Rom 10:14-17. If so then a living preaching is indispensable because the word can create. (The incarnation of Christ). Man has come to the age of images. He feels these speak to him better than mere words without value. Only say a ward and our world will be renewed.We need a living preaching and the words that move the people. Words based on survey and research in relative apostolate.

    c)  A people- centered Liturgy

Man by nature is a liturgist. He is “homo festibus” (feasting man). Liturgy therefore becomes a great teacher as a drama. Life is also a dream. The whole of creation and life are to put together in the liturgy. Early church’s liturgical moments were moments for educating the people, a moment of evangelization, and a living experience.   Liturgy is a celebration of the climaxes of life, it is a disclosure of situation.

d) Catechetics

Well trained catechists should be preferable. Not only, illiterate, long lived catechists yet a priest who has studied for long has little to do it if any.

e) Utilization of all mass media

New possibilities of evangelization should be encouraged. Posters etc., radio, video, TV and not only depend on pulpit instruction.

f) Personal contact

To know one another is a task which we have to do either way. No method can be learnt unless relationship is achieved; Forms: visitation, spiritual guide, congratulatory and festive cards, letter writing, cf. St. Paul.

g) Sacraments

Apostolate through sacraments has been a miscalculated mistake which has led many pastors to a chaotic situation. The parish has become a refilling station of those exhausted by sin, need of baptism etc. Seven sacraments do not exhaust all possible relations between God and the people. With the advent of Christianity, the church built schools, hospitals which worked as centers of evangelization. But unfortunately since the takeover of schools by the government there was resentment on the church’s side and even evangelization seemed to have failed. Nowadays Christian education in schools is just part of examination not for life.

Today the priest appears to be a man of almost wholly dedicated to cultic services of the liturgy and the sacraments. In the current trends of things and people’s spiritual needs as our points of departure. Evangelization despite the fact that is everybody’s task, has been restricted to a relative few. We should not try to exclude non-Catholics or non-Christians in the work of evangelization. We have to extend our generosity to other people, because our command is ‘go out to the whole world’ this is to all people. Evangelization is only possible when we are willing to listen to the voice of other people and that of Christ.

WHAT ARE THE HIDDEN PASTORAL MOTIVES BEHIND VATICAN II

1.      We are fearful of ourselves

2.      We are fearful of the salvation of the crowd

3.      We are fearful of the Gospel

a)     i)  Fear of ourselves

We are used to that sort of apostolate which sits on people and creates fear in us. A priest came to be known as a holy person whose acts/works are all holy. His wrongs are just holy-wrong because of his used never to a routine manner, in a way a priest becomes a fearful and suspicious feeling he is challenged from all perspectives of his life. I this situation we find two aspects of the pastoral approach:

-          Traditional perspective – sticking to the same things, preservation of self-sustenance.  Apostolate based on creativity, creativity to protect oneself in one’s non fearful way.

b)      ii) Fearful of the salvation of the Crowd

Passive majority- our apostolate becomes a protective apostolate for fear that this crowd could easily be swallowed up since it is a normal Christian crowd. We should look for heroic few who can bring about change instead of the crowd. We should draw examples from the chosen few of Yahweh in the OT the Anawim.

c)     III)  Fearful of the Gospel

It seems the church is unwilling to rely completely on the power of the gospel. As a result, we are compelled to do certain things which given another opportunity, they would be rejected. We are so much concerned with what is in our minds other than the minds of Christ.