The New Evang—“what is it?” the pastor asks,
A program, a pamphlet, a pithy parish-package?
A speaker, a series, a street-wise Scripture-smarty?
The New Evang—no, this is it…
A new mentality, a new modality, a means
of mediation,
A subtle sense of seismic shift, so says
the sociologist,
The New Evang—“listen to me!” says the
theologian,
It’s a be-ing, not a banner, it’s a boldness
not a billboard!
“I’m so confused, really I am,” cries the
daily-Mass goer,
So many words, so many books—so little
clarity!
So let’s pause and consider where the
reality lies…
It’s a Person it’s the Christ, it’s the
only saving Truth
Applied, witnessed, and communicated, in
new ways and in old,
To the times, to the traits, to the
hunger for Him in all
Today was definitely
one of my favorite days thus far (Thursday, Jan. 15th). After
partaking in the two necessities of being a Christian (prayer and coffee) we
headed out to the office of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New
Evangelization, or, the PCPNE (said no one ever). The office, as it turns out, was in the view
of St. Peter’s and right on the main drag.
Upon entering the not-so-majestic building; we were warmly greeted by a
smiling and rather caffeinated priest named Fr. Geno Sylva.
After some
semi-formal introductions (which pleased Deacon Kujawa immensely) we got right
down to the business of finding out just what in the world the PCPNE does. Padre
Geno has, in the words of my classmate Deacon Louis Mejia, el gifto de gabbo (the
gift of gab). Here are a few take-a-way points from our conversation…
Arguably, the
biggest challenge we face in the New Evangelization is, according to Fr. Geno is…indifference. “Trying to
combat indifference,” said he said, “is like trying to nail Jell-O to a wall.”
We no longer have people like Friedrich Nietzsche in the world, i.e. those who
challenge Christianity with intellectual argumentation. What we are facing now
is a sort of boredom with the faith…we have 14-year olds suffering from
depression and anxiety and wondering: what difference does Catholicism make?” Here is the kicker: what makes the New Evangelization “new” (at least in part) is that the Gospel
must speak to the attitudes and their environments of people, which are
changing at unprecedented levels. Loneliness is rampant, a sense of identity is
often lacking and people are losing sight of the fact that their lives actually
have meaning in the eyes of God. In light of this, the
response of the New Evangelization is not to be found in a “box” or program,
but in communicating the love of Christ’s own heart. This necessitates joyful Christian
witness, a listening ear and compassion. This all takes time—the mustard seed
is an apt image, which captures the dynamic of growth.
Later that day
we made our way over to the Emmanuel Community School of Mission. The Emmanuel
Community itself is a global community based on three pillars: Eucharist
(adoration), Evangelization and Compassion. Their School of Mission consists of
16 students who devote 9 months of their lives to community life, study of the
Faith and the various apostolates of evangelization and compassion. We also found
out that they were a charismatic group (much to the joy of Very Mr. Deacon
Chris Gernetzke who kept raising his hands and shouting ‘Amen!’ at random times).
We shared a lively meal that included testimonies from some of the students in
the Emmanuel School of Mission and some SPS deacons. We ended, in typical Saint Paul Seminary fashion, by singing God Bless America and Lady of Knock.
All in all, it
was a very anointed, Spirit-filled day!
Deacon Jake
Anderson (Archdiocese of Minneapolis/St. Paul)
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