– A conference marking the 6th anniversary of Evangelii Gaudium
Rome 28th–30th November 2019
As a representative of the Archdiocese of Birmingham working in the Evangelisation Office at Maryvale Institute, I – along with my colleague Natalie Orefice – was privileged to be able to attend this conference, reflecting on the Pope’s encyclical The Joy of the Gospel (EG) – the first significant document of Francis’ pontificate.
The conference picked on a number of sections from the document, and speakers related their own experiences of evangelisation giving examples of those principles at work in their lives and the life of the Church. Here follow some of my highlights from the conference and the key points we might apply to our own missionary discipleship.
The first speaker, Chiara Amirante, spoke of her desire to minister to poor young people and of the despair that they often feel in our modern world which promises fulfilment, but fails to deliver it. She quoted Evangelii Gaudium saying that when we close our ears to the cries of the poor, “we oppose the Father’s will and His plan” (EG 187)
Many young people also support her in her ministry (New Horizons), which she describes as “helping the Church to find what it needs more than anything else: SAINTS, on fire for God with the Holy Spirit!” This Church is called to be in a permanent state of mission – that’s the challenge!
Archbishop Fisichella, the convener of the conference, next encouraged us by explaining what he felt are the three perspectives of Evangelii Gaudium:
- Pastoral Conversion. This animates everything, through which every ministry becomes missionary.
- Synodal Horizon. No-one is alone in evangelisation and, while not always easy, it is imperative that we walk together,
- Fundamental Option for the Poor. If we give primacy to the poor, since they receive the first mercy of God, they will evangelise us as we serve them.
Mgr Arenas spoke of the need for the goal of catechesis to be the formation of missionary disciples. This involves a renewal of RCIA, in which we will be aided by the forthcoming new General Directory for Catechesis.
Initiatives which can help us are 24hrs for the Lord, to mark the start of Lent, and revisiting the Year of Mercy. Popular piety, celebrating the Church’s feasts, rosaries etc can all be means of spreading the kerygma, the Good News of Jesus Christ died, risen and glorified.
Fr Timothy Radcliffe O.P. shared many stories from his years as a Dominican, reflecting on EG 34-30 and 115-118, which encourages us to share the Gospel in the languages and traditions of the various cultures we inhabit. But we also need to transform the culture with the Gospel!
He asked three questions:
- How do our lives witness to the Holy Spirit?
- How is the culture antithetical to the Gospel?
- How does the Gospel embrace culture?
He reminded us that Christianity has never been a safe religion!
Fr Rupnick spoke on the kerygma, the heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ which we are all called to share. Preaching generates new men and women – children of God through the Holy Spirit, where Christ is present within us.
Preaching, as we see in the Gospels, makes us witnesses to the Word made flesh – a particular example is when Jesus stands to read from the prophet Isaiah: “today, this scripture is being fulfilled in your hearing!”
Beauty is a key way in which the kerygma can be communicated – this beauty is seen in Love – a Christin called out of themselves to be free from themselves and to live for God. Beauty itself, makes you beautiful.
The cross can be a thing of beauty, like as ring from a lover it speaks of covenant and in some way embodies the lover. Shall we accept this gift?
A Canadian couple, André and Angele Regnier, who founded Catholic Christian Outreach (CCO) in Canada spoke about missionary discipleship. The whole family, along with some of their children’s spouses related the experience of being missionary disciples in their daily lives and vocations. The watchword was ‘risk’ and putting God first in our lives so that everything else can be put at His service.
While many young people leave the faith, CCO finds that there are many who are looking for compelling reasons to remain Christians – but unfortunately they are not hearing them from Catholics they know, instead choosing to follow those louder voices that accost them daily through the culture. This family’s experience is that young people are open to conversion and missionary zeal!
Cardinal Tagle, the Cardinal Archbishop of Manilla in the Philippines spoke next on the theme of Pilgrims and Evangelisers. We strike out on pilgrimage because we have hope! While evangelisation is not dependent on training or formation for us to begin, we have sadly professionalised this ministry and left it to others.
It begins with personal encounter through which God also evangelises us. They are a meeting of persons as well as a meeting of cultures. Jesus rearranged His culture by touching the leper, washing feet, feasting with sinners etc.
Every culture has the potential to bear the Gospel and we must be aware of how they can do this and how culture can change things. For example, youth culture is changing because families are changing.
As pilgrims we must have an affinity with other pilgrims and strangers, as we find ourselves strangers in a strange land.
The subject of parish renewal was also covered by Archbishop Mantilla, focussing on EG 28
The parish, while having a territorial aspect, is a local configuration of the universal church, and incarnates the love of God to its people and communities.
Churches are a parable of the mystery and beauty of God and unless they are open, cannot be places of welcome to people. Each parishioner should consider how they can help people to pray when they enter our parish churches.
Popular piety can aid us in this task to establish a missionary option. We must remember that the purpose of the Christian faith is to form new Christians – to provide the opportunity to encounter Christ.
On the final day, an Italian priest, Don Luigi Ciotti, spoke of his work with the poor and disabled and how he has had to deal with particular opposition from the Mafia. The Church is called to go forth to the peripheries – the urban, the social and even the existential.
The poor are a theological entity, not just a political one and they need to be at the heart of the life of the Church. He spoke about hospitality, education and most importantly Grace as the driving force behind his work. He ended with the call to ‘be brave!’ God makes everything new. He needs our hands!
The Maronite Archbishop Tobji of Allepo shared on the topic of social dialogue as a contribution to peace. “Blessed are the peacemakers…”
He called for a state that promoted the common good of society – but it is often tainted by egoism and corruption. In Syria, the Church is weak and cannot hold any official position or influence, but must still work out how to awake the conscience of the state. Christians are being killed and cannot worship publicly but there can and must still be dialogue: especially in daily interactions and business of life.
Matthew Kelly, of Dynamic Catholic ministries, challenged us to think about what we loved the most. “Everybody evangelises about something. Everybody is a disciple of something” he said! What good news do we share the most?
We must present holiness, and the pursuit of holiness, as something which is possible and compelling. When we present it, it is often as something which is too difficult event to try. Can we speak with a new language? One phrase which he has found helpful is, “how can you be the best version of yourself?”
He went on to address witness, which he describes a universal language. It holds a mirror up to society and to the church – this is part of the new evangelisation.
But he believes the church has failed in both its witness and its language. Less people trust the church and even Catholics experience a huge indifference to the faith and to evangelisation.
How can we change this fact? Some things he has learned are:
- We think people know more than they do, about what we are talking about and about what we mean.
- We can’t make these assumptions about non-Catholics.
- We assume that all Catholics have made a choice for Christ.
And what about us? Are we tourists or pilgrims in our faith?
Before the Pope came to speak to us, we ended the morning with a discussion on popular piety by Antonio Ramírez Márquez, and that we underuse this gift in our evangelisation.
Popular Piety is a true enculturation of the faith, often unique to particular peoples, and can be a school where the teacher is the Holy Spirit. It can be an encounter and a place of conversion. He encouraged the Church, and particularly seminarians, to study popular piety, to consider it in pastoral plans and to imagine new forms of popular piety.
He made a striking statement at this point. “When we reject popular piety, we may well be rejecting the poor”, since this is often the primary place where the poor are catechised and discipled in the ways of faith and of prayer.
Pope Francis then addressed us. The full text of which can be found HERE
On Reflection
Not having attended a conference like this before, I found the experience very moving indeed and it compelled me to renew my own spiritual life toward the service of the Gospel.
A particular highlight for me was the encouragement to create opportunities for people to encounter Christ within our Churches/communities and in our relationships. That means making ourselves and our time available for God to use – two things which many of us guard very closely indeed! – and which is especially challenging in a culture that can be suspicious of the Church.
In addition, calling people to begin to pray gives them an opportunity to encounter God in a very direct and personal way. I will be considering how I can bring that element much more into my work.
On the final day of the conference, the English delegates had the opportunity to visit the Venerable English College which trains men for the priesthood. By coincidence, they had planned a Nightfever where they open their chapel and invite passers-by to pray or experience Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.
Going out in twos we spoke to people from all over the world about our Lord and our faith in Him – we met Americans, Italians, French, Iranians, Spanish and Israelis! This demonstrated to me that the simple act of opening a church door and offering a warm welcome can be a powerful act of Divine hospitality. It also encouraged me knowing that our seminarians are making evangelisation and faith sharing a key part of their formation in the priesthood. I want to thank them for their invitation to join them in this expression of their Catholic faith and discipleship.
Finally, I was convinced that every Catholic has the potential to be a transforming influence, not only on the place they inhabit, but on their fellow Catholics and the Church herself. Every Catholic needs ongoing evangelisation, and our witness of faith – prayer, relationships and discipleship – is needed as much as ever, for those desperate to experience the Joy of the Gospel.
Paul Northam
Office for Mission 