“It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade.”
Mark 4: 31-32
The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize. In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on ‘re-proposing’ the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith. Pope Benedict XVI called for the re-proposing of the Gospel “to those regions awaiting the first evangelization and to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization.” The New Evangelization invites each Catholic to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church.
The New Evangelization in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston:
On November 15, 2012, His Eminence the Archbishop of Boston Sean Cardinal O’Malley, OFM, Cap. approved the Disciples in Mission Pastoral Plan for the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston. It is composed of two parts:
Part One: “Strengthening Parishes for the Work of the New Evangelization”
Part Two: “Strengthening the Work of the New Evangelization in Parishes”
Here in Methuen, Saint Lucy Parish and Saint Monica Parish were chosen to be in the first wave of Parish Collaboratives called for by Part One of the Pastoral Plan. As Catholics in Methuen, we are called to be knowledgeable of the Pastoral Plan and engaged in the good work of the new Evangelization.
Knights of Columbus Resources on the New Evangelization:
1- What is the New Evangelization
2- I Believe in You- The Question of God in the Modern World
4- A God Who is Threefold Love
A- The Beauty of Holiness- Sacred Art and the New Evangelization
B- Technology and the New Evangelization- Criteria for Discernment
Saint Monica Knights of Columbus Council 14725 