March 13, 2009
The Christian Journey
All are called to evangelize
BY FATHER JIM SAUER
At the conclusion of every Eucharist, the priest or deacon dismisses the community to “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord.” This commissioning of the assembly, especially when it gathers for a weekend liturgy (either the Saturday Vigil Mass or on Sunday) is a timeless message given to the Church by the risen Lord. Just as the Mass concludes with these words, Matthew’s Gospel concludes with similar words: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age” (Mt 28:19-20).
Jesus’ words are the “Great Commissioning,” which dictate the primary reason for the Church’s existence. We continue His ministry of forming disciples. The Church — each parish community — is to be like the “city built on a high mountain that all can see and stream towards it” (Mt 5:14). The Church, each parish, is to be the lamp that is “set on the stand to give light to the world” (Mt 5:15). The Church and each Christian is to be a “yeast” that penetrates the “dough of society” transforming it into a dwelling place for God (Mt 13:33).
Every Catholic — wherever she or he goes during the course of a week – has many opportunities of witnessing the Christian faith and Gospel values to others. Actually, the laity reaches more people in one week’s time than their priests and pastors. The laity exercises a vital role in bringing others to faith in Christ, which is called “evangelization” — announcing the good news. Pope Paul VI, in “On Evangelization in the Modern Word,” maintains that our daily living is the most authentic proclamation of Christ’s presence in our lives. This “informal evangelization” happens anywhere Christians work, live and interact with people. We can never stress enough the importance of this ministry in the “marketplace.”
After an individual expresses a desire to learn more about the Catholic faith or to join the Catholic Church (most often due to the witness of a Catholic), parishes then provide them with “formal evangelization.” Although most parishes have RCIA teams, this formal evangelization is also the work of every parishioner in various ways. Vatican II’s Decree on the Church’s Missionary Activity teaches this truth: “Christian initiation during the catechumenate is not the concern of catechists or priests alone, but of the whole community of believers and especially of godparents, so that from the outset the catechumens will have a sense of being part of the people of God” (Paragraph 14). RCIA teams minister in a specialized way to the new members. These teams likewise remind the entire parish of its responsibility.
The RCIA Ritual outlines ways for parishioners to be involved in the formation of new members. The first and most basic way is for every parishioner “to be ready to give the candidates evidence of the Christian spirit of the Christian community and to welcome them into their homes, into personal conversation, and into community gatherings” (Par. 9.1). I know of no other official Church Ritual where it is stated in such detail that we should take time to speak with new members, make them feel comfortable in our gatherings by sitting with them and introducing them to others, by welcoming them into our homes. Our parishes are to exude a spirit of hospitality and welcome. Greeting new members AND one another is the most inexpensive item any parish can include in its annual budget with astronomical results!