Evangelization
How often, as Catholics, do we use this term? In what context do we use it? Last week, in my Ecclesiology class, we talked about understanding the church as “mission.” And a week later, I have more questions than I do answers!
What does it mean to be a part of a “mission” church? Does a “mission statement” make a “mission” church? Which came first: the mission or the church? In today’s world, do we use the words “mission” and “evangelization” interchangeably?
Who are the evangelizers? Is it everyone or some? How can/do I evangelize? Does it mean putting a bumper sticker on my car, passing out flyers, being involved in my parish?
Who/what informs this “mission” identity? What motives does the church have in evangelizing? (Should I have the same motives?) Is there a relationship between solidarity and liberation and the evangelizing mission of the church?
Who do I know—personally and throughout history—is an exemplary evangelist? Why? Will my understanding of the church—and the Kingdom of God—change as a result of thinking about these questions?
Today’s questions were brought to you by:
~ my Ecclesiology class
~ Fr. Tom Esselman
~ Pope Paul VI’s apostolic exhortation: “On Evangelization in the Modern World” (Evangelii nuntiandi)
~ Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter on mission (Redemptoris missio)
~ Pope John Paul II’s apostolic letter: “At the Beginning of the New Millennium” (Novo millennio ineunte)