THAT’S Latin for “not new things but in a new way.” Talking about the
New Evangelization, this Latin adage comes in very handy as it gives
us a clear guideline on how to go about this task that is immensely
necessary and urgent these days.
As the Year of Faith grinds to its final sprint these coming months,
we need to give fresh impulses to our duty to proclaim the gospel, the
very same old gospel preached by Christ and now taught by the Church,
but giving it new dressing, attuned to the temper of our times.
We have to do this duty right, since what good would it be if we get
fired up and do a lot of innovative and creative things and yet
missing the point? It’s like a runner who runs the fastest among many
other runners, but out of track. He will never reach the finish line.
First of all, we need to be sure of our fidelity to the doctrine of
our faith, understanding doctrine as Christ’s very own teaching that
is handed down to us in tradition, in sacred Scripture and the
magisterium of the Church.
We need to acknowledge its essentially divine and supernatural
character, without forgetting that it too has a human element that
obviously is subject to the dynamism of our human condition.
We need to study the doctrine well, convinced that we can never have
enough of it, since it is both eternal and temporal, always in need of
deepening and polishing and adapting and all that. It’s a living
thing.
We have to understand that this doctrine of our faith enables us to
get in touch with God, and to see and understand things the way God
sees and understands them. It’s indispensable for us to prosper in our
prayer, and in the task of our own sanctification, and that of the
others and of the world itself.
It does not only give us some temporal advantages. It’s not meant so
much for those, though it certainly does give us some temporal good.
It’s meant more for our eternal goal, our supernatural end of union
and identification with God whose image and likeness we are, and whose
adopted children we also are.
That’s why we should be eager to know the doctrine and excited to live
it. When we study it, let’s realize where it comes from and where it
is supposed to lead us. We are not simply dealing with theories and
hypotheses. We are dealing with the eternal Word of God, as old as
eternity and as new also as eternity.
Given that character of the doctrine of our faith, we should realize
then that it requires to be presented in ever new ways while remaining
faithful in its substance. We should be wary of simply parroting
doctrine until we make God’s word stale and dead as mud.
This obviously means that we understand and assimilate the doctrine so
well that we can talk about it freely and correctly, in the language
and style that the people of today can understand and get moved.
We need to learn how to proclaim the doctrine and God’s word to all
kinds of people—young and old, rich and poor, intellectuals and manual
workers, leaders and followers, etc.
While it’s true that each one of us has his distinctive style and way
of doing things, we should try our best to be open to all and quite
versatile. We have to learn to be all things to all men. If the young
want things done in rap or in R&B, for example, then let’s do it the
way they want it.
This is obviously possible only when we are truly with Christ, the Son
of God who became man in order to reach us and to bring us back to
God. There is no other way. Christ is the very source, pattern and end
of any effort to adapt while remaining faithful. Let’s be clear about
that.
And so, we should realize that for any new evangelization to take off
and fly, it has to be done in a positive and constructive way always,
even when we have to point out some negative things. It should also be
set in friendly and dialogal tones, never in an imposing and bitter
way.
What is also needed is that this new evangelization should be a
constant thing, not just a passing idea. It should be done all the
time and everywhere—especially in the media and now in the new
areopagus of cyberspace.
New Evangelization, this Latin adage comes in very handy as it gives
us a clear guideline on how to go about this task that is immensely
necessary and urgent these days.
As the Year of Faith grinds to its final sprint these coming months,
we need to give fresh impulses to our duty to proclaim the gospel, the
very same old gospel preached by Christ and now taught by the Church,
but giving it new dressing, attuned to the temper of our times.
We have to do this duty right, since what good would it be if we get
fired up and do a lot of innovative and creative things and yet
missing the point? It’s like a runner who runs the fastest among many
other runners, but out of track. He will never reach the finish line.
First of all, we need to be sure of our fidelity to the doctrine of
our faith, understanding doctrine as Christ’s very own teaching that
is handed down to us in tradition, in sacred Scripture and the
magisterium of the Church.
We need to acknowledge its essentially divine and supernatural
character, without forgetting that it too has a human element that
obviously is subject to the dynamism of our human condition.
We need to study the doctrine well, convinced that we can never have
enough of it, since it is both eternal and temporal, always in need of
deepening and polishing and adapting and all that. It’s a living
thing.
We have to understand that this doctrine of our faith enables us to
get in touch with God, and to see and understand things the way God
sees and understands them. It’s indispensable for us to prosper in our
prayer, and in the task of our own sanctification, and that of the
others and of the world itself.
It does not only give us some temporal advantages. It’s not meant so
much for those, though it certainly does give us some temporal good.
It’s meant more for our eternal goal, our supernatural end of union
and identification with God whose image and likeness we are, and whose
adopted children we also are.
That’s why we should be eager to know the doctrine and excited to live
it. When we study it, let’s realize where it comes from and where it
is supposed to lead us. We are not simply dealing with theories and
hypotheses. We are dealing with the eternal Word of God, as old as
eternity and as new also as eternity.
Given that character of the doctrine of our faith, we should realize
then that it requires to be presented in ever new ways while remaining
faithful in its substance. We should be wary of simply parroting
doctrine until we make God’s word stale and dead as mud.
This obviously means that we understand and assimilate the doctrine so
well that we can talk about it freely and correctly, in the language
and style that the people of today can understand and get moved.
We need to learn how to proclaim the doctrine and God’s word to all
kinds of people—young and old, rich and poor, intellectuals and manual
workers, leaders and followers, etc.
While it’s true that each one of us has his distinctive style and way
of doing things, we should try our best to be open to all and quite
versatile. We have to learn to be all things to all men. If the young
want things done in rap or in R&B, for example, then let’s do it the
way they want it.
This is obviously possible only when we are truly with Christ, the Son
of God who became man in order to reach us and to bring us back to
God. There is no other way. Christ is the very source, pattern and end
of any effort to adapt while remaining faithful. Let’s be clear about
that.
And so, we should realize that for any new evangelization to take off
and fly, it has to be done in a positive and constructive way always,
even when we have to point out some negative things. It should also be
set in friendly and dialogal tones, never in an imposing and bitter
way.
What is also needed is that this new evangelization should be a
constant thing, not just a passing idea. It should be done all the
time and everywhere—especially in the media and now in the new
areopagus of cyberspace.
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