The Evangelical Catholic Approach
Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘In four months the Harvest will be here’? I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the Harvest” (John 4:34-35).
The context of this passage in St. John’s Gospel is Jesus doing the work of his Father — the giving of the Gospel to a Samaritan woman. After evangelizing the woman, Jesus then urges his disciples to join him in lifting up their eyes in order to see, as he does, the great field of labor and opportunity that lies before them. There are countless others (the fields are ripe unto harvest) like the Samaritan woman, just waiting for someone to minister new life to them. What would we see if we were to lift up our eyes and look on the great field of souls in the Catholic Church? To aid such reflection, consider this passage in St. Matthew’s Gospel:
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then [Jesus] said to his disciples, “The Harvest is abundant but the laborers are few; so ask the master of the Harvest to send out laborers for his Harvest” (Matt. 9:36-37).
Jesus observes:
- The people are distressed and downcast like sheep without a shepherd.
- The Harvest is plentiful.
- The laborers are few.
At the dawn of this new millenium, we observe a parallel situation. There are millions of Catholics around the world who are ready for a deeper, more fulfilling life in Christ, but who do not really know how to articulate or fulfill these longings. They are like those crowds that Jesus looked upon in his day — sheep without a shepherd. Every year, millions of these Catholics leave the Church to find the fellowship and spirituality they seek in other ecclesial communities. Think how they would grow and flourish within our own parishes, fed by word and sacrament, if someone was there to provide the help they needed to fulfill the deep longings of their hearts.
In the past, we, as a Church, have often attempted to stem this evangelical exodus of Catholics by writing pamphlets warning against the dangers of fundamentalism. While fundamentalist forms of Christianity certainly leave much to be desired, merely issuing warnings has proven to be an inadequate pastoral response, as demonstrated by the millions who continue to leave year after year to find evangelical life.
We suggest that a better response is to acknowlege the evangelical gap that exists in our Church and to address, in a postive way, the healthy evangelical longings that often attract persons to such groups in the first place. We can do this by changing our perspectives and practices so that these millions of Catholics find the growth they are seeking within their own parishes. By tapping into the rich evangelical tradition that has been at the heart of renewal throughout redemptive history and by forming laborers who can help bring in this abundant harvest, we can close this evangelical gap.
St. Paul’s Vision
Most parishes in America today have only one priest. In many cases, several parishes share a priest. At first glance, this is disheartening. How can the Gospel reach all in need, if each one of our priests has hundreds or thousands of souls to serve? It is an absolute impossibility for a pastor to spend the time that each individual needs to be evangelized and established solidly in his or her faith. In such a situation, even with a few additional faithful and generous parish workers, there is usually little time available above and beyond what is needed for adminstrative duties, sacramental life and religious education programming, to devote to this kind of pastoral care.
But take heart! St. Paul, that great father in our faith, had a vision for how this could work in the Church, and it lies at the core of The Evangelical Catholic Ministry model:
The gifts he gave were that some would be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up of the body of Christ (Eph 4:11-12).
God has given us apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers in our parishes and campus ministries. And what is the work that St. Paul envisioned for them? To “equip the saints to do the work of ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ.” And who are these saints who are to be equipped for the work of the ministry? The laity. Imagine our parishes brimming with dedicated Catholics on fire with the evangel, trained in conducting evangelical ministry, working alongside our pastoral staff. The pews laced with people who reach out to new and existing parishioners, inviting them into vibrant Christian community, where they can experience conversion and transformation through discipleship and fellowship.
Laity as Partners in Evangelization
This vision, while filling the hearts of many with joy, can strike fear in the hearts of others. A common source of alarm among Church professionals is that those who do not understand the nuances of sacramental theology or the inner workings of contemporary Biblical scholarship will make a mess of things. This is a paralyzing premise. Be assured, the laity do not need a master’s degree in theology to assist in these duties. Most anyone is capable of learning basic and effective evangelical methods of ministry — those who experience conversion can learn how to articulate an invitation to conversion, and those who are growing in discipleship can learn how to help others grow in discipleship. In fact, parishioners who have a recent experience of spiritual renewal will understand and often have a strong desire to help others who have not yet had this experience. Providing them with training enables them to do this in healthy, effective ways.
A parish or campus community engaged in evangelizing, forming and training its members becomes a vibrant center of renewal. Together, its members grow in love and virtue, challenging, serving and praying for one another. They grow in love and knowledge of the sacred text and cherish the privilege they have of partaking together of the Body and Blood of the Lord. The community is unified by a harmony of spirit and bond of love that is Christ himself. Such a community beckons to others to come and be a part of it.
Evangelization in Parish Life
Some wonder if such an emphasis will overshadow existing ministries in their parish or campus minstry. We suggest that because evangelization is the Church’s deepest identity and her essential mission (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14-15), each Catholic parish should be permeated by an evangelical beauty. Indeed it is not too much to say, that each Catholic parish should, in fact, be an evangelical parish. We speak in terms of “evangelical beauty” because we wish to convey how essentially attractive this sort of life is for a parish and to calm a fear that arises in the hearts of some that the evangelical charism might detract from other aspects of parish life such as social justice ministry or the sacramental life of the Church.
Evangelical renewal is not intended to overshadow or replace other aspects of the Church’s mission, nor does it justify its own existence by superficially associating itself with other aspects of parish life. While each ministry and charism enhances the other, each also has a certain autonomy. For example, at our parish we have a meal program that feeds hundreds of homeless people each week. We do not need to legitimize this work by “bringing these people to Jesus.” To feed them is of itself a good. By the same token, every Bible study or prayer group in the parish needn’t be engaged in social justice work. When these various ministries of the Church are allowed to thrive side by side in a parish, a healthy evangelical charism will result in disciples of Jesus serving the Church and the world through acts of service and social justice, and, likewise, a healthy service and social justice charism will be an evangelical witness to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
Our experience is also that a healthy evangelical renewal does not detract from the sacramental life, but rather draws members into deeper communion with Jesus through the Eucharistic table and reconciliation.
Popes Find Hope in EC Renewal
In conclusion, we would like to share that we take courage in our endeavor from both John Paul II and Benedict XVI who have seen in the current evangelical movement — which spans every continent of the world today — hope for the renewal of the Church in the new millennium. In fact, in Papal biographer George Weigel’s assessment, John XXIII convened the Second Vatican Council with the intention of turning Catholicism into a vibrant, evangelical movement. The New Evangelization promoted by John Paul II is aimed precisely at helping Catholics to experience interior conversion. Additionally, the New Springtime in Christianity toward which John Paul II looked with joy and hope in the eve of his life, will be realized, Pope Benedict says, if the Catholic faithful return to our ancient tradition of praying the Scriptures (Lectio Divina), which is a priority of evangelical Catholics around the world.