Evangelization and Stewardship

“Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of 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.”

Matthew 28 :19

In the words of Paul VI, “Evangelizing means to bring the good news into all the strata of humanity and through it’s influence transforming humanity from within and making it new, ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new’ (Revelation 21: 5). But there is no new humanity if there are not first of all new persons renewed by baptism and by lives lived according to the gospel” (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 18). Every Catholic should catch the fire of faith and desire to spread that faith with zeal. If any of us attending even the most crowded church service on a Sunday, realizes that only 20% of the Catholic population are present. It should cause us to ask why and what we can do to encourage others to practice and live their faith. Evangelization in our culture is two pronged. First, evangelizing those who have never heard the word of God and calling them to be members of the church. Secondly, those in our church who have grown lax or weak in the profession and expression of their faith. We have much to celebrate and be proud of as Catholics. Taking seriously our baptismal and confirmation sacraments we should be on fire in the same manner that the apostles at Pentecost were in preaching and proclaiming Christ.

One of the goals of the strategic plan for the Archdiocese of Chicago, commissioned by the late Joseph Cardinal Bernardin, was Evangelization. Our present Cardinal, Francis George, O.M.I., has taken up that goal and directed the Office of Evangelization to create a strategic plan which can be implemented by the various parishes of the Archdiocese of Chicago. That plan, Spreading the Holy Fire, A Plan and Study Guide for Catholic Evangelizing in the Archdiocese of Chicago, was created under the direction of Rev. Dr. Joseph W. Kruszynski, O.F.M. Conv. This plan will form the basis for our goal of evangelizing in the new millennium.