When Jesus called His first disciples, He invited them to minister with Him in proclaiming the Good News. His final mandate to them before ascending to heaven was to go and preach the Gospel to all nations. To evangelize is to share the Gospel. For 2000 years, Christians have participated in this ministry of Jesus and the first disciples. Each generation has its own approach. In our times this is called the New Evangelization. Its blueprint was Pope St. Paul VI’s encyclical Evangelization in the Modern World (Evangelization Nuntiandi) and its architect was Pope St. John Paul II. The encyclical explains that the evangelized must become the evangelizers. In other words, the Good News is meant to be shared with others. St. Francis, 800 years ago, told his brothers to preach the Gospel but to use words only when necessary. Actions have as much, if not more, impact than words in sharing the message of Jesus.
The preparatory work of the Eucharistic Revival concluded with the National Eucharistic Congress in July, 2024. During the three years leading up to the Congress, catechesis took place on the parish and diocesan levels. In our post-Congress era, we are invited to take these fruits of 2021-2024 and go into the world. “The world” can be our families, our parishes, our cities, or even further. Our world needs Jesus, and we are the conduit for bringing Him to others. But first, we need to develop a personal relationship with Him. Personal relationships develop through spending time with a person. The goal of the Eucharistic Revival was for each Catholic to develop a personal relationship with Jesus through prayer, Scripture, and the sacraments, in particular the Eucharist, which is the “source and summit of the Christian life” (CCC 1324).
The charism or particular mission of my religious community is to spread the Kingdom of God’s Love through family ministry. In other words, ministry to families is the CSFN focus of evangelization. In today’s world, family takes on many forms. Since we cannot give what we don’t have, our foundress, Blessed Mary of Jesus the Good Shepherd, wisely included a daily period of Eucharistic Adoration in our prayer regimen, knowing that by building a personal relationship with Our Eucharistic Lord we could share this relationship with others and be effective evangelizers in healing the hurts of the human family.
Evangelization is not limited to priests and religious. Each Christian is called to live passionately with and for Christ. As Saint Catherine of Siena observed, “If we are who God wants us to be, we will set the world on fire.” A friend recently shared that when it comes to evangelizing within her own family, the key words are patience, understanding, not being judgmental, and listening with an open heart. For those separated from the Church, the journey to reconciliation may take a while. Mothers, fathers, sisters and brothers can be anchors for one finding their way to a personal relationship with Jesus. It may take months or even years, but Jesus is closer to them than we are and His timetable is perfect.
Would you like to take on a more active role in evangelization? Consider becoming a Eucharistic missionary. You can find more information on this unique opportunity at www.eucharisticrevival.org and click the Go Forth link.
Blessings!
Sister M. Marcella Louise Wallowicz CSFN
