Source of

Crisis of Faith

“An eclipse of God” has occurred in what used to be Christendom. A “practical atheism” has cast its dark shadow upon the western culture, if the Christian faith is not outright denied, it is dismissed as irrelevant to everyday life.

There is a realization now that relatives, friends, co-workers and neighbors are as likely to need to hear the message as those in the jungles of the amazons.

A three-fold crisis. It is a crisis of how the faith is known, lived, and

witnessed.

PORTA FIDEI – Door of Faith

Year of FaithOctober 11,

2012 - November 24,

2013

A call to go back to the well-spring of our faith; “to fall in love again with the One who saves, Jesus Christ…”

New EvangelizationEvangelization - EvangelionEV -

angelosgood/message

“I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No

believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme

duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.” (John Paul II, Redemptionis Missio #3)

Tasks involved in the New Evangelization:

• Primary Evangelization > evangelizing those who never have heard the Gospel

“To baptize the evangelized and to

evangelize the baptized”

• Re-evangelization > re-presentation of the Gospel wherever Christians have lost a living sense of thefaith

The Content and Context of EvangelizationContent > not about an ideology but a Person –Jesus Christ and what he did for us

• In Jesus Christ, the Son of God made man who died and rose from the dead, salvation is offered to all as a gift of God’s grace and mercy. (Rom 1:16)

Context > a divine romance of growing in love with God

Proclaiming, Catechizing, Sacramentalizing

A New Evangelization Based on the Eucharist

The Eucharist shows itself to be the source and apex of the whole proclamation of the Gospel. The other sacraments, as well as every ministry of the church and every work of the apostolate, are linked with the Holy Eucharist and are directed toward it (P.O. #5)

It is in the mystery of the Eucharist Sacrifice … that the

work of our redemption is continuously realized” (P.O.

#13, / L.G. #28)

“The Eucharistic Sacrifice … is the fount and apex of the whole Christian life. (L.G. #11)

Eucharist Content of Evangelization

The Blessed Sacrament is contained the

whole spiritual good

for the Church,

namely Christ himself, our Pasch. (CCC #1324 / PO

#5)

The words and action of Christ at the Last Supper is what made the death of Christ on the Cross on Good Friday, a true sacrifice.

“This is My Body, which is given up for you.”

As eternal High Priest, he offered himself as a sacrifice - the Lamb

of God

“This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (1 Cor 11)

Covenant – Testamentum (Latin)

Eucharist is the New Testament

Eucharist as Context of Evangelization

“Do this in memory of Me.”

• to make Jesus known in the breaking of the bread. This is the

Gospel, Jesus Christ, himself.

Transformed by Love

Eucharist transforms the cross into a sacrifice. The Resurrection

transforms the sacrifice into a

Sacrament. In the Eucharist we

encounter the Risen Christ!

There is no surer pledge or clearer sign of this great hope in the new heavens and new earth in which righteousness dwells than the Eucharist. Every time this mystery is celebrated, the work of our redemption is carried on and … makes us live forever in Jesus Christ.” (CCC #1405)

The offer of life and love by the Father in Jesus Christ is what we believe that celebrate at every

Eucharist. This is what we proclaim when we evangelize.

The New Evangelization is going to have to take on more than a million different forms because

there are a million different people that have been de-

christianized. There is no one-size-fit all formula except the

Eucharist!

It is the same Eucharist for all!

May your Eucharistic

Kingdom come!