At the risk of adding another meaning to the abbreviation ETD (by some accounts, there are already
31), it seems a worthwhile undertaking to add another one. ETD, also known as “Evangelizing Thought of the Day,” will be a few
tweets that link to a short blog entry, hopefully on a daily basis. The tweets
will be short excerpts sequentially taken from the Instrumentum Laboris: New Evangelization for the Transmission of the
Christian Faith (19 June 2012), and a quote or two from the Scriptures
proclaimed at Mass or prayed in the Liturgy of the Hours. Having studied (and
continue to do so) the Lineamenta: New
Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith and worked with
a few groups including a great group of seminarians from Saint Charles Borromeo
Seminary (Philadelphia), there is still much work to do in getting this message
of evangelization out to the world, beginning with the evangelizing work the
Holy Spirit wants to do in each of our lives that we may live the life of Jesus
Christ Crucified more faithfully Whose life and love reveals the Father to us.
A point that has become crystal clear in studying the Lineamenta and now the Instrumentum Laboris is that everyone is
tired of good words, meetings, and study that have not translated into transforming
action. A character that I often appeal to in teaching theology to
undergraduate is the “adult in a Charlie Brown” cartoon: blah, blah, blah; wah,
wah, wah! The work of the New Evangelization cannot be about another vocabulary
set of buzzwords and theology that only sounds great without any connection to life, especially the Life of Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
A group I am part of presently is wonderful – they participate selflessly to learn something to help family and friends back to the
Lord in His Church. They are reading, studying, praying and honestly discussing
BUT – and it is a big BUT – they want something concrete to do that will make a
difference in people’s lives, especially those who have drifted away from the
Lord’s Body, His Church.
So … I propose that an ETD
(Evangelizing Thought of the Day) become in the end an EAD: “Evangelizing Action for the Day.” This is not action for the
sake of action, but action that flows from the prayer of the Church and good
theology to serve the needs of fellow human beings. While I may offer a
question for reflection that could lead to action, I invite members of the blog
to offer comment. There are great, solid ideas that the Holy Spirit is stirring
in ALL our hearts. One example from a parish group occurred at Christmas time
when some parishioners sent specially worded prayer/Mass ‘Christmas’ cards
inviting a few neighbors to Mass on Advent IV, followed by brunch at home and a
willingness to accompany them to the communal Sacrament of Penance later that
week. When asked “did it work?” and “how many came back?” she smiled and said,
“I don’t know. That’s not my job to worry about the numbers. My home was full
for brunch and I have been able to plant through His grace and the Lord will do
the rest!” That is great wisdom and great action. I am hoping the comment
section can be a great resource for all of us.
No comments:
Post a Comment