Words of the Word

Week 16, Monday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

61. The Church is engaged in these areas created by the media and has, from the very beginning, utilized these means as a useful way to proclaim the Gospel. Today, in addition to the more traditional means of communication, especially the printed word and radio, which, according to the responses, have moderately increased in recent years, new media are increasingly becoming a major factor in the Church's ministry of evangelization, making interaction possible at various levels: local, national, continental and global. The potential for using both old and new media is clear, as is the need to take advantage of this newly created social space and introduce the vocabulary and forms of the Christian tradition. An attentive and shared discernment process is needed not only to better assess the possibilities of their use in proclaiming the Gospel, but also to understand properly the risks and dangers involved.

62. Indeed, the spread of the culture created by communications undoubtedly brings many benefits. Among them are: a greater access to information; more opportunities for knowledge and dialogue; new forms of solidarity; and the ability to foster an increasingly global culture which leads to a shared heritage of values and the better development of thought and human activity. This potential, however, does not eliminate the dangers inherent in the excessive diffusion of such a culture. Their effects are already being manifested in a deeply, self-centred attentiveness to individual needs only, and an exaltation of emotion in relationships and social ties, thus leading to a diminution and loss of the objective value of deeply human experiences, such as meditation and silence. It equally is leading to an excess in holding to one's individual thinking and a gradual reduction of ethics and civic life to appearance only. These dangers might eventually result in a so-called culture which is short-lived, immediately gratifying and based on mere appearance or a society incapable of looking to either the past or the future. In such a situation, Christians must be bold in entering these "new areopaghi", learning to evaluate them in light of the Gospel and finding the instruments and methods to ensure that, even in these places, the educational patrimony and the wisdom guarded by Christian Tradition is heard today. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 61-62)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

To the upright I will show the saving power of God. (Psalm 50:23, Mass).

COLLECT

Show favor, O Lord, to Your servants
and mercifully increase the gifts of Your grace,
that, made fervent in hope, faith and charity,
they may be ever watchful in keeping Your commands.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

When engaged with various groups discussing the Lineamenta, there were occasions when participants responded to statements with a respectful chuckle, a confused countenance or even an inquisitive and drawn-out “What?” Case in point: “The Church is engaged in these areas [communication] by the media and has, from the very beginning, utilized these means as a useful way to proclaim the Gospel.” I know a a good number of people, after reading this statement, said “Really?” At least in terms of their experience, some of the declarative statements in the Lineamenta and now in the Instrumentum Laboris as to what the Church is doing do not necessarily reflect reality in one’s particular geographical locale of Church. Others commented that when the Church would use some of these communication resources, they did not seek good input from acknowledged experts in the area and approached the task akin to ‘reinventing the wheel’ paying little to no regard to those who could contribute talent and thus make the Church’s use of technology more credible. Others mentioned that a attitude of minimalism exists even in the Church - 'just throw something up on the web, and that will be good enough' without any regard for the effectiveness of the project.

The task for credible and up-to-date use of communication technology is most urgent. Fr. Robert Barron, author of the famed Catholicism Series, has repeatedly noted that ‘others are telling OUR story’ and obviously when they do so, any reference or content of Gospel Truth is purely accidental. News travels at such speed today that if we as Church are not voicing Truth on a particular situation immediately, the spin-machines of contemporary media are already churning out a message. We end up behind the proverbial 8-ball not only trying to proclaim Truth, but to counter the destructive spin that is presented with all sorts of bling and glitz packaged into exceptionally short sound bites that most often are an affront to the human intellect. We need to take charge of OUR story and get that story out in all of its Truth AND liberating peace-filled joy! Our story is NOT the “gospel of no you can’t” (as is often portrayed) but the story of the encounter with the Person Jesus Christ Who came that we might have life and have it to the full ... AND .. Who calls us to daily sacrificial conversion!

Consider:

Like so many recommendations in the Lineamenta and Instrumentum Laboris, people nod their heads - 'Yes! we need to do this... or that... Let's have a meeting to discuss (and we all know the results). Without being simplistic, how do we as a Church effectively communicate the Person Jesus Christ in our world today?
How do we 'baptize' the Internet and use it credibly when resources for so many vital ministries of the Church are drying up?

Week 16, Sunday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

59. The Lineamenta responses also made note of communications, the sixth sector, which provide great opportunities today and, at the same time, represent a major challenge for the Church. Initially, communications was a characteristic of the industrialized world only. However, in today's globalized world, this sector also affects a vast number of developing countries. Every place on the globe, bar none, can be reached by communications, and is therefore subject to the influence of the electronic and media culture. These media are fast becoming the "forum" of civic life and social experience, which is sufficiently illustrated in the widespread use of the internet.

60. The responses refer to the generally-held belief that, today, the new digital technologies have given rise to an entirely new social space where the connections created have the potential of influencing society and culture. The media process, resulting from these technologies, is having an impact on people's lives and is changing reality itself by incisively entering into people's experiences and widening human potential. Our perception of self, others and the world are influenced by them. Communication technologies and the space created by them must therefore be viewed positively, without prejudice, as a resource which requires a discerning eye and a wise and responsible employment. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 59-60)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want. (Psalm 23:1, Mass).

COLLECT

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

The Instrumentum Laboris treats the sixth sector in a section of its own entitled, “The New Frontier of the Communications’ Sector.” Only the cultural sector received as much attention in the Instrumentum Laboris. The familiar language of “opportunity” and “challenge” colors points surfaced from the global input to the Lineamentum of 2011. Noting that the reality of communication is no longer the domain of the industrialized nations, the internet has made electronic and media culture a way of life among the richest and poorest people of the planet, although it must be acknowledged that not all people have equal access to these means of communication. This electronic and media culture not only impacts life, but widens people’s experiences and potential as noted by the Instrumentum Laboris. One can recall, as only 1 example of many, the non-violent revolution in the Middle East (Spring 2011) effected in large part due to electronic and digital communication. In the end, “communication technologies” are viewed a positive resource, yet a resource requiring the often heard call in the Instrumentum Laboris of discernment.

Consider:

How does the Instrumentum Laboris' statement, "Communication technologies and the space created by them must therefore be viewed positively, without prejudice, as a resource which requires a discerning eye and a wise and responsible employment" sit with you?

Week 15, Saturday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

57. The fourth sector is civic life. From the time of the Second Vatican Council to the present, the changes which have occurred in this sector can rightly be called momentous. The division of the western world into two blocks ended with the fall of the Communist ideology, leading to religious freedom and the possibility of reorganizing the Churches of ancient origin. The emergence on the world stage of new economic, political and religious actors from the Islamic and Asian worlds has created an entirely new and unknown situation, rich in potential, but fraught with dangers and new temptations for dominion and power. Many responses have highlighted a variety of urgent situations in this sector, namely, a commitment to peace; the development and liberation of peoples; better international regulation and interaction of national governments; the search for possible areas of listening, coexistence, dialogue and collaboration between different cultures and religions; the defence of human rights and peoples, especially minorities; the promotion of the most vulnerable; and the integrity of creation and a commitment to the future of our planet. Various particular Churches are engaged in dealing with these issues, which are being diligently pursued and fostered in the daily life of our communities.

58. The fifth sector is scientific research and technology. We live in an age that still marvels at the wonders of the continuing achievements which result from research in these fields. Each day, we have the possibility of experiencing the benefits of these advances and are increasingly becoming dependent upon them. Inherent in the many positive aspects is the danger of excessive expectations and manipulation. Today, science and technology run the risk of becoming the new idols of the present. In a digitalized and globalized world, science can easily become "our new religion". New forms of gnosis are arising which make technology a form of wisdom where an almost magical approach to life leads to concepts of "knowing" and "meaning", as witnessed in the rise of new cults, which exploit the religious practices of healing, readily followed by people, and are structured as religions promising prosperity and instant gratification. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 57-58)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

Do not forget the poor, O Lord! (Psalm 10:12, Mass).

COLLECT

O God, Who show the light of Your truth
to those who go astray,
so that they may return to the right path,
give all who for the faith they profess
are accounted Christians
the grace to reject whatever is contrary to the Name of Christ
and to strive after all that does It honor.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Changes that are too numerous to catalog and changes that are described as momentous characterize the Instrumentum Laboris’ treatment of the fourth sector: civic life. It is hard to keep abreast of all the developments occurring in societies throughout the word. Yet if that were not enough, the changes occurring in civil life bring a host of opportunities, challenges and questions that border on the infinite and, as such, risk imposing such an enormity on the human person that people may be tempted to avoid dealing with any challenge in the civic arena. This situation suggests that recapturing the dignity of the human person as created in the image and likeness of God is both urgent and key to address and to respond to any challenge in this sector as well as the technological sector.

Consider:

How can the momentous changes in civic life preserve and enhance the dignity of the human person?
With the unprecedented growth in technology and its use, what steps need to be taken in each person's life to 'humanize' the digital revolution?

Week 15, Friday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

55. The initial sector of culture is followed by the social sector and the treatment of the phenomenon of the great migration which is causing an increasing number of people to leave their country of origin to live in urban settings, resulting in a meeting and mixing of cultures and contributing to the erosion of basic reference points to life, values and the very bonds through which people build their identity and come to know the meaning of life. Joined to the spread of secularization, this process causes a situation of extreme cultural liquidity, which increasingly leaves less room for long-standing traditions, including religious ones. Linked to this sector is the social phenomenon called "globalization", a not-too-easily-understood reality which requires an intense work of discernment by the Christian. At times, this phenomenon carries a negative connotation, when it is seen as inevitable and linked to the economy and production. However, it can also be viewed as a time of growth, in which humanity can learn to develop new forms of solidarity and new ways of sharing development for the good of all.

56. The responses to the Lineamenta refer to a third sector, associated with the subject of migration, which is becoming more and more incisive in society: the economy. In great part a direct cause of migration, the economy is highlighted for the tensions and forms of violence related to it, and the inequality it causes within and among nations. Many responses, not simply those from developing countries, decried a clear and decisive increase in the separation between the rich and the poor. On innumerable occasions, papal magisterium has denounced the growing imbalance between the North and South in the access to and distribution of resources, as well as the damage done to creation. Today's continuing economic crisis is characterized by the problem of the use of both human and natural resources. Particular Churches are invited to live the evangelical ideal of poverty and are expected to do still more in terms of awareness and concrete activity, even if the media does not give sufficient coverage to them. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 55-56)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

From heaven the Lord looks down on the earth. (Psalm 102:20, Mass).

COLLECT

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

Social migration and the economy are the next sectors of life examined in the light of the New Evangelization. Certainly there is nothing ‘new’ about social migration and the economy: these have been part of human living from the very beginning. What marks the ‘new’ dimension of these sectors is the speed and depth of their affect on human living.

Consider:

Is it sufficient to simply ‘name’ the difficulties associated with the sectors of social migration and the economy? Must the New Evangelization grapple with the causes?

Week 15, Wednesday. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

53. This subdued tone, which gives secularization its charm and seductive character, has also enabled it to enter the lives of Christians and Church communities, becoming not just an external threat to believers, but one inherent to everyday life. Traces of a secular understanding of life are seen in the habitual behavior of many Christians. The "death of God" proclaimed by many intellectuals in recent decades has given way to an unproductive, hedonistic and consumer mentality, which leads to a highly superficial manner in facing life and responsibility. In this way, faith runs the real risk of losing its fundamental elements. The influence of secularization in daily life makes it increasingly difficult to affirm the existence of truth, which, realistically speaking, eliminates the question of God from a person's examination of self. To respond to religious needs, persons revert to individualistic forms of spirituality or forms of neo-paganism to the point of forcibly spreading a general climate of relativism.

54. These dangers, however, must not overshadow the positive things which Christianity has learned from secularization. The saeculum is where believers and non-believers interact and share in a common humanity. This human element is the natural point for faith to enter and, consequently, can become the privileged place for evangelization. In the fully human nature of Jesus of Nazareth dwells the fullness of the deity (cf. Col 2:9). Purifying the human through the human nature of Jesus of Nazareth, Christians can create an encounter with people who exhibit a secularized mentality but continue to question what is really and truly human. Encountering these people in search of truth can help Christians purify and develop their faith. The inner struggle of people in search of truth, though not yet possessing the gift of faith, is a real incentive for us in our duty to live and witness to the faith, so that the true face of God can be seen by every person. In this regard, the responses showed great interest in the initiative of the "Courtyard of the Gentiles". (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 53-54)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

The Lord will not abandon his people. (Psalm 94:15, Mass).

COLLECT

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

‘Charming and seducing’ describe secularization in the Instrumentum Laboris. Both words help to explain why secularism is so difficult to battle because each has more than a passing appeal to those areas of life that have yet to be fully configured to the sacrifical selflessness of Jesus Christ. Worse still is the fact that since the Church and Her members are in the world (not of the world) secularism has managed to sink deep tentacles into ecclesial life that have caused scandal leading people to ask, ‘Is there any difference between the Church and the world?’ It does not help when institutionally the Church chooses ways of decision making that have more in common with a Fortune 500 company than the Gospel.

Consider:

Given secularism’s charming and seducing characteristics, how can the Church credibly speak to secularism’s dangers for the human person and human community?

Week 15, Monday. Our Lady of Mount Carmel. Evangelizing Thought of the Day (ETD)

DAILY SEQUENTIAL EXCERPTS from The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith – Instrumentum Laboris:

51. The duty of the new evangelization compels the Church to examine the way Christian communities both live and bear witness to the faith today. In doing so, the new evangelization now becomes discernment or the ability to read and decipher the new sectors which have emerged in human history in the last decade, so that, in turn, they might be turned into places for proclaiming the Gospel and experiencing the Church. Once again, the magisterium of Pope John Paul II has shown the way by first providing a description of the sectors of the new evangelization, which were used in composing the Lineamenta and were further discussed and substantiated in the responses. These sectors include cultures, society, economics, civic life and religion.

52. Given its importance, the cultural sector was seen as a priority. Broadly treated in the preceding paragraphs, the cultural sector was mentioned in many responses as the place where secularizing trends are taking place at a rapid pace. Prevalent in a particular way in the West, secularization is the result of certain social and philosophical happenings and movements, which have had a profound effect on its history and identity. Secularization is wrongly perceived in our cultures today as a sign of liberation and the capability of envisaging life in this world, and human life in general, without any reference to the transcendent. In recent years, secularization has not assumed the form of publically or directly speaking out against God, religion and Christianity, despite the fact that, in some instances, it can oftentimes have an anti-Christian, anti-religious and anti-clerical tone, even in these times. Many responses indicate that the rather subdued tone in secularization has allowed this cultural form to invade people's daily lives to the point that some have developed a mentality in which God is effectively absent, in whole or in part, and his very existence dependent on human consciousness. (Instrumentum Laboris, “Chapter 2: Time for a New Evangelization,” paragraph 51-52)

PSALM for TODAY (click for full Psalm)

To the upright I will show the saving power of God. (Psalm 50:23, Mass).

COLLECT

May the venerable intercession of the
glorious Virgin Mary come to our aid,
we pray, O Lord, so that,
fortified by her protection,
we may reach the mountain which is Christ.
Who lives and reigns with You
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
One God, for ever and ever.

EVANGELIZING THOUGHT of the DAY (ETD)

“The Sectors of the New Evangelization,” 5 in number in the Instrumentum Laboris, are examined over the course of 8 paragraphs in this section. In reviewing today’s selection, one might ask: ‘what is new about these realities?’ Has not human history always had to deal with realities opposing the religious and spiritual dimensions of life? Permit a crystal clear answer: yes in the sense of no; no in the sense of yes. Clear? Perhaps not. Concerns regarding “cultures, society, economics, civic life and religion” color the pages of human history and at times particular sectors even vividly adorn and impose on life a direction that minimally is not friendly to the Sacred. What makes the present situation ‘new’ is the speed, almost incomprehensible at times, that these sectors influence and cause change in life.

Consider:

Might a renewed cultivation of contemplative prayer among ALL the faithful help to slow life so as to know whether life’s direction is ordered towards the Person, Jesus Christ?
Are there any good dimensions to life’s rapid pace?

Ordinary Time, 15. Words of the Word

ANTIPHON

“As for me, in justice I shall behold Your Face; I shall be filled with the vision of Your glory. (Psalm 17:15)

COLLECT

RESPONSORIAL PSALM

Lord, let us see your kindness, and grant us your salvation. (Psalm 85:8).

GOSPEL EXCERPT

Jesus summoned (προσκαλεῖται, proskaleitai) the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority (ἐξουσίαν, exousian) over unclean spirits. He instructed them to take nothing for the journey but a walking stick – no food, no sack, no money in their belts. They were, however, to wear but not a second tunic. He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave. Whatever place does not welcome you or listen to you, leave there and shake the dust off your feet in testimony against them.” So they went off and preached repentance (ἐκήρυξαν ἵνα μετανοῶσιν, ekeruxan hina metavoosin). The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:7-13).”

REFLECTION

On the heels of rejection by family and friends in His native place, what does Jesus do? In a style characteristic of the Evangelist Mark, Jesus wasted no time and “summoned ((προσκαλεῖται, proskaleitai)” the Twelve to Him. While an image certainly comes to mind with the English verb “summoned,” προσκαλέω (proskaleo) also expresses an invitation ‘to join-in or to share-in the life of another.’ Throughout the pages of Sacred Scripture, προσκαλέω (proskaleo) is also employed to express the blessings of salvation. But this ‘joining-in,’ ‘sharing-in’ or salvation is given as a call and as a gift. The recipient is not the initiator of the action, only the gracious beneficiary. There is no grabbing or grasping here only hands open in the quintessential posture of peace, emptiness and offering.

Such an attitude enables Jesus’ to give and the Twelve to receive His “authority (ἐξουσίαν, exousian).” In the Greek world ἐξουσία (exousia) was used frequently in government contexts, expressing a proper power and control that government and its leaders possessed in order to rule over people and act in a way that was proper to officials. On the lips of Jesus ἐξουσία (exousia) is certainly a power but it expresses much more. In terms of power proper to a person, ἐξουσία (exousia) grounds the power ‘from within.’ ἐξουσία (exousia) is not a credential or technique that Jesus acquired through months of preparation and study. ἐξουσία (exousia) – literally “from the being (or as I am more fond of, ‘from the gut’)” – conveys a confidence and conviction born of trusting and knowing (cf. the Marcan Gospel episodes from the previous 2 weeks) the Other - His Father. Jesus’ “authority” lies not in being a ‘self-made man,’ His authority is anchored in the relationship He experiences with His Father. It is ‘out-of’ or from this relationship, often nourished in the desert (cf. next week’s Gospel episode) that Jesus acts. No wonder the Twelve needed nothing – with Jesus’ ἐξουσία what more could anyone want?

So why give the Twelve ἐξουσία? Simply it is for the purpose of the Twelve doing what Jesus does. Jesus enables the Twelve to act as He does for the sake of the Kingdom of God. Thus after an additional instruction or two, the six pairs go out with Jesus’ ἐξουσία and they “preached repentance.” Permit some dissecting of “preached” and “repentance.”

The Greek verb κηρύσσω (kerysso, ‘to cry aloud,’ ‘to announce’) has roots in the world of public Greek games. In that setting, image what it would take to be heard? The act of announcing, κηρύσσω, minimally required a powerful voice capable of being heard above the din of the crowd. Interestingly in the Greek world of antiquity, the person capable of κηρύσσω and doing it well became an important person in the community, occupying a prestigious social position. κηρύσσω is not so much about ‘screaming’ as it is about ‘being heard in the midst of other voices.’ While the New Testament certainly makes use of κηρύσσω in various passages, it is the action of κηρύσσω that is paramount, not the person doing the announcing, the basis of the Christian ministerial quip, ‘it is all about the Message, not the messenger.’ The point here is that κηρύσσω, especially in its original usage, is a very vibrant and dynamic word used to express the vitality of an essential message. We may be lulled into an image of preaching that is boring, monotone, blah-blah-blah, yada-yada-yada, but κηρύσσω says otherwise.

So what is the content of the κηρύσσω? The translation says “repentance.” The Greek here is once again very important as the text reads: “(ἵνα μετανοῶσιν, hina metavoosin).” The translation presents the noun “repentance” but the original Greek presents this as a verb – and it does so in a ‘hina clause.’ The Greek ἵνα (hina) is used to express purpose, ordering or direction. Actions that are the object of ἵνα are about results that are either desired or effected, in other words actions that may or may not happen. The key here is that we are talking about action, action, action – and – actions that have, by definition, outcomes one way or another. But when it comes to μετανοια (metanoia, click here for a previous blog entry on the topic of metanoia), the outcome action is partially dependent upon the will of the listener.

Thus, the Evangelist Saint Mark captures Jesus calling the Twelve to Himself to join-in and to share-in His Mission. He gives each His confident, convicted gut-level being to go forth and to speak through the noise of the day in such a way that the listeners will permit a radical and ongoing conversion in their lives to live the Kingdom of God. In doing so, we get some very concrete insights for pastoral ministry today, particularly in the arena of preaching. Ask any person on a given Sunday what a homily is and the responses will be as varied as the number of people queried. In equipping the Twelve with His ἐξουσία, we know that preaching today as in the days of Jesus’ Public Ministry demands the encounter with Jesus that sparks new relational living (a key element of the New Evangelization) so that one thinks, speaks and acts ‘from the gut’ with the mind, heart and gut of Jesus. The act of preaching requires Spirit and humanly formed art and technique to be heard through the cacophony of society with a clear view in mind that this announcing is ordered to the ongoing radial conversion of body, mind and heart; the continuous turning from the selfish addiction of sin to the Face of the Living God.