We are all missionaries

by Editor · October 17, 2012

The Year of Faith, which began on October 11 and will run until November 24 next year, is an excellent opportunity for the Church to reach out to those who have abandoned the practice of Catholicism, and to bring the Good News to those who have not truly heard it�a �re-proposing of the Gospel�, as Pope Benedict has put it.

"We pray that faith becomes like a fire in us and that it will set alight others." - Pope Benedict

And in the task of evangelisation�the core mission of the Church�all Catholics are called to be missionaries for the faith in their own ways.

For practising Catholics, the year is also a time to cement their faith through reflection, prayer and catechism. This must include not only polishing up one�s understanding of the moral and social teachings of the Church, but also of scripture.

We must evangelise ourselves to grow in our faith. For this, we must in all things put Jesus first, seeking a deeper prayerful relationship with him.

We must also study the Catechism and the documents of Vatican II, and be familiar with the news and discussions within the modern Church. We must be so well informed about our Church that our faith is not weakened by attacks on it, and we must be able to explain to others what we believe and what the Church does.

This is all the more necessary in an age when the secular media�s coverage of the Church �is full of lies�, as a cardinal has told the Synod for the New Evangelisation.

As part of the Year of Faith, the Church must therefore step up its promotion of Catholic media, both traditional�such as newspapers, magazines, TV and radio�and the rapidly developing new media.

The Internet and cellphone technology facilitate a more open exchange of ideas than face-to-face encounters can. This can be destructive when faced with �keyboard warriors� and cyber bullies, but these forms of communication can also speak straight to the heart.

Only by knowing the faith and professing it can we fruitfully transmit it.

Catholics will be true disciples of Christ when they share their faith with respect and love. It is by exhibiting a joy in our faith and by thoughtful persuasion that we can reach those who think the faith has nothing to offer them, especially Catholics who have faded away from the Church not in a spirit of hostility but of indifference.

While some missionary programmes must be planned, revised and implemented, we all can evangelise, often without even knowing it.

We evangelise others by being confident in and positive about our faith�and not by showing aggression and paranoia.� We are the Church�s best advertisement when our lives are seen to be governed� by the truly Christian virtues of justice, peace, reconciliation and charity.

The Catholic youth has a special role to play in the New Evangelisation by reaching out to their peers. They must be present in the arena of modern technology as missionaries to those who do not relate to the Gospel but are nevertheless searching for hope.

The Church offers some means to help Catholics in enriching their faith lives�for example through diocesan programmes such as Renew or Ecclesia. The Synod of Bishops for New Evangelisation and the Year of Faith must serve to extend these means of bringing Christ to the people, and the people closer to Christ.

The Year of Faith must give us the tools with which to evangelise well beyond November 24, 2013. It must ignite in us a permanent passion for the Gospel.

Pope Benedict summed it up well when he opened the synod for New Evangelisation: �Being tepid is the greatest danger for Christians. We pray that faith becomes like a fire in us and that it will set alight others.�