New Evangelization Updates

     So much has been going on with the New Evangelization within the Church.  Since the Year of Faith began and the Synod on the New Evangelization finished, the Church has been spreading the documents, the fruit of the Synod, around for all the faithful to read so as to better enable them to live it out in their daily life.  I will attempt, with the help of the Holy Spirit, to give you a brief summary of some of these documents and some articles so that we can all be up to date on the "happenings" of the Church.  There are links to to the full documents or article on the blog as well as in this post. 
     In the opening meeting of the Synod of the Bishops on the New Evangelization, Cardinal Wuerl stated that "a key task of the New Evangelization is to help people see that human dignity and human rights flow from the fact that human begins are created in God's image."  He continues by saying that "the New Evangelization is not a program" but rather, "a mode of thinking, seeing and acting.... At its heart the New Evangelization is the reproposing of the encounter with the Risen Lord, his Gospel and his Church to those who no longer find the Church's message engaging.... It (the New Evangelization) begins with each of us taking it upon ourselves to renew once again our understanding of the faith and our appropriation of it in a way that more deeply, willingly and joyfully embraces the Gospel message and it's application today."  Click here to read more of Cardinal Weurl's opening statements.
     This message is continuously echoed throughout the Synod, and Cardinal Timothy Dolan takes it further by talking about the sacrament of penance as the primary sacrament of the New Evangelization.  He states, "Yes, the sacraments of initiation - baptism, confirmation and the Eucharist - change, challenge, and equip the agents of evangelization, but the sacrament of reconciliation evangelizes the evangelizers, as it brings us sacramentally into contact with Jesus who calls us to conversion of heart and inspires (us) to answer his invitation to repentance."  Cardinal Dolan says that "paving the way for a personal conversion of heart and repentance...requires a recognition of personal sin." Click here to read more on Cardinal Timothy Dolan's message. 
     One way to conquer ourselves is to take part in the sacrament of reconciliation, and to also take part in the plenary indulgences that are offered during this Year of Faith.  A plenary indulgence is "a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints" (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1471).  There are four different ways to get a plenary indulgence, provided that the faithful duly received the sacraments of penance and Holy Communion and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. 

The faithful may obtain an indulgence:

1. every time they take part in at least 3 homilies preached or attend at least 3 lectures on the Proceedings of the Second Vatican Council and on the Articles of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in any church or suitable place.
2. every time they go as pilgrims to a Papal Basilica, a Christian catacomb, a cathedral church, or a sacred place designated by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith, and take part there in some sacred function or at least pause in recollection for a suitable length of time with devout meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in a legitimate form, invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary, or depending on the case, to he Holy Apostles or Patrons
3. every time when on days determined by the local Ordinary for the Year of Faith, in any sacred place, they take part in the solemn Eucharistic celebration or in the Liturgy of the Hours, adding the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form
4. a day freely chosen during the Year of Faith on which to make a devout visit to the baptistery or other place in which they received the sacrament of Baptism, if they renew their baptismal promises in any legitimate form.

There are special dispensations for those who are not able, due to serious reasons (i.e. nuns who live in perpetually cloistered monasteries, prisoners, the elderly, the sick, etc). These "faithful [men and women] who are truly repentant and are unable to take part in the solemn celebrations will gain the Plenary Indulgence on the same conditions, if, united in mind and spirit with the faithful present, especially at the moment when the words of the [Holy Father] or the Diocesan Bishops are broadcasted, via the television or radio, they recite at home, or wherever their impediment obliges them to be, the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Year of Faith, offering up their sufferings or the hardship of their lives. Click here to read more on the indulgences offered during this Year of Faith 
     Not only can we continue to grow in our faith through the sacraments and taking part in the indulgences, but the Holy Father has also given us 10 American saints to ask for intercession from and to learn more about during this Year of Faith.  Many of them I do know but some were actually new to me.  They are: St. Isaac Jogues, SJ, St. Francis Xavier Cabrini, MSC, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, SC, St. John Neumann, CSsR, St. Katherine Drexel, SBS, St. Mother Theodore Guerin, SP, St. Rose Philippine Duchesne, RSCJ, St. Damien of Molokai, SSCC, St. Marianne Cope, OSF, and St. Kateri Tekakwitha. Click here to learn a little more about theses saints.

     As we continue this Year of Faith, I want to encourage everyone, including myself, to continue to strive for holiness through these beautiful examples and ways that the Church has provided for us.  Let us not take a single aspect of our Catholic faith for granted and continue to delved into Her richness as we seek greater unity with the Lord.


Written by Alycia