The Origin of the Apostolate

The Origin of the Apostolate
of the New Evangelization

The 6^th Marian Eucharistic Congress of Bolivia

The concept of the Apostolate of the New Evangelization can be traced to the planning for and to the discussions at the 6^th Marian Eucharistic Congress of Bolivia of October 1997.

The Archbishop of Cochabamba, Msgr. René Fernández, was responsible for organizing and hosting this Congress.

The Congress was a great success and Dr. Castañón described an important fruit of the Congress:

AIt moved all the city, all the country. The most important fruit of the Congress was ... the consecration to the Hearts of Jesus and Mary for all Bolivia and five other countries.@

Another fruit conceived by the Congress was a new lay movement of the Church. The Archbishop of Cochabamba gave the apostolate its name: The Apostolate of the New Evangelization.

The Birth of the Apostolate of the New Evangelization

In his 1998 Pastoral Letter AThe New Evangelization@, issued for the Season of Lent in the Year of the Holy Spirit, the Archbishop of Cochabamba, Monsignor René Fernández, presented his AWork Proposal@:

AGod >wishes all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth= (1 Tim 2:4), that is, to the knowledge of Jesus Christ (Jn 14:6). It is then necessary that Christ be announced to all men, so that the Revelation will arrive at all limits of the world. Christ invited us to be His messengers, His heralds that announce the Good News of the Kingdom. We must be part of the sowers who spread the Gospel=s seed. We are farmers in the same field in which the first apostles worked, working together in the same vineyard.

ATo carry out this task, we were inspired by the fine motivation that was given at the Marian Conference by the Pontifical Delegate, His Excellency Cardinal Antonio Maria Javierre, who urged us to bring the world, particularly the world of the young, closer to the Sacraments. He affirmed, for example, that the absence of the Eucharistic life could only bring bitter days in the future, for one was looking for alternatives far from the propositions made by Christ Himself. And he concluded by strongly asking: >Couldn=t the Marian Eucharistic Conference propose some effective remedy at least for the benefit of the Bolivian youth?= @ [Fernández, 1998, Appendix]

The Archbishop then explained the need for spiritual conversion, renewal and the Sacraments. He also presented his thoughts on the desired pattern of life and practices for the modern Christian:

AWe agreed on the importance of assuming responsibility for promoting a profound, sincere, and active process of conversion ... >a Renewal of Christian Commitment=, noting useful references for the >lifestyle of the modern Christian.= This finds its pillars of action and surrender in the fidelity of the Commandments; the Holy Mass, that is the Church=s vertex prayer; and the Sacraments that are the fount of mercy.

AThe Sacraments yield the following pattern of life:

1. Confession, atonement, purification, penance.

2. The Eucharist, communion.

AOther Christian practices:

3. Regular prayer.

4. Daily rosary, crown of mercy, devotion to the Holy Cross and to our Lord=s wounds.

5. Fasting, one or two times per week.

6. Vigils, visits to the Holy Sacrament, adoration, contemplation.

7. Reading and studying the Bible and the Holy Gospels, greater understanding of the sacramentals.

8. Spiritual retreat from one to three times a year.

9. Permanent spiritual guidance.

10. Submission, respect, and service to the authority of the Holy Father and the Magisterium of the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church.

11. Constant commitment and renewal of the Pact of the New Covenant. We acknowledge that we are part of a commitment made with each other, and we must honor working in holiness for the saintliness of the Church and her members.

12. Permanent consecration to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary.

13. Commitment to evangelization everywhere.

AIf we try to live this lifestyle, what can we do for the community?@ [Ibid]

To implement his AWork Proposal@ the Archbishop announced in his Pastoral Letter the formation of The Apostolate of the New Evangelization. Under the sign of the New Evangelization, he also announced the Crusade of Love and Mercy as a program for lay people to bring about the spiritual conversions and lifestyle changes presented above.

What is the Apostolate ?

In his Pastoral Letter AThe New Evangelization@, Archbishop Fernández, describes The Apostolate

of the New Evangelization:

AThis apostolate was born as a product of the >Bolivian Marian Eucharistic Conference= that took place in the city of Cochabamba in October 1997. It recognized the fact that the people thirst for an update of their Christian commitment, but lack the motivating and dynamic founts. These founts need to come with all the technological and cultural systems that are available in this modern life.

AGroups of lay persons opened to this perspective, together with the hierarchy, make up the nucleus of action by means of an Apostolate named by the New Evangelization (ANE). It wants to emphasize the real importance of the divine Message for the salvation of men that Christ brings with His Life, Word, Death, and Resurrection.

AThe following deeds are proposed within the methodology of work:

1. To promote the forming of prayer groups that will meet from 60 to 90 minutes at least once a week. They could bring themselves up-to-date on subjects over the Christian commitment: the Gospels, doctrine, catechesis, the sacraments, etc., and close by praying the Holy Rosary.

The exemplary life will be encouraged in the groups, as well as receiving the Sacraments of Confession and Communion frequently. From these groups will come the evangelists that will take the Gospel to everyone.

2. To give lectures over urgent topics that will favor their best comprehension and the Christian commitment. For example, how to understand the Mass, and how to pray; how to carry out in a more committed manner activities of collaboration in the parish, centers of charity, of social services, etc. Furthermore, the inner desire will come particularly to those withdrawn that ignore or do not coherently live the Catholic commitment.

3. To inspire the Aconsecration to the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary@ seeing in it a form of a humble closeness that teaches the Catholic person to understand the significance of seeing Jesus and Mary as refuges pleasing to the Father.

4. To encourage visits to the sick and dying in hospitals and homes; having specific programs that teach to pray and to establish a more intimate relationship with God.

5. To form charitable groups that will take food (also hot food) to those that are hungry, are in need of clothing, and if possible, help in other needy areas (all within the best discretion and without superfluous social rumors).

6. To promote the development of true apostles of the New Evangelization, apostles of the Eucharist, devotees of Mary, real and faithful followers of the Roman, Apostolic, and Holy Catholic Church.

7. The final objective is given with the desire to arouse in the Christian person an updating of the Christian duty. This updating is translated into a definite consecration and in a constant renewal of its commitment to the Gospel with a fundamental watchword: AIf Christ shed His Blood for me, why will I not respond with mine?@ [Ibid]

Three months after the Archbishop announced the formation of The Apostolate of the New Evangelization, John Paul II hosted one of the largest gatherings of its type in modern Rome. In the Year of the Holy Spirit, during the four days before Pentecost, the Holy Father was giving special recognition to the role of movements and apostolates in the Church.

The Crusade of Love and Mercy

In his Pastoral Letter on the New Evangelization, Archbishop Fernández detailed the desired pattern of life and practices for the modern Christian. The initial goal of the Crusade of Love and Mercy is to promote these patterns of life and practices in the laity who participate in the Crusade. One must begin a profound, sincere and active process of conversion before they can hope to introduce other people to that process.

The Archbishop Fernández articulates the main goal of the Crusade of Love and Mercy in the Pastoral Letter:

ATo communicate all our actions in a constant CRUSADE OF LOVE AND MERCY, under the sign of the New Evangelization, where the work of the lay person strongly proclaims the great capacity of Love and Mercy that God regularly unfurls in men. However, men are so blind in recognizing this behavior and assume an ungrateful behavior of withdrawal and indifference.@ [Fernández, 1998, Appendix]

A person does not need to be a preacher, an evangelist, a teacher etc. to be a participant in the Crusade. The Crusade can be carried out in our everyday actions as we fulfill our life duties. But if a person can, they should seek to contribute in additional ways.

The Crusade is intended to be an international program and, as such, must be adjusted and tailored to the needs and customs of each country and locale. What may be suitable for a rural area in Bolivia may not be the best program for a major city in the United States but the basic patterns of life and practices of a Christian that are promoted by the Crusade transcend geography and are truly Catholic in scope.

In his Pastoral Letter, Archbishop Fernández details the Crusade of Love and Mercy program for the Archdiocese of Cochabamba, Bolivia:

AThis Crusade can be carried out in different manners during the year but in a special way:

1.a. On Holy Week with all the faithful (April 9-12, 1998).

1.b. Promote a Great Youth Crusade on the same days of Holy Week, inviting the youth to participate in these celebrations and later in the Church'= active life.

1.c. Participate in two great Encounters to take place this year in our Archdiocese:

$ Youth towards the year 2000

$ Human values in modern society

1.1. During Lent, promote vigils of one, two, or three hours before or after the last Mass every Friday.

1.2. We advise the promotion of one hour, at least, of adoration per week in all the parishes during the year. This is if we want a Holy Easter, a fruitful Christianity. Let us give more of our time to the Lord, let us get closer to Him by contemplating Him in adoration, to get together with Him and talk to Him. This is a demand of our own Christian vocation.

How can we speak of Him, if we cannot speak to Him?

1.3. By obtaining or producing means of diffusion that will permit dealing with the subject of Holy Week through different means: lectures, prayer, Stations of the Cross, newspaper publications, triptyches, posters, videos over other related topics, etc.

1.4. By promoting the celebration of the FEAST OF DIVINE MERCY (First Sunday after Easter, April 19, 1998)

1.5. By creating a constant and dynamic movement that will be capable of motivating an enthusiastic awakening of the Christian obligations.

2. By stimulating the greatest commitment to the Roman, Catholic, and Apostolic Church, and to live this commitment through the authentic and coherent practice of the teachings arising from the sacred texts and teaching of the Magisterium of the Church.

3. By rediscovering the value and use of the Holy Sacraments, for Christ established them and they must again obtain the splendor they certainly deserve. We must become aware of them, proclaim them, and live them.

4. By converting ourselves to apostles of the sacraments because of their importance, and favoring their comprehension and experience. We must study, from their foundation, the sacraments again, analyzing each one.