The Holy Father’s Call

to a New Evangelization

In his 1990 encyclical on evangelization, Redemptoris Missio, John Paul II tells us: AIt is the Spirit who impels us to proclaim the great works of God,@ and AFor missionary activity renews the Church, revitalizes faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive@. He wrote:

AThe mission of Christ the Redeemer, which is entrusted to the Church, is still very far from completion. As the second millennium after Christ's coming draws to an end, an overall view of the human race shows that this mission is still only beginning and that we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to its service. It is the Spirit who impels us to proclaim the great works of God: >For if I preach the Gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!= (1 Cor 9: 16)

AIn the name of the whole Church, I sense an urgent duty to repeat this cry of St. Paul. From the beginning of my Pontificate I have chosen to travel to the ends of the earth in order to show this missionary concern. My direct contact with peoples who do not know Christ has convinced me even more of the urgency of missionary activity, a subject to which I am devoting the present encyclical ...@ [John Paul II, 1990, '1]

The Holy Father proclaims the urgency of a new, missionary evangelization:

AFor missionary activity renews the Church, revitalizes faith and Christian identity, and offers fresh enthusiasm and new incentive. Faith is strengthened when it is given to others! It is in commitment to the Church's universal mission that the new evangelization of Christian peoples will find inspiration and support.

ABut what moves me even more strongly to proclaim the urgency of missionary evangelization is the fact that it is the primary service which the Church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world, a world which has experienced marvelous achievements but which seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself.@ [John Paul II, 1990, '2]

The Pope is calling all believers in Christ to this new evangelization:

AGod is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church's energies to a new evangelization and to the mission ad gentes. No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.@ [John Paul II, 1990, '3]

John Paul II explains the significant role of the laity and their ecclesial movements in this mission of evangelization:

AThe sphere in which lay people are present and active as missionaries is very extensive. >Their own field ... is the vast and complicated world of politics, society and economics...= on the local, national and international levels. Within the Church, there are various types of services, functions, ministries and ways of promoting the Christian life. I call to mind, as a new development occurring in many churches in recent times, the rapid growth of >ecclesial movements= filled with missionary dynamism. When these movements humbly seek to become part of the life of local churches and are welcomed by bishops and priests within diocesan and parish structures, they represent a true gift of God both for new evangelization and for missionary activity properly so-called. I therefore recommend that they be spread, and that they be used to give fresh energy, especially among young people, to the Christian life and to evangelization, within a pluralistic view of the ways in which Christians can associate and express themselves.

AWithin missionary activity, the different forms of the lay apostolate should be held in esteem, with respect for their nature and aims. Lay missionary associations, international Christian volunteer organizations, ecclesial movements, groups and solidarities of different kinds B all these should be involved in the mission ad gentes as cooperators with the local churches. In this way the growth of a mature and responsible laity will be fostered, a laity whom the younger churches are recognizing as >an essential and undeniable element in the plantatio Ecclesiae.= [John Paul II, 1990, '72]

The Holy Father tells us that there are many ways to serve the Church and that all members of the laity should devote part of their time to the Church:

A... mention must also be made of other ways of serving the Church and her mission; namely, other Church personnel: leaders of prayer, song and liturgy; leaders of basic ecclesial communities and Bible study groups; those in charge of charitable works; administrators of Church resources; leaders in the various forms of the apostolate; religion teachers in schools. All the members of the laity ought to devote a part of their time to the Church, living their faith authentically.@ [John Paul II, 1990, '74]

During his visit to Mexico City in January 1999, John Paul II spoke before a multitude to people in Azteca Stadium. His words were not only for those people present but for all of us, young and old:

AThe new evangelization will be a seed of hope for the new millennium if you, today's Catholics, make the effort to transmit to future generations the precious legacy of human and Christian values which have given meaning to your life. As men and women who, with the passing years, have accumulated valuable lessons of life, it is your role to ensure that the new generations receive a sound Christian formation during their intellectual and cultural training, to prevent the powerful progress from closing them to the transcendent. Lastly, always present yourselves as tireless promoters of dialogue and peace in the face of the predominance of might over right, and of indifference to the tragedies of hunger and disease afflicting large numbers of the population.

AFor your part, young people and children who look to tomorrow with hearts full of hope, you are called to be the artisans of history and evangelization now and in the future. A sign that you did not receive this rich Christian and human heritage in vain will be your dedicated striving for holiness, both in the life of the families that many of you will start in a few years' time, and in the gift of yourselves to God in the priesthood or the consecrated life, if this is your calling.@ [John Paul II, Speech 1/25/1999, ' 9 & 10]

The Holy Father=s thoughts and vision expressed in this 1990 encyclical were to be repeated and enhanced by the words of Jesus and the Blessed Mother to Nancy Fowler in Conyers, Georgia.