Evangelizing Catholics (Our Sunday Visitor)

The New Evangelization is the latest buzz phrase in the Catholic world. Everyone is using it, and it seems like there's always a new Catholic book being written on the subject. Ralph Martin addresses the subject in The Urgency of the New Evangelization, and Cardinal Wuerl also had his say in his book New Evangelization: Passing on the Catholic Faith Today. In one of his latest books, Evangelizing Catholics, Dr. Scott Hahn has decided to weigh in on the matter as well.

The book is divided into three parts - The Call, The Response, and The Message. Part I - The Call goes into detail on what the New Evangelization is, including what it is; where/when it started and how its grown; how it is a Catholic reality; and how it is a mission for the whole Church. If you are familiar at all with the New Evangelization most of this information won't be new to you. It was interesting to read his description of three notable byproducts (read conversions) due to the New Evangelization. These three names are Abby Johnson (former Planned Parenthood worker, Kevin James (Hollywood actor), and Francis Beckwith (former President of the Evangelical Theological Society). Each came to the Catholic Church through different means, but all were results of the New Evangelization.

Part II - The Response shows different models and methods in the New Evangelization. The first two chapters in this section look at the Gospels and the Early Church for lessons. Dr. Hahn says that the "blueprint for the New Evangelization can be found in the Gospels of Matthew and John. These lessons include - 1. Proclaim a Person (Jesus), 2. Proclaim by Words and Deeds, 3. Proclaim the Church, 4. Proclaim the Fulfillment of the Covenant, and 5. Proclaim the Sacraments. After these two chapters are my favorite two chapters in the book. Chapter 8 puts the emphasis on evangelization beginning at home, and I wholeheartedly agree. Even if you go to weekly Mass and send your kids to Catholic schools, it is still up to you to instruct your children in the way of the Faith. Chapter 9 explains the different between a ministry (reserved for clergy) and an apostolate (reserved for laity). He also clears up the muddy waters of the role of clergy and the role of laity. Using St. Paul's example of being one body but different members, he lets us know that is not the eye's (clergy) job to be an ear (laity) or vice-versa. Feel free to substitute whatever body parts you want for that example. The point is we each have a part in the Church, and we shouldn't overstep our bounds and try to do what is not ours to do.

Part III - The Message talks about the subjects of sin, atonement, covenants, and love. In these chapters, Dr. Hahn not only lays out the content of the New Evangelization and puts it clearly that conversion is a lifelong process. There is no "once saved always saved." We must be ready evangelizers and ready to be evangelized. When it comes down to it, the New Evangelization isn't just about converting the "unsaved" but also about educating the faithful. The book closes with two realities - 1. everyone dies and 2. everyone who died lives on in heaven, hell, or purgatory. Where will you spend the rest of it? As with all of Dr. Hahn's books they make you think, this one is no different. If you have an interest in the New Evangelization, check out this book and the others mentioned at the beginning of this review.

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Encountering Jesus in Word, Sacraments, and Works of Charity and A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching (Ave Maria Press)

It's another two review day here at Stuart's Study. I'm not a fan of this format, but sometimes the books are just too plentiful that if you don't review two at a time, you'll never get to them all. Tough problem to have, right? Poor me. I have too many books. In all seriousness though, these two books are available from Ave Maria Press and are both quick but profound read that will help us grow in our understanding of the Catholic Faith.

Encountering Jesus is a brief 100 page book by the same author, Fr. Peter J. Vaghi, as the Pillars of Faith (4 Volume Set). Broken into three parts, Fr. Vaghi tells us how we can encounter Jesus in Word (the Bible), Sacraments (specifically Baptism, Penance, and the Eucharist), and Charity. Weaving these three elements together, we get a clear message of what the New Evangelization is, and we also get a blueprint on how to draw closer to Jesus.

As a former Protestant, I am well-versed in how to encounter Jesus in Scripture, and as a convert, I have had experience drawing closer to Jesus through the Sacraments. However, I never considered charity as a way to accomplish this. That is why I chose that section as my favorite section. Using the parables of the Good Samaritan and the Last Judgment, Fr. Vaghi paints a picture of what true charity is and what it reveals. He says, "True charity, after all, is that which opens persons to knowledge of the Great Mystery: that of the Father's love for man in Jesus Christ, found concretely in and through someone else." If we see Jesus in the faces of those who need our help, the world would be a better place. It's easier said than done, I know. If you are looking for a short but powerful book on how to improve your relationship with Jesus, this is the book for you!

A Concise Guide to Catholic Social Teaching lives up to its name and then some! In this revised edition, Fr. Kevin McKenna touches on topics of social justice such as human dignity, rights of workers, and care for the poor, just to name a few. Under these umbrella labels, we can dive deeper and see specific issues. For example, Life and Dignity of the Human Person includes issues such as racism, capital punishment, and abortion. Fr. McKenna carefully and succinctly addresses all of these issues, using Church documents released by popes and bishops.

With recent talks in the news about increasing minimum wage, it was interesting to read what the great minds in our Church had to say about the rights of workers. However, these sections discuss more than unions and a just or living wage. They also discuss relationships between employer and employee, relationships between wealthy and poor nations, and the dangers of consumerism. Though the media chooses to ignore each of these sub-points and focus solely on sensational journalism, they are important as well and should be brought to the table.

Fr. McKenna has a masterful way of dissecting complex papal documents, like Evangelium Vitae or Caritas in Veritate, and explaining them in readable chunks. As great as the chapters are, the appendices are equally wonderful! I especially like the "Homily and Catechetical Message Guide." In this first appendix, the reader gets a list of Mass readings for all three years and which ones correspond to which issues. For example, the readings for the Feast of the Ascension fall under the category of "Dignity of the Human Person." In summation, I would recommend this book to all priests and any laity with an interest in the social teachings of the Church in a clear and concise manner.

These books were provided to me for free by Ave Maria Press. If you found the reviews helpful, click here or here and hit Yes!

Our Sunday Visitor: New Evangelization

This was a great weekend. For starters, our little boy got baptized! The smell of oil is still fresh in his hair. I was thinking originally that we should have waited a day and baptized him on Pentecost. How cool would that have been? It's okay though. I realized several hours later, thanks to Facebook, that he was baptized on Blessed John Paul II's birthday. That's pretty cool too. But since Pentecost just occurred, I decided today would be the perfect day to review New Evangelization by Cardinal Donald Wuerl.

I have recently discovered the New Evangelization. Everywhere you turn today, it's the latest buzz phrase in the Catholic world. In this short book, written by Cardinal Donald Wuerl, he explains what it is, where it began, why it's important, and what we can do to spread the Gospel. The chapters are a short read, but they come off a little bit stiff at times, like mini-essays.

I really enjoyed Chapter 6 - "Parishes - Centers of the New Evangelization." This chapter focuses a lot on the religious education of our children both by teachers at Catholic schools and Catechists at the parish level. I have been a catechist for three years, but I never considered this to be a part of the New Evangelization. It definitely eases the sting you sometimes feel when the kids are just not responding to you and don't want to be there at all.

Overall, I would give this book 4 out of 5 stars. It was a very fine explanation of what the New Evangelization is, but I was hoping for more practical examples in Chapter 8 - "Sharing the Faith." The book is still worth reading though. We are all called to share the Good News of Jesus Christ, not just with strangers but with our family and friends as well. Therefore, we need to know more about the New Evangelization, so pick up this book and other works related to the subject and learn a little more about this movement within our Church.

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