The release of the Pope's letter Porta Fidei coincided with the beginnning of the General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops. The theme for this particular Synod, as indicated in Porta Fidei, is "The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith." (§4)
And why is a new evangelization necessary? As I indicated yesterday, we can no longer take for granted that people in the world, or even those within the Church, have any real knowledge of the Faith. This is a very serious problem and it must be corrected.
But how is this new evangelization to take place? Pope Benedict explains, "The renewal of the Church is...achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world. Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us." (§6.1) But for this to be possible then Catholics must know the Faith. And that is why the Pope has enacted this Year of Faith. He writes, "The Year of Faith...is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." (§6.2) We are called by the Pope himself during this year to become so convinced of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that our very presence in the world will lead to its evangelization. It may sound impossible, but this task is no more daunting than what the Apostles faced 2,000 years ago and in order to make it happen we will need the same courage and the same sincere belief in Jesus Christ that they possessed.
To make this happen I believe the first thing we need to do is contained here in Pope Benedict's own words,
We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation. (§3)
We are called to belief in Jesus Christ. And this belief is strengthened by "feeding ourselves on the word of God." And it must be remembered that "word of God" does not only refer to the Sacred Scriptures but also to everything contained within Sacred Tradition, both of which make up the word of God and have been "faithfully handed down by the Church." But our belief is strengthened in a more magnificent, and yet mysterious way by feeding on "the bread of life" through receiving our Lord's Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And with the strength we receive from the word of God and the Bread of Life we can go out and bring others to Christ by the witness of our lives in the world.
And why is a new evangelization necessary? As I indicated yesterday, we can no longer take for granted that people in the world, or even those within the Church, have any real knowledge of the Faith. This is a very serious problem and it must be corrected.
But how is this new evangelization to take place? Pope Benedict explains, "The renewal of the Church is...achieved through the witness offered by the lives of believers: by their very existence in the world. Christians are called to radiate the word of truth that the Lord Jesus has left us." (§6.1) But for this to be possible then Catholics must know the Faith. And that is why the Pope has enacted this Year of Faith. He writes, "The Year of Faith...is a summons to an authentic and renewed conversion to the Lord, the one Saviour of the world." (§6.2) We are called by the Pope himself during this year to become so convinced of the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that our very presence in the world will lead to its evangelization. It may sound impossible, but this task is no more daunting than what the Apostles faced 2,000 years ago and in order to make it happen we will need the same courage and the same sincere belief in Jesus Christ that they possessed.
To make this happen I believe the first thing we need to do is contained here in Pope Benedict's own words,
We must rediscover a taste for feeding ourselves on the word of God, faithfully handed down by the Church, and on the bread of life, offered as sustenance for his disciples (cf. Jn 6:51). Indeed, the teaching of Jesus still resounds in our day with the same power: “Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life” (Jn 6:27). The question posed by his listeners is the same that we ask today: “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” (Jn 6:28). We know Jesus’ reply: “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent” (Jn 6:29). Belief in Jesus Christ, then, is the way to arrive definitively at salvation. (§3)
We are called to belief in Jesus Christ. And this belief is strengthened by "feeding ourselves on the word of God." And it must be remembered that "word of God" does not only refer to the Sacred Scriptures but also to everything contained within Sacred Tradition, both of which make up the word of God and have been "faithfully handed down by the Church." But our belief is strengthened in a more magnificent, and yet mysterious way by feeding on "the bread of life" through receiving our Lord's Body and Blood in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. And with the strength we receive from the word of God and the Bread of Life we can go out and bring others to Christ by the witness of our lives in the world.
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