Joy And The New Evangelization

The Church has taken another great stride towards responding to Blessed John Paul II’s call for a new evangelization. At the close of the Year of Faith, Pope Francis released his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii gaudium, inspired by the fruits of last year’s Synod on the New Evangelization.

According to the Holy Father, joy should be at the center of the New Evangelization. “The joy of the gospel fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus” (1). Although there are many things holding us back from a genuine encounter with the Lord, the Gospel “constantly invites us to rejoice” (5). It invites us again and again to encounter Christ, and to share the fruits of that encounter with others.

In our work, in our parishes, and in our communities, Pope Francis challenges us to get involved in people’s daily lives. Join the Shepherd and take on the “smell of the sheep,” he writes (24). We the Church must constantly be open to all people in all walks of life, ready to rejoice with them, ready to pray with them, and ready to suffer with them. Pope Francis writes that it is better to be “a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a Church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security” (49).

In order to be “God’s leaven in the midst of humanity,” we must constantly and prayerfully be open to the grace that makes evangelization possible (114). This way we can become “missionary disciples,” in our interactions with others, in our preaching to others, and in our spiritual growth with others. This way we can truly make the kingdom of God present in the world.

Pope Francis writes that, “Jesus wants evangelizers who proclaim the good news not only with words, but above all by a life transfigured by God’s presence” (259). For we were each born with a mission:

My mission of being in the heart of the people is not just a part of my life or a badge I can take off; it is not an “extra” or just another moment in life. Instead, it is something I cannot uproot from my being without destroying my very self. I am a mission on this earth; that is the reason why I am here in this world. We have to regard ourselves as sealed, even branded, by this mission of bringing light, blessing, enlivening, raising up, healing and freeing (273).

This new evangelization that Blessed John Paul II called us to asks us to change our perspective. Rather than live as a Church glued to the tabernacle, Christ is asking us to walk through those sanctuary doors and invite everyone – the poor, the broken, the lost, the fallen away – to the Divine Feast that we rejoice in.

Of course, we cannot embark on this mission alone. This is why we ask:

Mary, Star of the New Evangelization, pray for us.