The Joy of the Gospel and the Joy

of Evangelization

A Call to Mission
What is Mission?
What is Evangelization?
 Mission
• Christ founded his Church to continue his saving
mission on earth. “The Church, endowed with
the gifts of her founder, receives the mission to
proclaim and to establish among all peoples the
Kingdom of Christ and of God” (LG 5). This
‘mission’ is built into her very nature as
originating from the Blessed Trinity. The mission
flows from the Church as “Sacrament of
salvation,” the sign and instrument for achieving
intimate union with God (cf. AG 5; LG 1).
 Briefly then, the Church has:

• a mission mandate (cf. Mt 28:19f);

• whose origin and goal is the Blessed Trinity (cf. AG
2);
• motivated by God’s love (cf. 2 Cor 5:14); and
• with the Holy Spirit as Principal Agent (cf. R Mi 21;
CCC 849-56).
• This mission of the “People of God” is a
central theme in all four Gospels
• PCP II describes the Church in the Philippines
as a “Community in Mission” (PCP II 102-6).
• The whole Church is missionary. This means
that “we are missionaries above all because
of what we are as a Church. . . even before we
become missionaries in word or deed” (RMi
23).
• most Catholics thought of “mission” and
“missionary” only in terms of priests,
brothers, and religious who were sent to the
“foreign missions”
• each disciple of Christ has the obligation of
spreading the faithto the best of his ability”

• “All are called to mission . . . all __ without

exception__ are called to evangelize” (PCP II
402).
• The apostolate of the laity is a sharing in the
salvific mission of the Church. Through
Baptism and Confirmation all are appointed to
this apostolate by the Lord himself. . . . The
laity have this special vocation: to make the
Church present and fruitful in those places
and circumstances where it is only through
them that she can become the salt of the
earth (LG 33; cf. CL 14; PCP II 402-11).
 PCP II then develops the mission of the laity in
terms of being called to:

• 1) a community of families;
• 2) Christian presence in the world;
• 3) service and evangelization;
• 4) social transformation(cf. PCP II 419-38).
• PCP II recalled John Paul II’s words: “the
Philippines has a special missionary vocation
to proclaim the Good News, to carry the light
of Christ to the nations.” It added; “while it is
true that the Church has a mission towards
Philippine society, it has also a very definite
mission to the other peoples of Asia” (PCP II
106).
 New Evangelization
• The New Evangelization calls each of us to
deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel
message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel.
• The focus of the New Evangelization calls all
Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth
to evangelize.
• In a special way, the New Evangelization is
focused on 're-proposing' the Gospel to those
who have experienced a crisis of faith.
 Jesus Christ: The Good News
• The Christian faith is not simply teachings,
wise sayings, a code of morality or a tradition.
The Christian faith is a true encounter and
relationship with Jesus Christ. (XIII Synod of
Bishops)
 Pope Benedict XVI
• "Being Christian is not the result of an ethical
choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with
an event, a person, which gives life a new
horizon and a decisive direction. [...] Since
God has first loved us (cf. 1 Jn 4:10), love is
now no longer a mere 'command'; it is the
response to the gift of love with which God
draws near to us."
• The Church is formed precisely through the
grace of this relationship. (ENCOUNTER)

• "Jesus himself, the Good News of God, was

the very first and the greatest evangelizer."
• What the Church has lived from the very
beginning, she continues to live today.
• Pope Paul VI : "The command to the Twelve to
go out and proclaim the Good News is also
valid for all Christians, though in a different
way…”
• Evangelizing is in fact the grace and vocation
proper to the Church, her deepest identity.
She exists in order to evangelize, that is to say,
in order to preach and teach, to be the
channel of the gift of grace, to reconcile
sinners with God, and to perpetuate Christ's
sacrifice in the Mass, which is the memorial of
his death and glorious resurrection.
• Every action performed by the Church is never
closed in upon itself but is always an act of
evangelization, and, as such, an action that
manifests the triune face of our God.
The Culture of Encounter
EVANGELII
GAUDIUM
The Joy of
the Gospel
• The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is
by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born
of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish
pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted
conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes
caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is
no longer room for others, no place for the poor.
God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his
love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good
fades. This is a very real danger for believers too.
Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and
listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled
life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the
Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen
Christ. (EG, 2)
MINISTRIES IN THE CHURCH
• The mission of the Church has given
rise to numerous ministries within
the Church (cf. LG 18; CCC
874). “Ministry” means “service,”
and Christian ministry refers to
“serving the people of God in a
stable fashion.” This includes any
public activity of a baptized disciple
of Christ, animated by the grace
[charism] of the Holy Spirit,
performed on behalf of the
Christian community, and in the
service of the Kingdom of God.
 Characteristics of Ministry
• doing something
• for God’s Kingdom
• in public
• on behalf of the Christian community
• empowered by a gift of faith received in
baptism, or ordination, and
• identifiable within the diversity of ministerial
activities.
 Ministries in the Church
• Ordained Ministries

• Religious

• Lay
SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL OF THE
PHILIPPINES
• What may easily turn out to be the greatest
20th century ecclesial event in the Philippines
unfolded from January 20 to February 17,
1991
• “IMMERSED IN A SOCIETY FRAGMENTED BY
DIVISIVE CONFLICTS AND AFFLICTED BY
WIDESPREAD POVERTY YET DEEPLY ASPIRING
FOR FULLNESS OF LIFE IN GOD:
• “WE, AS CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES. WITH
TOTAL TRUST IN GOD’S LOVE, ENVISION
OURSELVES AS THE COMMUNITY OF
DISCIPLES, WHO FIRMLY BELIEVE IN THE
LORD JESUS AND JOYFULLY LIVE IN
HARMONY AND SOLIDARITY WITH ONE
ANOTHER, WITH CREATION, AND WITH GOD.
• “FOLLOWING THE WAY OF OUR LORD, WE
OPT TO BE A CHURCH OF THE POOR, WHICH
DEMANDS EVANGELICAL POVERTY OF US ALL
AND HARNESSES THE TRANSFORMATIVE
POWER OF THE POOR AMONG US TOWARDS
THE JUSTICE AND LOVE OF GOD IN THE
WORLD.
 Characteristics of the Church of the
Poor
• embraces and practices the spirit of
evangelical poverty; combines detachment
from possessions with profound trust in the
Lord;
• shows special love, a love of preference, for
the poor;
• does not discriminate against the poor, but
vindicates their rights;
• gives preferential attention and time
to the poor;
• has Pastors and leaders who will
learn to be with, work with, and
learn from, the poor;
• not only evangelizes the poor, but
recognizes that the poor will
themselves become true
evangelizers; and
• orients and tilts the center of
gravity of the entire community in
favor of the needy (cf. PCP II 125-
36).
• “TO ACHIEVE THIS VISION, UNDER THE
LEADING OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD AND WITH
MARY AS OUR GUIDE, WE SHALL EMBARK ON
A RENEWED INTEGRAL EVANGELIZATION AND
WITNESS TO JESUS CHRIST’S GOSPEL OF
SALVATION AND LIBERATION THROUGH OUR
WORDS, DEEDS AND LIVES.
• “AS BISHOPS, PRIESTS, RELIGIOUS AND LAITY,
WE TOGETHER COMMIT OURSELVES TO
IMPLEMENT THE SPIRIT AND DECREES OF
THE SECOND PLENARY COUNCIL OF THE
PHILIPPINES IN ORDER TO INCULTURATE
GOSPEL VALUES IN OUR MILIEU BY THIS
SHALL KAAYUSAN (ORDER IN HARMONY) BE
ACHIEVED THROUGH PERSONS WHO ARE
MAKA-DIYOS, MAKA-TAO, MAKABAYAN AND
MAKA-BUHAY.
• “OURS WILL THEN BE A CIVILIZATION OF
LIFE AND LOVE, A SIGN OF THE IN-BREAKING
OF THE FATHER’S KINGDOM.”
National Pastoral Consultation
on Church Renewal
 9 Priorities
• Integral Faith Formation.
• Empowerment of the Laity toward Social
Transformation.
• Active Presence and Participation of the Poor
in the Church.
• The family as focal point of evangelization.
 9 Priorities
• Building and Strengthening of Participatory
Communities that make up the Parish as a
Community of Communities.
 Basic Ecclesial Communities
• They are small communities of Christians, usually
of families, who gather around the Word of God
and the Eucharist. These communities are united
to their pastors but are ministered to regularly by
lay leaders. The members know each other by
name and share not only the Word of God and
the Eucharist but also their concerns both
material and spiritual. They have a strong sense
of belongingness and of responsibility for one
another. (PCP II 138)
 BEC
• Usually emerging at the grassroots among
poor farmers and workers, Basic Ecclesial
Communities consciously strive to integrate
their faith and their daily life. They are guided
and encouraged by regular catechesis. Poverty
and their faith urge their members towards
solidarity with one another, action for justice,
and towards a vibrant celebration of life in the
liturgy. (PCP II 139).
 BEC
• “Basic Ecclesial Communities under various
names and forms – BCCs, small Christian
communities, covenant communities – must
be vigorously promoted for the full living of
the Christian vocation in both urban and rural
areas.” (PCP II decrees, article 109)
 9 Priorities
• Integral Renewal of the Clergy
• Journeying with the Youth
• Ecumenism and Inter-religious Dialogue
• Animation and Formation for Mission “ad
Gentes”