The Catechetical Review - Communicating Christ for a New Evangelization

Articles Under: Articles from Bishops

Misioneros de esperanza hoy Free
En efecto, el cristiano no es un profeta de desventura... La esencia de su anuncio es lo opuesto, lo opuesto a la desventura: es Jesús, muerto por amor y que Dios resucitó la mañana de Pascua. Y este es el núcleo de la fe cristiana. Si los Evangelios se parasen en la sepultura de Jesús, la historia de este profeta se sumaría a las muchas biografías de personajes heroicos que pasaron su vida por un ideal. El Evangelio sería entonces un libro edificante, también de consulta, pero no sería un anuncio de esperanza. Pero los Evangelios no se cierran con... Read more
From the Shepherds: Missionaries of Hope Today Free
The Christian is not a prophet of misfortune. …The essence of the Christian proclamation is the opposite, the opposite of misfortune: it is Jesus who died for love and whom God raised on Easter morning. And this is the nucleus of Christian faith. If the Gospels had ended at Jesus’ burial, the story of this prophet would have been added to the many biographies of heroic figures who expended their lives for an ideal. The Gospel would then be an edifying book, and also a comforting one, but it would not be a proclamation of hope. But the Gospels do... Read more
St. John Vianney – A Saint of the New Evangelization, Part 3: The Holiness of the Catechist Free
In this final installment, we reflect on the most essential characteristic of an effective catechist for the new evangelization: allowing Christ to transform us through holiness of life. Among all of the words spoken during the pontificate of Blessed Paul VI, there is one phrase most often repeated today that came to prominence in one of his last letters, Evangelli Nuntiandi . It was his observation that “modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses” (41). This phrase might mistakenly be used to suggest that... Read more
From the Shepherds: St. John Vianney – A Saint of the New Evangelization, Part 2: The Priest as Catechist Free
In the first part of this series, we reflected on the life and times of St. John Vianney and the great obstacles he had to overcome to fulfill his mission to draw his flock into a closer union with Christ. He did so with humility and trust in the God who called him to this vocation. In this second part, Bishop Davies offers St. John Vianney as a role model for priests in their responsibility as catechists. A great English Cardinal, Henry Edward Manning, may have inadvertently started a misunderstanding with regard to Saint John Vianney. In the Preface to... Read more
From the Shepherds: St. John Vianney – A Saint of the New Evangelization, Part I Free
In this three-part series, I want to focus on a Saint of the New Evangelization who many of you will already have met in the Communion of Saints: St. John Baptist Mary Vianney, more popularly known as “the Curé of Ars.” In this first part, I wish to lead you in mind and heart to that tiny village in the obscurity of the French countryside, to meet this saint, whose witness the great John Paul II declared would never fade in the sight of the Church. In a letter to the priests of the world, John Paul II writes of... Read more
From the Shepherds: Discipleship Goes Beyond Information Free
What was it about St. Mother Teresa that gave her such broad appeal? Did she say something new about the Catholic faith, offer people some sort of entertainment, or appeal to them with her physical beauty? Anyone with even a superficial awareness of her life would know it was none of those things. Venerable Archbishop Fulton Sheen vividly described the modern thirst for witnesses like Mother Teresa in his book, Remade for Happiness . He wrote, “When you see people crowding into theatres, charging cocktail bars, seeking new thrills in a spirit of restlessness, you would conclude that they have... Read more
From the Shepherds: Teaching about Indulgences Free
During the Jubilee Year of Mercy, Pope Francis gave us much to think about, pray about, and work on. He also gave us an opportunity to gain a special plenary indulgence, by passing through a designated Holy Door and performing certain holy acts with devotion. What a great grace! In order to teach about indulgences, we need to be able to explain them, which can be challenging. The Catechism defines an indulgence as: “The remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sin whose guilt has already been forgiven” (Glossary). However, this answer begs a further question: “What is... Read more
From the Shepherds: Opening our Hearts to Better Catechesis Free
The Word of God teaches us, clearly and beautifully, with what an eternal and infinite love our Lord Jesus Christ loves us. For us, he willingly endured the agony of the cross. When he rose again from the dead, he rose for us, taking us into his eternal embrace. We are united with him in the New Covenant. Washed in the blood and water that poured from his side on the cross, we remain his alone. This is the mystery of our holy Catholic faith, which has been handed on—vibrantly living, whole, unchanging—through all the generations since the first Easter... Read more
From the Shepherds: Marriage—the Starting Point of the “New Human Ecology” Free
A couple of years ago, when I celebrated Confirmation at a large, working-class Hispanic parish in our Archdiocese, I was quite edified by two of the young confirmandi, who shared reflections on what their Confirmation meant to them. They said that their Confirmation gave them the grace to go forth and “build a civilization of truth and love.” I could not have said it better myself! Truth in love: the foundation of civilization. Both are necessary, both together, if we wish to have a flourishing society: truth and love. In “ Truth in Love ,” Pope Benedict XVI’s encyclical on... Read more
The Catechist as an Agent of Mercy Free
As a time of immense grace, this Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy proclaimed by Pope Francis is an opportunity for the Catholic Church and for each one of us to reflect ever more completely the merciful love of the Father (Lk 6:36). Holy doors are open in every diocese throughout the world; these open doors are symbols of hope, healing, and love; and they announce the mercy of God, who is “the beating heart of the Gospel, which in its own way must penetrate the heart and mind of every person.” [1] Each of us in ministry or service to... Read more