The term the “New Evangelization” has finally made it to the local parishes. Our Bishops have begun to make serious effort at implementing the new evangelization by asking their pastors to do something on a parish level.  Unfortunately there is little understanding about the new evangelization and most parish leadership teams are looking at their own experiences and trying to implement something in their parishes.

If we are going to be honest about this particular initiative, we must recognize that Parish Staff have been going through this process for the last ten years as they have been witnessing the slow decrease of membership and participation of the membership in parish programs. They have been looking for ways to get people involved and, frankly, become very frustrated at the lack of response. They have been reduced to using free food or something else entice them to come.  What does this say about the power of the Gospel?

The U. S. Catholic Bishops spent a lot of money to develop an amazing  commercial series entitled “Welcome Home.” I believe it played nationally a couple of years ago during the Christmas Season.  The series of commercials attempted to reach out to that large percentage (eighty percent) of baptized Catholics who are no longer practicing their faith.  They were extremely well done and really gave the impression that those who had left the Catholic Church were wanted back.  Unfortunately many of those who did return to give the Church another try, found the same Church they left. It had the same problems as when they left. The commercials, like most of television were only an illusion of truth and not a reality.

Let us take a brief moment to understand what the Church Fathers were calling for in the New Evangelization.  They were not asking us to come up with new and creative ways to reach out to those outside of our church.  What they are calling us to do is to go back to those currently in our parish and bring them into intimate union with Christ.  The reason we have such a large percentage of baptized members leave is because they never encountered the living Christ!

Even now, I am encountering parishes that are trying to pass out brochures to their members, hoping that they will in turn give them to friends.  What would motivate them to do such a thing?  In a world where it is politically incorrect to talk about religion in casual circles, why would they set themselves up for that kind of rejection?

Some parishes are moving toward setting up evangelization teams, to go door to door to the homes surrounding the Church.  This effort will bear great fruit in those who do that work and will reap a harvest.  How big, we do not know.  The critical question that must be addressed is what will be done with these new people who come?  Who will walk the journey of faith with them?  Will we devise another program where we will lack personal connection and accountability?