Whether or not we are obligated by the Church, I feel morally obligated as a Christian to reach out to poor sinners because their eternal souls are at stake. I have faith and trust like Mary that God can use us not only to catechize but to evangelize and even convert souls to Himself.
PROSELYTIZE. Originally to convert someone from one religion to another, either by bringing a person to full acceptance of the new faith and ritual or at least sympathy with it. The more common meaning, however, is to induce people to change their religious affiliation by using unfair and even unscrupulous means.
(I believe this to be the wrong approach.)
APOLOGETICS. The science that aims to explain and justify religious doctrine. It shows the reasonableness of such doctrine in the face of the objections offered by those who refuse to accept any religion, especially Christianity and more particularly Roman Catholicism. Also called fundamental theology as the science that establishes the credibility of Christian revelation on the evidence of miraculous phenomena and the testimony of unbiased history.
EVANGELIZE. In general, to preach the Good News, as lived and taught by Jesus Christ. More specifically it means bringing the Christian revelation to persons and cultures to whom the Gospel has not yet been effectively proclaimed.
EVANGELISM. Zealous preaching of the Gospel, commonly applied to persons or religious bodies that are dedicated to converting people to Christ. The term has this basic meaning of an outspoken proclamation of the Christian message, but it is also used in a negative sense by critics of an aggressive promotion of Christianity.
EVANGELICAL OBEDIENCE. The voluntary submission of oneself to obey legitimate ecclesiastical authority beyond the demands of obedience prescribed on all the faithful. It is the free surrender of one’s autonomy, according to the Church’s directives, in order to better imitate Christ, and to co-operate with him in his work of redemption, who became obedient until death, even to death on the Cross. This obedience of counsel may be given stability by a vow of obedience made to a superior in an institute of perfection or to one’s confessor or spiritual director.
EVANGELIZATION. Zealous proclamation of the Gospel in order to bring others to Christ and his Church. In the words of Pope Paul VI, “Evangelizing means to bring the Good News into all the strata of humanity, and through its influence transforming humanity from within and making it new, ‘Now I am making the whole of creation new’ (Revelation 21:5). But there is no new humanity if there are not first of all new persons renewed by baptism, and by lives lived according to the Gospel” (Evangelic Nuntiandi, 18). Evangelization, therefore, includes three distinctive elements: 1. interior conversion to Christ and his Church; 2. affecting not only the individual person but the whole culture; and 3. as a result, changing this culture and its institutions to make them Christian and Catholic.
CATECHESIS. That form of ecclesiastical action that leads both communities and individual members of the faithful to maturity of faith. Because of varied circumstances and multiple needs, catechetical activity takes on various forms.
In regions that have been Catholic from past ages, catechesis most often takes the form of religious instruction given to children and adolescents in schools or outside a school atmosphere. Also found in those regions are various catechetical programs for adults, whether in preparation for baptism or reception into the Church, or to deepen one’s understanding of the faith. Sometimes the actual condition of the faithful demands that some form of evangelization of the baptized precede catechesis.
In churches that have been established recently, special importance is placed on evangelizing in the strict sense. This becomes the well-known catechumenate for those who are being introduced to the faith in preparation for baptism.
For individuals whose minds are open to the message of the Gospel, catechesis is an apt means to understand God’s plan in their own lives and in the lives of others. Having come to know this divine plan, they can more effectively co-operate with God’s grace and become better instruments for the extension of Christ’s kingdom.
O Queen of peace, pray for us, and grant peace unto the world in the truth, the justice, and the charity of Christ. Above all, give us peace in our hearts, so that the kingdom of God may spread its borders in the tranquillity of order. Accord thy protection to unbelievers and to all those who lie within the shadow of death; cause the Sun of Truth to rise upon them; may they be enabled to join with us in repeating before the Savior of the world:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to men of good will.” Amen.
