Do doctrines & rules hamper evangelising?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Vic_Taltrees_UK
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
V

Vic_Taltrees_UK

Guest
Do doctrines and rules hamper evangelising?
  • doctrines - I am aware of Evangelii Nuntiandi but has the Church’s reaction to it got in the way?
  • rules - these can be canon law, administrative rules adopted by a diocese or parish, or inter-diocesan arrangements.
Coming from my individual point of view the usual way of saying “it is done by example” and then ignoring the subject is deficient in a number of ways.

As a tongue-tied individual I can’t seemingly do much evangelising on my own. In any case I hate never having brothers and sisters in the faith to talk about it with between stints.

I am a slow thinker in some ways but am also a deep thinker and I sometimes notice things that others don’t. Therefore I would be an asset in a pair or a team. Even more, I need others to learn from. I need people to get to know me to give me guidance.

The Church seems to want to leave evangelising to chance but I am convinced (for reasons of my own) that it works better when there are joint prayers, a bit of planning and feedback sessions between stints. If the church is supposed to be a “community” and if I am supposed to have mercy (today’s homily) I need fellow Christians to practice on before I inflict myself on outsiders.

This would be a subtle way of actually “equipping” us (ghastly thought!).

I’m not typing this out of wanting to get in on the buzz words. I actually believe the above.
 
I say this is all love and Christian charity:
A person who identifies as a nominal Catholic should shore up his or her own beliefs…making sure that they are clear on what the Church teaches, really understand and believe, and THEN, maybe later…worry about evangelizing.
Find a good class, or a priest to study with. Be assured of our prayers.
Peace friend.
 
pianistclare said:
I say this is all love and Christian charity:
A person who identifies as a nominal Catholic should shore up his or her own beliefs…making sure that they are clear on what the Church teaches, really understand and believe, and THEN, maybe later…worry about evangelizing.
Find a good class, or a priest to study with. Be assured of our prayers.
Peace friend.
Click to expand...
Great point!

I can’t put a finger on it, but there seems to be a preoccupation with apologetics instead of evangelization, and evangelization without catechesis.

We must learn the faith through Catechesis, so that we can answer the call to evangelize, and only then are we well enough armed to defend the faith with apologetics.

If we are not catechized our evangelization can do more harm than good, and any attempt at apologetics is going to do more damage than good.
 
Watch Bishop Robert Barron’s keynote from the World Meeting of Families.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=yqAYiaTM67w

I think he does a great job of this.

Divine Law and Church Law doesn’t hurt evangelization, because in Africa and Asia, the Catholic Church is growing like crazy - and they keep the law and are very orthodox.

It’s actually Catholics who don’t follow the law that hurt evangelization.

God Bless
 
phil19034 said:
Watch Bishop Robert Barron’s keynote from the World Meeting of Families.

m.youtube.com/watch?v=yqAYiaTM67w

I think he does a great job of this.

Divine Law and Church Law doesn’t hurt evangelization, because in Africa and Asia, the Catholic Church is growing like crazy - and they keep the law and are very orthodox.

It’s actually Catholics who don’t follow the law that hurt evangelization.

God Bless
Click to expand...
I truly loved that speech and I completely agree with the message that it is through Church Teaching (Truth) that we will only then become free! Yet for many in our culture as well as in the overall West, and I do imagine in many parts of the East, many do not like to hear them because they are easily offended. So I would advise that we promote the Good News through the method of Jesus as savior and the endless Beauty of the Catholic Faith through its theological, historical, and philosophical ends. Only then as Bishop Barron has said before will they come to inherit the rules from the inside.

Of course, I imagine this is only one way to bring the Church to the people. Sometimes people will not be moved even by this and then I suppose I would advocate for saying the Church Teachings first but always with compassion. If we do it any other way, we will undermine ourselves as Bishop Barron said so in that interview. Of course, we are sinners and we will have to be patient with this whole process until we bear fruit. Something I myself need work on since I do not like to wait at all!😃
 
Maybe I should pray that the Lord leads me among enough people that are firm enough to be clear about what the Church teaches, and understand and believe, so that I can do those things alongside them.

Sadly Fr Pinsent’s description in this week’s Catholic Herald of weak-minded sentimentality rang too much of a bell for me from my last 60 years.

The Pope has shocked me as I re-read about his preference for “a Church which is bruised, hurting and dirty” even though the people I mixed with 30 years ago said this and drew flak for it.

At Journey of Faith there is only one newcomer and I try not to ask questions that aren’t relevant to where she is coming from. The clergy are relaxed and cheerful anyway.
 
Yes rules etc do impede any meaningful evangelism. St Francis says it well, If our lives do nto shine Jesus then how can we dare to say we can evangelise?
 
Rosebud77 said:
Yes rules etc do impede any meaningful evangelism. St Francis says it well, If our lives do nto shine Jesus then how can we dare to say we can evangelise?
Click to expand...
Are you saying that our criterion should be that we should let Jesus shine brighter than any rules so that no particular rules will impede Him shining? Maybe that should suggest a goal to me as I explore the faith and pray.
 
There is where the Protestants have
“missed the boat”, when it comes to
evangelism, you see, the Church should
be an ACCURATE reflection of Christ,
if Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the
Life, SO SHOULD THE CHURCH, His
Body be! How can we preach Christ
when we don’t meet the criteria of
being Christ-like? As the song says:

“Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the World.
Let us be wine, love freely poured,
let us be one in the Lord”.
 
GLam8833 said:
There is where the Protestants have
“missed the boat”, when it comes to
evangelism, you see, the Church should
be an ACCURATE reflection of Christ,
if Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the
Life, SO SHOULD THE CHURCH, His
Body be! How can we preach Christ
when we don’t meet the criteria of
being Christ-like? As the song says:

“Let us be bread, blessed by the Lord,
broken and shared, life for the World.
Let us be wine, love freely poured,
let us be one in the Lord”.
Click to expand...
Amen! Thank you for that post.
 
Why did I and my peers (some of whom were more catechised than I was) reject Evangelii Nuntiandii? (Incidentally I only came across it much later.)

I was a backward young person and could have done with some leadership.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top