There are lots of great Catholic programs and resources out there. And that’s a good thing. But the greatest resources in the world aren’t going to revitalize the Church on their own. And that is ultimately because programs don’t evangelize, people evangelize.
The Evangelical Catholic is not really a program. Their mission is to coach parish leaders as they train people in the pews to grow in prayer and take seriously their personal apostolate to preach the Gospel to the world. All of us are called to serve the Lord and serve each other and build up the Kingdom. But very few Catholics in the pew spend time thinking, praying, and discerning exactly what God’s plan is for them in this regard (and God has a plan for each of us). This is what The Evangelical Catholic seeks to address.
I think they are definitely an organization to watch and one that is poised to do a lot of good (even as they are a relatively young outfit). The thing is, though, that there are no shortcuts to genuine evangelization and personal transformation. It takes place over time and with lots of person-to-person interaction. There is no magic program that can be taken out of the box that will work automatically with minimal effort. We need saints to help make other saints. And that takes time and effort.
