knowing God

1. NEW EVANGELIZATION
SESSION 1: DISCIPLES CALLED TO WITNESS
Welcome!
KNOWING, LOVING AND
SHARING THE FAITH
Recollection

2. Session Schedule
 Opening Prayer
 Paired Discussion
 Theme #1: Sharing Salvation Today
 Standing Activity
 Theme #2: Disciples Called to Witness
 Small Group Activity
 Closing Prayer

3. How has Christ called me,
and what is my mission?

4. Opening Prayer: Lectio divina
 “Sacred Reading” of God’s Word
 Listening with the Heart
 Silent Meditation & Contemplation

5. Opening Prayer:
Jesus’ Missionary Mandate
“Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have
commanded you.
And behold, I am with you
always, until the end of the
age.” (Mt 28:19-20)
1) Read/silence….

6. Opening Prayer:
Jesus’ Missionary Mandate
“Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have
commanded you.
And behold, I am with you
always, until the end of the
age.” (Mt 28:19-20)
2) Read/silence….

7. Opening Prayer:
Jesus’ Missionary Mandate
“Go, therefore, and make
disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the
name of the Father, and of
the Son, and of the Holy
Spirit, teaching them to
observe all that I have
commanded you.
And behold, I am with you
always, until the end of the
age.” (Mt 28:19-20)
3) Read/silence….

8. Paired Discussion:
Share some details about your faith journey:
 How have you experienced God’s call, and how have
you followed Christ at different points in your life?
 How has your relationship with Jesus Christ and his
Church made a difference to you throughout your
life?

9. Theme #1: Sharing Salvation Today
"God has created me to do Him
some definite service.
He has committed some work to me
which He has not committed to another.
I have my mission.
I may never know it in this life,
but I shall be told it in the next.
I am a link in a chain,
a bond of connection between persons."
+Bl. John Henry Newman
“I am the way and the truth and the life...” (Jn 14:6)

10. I. The Basic Proclamation
of the Gospel
 God loves us unconditionally.
 Sin has ruptured this relationship.
 By dying and rising for us,
Jesus is the only hope for
salvation from sin and death.
 We need a personal encounter
with Christ in faith and ongoing
conversion of heart.
 Jesus promises to send the Holy
Spirit so we can live this new life.
 We can maintain this new life
only in communion with brothers
and sisters in the Church.

11. II. Salvation History
 Our personal call to holiness and our
mission in life--in the “big picture.”
 “This is the time of fulfillment.
The kingdom of God is at hand.
Repent, and believe in the gospel.”
(Mk 1:15)
 “The redeemer of Man,
Jesus Christ, is the
center of the universe
and of history." (St. JPII)
C4E
1. Creation
2. Covenant
3. Christ
4. Church
5. End times

12. C1E: Creation
Why is there something rather than nothing?
 “God created man in his image,
in the divine image he created him;
male and female he created them.”
(Gen 1:27)
 Out of Love, for Love,
from nothing (ex nihilo).
 We have free will and intellect.
We can choose to accept and
love God, or we can choose to
reject God and love only ourselves.

13. C2E: Covenant

14. C3E: Christ
“For God so loved the world
that he gave his only Son…” (Jn 3:16)
“The first proclamation must ring out over
and over: ‘Jesus Christ loves you; he gave
his life to save you; and now he is living at
Your side every day to enlighten, strengthen
and free you.’ This first proclamation … is first in a
qualitative sense because it is the principal proclamation,
the one which we must hear again and again in different
ways…” (Pope Francis, EG, n. 164)
The central mystery of the Cross and Resurrection:
Life conquers death through Love.

15. C4E: The Church
Sacrament of Salvation for the World
The People of God
who are themselves nourished with the Body of Christ
become the Body of Christ and the Temple of the Holy Spirit.
“The Church is in Christ like a sacrament or as a sign
and instrument both of a very closely knit union with God
and of the unity of the whole human race.” (LG, n. 1)

16. C4E: End Times
 “Exit & Return”: Entire cosmos has
come from and is returning to God.
 “When he comes at the end of time
to judge the living and the dead,
the glorious Christ will reveal the
secret disposition of hearts and
will render to each man according
to his works and according to his
acceptance or refusal of grace.”
(CCC, n. 682)
 “Whatever you did for one of
these least brothers of mine,
you did for me.” (Mt 25:45)

17. III. Evangelization in 21st Century
 Witness in Deeds & Words:
"An evangelizing community gets involved
by word and deed in people's daily lives; it
bridges distances, it is willing to abase itself
if necessary, and it embraces human life,
touching the suffering flesh of Christ in
others.” (Pope Francis, EG, n. 24)
 Recognize and confront
contemporary challenges:

18. Inculturating the Gospel:
Making the Good News of Salvation “Real”
 Lead with joy and share the
Gospel in relevant ways.
 “The New Evangelization is a call to
each person to deepen his or her own
faith, have confidence in the Gospel,
and possess a willingness to share
the Gospel. It is a personal encounter
with the person of Jesus, which brings
peace and joy.” (DCW, p. 3)
 Be a link in the chain,
a bond of connection!

19. Standing Activity:
Create a Billboard
How would you help share the
good news of Salvation today?
 Discuss important elements of the Gospel proclamation and
of Salvation History which people today need to hear…
 Create a catchy slogan to get people’s attention…
 Use a symbol or visual aid to draw people in…

20. Theme #2:
Disciples Called to Witness (usccb.org)
 “Christ is the Light of nations.”
(LG, n. 1)
 “The Church exists in order
to evangelize.” (Bl. Paul VI)
 “Christ calls all people to himself.”
(DCW, p. 2)
“Our hearts are restless
until they rest in you, O Lord.”
+St. Augustine

21. I. The “Why” of the a New Evangelization:
Addressing an Age of Indifference
 The “eclipse” of the sense of God (Pope
Benedict XVI) and the “disorientation”
of the human person (Pope Francis).
 Challenges posed by radical secularism…
+ Individualism
+ Materialism
+ Hedonism
 An evangelization which is
new in its “ardor, methods,
and expression…” (St. JPII)

22. Evangelizers Evangelized
 Witnesses! (Bl. Paul VI)
 “I invite all Christians,
everywhere, at this very
moment to a renewed
personal encounter with
Jesus Christ, or at least an
openness to letting him
encounter them; I ask all
of you to do this unfailingly
each day.” (Pope Francis, EG, n. 3)
 The Three-fold Audience:
1) To the nations
2) To those in the pews
3) To those who have
left the Church
 “‘Propose anew’ the Good
News to all of the Christian
faithful, most especially to
those of the faithful who are
absent from the Lord’s Table.”
(DCW, p. 5)
II. The “Who”
of the New Evangelization

23. III. The “What” of the New Evangelization:
“A profound experience of God” (Benedict XVI)
 "Our hope is not in a program or philosophy
but in the person of Jesus Christ,
who comforts those who are burdened."
(DCW, p. 9)
 Metanoia/Personal Conversion:
“Before one can evangelize, one
must be evangelized. A disciple of
Christ must continually renew his
or her faith.” (DCW, p. 8)
Skit Guys: “I Believe in Jesus”

25. IV. The “How” of the New Evangelization:
Creating a “Culture of Witness”
 Fostering an apprenticeship:
as “missionary disciples” (Pope Francis)
 Preparing Leaders and Teams:
Not necessarily experts, but all
“should have a deep love of the
Church and a mature prayer life.”
(DCW, p. 16)
 Encouraging Evangelizers:
who are “fearlessly open to
the working of the Holy Spirit…”
(Pope Francis, EG, n. 259)

26. Small Group Activity:
Brainstorm “Talking Points”
• What questions do you have about
the call for a new evangelization?
• What challenges do you foresee as a
“disciple called to witness” in your daily life?

27. How is Christ calling me, and what is my mission?
Personal
“take away”

29. Follow-up Reflection and Resources
2) Recommended follow-up:
US/CCA, ch. 2,
"God Comes to Meet Man“
Fr. Barron’s video and study resource,
“Catholicism: The New Evangelization”
& “Priest, Prophet, King”
3) For Catechists & Catholic School Teachers:
“Record of Formation,” including
required reflection & documentation
4) Session Powerpoint & Additional Resources:
www.dioceseofjoliet.org/layformation
1) Session Evaluation & Feedback

30. Closing Prayer:
Renewal of Baptismal Promises
Dear friends,
through the Paschal Mystery
we have been buried with Christ in baptism,
so that we may rise with him to a new life.
Now let us renew the promises we made
at baptism when we rejected Satan
and his works.
And so:

31. Renewal of Baptismal Promises
Do you reject sin, so as to live in the
freedom of God's children? I do
Do you reject the glamour of evil,
and refuse to be mastered by sin? I do
Do you reject Satan,
father of sin and prince of darkness? I do
Do you believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth? I do

32. Renewal of Baptismal Promises
Do you believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord,
who was born of the Virgin Mary,
was crucified, died, and was
buried,
rose from the dead,
and is now seated at the
right hand of the Father? I do
Do you believe in
the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and life everlasting? I do

33. Renewal of Baptismal Promises
God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ
has given us a new birth
by water and the Holy Spirit,
and forgiven our sins.
May God also keep us faithful
to our Lord Jesus Christ
for ever and ever. Amen.