The New Evangelization

Where are we?

What time is it?

There is "a time for every purpose under heaven" (Eccl 3:1-8).

There is an appointed time for everything, and a time for every affair under the heavens.
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to uproot the plant.
A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to tear down, and a time to build.
A time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones, and a time to gather them;
    a time to embrace, and a time to be far from embraces.
A time to seek, and a time to lose; a time to keep, and a time to cast away.
A time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to be silent, and a time to speak.
A time to love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.

What time is it?

What is the Spirit saying to the Churches?

"Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches" (Rev 2:29).

The honeymoon is over. The Bridegroom is inviting His Bride to renew her love for Him.

The reproaches

• "I hold this against you: you have lost the love you had at first" (Rev 2:4).
• "Do not be afraid of anything that you are going to suffer" (Rev 2:10).
• "You have played the harlot" (Rev 2:14).
• "You tolerate the woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, who teaches and misleads my servants to play the harlot and to eat food sacrificed to idols" (Rev 2:20).
• "Be watchful and strengthen what is left, which is going to die, for I have not found your works complete in the sight of my God" (Rev 3:2).
• "I know your works; I know that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either cold or hot. So, because you are lukewarm, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth" (Rev 3:15).
• "Those whom I love, I reprove and chastise. Be earnest, therefore, and repent" (Rev 3:19).

The Promises of our Spouse

Rev 2:7

"To the victor I will give the right to eat from the tree of life that is in the garden of God."

Rev 2:11

'The victor shall not be harmed by the second death."

Rev 2:17

"To the victor I shall give some of the hidden manna; I shall also give a white amulet upon which is inscribed a new name, which no one knows except the one who receives it."

Rev 2:26

"To the victor, who keeps to my ways until the end, I will give authority over the nations. He will rule them with an iron rod. Like clay vessels will they be smashed, just as I received authority from my Father. And to him I will give the morning star."

Rev 3:5

"The victor will thus be dressed in white, and I will never erase his name from the book of life but will acknowledge his name in the presence of my Father and of his angels."

Rev 3:12

"The victor I will make into a pillar in the temple of my God, and he will never leave it again. On him I will inscribe the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from my God, as well as my new name."

Rev 3:20-21

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, (then) I will enter his house and dine with him, and he with me. I will give the victor the right to sit with me on my throne, as I myself first won the victory and sit with my Father on his throne."

Reading the signs of our times

It is time to repent.

• We have been building on sand (Mt 7:26): "self-will run riot" (AA). Love of self is the root of all evil.
• A house divided against itself cannot stand (Mt 12:25).. The Church is divided between Catholic Catholics and Protestant Catholics.
  • We have termites at work, weakening the foundations of the U.S. Church (Catholic Buts).
  • The storms of the modern age (WW I, WW II, Cold War; culture of death, culture wars) have swept away or will sweep away everything that is not built on the Rock. Jesus is the Rock; Peter represents Him.
  • The sins of priests are our Hurricane Katrina.
  • Crisis of Truth.
  • Crisis of Chastity.
  • Culture of Death (bad karma!).
• The Church in Europe shows where the U.S. is heading.
• We don't have a "priest shortage." We have a shortage of faith, hope, and love: abortion, divorce, adultery, promiscuity, contraceptive mentality, addiction to pornography; sinful laity as well as sinful priests; proclamation of the gospel of self-satisfaction rather than that of Jesus Christ, crucified. There is a deep addiction to sexual pleasure in our culture.
• Our youth have largely been inoculated against the faith rather than introduced to it. Most see Confirmation as the end of their Catholic life rather than as an adult commitment to the faith. "My parents told me that I can stop practicing as a Catholic if I stand up in public and say that I am committed to be a Catholic. They won't make me go to church any more after I'm confirmed as an adult Catholic."

It is time to repair the House of God.

The vandals have damaged the People and the House of God. They are not going to clean up after themselves. It is those of us who are left, those of us who love Jesus and His Body, who have to repair the damage done by the vandals and by the storms sweeping through the modern world. It's not fair--but love goes beyond fairness. "Vicarious satisfaction" is the norm Jesus sets for us: "Love one another as I have loved you." Jesus took the sins of others upon Himself and healed the wounds that others inflicted.

It is time to evangelize.

• "Ask the master of the harvest to send laborers into the fields" (Lk 10:2).
• In Paul's day, he felt that the focus needed to be on Christ crucified. I wonder whether the hard part in our culture is to preach Jesus' resurrection from the dead. Isn't that the good news? The apostles didn't understand Jesus' death on the cross until AFTER they saw Him risen from the dead. We need to start by preaching Jesus' resurrection from the dead and work backwards. If people are not going to buy the resurrection, they're not going to buy Jesus' divinity; if they won't buy His divinity, they won't grasp the value of His death on the Cross.
• The last word is JOY! "We know Who wins."

Where are we going?

What is Jesus doing today? He is risen--He is risen, indeed! He is alive and well, reigning in glory. He has a plan and a purpose for the work we do on the The Station of the Cross.

• Meditation on The Call of the King.
• Fundraising

Pray for laborers

Jesus went around to all the towns and villages,
teaching in their synagogues,
proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom,
and curing every disease and illness.
At the sight of the crowds, his heart was moved with pity for them
because they were troubled and abandoned,
like sheep without a shepherd.
Then he said to his disciples,
“The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few;
so ask the master of the harvest
to send out laborers for his harvest.” (Mt 9:35-38)

Then he summoned his Twelve disciples
and gave them authority over unclean spirits to drive them out
and to cure every disease and every illness.

Jesus sent out these Twelve after instructing them thus,
“Go to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.
As you go, make this proclamation: ‘The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.’
Cure the sick, raise the dead,
cleanse lepers, drive out demons.
Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give.” (Mt 10:1,5-8)