Reasons for enthusiasm

“Gospel proclamation has reached the borders of the world, and despite indifference, misunderstanding, and persecution, there are still many people willing to courageously open their hearts and minds to accept the invitation of Christ, and become missionaries themselves. They make no noise. They are like mustard seeds that grow into trees, like the yeast that ferments the dough, like seed-corns that originate ears of wheat”, said Benedict XVI on Saturday October 15, during a conference on the “New Evangelizers” held in the Vatican on the initiative of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the new Evangelization. On the motivations and on the contents of the meeting we collected the reflections of Msgr. Rino Fisichella, President of the dycastery that organized the meeting. What are the foundations on which the new evangelization must repose in order to prompt the birth – or the rebirth – of questions on God, on the meaning of His presence in life and in history? “The content of the new evangelization is always the same, it doesn’t change, as stated in the Letter to the Hebrews: ‘Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today’. The new evangelization follows the journey that from the apostles has reached our days, whereby men and women of good will, the disciples of the Lord, proclaimed His Word like a redeeming Gospel. Thus the content remains the same. Naturally the language is different, marked by a new enthusiasm, a renewed significance that the members of the Christian community are called to acquire as the new evangelizers. From that angle we have to understand to what extent the complementary nature of its various expressions is important. Evangelization cannot be uniform since societies and cultures are different. We must enter each one of these realities ceaselessly proclaiming that message, which by its very nature is universal”.The new evangelization is primarily addressed to peoples’ daily lives. In your opinion which new languages will have to be experienced to engage in the dialogue? “The knowledge of the content of the faith is fundamental. If Jesus Christ is not known, if the content of faith is not known, then its communication is impossible. Nobody can give something they do not have. This must be done as stated by the apostle Peter in his First Letter: ‘With gentleness and respect, having a good conscience’. This means that the Gospel was proclaimed with joy, respectful of the times, of places, of persons, diversities, and with a good conscience, knowing that the object of the proclamation is the truth of the Lord. Thus as we proceed to proclaim the Gospel, the new evangelizers, we don’t announce the words of mankind. We are proclaiming the word of Jesus, which must always remain the focus of knowledge, reflection, meditation and prayer. Therefore, we cannot mystify the Word of God only to meet everyone. We need to know that the words of the truth of the Gospel will shine in our encounter with others”. What are the greatest difficulties of the new evangelization? “In the Western world in particular, the new evangelization will be facing widespread indifference and presumption. There is widespread indifference towards religious questions, towards God, towards the Gospel and Church Magisterium. Even though on the other side, however paradoxical it may seem, there is a religious awakening and a longing for religious questions. Moreover, there often is strong presumptuousness. Contemporary man thinks he is independent. The problem is that this conviction hasn’t brought him very far on the path of progress, nor on the path of interpersonal relations. Sadly, man has isolated himself more and more, overtaken by his individualism. Breaking the shield of individualism is a major contemporary ordeal”.As for the new evangelization, what could be the role of communication tools? Notably, what are your expectations to this regard? “Firstly, communication media shouldn’t be only viewed as tools. Today they constitute a new culture. We have to be acquainted with this new culture and also be a part of it. The role played by media workers isn’t different from that of other baptized faithful. However, their role is nonetheless loaded with responsibility and sensitivity. The missionary zeal that has to animate each new baptized must be communicated in a new way. But reducing communication only to a tool means making it poorer. We have to do our best to ensure that the new evangelization understands and makes understood that interpersonal encounter cannot be replaced, not even by the media tools, as it is the most authentic expression of Gospel proclamation”.