Pope John Paul II: Mission Ad Gentes: 3 Situations for
Evangelization
In section 33 of this
encyclical, Redemptoris Missio, Blessed Pope John Paul
II describes three different situations for evangelization:
mission ad gentes, Christian communities, and the new
evangelization.
Mission ad gentes:
Latin for “to the nations.” This is a situation where “Christ
and his Gospel are not known.”
Christian communities:
“In these communities the Church carries out her activity and
pastoral care.” This is the ongoing evangelization of those
“fervent in the faith.”
New Evangelization:
“A situation between the first two options “where entire groups
of the baptized have lost a living sense of the faith, or even
no longer consider themselves members of the Church, and live a
life far removed from Christ and His Gospel. In this case what
is needed is a “new evangelization” or a ‘re-evangelization.”
Pope John Paul
II “new evangelization” pertains to a very specific group of
people: fallen-away Christians. For most Catholics in the
western world, we see the need for this type of evangelization
all around us. Everyone knows someone who was once baptized but
who no longer practices the faith. Blessed John Paul II wanted
the faithful to clearly recognize this problem and then try to
solve it.
Act Of Entrustment Of The Destiny Of
The World To The Divine Mercy
O
God, merciful Father,
Who have revealed your love in your Son,
Jesus Christ, and have poured it out upon us
in the Holy Spirit, the Comforter.
We entrust to You today the destiny of the world
and of every man and woman.
Bend down to us sinners,
heal our weaknesses,
conquer all evil,
and grant that all the inhabitants
of the earth may experience Your mercy.
May they always find the source of hope In You,
the Triune God.
Eternal Father,
for the sake of the sorrowful Passion,
and the Resurrection of Your Son,
have mercy on us and on the whole world. Amen
- Pope John Paul II
August 17, 2002, Cracow Lagiewniki, Poland
Jesus
Call Us To Evangelize - He advises Christians that this is not
going to be an easy task
"Start off now, but look, I am sending
you out like lambs among wolves. Take no purse with you, no
haversack, no sandals. Salute no one on the road. Take no
purse with you, no haversack, no sandals. Whatever house you
enter, let your first words be, "Peace to this house!" And
if a man of peace lives there, your peace will go and rest
on him; if not, it will come back to you. Stay in the same
house, taking what food and drink they have to offer, for
the labourer deserves his wages; do not move from house to
house. Whenever you go into a town where they make you
welcome, eat what is put before you. Cure those in it who
are sick, and say, "The kingdom of God is very near to you."
But whenever you enter a town and they do not make you
welcome, go out into its streets and say. We wipe off the
very dust of your town that clings to our feet, and leave it
with you. Yet be sure of this: the kingdom of God is very
near." (Luke 10:3-11)
And He said to them:
Go ye into the whole world, and preach the gospel to every
creature. (Mark 16:15)
And a man's enemies shall be they of
his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me,
is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son or daughter more
than me, is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not up his
cross, and followeth me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth
his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for me,
shall find it. He that receiveth you, receiveth me: and he that
receiveth me, receiveth him that sent me. He that receiveth a
prophet in the name of a prophet, shall receive the reward of a
prophet: and he that receiveth a just man in the name of a just
man, shall receive the reward of a just man. And whosoever shall
give to drink to one of these little ones a cup of cold water
only in the name of a disciple, amen I say to you, he shall not
lose his reward. (Matthew 10:37-42)
But because thou art
lukewarm, and neither cold, nor hot, I will begin to vomit thee
out of my mouth. Because thou sayest: I am rich, and made
wealthy, and have need of nothing: and knowest not, that thou
art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I
counsel thee to buy of me gold fire tried, that thou mayest be
made rich; and mayest be clothed in white garments, and that the
shame of thy nakedness may not appear; and anoint thy eyes with
eyesalve, that thou mayest see. Such as I love, I rebuke
and chastise. Be zealous therefore, and do penance.
Behold, I stand at the gate, and knock. If any man shall hear my
voice, and open to me the door, I will come in to him, and will
sup with him, and he with me. (The Apocalypse of St John
(Revelation 3:16-20)
And I say to you,
Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man
also confess before the angels of God. (Luke 12:8)
Going therefore,
teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with
you all days, even to the consummation of the world.(Matthew
28:19-20)
And when they shall
bring you into the synagogues, and to magistrates and powers, be
not solicitous how or what you shall answer, or what you shall
say; For the Holy Ghost shall teach you in the same hour what
you must say. (Luke 12:11-12)
The Lord delayeth not
his promise, as some imagine, but dealeth patiently for your
sake, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
return to penance.( 2 Peter 3:9)
Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner:
but labour with the gospel, according to the power of God Who
hath delivered us and called us by his holy calling, not
according to our works, but according to his own purpose and
grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the times of
the world. (2 Timothy 1:8-9)
Knowing, brethren
beloved of God, your election: For our gospel hath not been unto
you in word only, but in power also, and in the Holy Ghost, and
in much fullness, as you know what manner of men we have been
among you for your sakes. (1 Thessalonians 1:4–5)
In this is my Father
glorified; that you bring forth very much fruit, and become my
disciples.( John 15:8)
For God so loved the
world, as to give his only begotten Son; that whosoever
believeth in him, may not perish, but may have life everlasting.
For God sent not his Son into the world, to judge the world, but
that the world may be saved by him. (John 3:16-17)
My brethren, if any
of you err from the truth, and one convert him: He must know
that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of
his way, shall save his soul from death, and shall cover a
multitude of sins. (James 5:19-20)
These things I
command you, that you love one another. If the world hate you,
know ye, that it hath hated me before you. If you had been
of the world, the world would love its own: but because you are
not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world,
therefore the world hateth you. Remember my word that I said to
you: The servant is not greater than his master. If they have
persecuted me, they will also persecute you: if they have kept
my word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they
will do to you for my name's sake: because they know not him who
sent me. If I had not come, and spoken to them, they would not
have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin. He that
hateth me, hateth my Father also. If I had not done among them
the works that no other man hath done, they would not have sin;
but now they have both seen and hated both me and my Father.
But that the word may be fulfilled which is written in their
law: They hated me without cause. (John 15:18-25)
And when
the Son of man shall come in his majesty, and all the angels
with him, then shall he sit upon the seat of his majesty. And
all nations shall be gathered together before him, and he shall
separate them one from another, as the shepherd separateth the
sheep from the goats: And he shall set the sheep on his
right hand, but the goats on his left. Then shall the king say
to them that shall be on his right hand: Come, ye blessed of my
Father, possess you the kingdom prepared for you from the
foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave me to
eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me to drink; I was a stranger,
and you took me in: Naked, and you covered me: sick, and you
visited me: I was in prison, and you came to me. Then
shall the just answer him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee
hungry, and fed thee; thirsty, and gave thee drink? And when did
we see thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and covered
thee? Or when did we see thee sick or in prison, and came
to thee? And the king answering, shall say to them:
Amen I say to you, as long as you did it to one of these my
least brethren, you did it to me. Then he shall say to them
also that shall be on his left hand: Depart from me, you cursed,
into everlasting fire which was prepared for the devil and his
angels. For I was hungry, and you gave me not to eat: I was
thirsty, and you gave me not to drink. I was a stranger, and you
took me not in: naked, and you covered me not: sick and in
prison, and you did not visit me. Then they also shall answer
him, saying: Lord, when did we see thee hungry, or thirsty, or a
stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister
to thee? Then he shall answer them, saying: Amen I say
to you, as long as you did it not to one of these least, neither
did you do it to me. And these shall go into everlasting
punishment: but the just, into life everlasting. (Mathew
25:31-46)
But he that
shall scandalize one of these little ones that believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone should be hanged about his
neck, and that he should be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe to the world because of scandals. For it must needs
be that scandals come: but nevertheless woe to that man by whom
the scandal cometh. And if thy hand, or thy foot scandalize
thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee. It is better for thee
to go into life maimed or lame, than having two hands or two
feet, to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thy eye
scandalize thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee. It is
better for thee having one eye to enter into life, than having
two eyes to be cast into hell fire. See that you despise not one
of these little ones: for I say to you, that their angels in
heaven always see the face of my Father who is in
heaven.(Matthew 18:6-10)
Thus saith the Lord: Heaven is my
throne, and the earth my footstool: what is this house that you
will build to me? and what is this place of my rest? My hand
made all these things, and all these things were made, saith the
Lord. But to whom shall I have respect, but to him that is poor
and little, and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my
words? (Isaiah 66:1-2)
No man can serve two masters. For
either he will hate the one, and love the other: or he will
sustain the one, and despise the other. You cannot serve God and
mammon. (Matthew 6:24)
And I say to thee:
That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church,
and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will
give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever
thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt loose upon earth, it shall be loosed
also in heaven. (Matthew 16:18-19)
Then you will call upon me and come and
pray to me, and I will hear you. You will seek me and find me;
when you seek me with all your heart, I will be found by you,
says the LORD, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you
from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you,
says the LORD. (Jeremiah
29:12-14)
He called a little child to him, and placed the child
among them.
And he said:
“Truly I tell you, unless you change and
become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of
heaven.
Therefore, whoever takes the lowly position of this child
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. (Matthew 18:2-4)
Although My greatness is
beyond understanding, I commune only with those who are little.
I demand of you a childlike spirit. (Diary, 332)
You are my great joy; your love and your humility make Me
leave the heavenly throne and unite Myself with you. Love fills
up the abyss between My greatness and your nothingness.``
(Diary, 512)
Tell sinners
that no one shall escape My Hand; if they run away from My
Merciful Heart, they will fall into My Just Hands. Tell sinners
that I am always waiting for them, that I listen intently to the
beating of their heart... When will it beat for Me? Write that I
am speaking to them through their remorse of conscience, through
their failures and sufferings, through thunderstorms, through
the voice of the Church. And if they bring all My graces to
naught, I begin to be angry with them, leaving them alone and
giving them what they want” (Diary, 1728).
We should
listen to the words of
Jesus! We are
totally dependant on God and His Grace whether we like it or
not! On our own we can do nothing, with Him we can do everything
... after all He is GOD our Creator!
Explaining the Faith - Catholicism: The
Fullness of the Truth - Father Chris Alar, MIC,
Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception, The National Shrine
of The Divine Mercy Stockbridge, MA
"You are saved by faith not by works of
the law." (Romans 3:28)
Hear Father Chris Alar explain why the Catholic
faith is the one true faith founded by Jesus Christ and why no
other religion can make that claim, why priests can forgive
sins, and why the sacraments are guaranteed grace.
Father Alar states the following: "Popes and The Papacy
- This is really confusing
for people. People always say, you stupid Catholics think your
pope is infallible. The teaching of the church ... in other
words, do we believe the pope is infallible? ... yes but with
conditions. The pope can be wrong just like you are me. The only
time he is infallible is when he speaks
"ex cathedra"
(literally, "from the chair"), declaring it as infallible or
in union with his college of bishops declaring it infallible in
terms of faith and morals, not social justice.
Peter, the first
pope is mentioned 191 times in the bible and John is only
mentioned 48. All of the other apostles combined are only
mentioned 130 times, yet Peter is mentioned 191 times. Because
after the apostles died this is important that an authority was
passed down, that more authority is needed to guard against
heresy once the apostles died. So it makes perfect sense, that
we have to continue this apostolic tradition in the chair of
Peter. There has to be unity, otherwise you will have 40,000
different religions. That's what happened in the Protestant
Reformation. You need to understand, there has to be a unity.
Every institution has to have a leader.
Now one of the most
fascinating facts about the papacy I ever heard and learned in
seminary, if you ever question (and you can mention this to your
non-catholic brothers and sisters) about the authority of the
pope listen to this - Around 80 AD, the church at Corinth
had issues and one apostle was still alive, John the beloved
disciple. But, the Church at Corinth which was much closer to
John than Rome, yet the Church at Corinth who did they go to?
Did they go to John the living apostle? Well every non-catholic
in this room would say yes, but if you are a good catholic and
you know your history, you would say no. You know who they went
to? Who did the church at Corinth go to, to help them? Believe
it or not, John (with his blessing), they went to Clement the
first, the fourth pope, even though John was still alive, the
apostle who laid his head on the breast of Christ was still
alive, yet the Church at Corinth went to Clement the first in
Rome for guidance over John, with John's blessing. John said:
"I am not the head of the church, Clement the first (the pope)
is." Could you imagine this? ... tell this to your
non-Catholic friends Again I am not lowering other
religions, I am elevating our Catholic faith where it belongs.
This is so important. Why aren't priests preaching this from the
rooftops? I don't get it. Do you know that in the first 200
years, all the popes except 1 were martyred. The Romans sure
knew who the head of the church was because they sought them out
and killed them.
A lot of people will point to the fact that
Peter is not the head of the church because of what the bible
says. Non-catholics will point to the bible and say go to the
original greek. What does it say? It says ... Peter on this rock
you will build my church, no ... it says Petra ... if it was
Peter it would have been Petros ... because the masculine Peter
for rock would have been Petros but instead the greek has
Petra, which is feminine, so it could not be talking about
Peter. What is the problem with that and how do you defend this?
You know what the answer is?
Jesus didn't speak greek to his
apostles, never. Jesus spoke aramaic. In aramaic there is only
one word for rock, kepha (no two versions of that word). He
meant Peter. The pope is in scripture everywhere (Matthew16:18,
Luke 22:32, Mat hew16:19, John 21:15-17, Matthew 16:19). Jesus had the
ultimate authority to forgive sins and he delegated that to the
apostles (Matthew 16:19, Matthew 18:18, John 20:23). They had the
authority to forgive sins, pronounce judgments on doctrine, and
make decisions on church discipline."
"You created my inmost self, knit me
together in my mother's womb."
(Psalms 139:13)
Pope Francis Sings His Favourite Song with Youth
"Vive Jesús, El
Señor" (The Lord Jesus Lives)
"I am
giving you three ways of exercising mercy toward your neighbour:
the first - by deed, the second - by word, the third - by
prayer. In these three degrees is contained the fullness of
mercy, and it is an unquestionable proof of love for Me. By this
means a soul glorifies and pays reverence to My mercy. Yes, the
first Sunday after Easter is the Feast of Mercy, but there must
also be acts of mercy, and I demand the worship of My mercy
through the solemn celebration of the Feast and through the
veneration of the image which is painted. By means of this image
I shall grant many graces to souls. It is to be a reminder of
the demands of My mercy, because even the strongest faith is of
no avail without works."
(Diary 742)
The Shrine of Divine Mercy in Kraków-Łagiewniki,
Poland
Chapel of the miraculous image of the Merciful Jesus and the
tomb of St. Faustina
