"It is like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade." Mark 4: 31-32
What is the New Evangelization?
The New Evangelization calls each of us to deepen our faith, believe in the Gospel message and go forth to proclaim the Gospel. The focus of the New Evangelization calls all Catholics to be evangelized and then go forth to evangelize. In a special way, the New Evangelization is focused on 're-proposing' the Gospel to those who have experienced a crisis of faith. Pope Benedict XVI called for the re-proposing of the Gospel "to those regions awaiting the first evangelization and to those regions where the roots of Christianity are deep but who have experienced a serious crisis of faith due to secularization."1 The New Evangelization invites each Catholic to renew their relationship with Jesus Christ and his Church.
Sharing the faith is the "oxygen" that "invigorates and purifies" Christian life, Pope Francis has said. When Christian life loses its aim of proclaiming the Gospel, it becomes "self-referential" and "atrophied."
Pope Francis specifies that "to be a missionary, to be apostolic, to evangelize, is not the same thing as proselytizing," or actively seeking to convert someone. Quoting the late Pope Benedict XVI, Pope Francis said that "the church does not proselytize, but rather she grows by 'attraction'" to the beauty of God's love.
Evangelization "does not begin by seeking to convince others, but by bearing witness each day to the love that has watched over us and lifted us back up," he said.
"Communicate this beauty to convince people," Pope Francis said. "We are the ones who announce the Lord, we do not announce ourselves, nor a political party or an ideology. Put people in contact with Jesus without convincing them. Let the Lord convince them."
Pointing to the Gospel episode in which Jesus calls Matthew to follow him even though Matthew is a widely disliked tax collector, the pope said that Christians must look beyond people's labels.
"Jesus does not stop at adjectives, he always looks for the substance," he said, encouraging people to think about how they look at others. "So often we label people for what they do or think."
"Christians are called to do like Christ," reaching out especially to those who seem far off, the pope said. And, he said, it is "fundamental" for Christians to go out and seek others rather than waiting for people to somehow find them.
This is the mission of all Christians, of all Catholics – clergy and lay faithful.