The mission of our Order is the proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for the salvation of souls. In what ways should we explore doing this collectively – and what ways can we do this individually?
Look forward to your responses.
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My first reaction is that it's hard to separate the two of them. How can you work to save other souls if you don't work to save your own? That would be an act of meaningless hypocrisy. Conversely, any effort to save your own soul and not to save others would fail from selfishness.
From Br. Rick:
I tend to agree with Br. George. We must start by working out our own salvations with fear and trembling (although I think that St. Paul, addressing the Philippians, simply meant that they were going to have to work out their own salvations without his direct help, as he was in prison at the time and did not when or whether he would be released). I think this is why we and all religious orders place such heavy emphasis on individual study of Scripture, use of the daily offices, and personal prayer time.
A heart that loves the Lord Jesus Christ is necessarily a heart for evangelism. A heart that understands what God has done for us out of his great love is a heart that finds it must respond by spreading the good news.
Charles Spurgeon wrote:
When a man sees himself to be altogether lost and ruined, covered all over with the defilement of sin, and no part free from pollution; when he disclaims all righteousness of his own, and pleads guilty before the Lord, then is he clean through the blood of Jesus, and the grace of God. Hidden, unfelt, unconfessed iniquity is the true leprosy, but when sin is seen and felt it has received its death blow, and the Lord looks with eyes of mercy upon the soul afflicted with it. Nothing is more deadly than self-righteousness, or more hopeful than contrition.
I believe it is the simultaneously felt senses of our utter worthlessness and of God's great mercy in restoring us to wholeness that drive us to evangelism. It is news so great and wonderful that our hearts cannot contain it. It must be shared.
I believe our task then is to respond as God presents opportunities, as he surely will. We are not called to accomplish anything. We are called to be obedient.
The Order was established to accomplish something and that is to preach/teach against error, and bring people back, or to the faith.
Some would say the OP mission is apologetics, evangelism, and discipleship esp in a church and society where people are confused about these things?
Brother Kevin
What a great question. I appreciate the wisdom of those who have already responded. What comes to mind is visibility, ie wearing the habit, responding to questions, intercessary prayer for each other and the whole world, practicing the Chrisitian disciplines, remembering whose we are, and keeping our ears out for the truth (is it of God?). In other words "walking the walk." Having a brain storming session about what we could do collectively (literally) would be an interesting ongoing conversation. More prayer and listening needed for me for that aspect. I am grateful for the companionship of each of you.
From Br. Rick:
We do not accomplish anything by evangelizing, by writing and teaching apologetics, or by calling people to repentance, other than obedience to the call of our Lord. Even preaching and teaching against error do not in themselves accomplish anything.
God did not tell Jeremiah to bring the king of Judah to repentance. God told Jeremiah to let the king of Judah know that failure to repent would have consequences.
I question whether God ever calls us to accomplish a particular thing. I think he calls us to take certain actions, that, with the help of the Holy Spirit, lead to accomplishing God's purposes. The danger in trying to to accomplish something is that we are probably seeking man's goals and not those of God.
We cannot bring anyone to faith without the supernatural ingredient of divine intervention. Discipleship is not the means to an end. Discipleship is the end itself. If I am a true disciple, God will use me to accomplish his goals. I may or may not be aware of what those goals are, and my opinion of what God is trying to do is unimportant.
My job is to abide in the vine. The Holy Spirit will determine whether it will be apples or oranges that I bear.
Brother Rick,
I think we are missing each other here.
I wouldn't disagree with anything you've said, yes it's by God's grace, yes He calls us to faithfulness and obedience.
But one of the hallmarks of the different Orders (or even different denominations, or even different states of life) is that we are called to show our obedience via different paths.
As an Order we have not engaged in much specific work as a community together - that is preaching missions, or efforts to preach/write/teach against error in various locations.
This is what Saint Dominic founded his Order to do - so why are we doing it?
Or are we?
Brother Kevin
Brother Rick,
I think we are missing each other here.
I wouldn't disagree with anything you've said, yes it's by God's grace, yes He calls us to faithfulness and obedience.
But one of the hallmarks of the different Orders (or even different denominations, or even different states of life) is that we are called to show our obedience via different paths.
As an Order we have not engaged in much specific work as a community together - that is preaching missions, or efforts to preach/write/teach against error in various locations.
This is what Saint Dominic founded his Order to do - so why are we doing it?
Or are we?
Brother Kevin
why aren't we doing it I meant to say!
From Br. Rick:
My reaction, or perhaps it is fair to say, overreaction, to the use of the term, "accomplish," has to do with my dislike of the sort of evangelism where achievements are recorded almost as notches on a belt: this many accepted Christ last night as a result our preaching, and this many recommitted to the Lord. No. We can't take credit for that, as I am sure you agree. The Holy Spirit brings us to faith and there is no other agent. We are simply tools that the Holy Spirit uses. On top of that, we have no way of knowing whether something we say to someone wil bear fruit years from now.
I love the Dominican vocation of preaching and teaching and speaking out against heresy. I would say the reason that our particular order has not done much collectively is that we are so physicaly distant from one another. And most of us live in parts of the country that require effort and great expense to reach. And some of us can't travel much because of health issues. And we all have our own day jobs. Our formal meetings are full of gratifying and spirit led activities, but we have never left ourselves much time for say, evangelizing. I;m not sure how practical it would be for us to try to do embark on some activity as a community if it would involve most of us having to get together in one place.
I'm not sure that it would require us getting together, but surely we could join our voices against error through teaching in our local parishes, dioceses, etc. the same material that we have developed.
In blogs, lectures, preaching, etc. Collective efforts would be like "hey there is lots of misunderstanding about the divinity of Christ in the Church today" so let's come up with or find some materials and get our brothers and sisters using them in their local parishes, preaching sermons, having Bible studies, posting blogs, giving lectures, writing articles for local newsletter and diocesan newsletters, etc.
Saint Dominic did not found an order simply to provide a religious structure for his members to grow - that's what traditional religious life is about, no he founded an Order for the purpose of active ministry - preaching, teaching, and working against error as well as evangelism, teaching, and discipleship.
Brother Kevin
I like your idea, Br. Kevin, of developing materials. I developed a class for my parish called Christianity 101 that outlines the basics of Christian doctrine, takes a walk through the Bible, discusses sin, grace, the atoning sacrifice, the incarnation, discipleship, some other doctrinal issues, too. I think it is a 12 or 13 part class, each with its own power point and commentary. I'd be glad to share, and would be interested in perusing materials that others may have.
that last anonymous post was from Br. Rick. Sorry.
I am assuming the formation process of my novitiate training is helping me to develop this. Please recall I liked the idea of 'being a Dominican' before I became one. Now that I am one I am trying to be true to not only the idea but the ideal of the Order and Christ.
Br Rick, would love to see your 101 course should you wish to share.
Br Carl
Sr. Jackie said:
My only answer to this is study of the Gospel and Bible. At least speaking for myself. As I am new to this and am learning more and more, but realizing how much I don't know!
It reminds me of studying ballet. I've taught it and studied it all my adult life and find out something new from other ballet teachers all the time.
I also think setting a good and Godly example of ourselves. So many people have the "look" of being a Christian on the outside, but aren't on the inside.
From Br. Rick:
Last December the Vatican released a powerful and inspiring doctrinal discussion of evangelization. You may read it here:
http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/cfaith/documents/rc_con_cfaith_doc_20071203_nota-evangelizzazione_en.html
I think it fits in well with our discussion. Below are a few excerpts that I particularly liked, in case you don't want to read the whole thing.
Blessings.
Rick, O.P.
The term evangelization has a very rich meaning. In the broad sense, it sums up the Church’s entire mission: her whole life consists in accomplishing the traditio Evangelii, the proclamation and handing on of the Gospel, which is “the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Rom 1:16) and which, in the final essence, is identified with Jesus Christ himself (cf. 1 Cor 1:24). Understood in this way, evangelization is aimed at all of humanity. In any case, to evangelize does not mean simply to teach a doctrine, but to proclaim Jesus Christ by one’s words and actions, that is, to make oneself an instrument of his presence and action in the world.
“Every person has the right to hear the ‘Good News’ of the God who reveals and gives himself in Christ, so that each one can live out in its fullness his or her proper calling”. It a right which the Lord himself confers on every person, so that every man and woman is able truly to say with Saint Paul: Jesus Christ “loved me and gave himself up for me” (Gal 2:20). This right implies the corresponding duty to evangelize: “If I preach the Gospel, this is no reason for me to boast; it is a duty for me. Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel!” (1 Cor 9:16; cf. Rom 10:14). Thus, it is evident how every activity of the Church has an essential evangelizing dimension and must never be separated from the commitment to help all persons to meet Christ in faith, which is the primary objective of evangelization.
Nothing puts in play human freedom like the search for the good and the true, by inviting it to a kind of commitment which involves fundamental aspects of life. This is particularly the case with salvific truth, which is not only an object of thought, but also an event which encompasses the entire person – intelligence, will, feelings, actions and future plans – when a person adheres to Christ. In the search for the good and the true, the Holy Spirit is already at work, opening the human heart and making it ready to welcome the truth of the Gospel, as Thomas Aquinas stated in his celebrated phrase: omne verum a quocumque dicatur a Spiritu Sancto est. [“Any truth, no matter by whom it is spoken, is from the Holy Spirit”.]
Today, however, with ever-increasing frequency, questions are being raised about the legitimacy of presenting to others – so that they might in turn accept it – that which is held to be true for oneself. Often this is seen as an infringement of other people’s freedom. Such a vision of human freedom, separated from its integral reference to truth, is one of the expressions “of that relativism which, recognizing nothing as definitive, leaves as the ultimate criterion only the self with its desires and under the semblance of freedom, becomes a prison for each one.”
Evangelization does not only entail the possibility of enrichment for those who are evangelized; it is also an enrichment for the one who does the evangelizing, as well as for the entire Church.
“There is nothing more beautiful than to be surprised by the Gospel, by the encounter with Christ. There is nothing more beautiful than to know him and to speak to others of our friendship with him”.
—Pope Benedict XVI
Evangelization also involves a sincere dialogue that seeks to understand the reasons and feelings of others. Indeed, the heart of another person can only be approached in freedom, in love and in dialogue, in such a manner that the word which is spoken is not simply offered, but also truly witnessed in the hearts of those to whom it is addressed. This requires taking into account the hopes, sufferings and concrete situations of those with whom one is in dialogue. Precisely in this way, people of good will open their hearts more freely and share their spiritual and religious experiences in all sincerity. This experience of sharing, a characteristic of true friendship, is a valuable occasion for witnessing and for Christian proclamation.
The primary motive of evangelization is the love of Christ for the eternal salvation of all. The sole desire of authentic evangelizers is to bestow freely what they themselves have freely received: “From the very origins of the Church, the disciples of Christ strove to convert men to faith in Christ the Lord; not, however, through coercion or tactics unworthy of the Gospel, but above all by the power of the word of God”.
Respect for religious freedom and its promotion must not in any way make us indifferent towards truth and goodness. Indeed, love impels the followers of Christ to proclaim to all the truth which saves. Such love is the sign of the authentic presence of the Holy Spirit who, as the principal agent of evangelization, never ceases to move people’s hearts when they hear the Gospel, by opening them to receive it. It is a love which lives in the heart of the Church and from there, as burning charity, radiates out to the ends of the earth, as far as the heart of every human being. The entire heart of man awaits the encounter with Jesus Christ.
Evangelization is not only accomplished through public preaching of the Gospel nor solely through works of public relevance, but also by means of personal witness which is always very effective in spreading the Gospel. Indeed, side by side with the collective proclamation of the Gospel, the other form of handing it on, from person to person, remains valid and important. It must not happen that the pressing need to proclaim the Good News to the multitudes should cause us to forget this form of proclamation whereby an individual’s personal conscience is reached and touched by an entirely unique word that he receives from someone else.
In any case, it needs to be remembered that, in transmitting the Gospel, word and witness of life go together. Above all, the witness of holiness is necessary, if the light of truth is to reach all human beings. If the word is contradicted by behaviour, its acceptance will be difficult. However, even witness by itself is not enough “because even the finest witness will prove ineffective in the long run, if it is not explained, justified – what Peter called ‘giving a reason for the hope that is in you’ (1 Pet 3:15) – and made explicit by a clear and unequivocal proclamation of the Lord Jesus”.
Everywhere and always, each Catholic has the right and the duty to give the witness and the full proclamation of his faith.
The Church’s commitment to evangelization can never be lacking, since according to his own promise, the presence of the Lord Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit will never be absent from her: “I am with you always, even until the end of the world” (Mt 28:20). The relativism and irenicism prevalent today in the area of religion are not valid reasons for failing to respond to the difficult, but awe-inspiring commitment which belongs to the nature of the Church herself and is indeed the Church’s primary task.
Throughout the entire history of the Church, people motivated by the love of Jesus have undertaken initiatives and works of every kind in order to proclaim the Gospel to the entire world and in all sectors of society, as a perennial reminder and invitation to every Christian generation to fulfill with generosity the mandate of Christ. Therefore, as Pope Benedict XVI recalls, “The proclamation of and witness to the Gospel are the first service that Christians can render to every person and to the entire human race, called as they are to communicate to all God’s love, which was fully manifested in Jesus Christ, the one Redeemer of the world”.
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