There is an old adage that states: “Praise the good when you see it!” In this instance there is plenty of good to praise.

A national study, published by the periodical Crisis, looked at the 176 dioceses across the United States and ranked them in various categories [February/March 2007: “The State of the Catholic Church in America, Diocese by Diocese”].

The Diocese of Helena was ranked number three in the nation for the highest percentage increase in the number of receptions into the Catholic Church.

Why is this significant?

In short, the number of catechumens seeking Baptism or persons seeking Full Communion with the Church is one of the most significant indicators of parish and diocesan vibrancy and overall health.

Clearly, a vibrant parish and committed members attract new members by inspiring them and awakening in them a hunger and thirst for things spiritual.

Ask any newly baptized Catholic what it was that attracted him or her to the Church and you will hear the same variations on a theme: “I was inspired by the faith and example of my spouse or friend or co-worker and welcomed by a loving and hospitable community.” Faith that is inspirational, invitational, and intentional attracts others, plain and simple.

In his 1975 Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Nuntiandi, Pope Paul VI first used the phrase “new evangelization,” reflecting the Second Vatican Council document Ad Gentes. Most Catholics recoiled at the thought of being an evangelist. Images of street corner preachers, doorbelling, pamphleteers, and Bible-toting fundamentalists came to mind.

Pope Paul VI was unrelenting in his commitment to the value and import of evangelization, which flows from the Word of God itself. It is the “supreme duty of every believer” and the “deepest identity” of the entire Church to be evangelizers in the world. In a word, Paul VI challenged the entire Church to move beyond the notion that evangelization is reserved to clerics and expanded the vision to include all members of the Church, clergy, religious and laity alike.

The Holy Father, Paul VI, insisted that “the task of evangelizing all people constitutes the essential mission of the Church … She exists in order to evangelize” [Evangelii Nuntiandi, 14, which quotes the Fathers of the 1974 Synod].

Pope John Paul II picked up the theme of new evangelization and made it the centerpiece of his own pontificate (see, for example, Christifideles Laici and Redemptoris Missio).

Pope John Paul II stated clearly and convincingly that “the focus of the new evangelization is the person of Jesus Christ himself.” The beginning point of evangelization is found in the heart of each individual believer who encounters the person of Jesus Christ in a personal, prayerful and profound way. The new evangelization grows out of this encounter with Christ, who comes to us in Word and Sacrament, in the intimacy of prayer, in ministry among the poor, and in the prayers, works, joys, and sufferings of daily life. The new evangelization is the natural outcome of a life whose center and purpose is the Lord and Giver of Life! This Good News is simply too good to keep to oneself.

The path to evangelization is not easy and is strewn with many obstacles: disbelief and hypocrisy among Christians, scandal within Church leadership, societal indifference or hostility toward the Gospel, division among Christians, to name a few. At the same time, the power of the individual believer and the dynamism of the believing community can overcome even the steepest obstacles and the roughest terrain. Therefore the Church, quickened by the gospel and guided by the Holy Spirit, stands undaunted by the barriers that stand before us.

Our soon-to-be-released Pastoral Plan, which was born in the hearts of our people and parish communities, addresses evangelization in the Diocese of Helena.

Pope John Paul II wisely counseled that: “Everything planned in the Church must have Christ and His Gospel as its starting point.” Clearly our soon-to-be-announced Pastoral Plan is centered on the life of Christ and our desire to bring others to Him and the Church.

Our vision for the new evangelization will include four important concerns:

1. to bring Christ and the Church to those, whether at home or abroad, who do not know the name of Jesus Christ.
2. to welcome those who are baptized in other Christian communities and seek full communion with the Church.
3. to reawaken those who have grown tepid in the faith and re-evangelize persons who are baptized but have not practiced their faith over the years.
4. to fulfill our collective responsibility to transform society and culture in light of the Gospel, as we endeavor to build up a culture of life and love.