Our turn to evangelize

“Today it is your turn . . . to be evangelizers of each other and of all those whose faith is weak or who have not yet given themselves to the Lord.”

    Pope John Paul addressed these challenging and inspiring words to our Hispanic community during his day-long visit to San Antonio, Sept. 13, 1987. As I continue my meditations on Pope John Paul’s visit 20 years ago, I’m again struck by how timely and relevant his teachings remain today.

    The Holy Father honored us by his address at Our Lady of Guadalupe Plaza. It was the only time during his 1987 pilgrimage that he spoke to Hispanics directly. And he greeted our community as “representatives of all your Hispanic brothers and sisters in the United States.”

    He spoke to us in Spanish and chose to talk with us about the mission of the parish as “the family of families.” His vision of parish life is rooted in the New Testament’s picture of the first Christian community: “They devoted themselves to the apostles’ instruction and the communal life, to the breaking of bread and prayers.” (Acts 2:42)

    Like the early community, the parish is to teach, to bring men and women to the sacraments, to be a place of prayer, and a center for the common life of faith.

    First and foremost, the parish must be a teacher — instructing and forming people in the faith of the apostles, in the wisdom of Christ. Catechesis is a sacred duty. We’re never free to teach what we want. Or, to use Pope John Paul’s words: “We cannot invent the faith as we go along.”

    Sometimes we’re tempted to teach only a part of the faith. Or only to teach our private opinions or point of view, but we can’t do that. Christian love for our brothers and sisters requires so much more. It’s not love to teach half-truths or to downplay teachings we don’t agree with or fully understand.

    The whole truth about Jesus is more than facts. To instruct like the apostles is to bring people into a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. Only this meeting can touch our hearts and change our lives.
That is why the teachings of the church always lead to the sacraments, where Christ comes to us personally. The heart of every parish will always be the Eucharist, which the first Christians called “the breaking of the bread.” (Luke 24:35)

    However, Pope John Paul II stressed also the importance of our encounter with Christ in confession. In fact, he said: “The state of the sacrament of penance in each parish . . . is a good indicator of the authentic maturity of the faith of the priests and the people.”

    His beautiful words in San Antonio were one of the inspirations for my pastoral letter, The Tender Mercy of Our God. What could be more beautiful than to experience reconciliation with our heavenly Father, with the church, and with our neighbor?

    I pray that our families grow in the love of this sacrament, that parents show their children the good example of receiving this sacrament often. And I pray that parishes and pastors do all they can to promote it.

    Pope John Paul also entrusted us with a special task. To reach out to our brothers and sisters who have left the church. We all know people who have strayed or fallen away from the faith. It’s important that we invite our brothers and sisters home. If we don’t do it, they may never hear of the good news of our Father’s great mercy and the joy of reconciliation.

    Again in this address, the Holy Father sets before us the challenge to be missionaries. This is the duty of every Christian, but it has a special meaning here in San Antonio. For we are all spiritual “children” of the first Spanish missionaries who evangelized this continent.

    “Today it is your turn,” Pope John Paul told us. “May you be no less zealous in evangelization and in Christian service than our forebears!”

    Let this be our prayer in the days ahead — that we be more zealous in bringing Jesus to our neighbors, our families and our friends.