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On the New Evangelization and Charismatic Renewal.

I have been a Catholic since birth, and the word evangelization never had a significant meaning as a kid growing up in the church. In my understanding, to evangelise was something that the priest did on Sundays and something my religion teacher did in religion class. I don't have a great aversion to the word evangelisation, and I didn't have a bad feeling about the term evangelization throughout my life as a Catholic. We have all heard the term "saving a soul" but what some of us disagree on is how God saves us or judges us. I want to talk about the Charismatic Renewal in my church, and how this is impacting my relationship with God, but first more about the new evangelization. The reason why evangelization is needed in the Catholic church now is because there is strong opposition from a large unbelieving world, and there is a lot of anti-Catholic sentiment within the Protestant Church.

Some people think that Catholicism is a cult-like branch of Christianity and hence the purpose for the new evangelization. As Catholics we need to understand our faith, because at the heart of Catholicism is our faith. Some would say that the Eucharist and the Mass is the heart of our faith, but even still there are questions that need to be answered like what do Catholics believe about Salvation? Or how can the Church save me, when the Evangelical or Protestant doctrine stresses a relationship with God? This is what our Charismatic Renewal stresses as well, a relationship with God, and what about the whole "faith" verses "works" argument? How do you reconcile people in a church to a God through faith, if it is a sacramental Church, how do we find forgiveness among all the rules and dogma?

I think to answer some of these questions we have to answer the meaning of the word Conversion. As Catholics we are constantly called to conversion, and I think this is the first mistake that Evangelicals make when the say that salvation isn't found inside the Catholic Church. Conversion is a turning towards God and repentance from sin, or a turning away from sin. If God is to be found inside our Church, there has to be a sincere desire for Conversion. Like to the Protestant doctrine of regeneration, or the born again experience, us Catholics can use the bible the same way to help us in our Conversion. There is an unspoken belief that if you are a Catholic you don't read your bible. If you have a bible, and attend the Catholic Church you have the complete reason and faith to pick up your bible and read it.

As Catholics, some outside assume we have no bible knowledge, but our Church is rich in tradition and the Bible. The Catholic Church is the oldest Christian denomination in the world, you better believe we understand our bible! Just look to the Saints, if you need an injection of faith, and the fact that we consistently need this salvific faith just in order to survive, just goes to show that faith and the mysteries of our faith is what makes the Catholic Church unique. As we live our lives, it is a great temptation to get caught up in it's trivialities and just go along with things the way they are. Faith breaks the destructive habit of just going along in life. When we celebrate the mysteries of God and the mysteries of our faith, we are agreeing that life is not just an open and closed door, and that a personal faith in God is what really saves us. In the Catechism of the Catholic Church 817-818, it says that we as Catholics accept other Christians as our brothers, I challenge anyone to read that.

This is Mike.

         

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