BY Martin Dunlop | June 14 2011 | 
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Getting to the heart of new evangelisation
Publication Date: 2011-06-14
Pope Benedict XVI has reminded the Faithful that evangelisation is a task for all members of the Church, at the inauguration of an ecclesial congress marking the close of the pastoral year in Rome Diocese
The congress, which began on Monday and runs until tomorrow, has as its theme: The joy of engendering the Faith in the Church of Rome.
Commenting on the choice of theme, Pope Benedict said that ‘the Faith cannot endure by itself in the world.’
“It is not automatically transmitted to men’s hearts but always has to be announced,” the Holy Father said. “And the announcement of the Faith, in order to be effective, must come from a heart that believes, that hopes, that loves, a heart that adores Christ and believes in the power of the Holy Spirit.
“The response of Faith arises when, by God’s grace, man discovers that believing means finding true life, the ‘full life.’”
The Pope went on to explain that the messengers of the good news of the Gospel are the Baptised, especially parents ‘whose job it is to seek Baptism for their children.’
“Children need God from an early age,” the Pope said. “They have the capacity to perceive His greatness; they know how to appreciate the value of prayer and ritual, and to discern the difference between good and evil. Thus they must be guided in the Faith from earliest infancy.”
The Holy Father added that the Word of Faith risks being muted ‘if it does not find a community that puts it into practice, giving it life and making it attractive.’
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