2. Changing
Water… ..into Wine

3. Conferences will be….
• Interactive
• Challenging

4. New Evangelization
& Year of Faith
 What the Church does.
 What the Church needs to do
“They have no wine” (John 2:3)
 Disciples, Martyrs and Witnesses
 Mary and faith applied
 What’s missing?
 Reading the “Signs of the Times” Implementation
 The Church – then & now
 Personal discernment –
gifts and charisms
Sources:
Observation
• Benedict XVI, PortaFidei
• Bible

6. Reading the “Signs of the Times”

7. “Faith impels us to read and discern
the signs of the times in the present history.”
PortaFidei, Pope Benedict XVI, 2012

8. “The council yearns to explain to everyone
how it conceives of the presence and
activity of the Church in the world of today….

9. How does the Church do this ?
(Scrutinize, interpret &
explain?)
…To carry out such a task, the Church has
always had the duty of scrutinizing
the signs of the timesand of interpreting
them in the light of the Gospel.”
(Vatican II, Gaudium et Spes – “The Church in the Modern World,”
Para 2, 1965 )

10. “(The current times) should prove a stimulus to the
Church:
 To increase its vitality,
 To take stock of itself,
 To give careful consideration to the signs of the
times,
Always and everywhere „proving all things and
holding fast that which is good.‟"
(EcclesiamSuam, Encyclical by Paul VI “On The Church,” 1964)

11. And….how do we discern this? (next slide)
 Where were we? ……..  (Past)
 Where are we? ………  (Present)
 Where are we going? ..  (Future)
 What‟s good? ………..  (Keep or make better)
 What‟s not? ………….  (Change or discard)

12. An Interactive Exercise

13.  As a Church, where do we see:
 An increase in vitality?
 The Church taking stock of itself?
 The Church giving careful consideration to the
signs of the times?
 “Holding fast that which is good"

14.  As a Church, where do we NOT see:
 An increase in vitality?
 The Church taking stock of itself?
 The Church giving careful consideration to the signs of
the times?
 “Holding fast that which is good"

15.  As a believer:
 Where do you see an increase in vitality in you life?
 How are your taking stock of yourself?
 Who helps you give careful consideration to the signs
of the times?
 What is good in your life to which you are, and should
be, “holding fast?” (“Wine from water”)

16.  Asa believer, where does there need to be
conversion/redemption:
 What areas of your life are lacking vitality ?
 What areas of your life have not been examined?
(“Taking stock of yourself”)
 Whom do you still need to consult to give “careful consideration
to the signs of the times?”
 What is NOT good in your life onto which you are still
“holding fast?”

17. What is this that we’re doing?
Why is this important?
Extra Credit:
What saint is famous for this process?
What religious order did he found?
What book did he write?

19. Kate, Andy (not their real names)
and the “New Year’s Eve Party”

20. … Lent and you

21. Faith, Mary and the
Wedding Feast of Cana
Changing Water… ..into Wine

22. Malvern Retreat House
The New Evangelization
and The Year of Faith

23. Roadmap: New Evangelization
& The Year of Faith
“They have no wine” (John 2:3)
• What the Church does
• What the Church needs to do
• What’s missing?
• Reading the “Signs of the Times” • Disciples, Martyrs and
• The Church – then & now Witnesses
• Personal discernment –
gifts and charisms • Mary and faith applied
• Sources:
▫ Benedict XVI, PortaFidei
▫ Bible Implementation
Observation

24. The “New Evangelization”
(vs. the “old evangelization”)
Definition and Context

25. What the Church Does
(Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est)
• Kerygma – Proclaim the Word
• Leitourgia – Sacraments
• Diakonia - Charity

26. In the past – A Church of Disciples
• From Latin discipulus
▫ Pupil
▫ Learner
“Pray, pay and obey”
▫ Apprentice
▫ Might have a mission (though smaller)
(Example: Luke 10:1-24 and the “70 disciples”)

27. Today’s Calling – Martyrs?
• From Greek, “Martus”
Types: Examples:
• Blood • Poverty (simple life)
• Public witness • Chastity
• Obedience
• Action for Justice
• Charity

28. Calling and Faith
• What the world – needs now:
Why mind as
well as heart?
▫ Credible witnesses
▫ People able to open the hearts of others (“Charity”)
▫ But also people “enlightened” in mind and heart.

29. A Time For Witnesses
• 1 Peter 1:6-7 “Now for a little while you may have to
suffer grief in all kinds of trials …
• These have come so that your faith - of greater worth
than gold - which perishes even though refined by fire …
• …may be proved genuine …
• …and result in praise, glory and honor
• …when Jesus Christ is revealed.”

30. A Time For Witnesses
• Is our current suffering a prelude to joy ?
• “That is why, for Christ's sake, I delight in
weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, difficultie
s. ..
• For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
• (1 Corinthians 12:10)

31. What the Church Still Needs To Do
“At some point…
• Benedict XVI …………………………….…... needs to lead to
social responsibility.”
• Practical activity insufficient unless:
▫ Expands love for man (“Heart)
▫ Informed by the “Word” (“Mind”)
▫ Nourished by encounter with Christ
• “Charitable activities at all levels must avoid risk of becoming just
another form of organized social assistance.” (Benedict XVI, Deus
caritas est)
• Caution: pelagianism

32. Faith in Action
Mary as the Model

33. Faith Applied in Action:
• Discern for yourself what the Lord is telling you
during your retreat this year.
• Discuss this three times with at least one person
over the course of the next year.

34. Faith Applied in Action:
• There are 18 Marian celebrations and feast days…
• Celebrate just oneof these days that honor Mary
this year.

35. Faith Applied in Action:
• Commit to saying the Rosary (or Divine Chaplet)
daily during October, the month dedicated to
Our Lady of the Rosary.

36. Faith Applied in Action:
• Mary is mentioned close to 50 times in the New
Testament. …
• Over the next year, chose and read just one Marian
story or passage.
• Sit with and pray with this passage for one week
from one Saturday to the next.

37. Mary as the Model
What to do:
• Treasuring Memories
▫ “Pondering” What you might experience:
• Joy
• Meditation
• Trepidation
▫ “Reflecting”
• Trust
• Confusion
• Tasting
▫ The fruits • Wonder

38. End Presentation…
The New Evangelization
and The Year of Faith