A Mustard Seed's Perspective On Evangelization

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We Ordinariate Catholics are a small and determined community within the Church. The Personal Ordinariates, of which there are three at present, are
like a mustard seed that, when it is sown in the ground, is the smallest of all the seeds on the earth. But once it is sown, it springs up and becomes the largest of plants and puts forth large branches, so that the birds of the sky can dwell in its shade. St. Mark 4: 31-32
Those who share in the blessings of the Ordinariate tend to be confident Catholics because the identity that we share has its source and summit in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, which we call Divine Worship, the source and summit of the Christian life.
The primary mission of the Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter is evangelization.

Through the reverence and beauty of our worship, study of sacred Scripture and charity for those in need, we desire to share the joy of being Roman Catholic!

Our mission is particularly experienced in our (reverent ad orientem) celebration of liturgy.

(T)he founding documents of the Personal Ordinariate make clear that it is intended to be an instrument of Catholic unity: an opportunity to model what the future reconciliation of separated Christian communities could be. | Ordinariate of the Chair of Saint Peter
In the Sacred Liturgy we are present to Jesus Christ and His saving message.

Kerygma is a Greek word meaning proclamation, and refers to the message of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Hear the Message. Believe the Message. Live the Message. Share the Message.

A. The kerygma, the saving message of Jesus Christ.
First, the personal. “Jesus loves me.” Here is where evangelization begins and the point to where we return time and time again. Only when we know in our bones that “Jesus loves me” are we most effective, compelling evangelists. It is a truth that grabs us, giving our lives purpose and meaning. It is the gift of God’s love and life that upholds us, renews us, and changes us. The depth of our identity is in the center of one's being where each person is known and loved by God. | from Four Basics of Evangelization, Word On Fire Ministries.
Four Key Elements of the Kerygma

1. God loves you and has a purpose for your life.
  • God created us for a relationship with Him (St John 3:16-17; 1 John 3:1), to share a most profound communion of love.
2. Our relationship with God is broken.
  • Sin interrupts God’s plan and separates us from God (Isaiah 59:2).
3. God sent Jesus to rescue us from sin.
  • Jesus restores our relationship with God.
  • Only Jesus Christ can save us from eternal separation from God (Acts 4:12).
  • Jesus Christ died and rose from the dead so that you could be forgiven of sin and be united to God (Acts 10: 35-44).
4. All are invited to accept God’s gift of Jesus our Saviour.
  • This gift calls for every person to: repent of our sins (Acts 2:37-41; Philippians 2:5-11) and believe in Jesus and be baptized.
B. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. To be faithful and effective disciples, we must abide in Christ and His body the Church, and go and make disciples as commanded by Jesus.
The second component of evangelization is the interpersonal. We are not content just to be a disciple of Christ but want to make disciples too. The conviction that “Jesus loves me” means “Jesus loves you too.” Here is the treasure we possess that we must not keep for ourselves but share with everyone in a way that offers hope and new life. Interpersonal evangelization also has to do with how we engage with those we encounter. Our common experience of being human is the bridge that unites us with those we seek to evangelize. In this light, interpersonal evangelization communicates a deep respect for those we encounter as we share the Gospel with warmth, tenderness, and, most of all, with love for those we seek to evangelize. | Four Basics of Evangelization.

  1. God desires communion with us.
    • We speak God's word so that others may know and love Him.
    • We remind others that God loves us and offers us the grace to respond to His love. 
  2. By participating in the Church's liturgical life through the various seasons of the liturgical year, we are formed in the Faith.
  3. We are called by God to share the saving message of Jesus Christ.
    • How do we do that? By keeping the commandments of Jesus and, receptive to God's grace, living a life of truth, goodness and beauty.
  4. We offer others a clear sense of identity and purpose or meaning.
Because the Mass as celebrated in Ordinariate communities is wholly oriented to God and is therefore true, good, beautiful, and reverent, the sincere worshipper is readily disposed to the action of the Holy Ghost and takes seriously the call to share what we have been given—a treasure to be shared with all. This treasure, the rich tradition of liturgical prayer and the sacraments, fashions us to live out the Faith in every aspect of our lives.
From his first homily, Pope Leo made it clear that his mission is one of invitation, not intimidation. “We want to say to the world, with humility and joy: look to Christ!” he declared. “Draw near to him! Welcome his word that enlightens and consoles!” 

That is the language of a man who knows Christ personally and who wants the world to know him too. Perhaps we’ve forgotten that this is the whole point: to share the love and joy of Christ with the world. | Gia Chacón at National Catholic Register
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Ps. 96:9). We are shaped in the love of Christ that compels us to be instruments of His reconciliation, His peace, and His joy in the world. In doing so, we become beacons of hope, guiding others towards the light of His truth and compassion. As we embody these values, we contribute to a community that reflects the beauty of our Faith, fostering an environment where love and understanding flourish.

C. Live the Liturgy in daily life. We become like the One we worship.

In Divine Worship, the Mass, the Holy Eucharist, we find Jesus Present in and through his word (scripture), in the person of the priest through whom Jesus acts, in the assembly gathered in Jesus' Name, and in the most Holy Eucharist.

The third dimension of evangelization—and the one most often overlooked—is the liturgical. Let your whole life declare what is true—namely, that Christ is alive, his kingdom is at hand, and his love is the most powerful force in the world. Because of the celebration of the Mass, there ought to be an outward propulsion of missionary zeal in the congregation to return to our homes, friends, schools, and places of work with a new energy to witness and evangelize. Every Eucharistic celebration ought to be a moment to renew our desire “to proclaim the newness of the Gospel with boldness in every time and place, even when it meets with opposition” (Evangelii Gaudium 259). This mandate to evangelize from the Eucharist also includes evangelization at the Eucharist with the ministry of welcome, inclusion, meeting, and greeting—part of our celebration of God’s love for all. | Four Basics of Evangelization

  1. Liturgy: invite the inquirer to discover Jesus in the Mass.
  2. Acknowledge the obvious. If someone has questions, share.
  3. You don't have to have all the answers, but point them in the right direction or go and find that pearl with them.

In the Sacred Liturgy we encounter:

The Most Holy Trinity | Prayer & Relationship

  1. Loving and knowing God: letting oneself be loved by God (St John 3:16; St Matthew 22:36-40). God gives us the grace to enable us to love Him and to grow in holiness. We love God by keeping the commandments of Jesus (St John 14:15).
  2. Loving one's neighbour (St Matthew 22:39).
  3. Loving the Church that nourishes us with God's word and the Sacraments (1 Timothy 3:15).

The Lord Jesus | Liturgy

  1. Liturgical spiritual formation of disciples: meeting Jesus in the Sacred Liturgy (St John 6:53; St Luke 24:13-35), in word and sacrament. Jesus gives us Himself in the Eucharist.
  2. Liturgical fellowship: meeting Jesus in the community of the brethren (St Matthew 26:26-30).
  3. Eucharistic identity: allowing Jesus to permeate life (St John 14:6).

The Church | Evangelization | Authentic Accompaniment

  1. Identity for mission: mediating Christ to others.
  2. Eucharistic living and charity: immersion in the sacraments and devotional life of the Church: Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament; the Daily Office (Matins, Evensong); the Holy Rosary.
  3. Communion for communication.
  • We seek God's grace to be able to live the Gospel and to pray in the Spirit.
  • As members of the Church, we propose the Faith. We trust in the Holy Spirit to dispose souls to God.
  • We introduce people to Jesus by the way we live our lives, ready to give a reason for the hope that is within us (1 Peter 3:15).
  • We listen to what people share with us and accompany them in their needs and interests (Acts 8:26-40).
  • We invite people to come to Mass, to meet Jesus and to discover the meaning and peace that only Jesus can give for the salvation of their souls.
D. Identity, meaning and purpose.

Catholic Christian identity makes present the wisdom of Scripture & Tradition (2 Thessalonians 2:15). As Catholics, our identity and confidence is firmly established in the authority that God gave to His Church.
The fourth component of evangelization is cultural. Western culture in particular is in a state of flux leading to confusion and the de-stabilization of society. The Catholic response must always be to evangelize the culture, participate in public affairs, and re-lay the foundations of a just and stable society. This involves the celebration of all in the culture that is good and the calling out of aspects of our culture that are bad and that damage the common good. A savvy evangelist critiques culture well, proclaiming the vision of the Gospel that offers greater promise and hope. In the words of Pope St. Paul VI, “The Church evangelizes when she seeks to convert, solely through the divine power of the message she proclaims, both the personal and collective consciences of people, the activities in which they engage and the lives and the concrete milieux which are theirs.” | Four Basics of Evangelization
Pope Leo reminds us that faith is first and foremost a relationship with the living God. And the joy that overflows from encountering the living God cannot be faked.

His joy doesn’t come from ignoring the suffering of the world. It comes from seeing it through the light of the Resurrection. It does not deny the wounds of the persecuted, the cries of the poor, or the confusion in our culture. It simply proclaims again and again that Christ is not absent, and that in him, joy is still possible.

At Pentecost, Pope Leo returned to the source of all Christian joy: the Holy Spirit. | Chacón, NCRegister
Authority, Confidence, Identity: Christ gathered around himself a community. For that community,
  1. Christ chose his apostles, icons of himself to serve and govern his Church. Among those apostles, He chose Peter to lead His Church and provide unity in the truth.
  2. Jesus taught His disciples how to pray (St Matthew 6:9-13), how to come to the Father in the Holy Spirit (St John 14:6).
  3. He gave them the sacraments to continue His Presence among us.
  4. He gave them power to cast out demons.
  5. He gives His Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, to sustain and empower His Church.
Given the foundations of the Faith, our approach(es) to evangelization, to proposing the Gospel, the saving message of Jesus Christ, must be:
  • oriented to communion in Christ and with Christ in His Church
  • configured and receptive to the Holy Spirit, the Counsellor
  • liturgically authentic, true, good and beautiful
  • deep in history and Tradition (oral and written) to support identity, confidence and resilience
  • formed by and conformed to Catholic theology
  • oriented to Eucharistic fellowship in the Church Jesus founded
  • present to the human person made in God's image
  • committed to forming human relationships designed by God for the salvation of souls

Resources

Personal Ordinariates

Four Basics of Evangelization | Word On Fire Ministries

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TRUE PARTICIPATION IN THE MASS

"I was gathered into the offering of the Son to the Father. I participated in the self-offering of God today."

FEATURED SCRIPTURE | 1 John 1:1-4

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— the life was made manifest, and we saw it, and testify to it, and proclaim to you the eternal life which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you may have fellowship with us; and our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. And we are writing this that our joy may be complete.

FEATURED QUOTE

You wouldn't abandon ship in a storm, just because you couldn't control the winds. | Saint John Fisher