This Sunday the Gospel of Matthew speaks about the large crowds that gathered to hear Jesus talk about the Good News that He was proclaiming of God’s love for each person, of God’s desire that we too love others as we love ourselves, and of God’s understanding of compassion and hope which may lead to eternal life—through the daily actions of our lives today. This call from Jesus was a call that elevates all humanity to the excellence which God calls us to be and become, rather than the world’s “call” to selfishness—and sometimes to seek the “lowest common denominator.”

This was the first wave of evangelization to the Christian faith, initiated by Jesus Himself. And since His time, many people have followed in His footsteps to lead others to the Father: from missionaries in far off lands to Saints and popes of the Church who developed understandings to Church teachings, from millions of catechists in parishes all around the world on Sunday
mornings and weekday nights who have worked to educate new disciples, making our ancient faith relevant in a modern world; to saints-in-the-pews who have prayed for peace and joy and have setup food kitchens and pantries in city-after-city or in rural farmlands, from those who took medicines and medical personnel to the back-of-beyond, and to those who built hospitals and universities all with the goal of illustrating and teaching the Catholic faith’s commitment to humanity and compassion—and to many, many more.

Today’s gospel message is the initial step in what would become the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church”—from the Nicene Creed—that lists the four marks of the Church: she is One—one Lord, one God of all; she is holy—set apart by God for a special purpose; she is catholic (universal)--Jesus drew near and said to them, "I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Go, then, to all peoples everywhere and make them my disciples: baptize them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, and teach them to obey everything I have commanded you. And I will be with you always, to the end of the age" (Matthew 28); and she is apostolic, Church's origin and beliefs as rooted and continuing in the living Tradition of the Apostles of Jesus. And through this direct linage from Jesus Himself we have a faith that continues to draw—through Truth—people to the Mystical Body of Christ. Today this leads us to a New Evangelization of the Catholic Church which is directed or aimed at bringing to the Truth of Christ to people who are even more impacted by the culture of the day due, to the ever-present technology of our world, making them even more evasive to faith. This is evidenced by the Archdiocese of Hartford’s (and many other dioceses in the United States and around the globe) pastoral planning and its simultaneous evangelization to revitalize the faith in the modern world at the parish level. Pope Francis has begun this process to reach out in new ways so that we may reach into the “peripheries” of society—and not just geographical peripheries but social as well.

No longer are we talking about “nuns,” as in religious and professed orders of women who built the Catholic Church in the U.S. during the 1800s and 1900s, but now we are talking about evangelizing the “Nones” –those who have no affiliation to faith, those who are for many reasons detached from belief in any church. Our goal as a Church is not to find a new faith to offer those who are disinterested or disconnected, but rather we are to find new technologies and ways to bring the absolute truths of Christ—truths that do not change—and illustrate how the ancient truth remains so today, even as we apply it to considerations of the modern age. It is not that we need to amend the truth to accommodate today’s mindset, but rather we must go out to the peripheries—were people are—and show them the Good News. We cannot simply be inviting people to Church when they have no reason to come. Opening the doors and say “come in” does not work when no one is walking by. We must go to where young adults are and show them that what we have to offer matters—and it matters for their salvation. That what Christ offers today—truth and love and compassion and hope—are still necessary and vital to a happy and
productive life. That selfishness and an inward view point do little, if anything, to build up the common good and bring life to the world. We must go to them and show them how this Truth fits into their lives and how it will grow and make joyful all which God has planned for them.

The task ahead of us—and I mean all of us—is more than important. It is vital, especially as we consider others and the end result of eternal salvation. As we consider that we are not just here on earth to save our own souls but also the souls of others. Let us listen once again to the words of Jesus as He speaks to His disciples: The disciples approached him and said, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" He said to them in reply, "Because knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been granted to you, but to them it has not been granted. To anyone who has, more will be given and he will grow rich; from anyone who has not, even what he has will be taken away. This is why I speak to them in parables, because they look but do not see and hear but do not listen or understand. How can they listen if they do not hear His words? How can the see if no one asks them to look at His love, to see His actions? How can we expect others to believe, as we believe, if no one exposes them to His love, His compassion, His life? There are lost generations of believers among us—those who have never experienced or been shown faith, God or Church. Is this not a disservice to them? And who is to “blame” if we simply keep silent? As a Church, the time is now for us to begin anew the teachings of Christ. And it is up to more than just Pope Francis or the cardinals, archbishops and bishops, priests and nuns—it is up to all who hope to share forever in the glory of God’s Kingdom…a Kingdom that we hope is filled with all whom we love—and even those we currently do not.