By DONAL ANTHONY FOLEY
Part 4
This is the final article in a series which looks at Marian devotion, and the New Evangelization, in the light of the teaching of recent Popes.
Pope Benedict XVI issued a call for evangelization and holiness on his visit to Fatima in May 2010. In his address to the bishops of Portugal, he said:
“The times in which we live demand a new missionary vigor on the part of Christians, who are called to form a mature laity, identified with the Church and sensitive to the complex transformations taking place in our world….[In this situation] what is decisive is the ability to inculcate in all those engaged in the work of evangelization a true desire for holiness, in the awareness that the results derive above all from our union with Christ and the working of the Holy Spirit.”
It’s also worth noting that Pope Benedict made a number of notable pronouncements at Fatima, the most important of which was his declaration, on May 13, 2010, that it was “mistaken to think that Fatima’s prophetic mission is complete.”
Pope Benedict was insistent, too, in warning about the dangers of an aggressive secularism which seeks to drive religion out of society completely, and is thus a real threat to religious liberty. He likewise warned about a relativism which sees all beliefs as equally valid, and thus denies objective truth, and which leads to a “dictatorship of relativism,” in which all that matters for individuals are their own egotistical desires.
The remedy he saw for all this was a New Evangelization which would put forward a convincing alternative Christian vision of man and society. To this end, he created a new pontifical council in 2010: the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization.
What has happened in recent years is that we have witnessed a progressive de-Christianization of Western society, a process which is accelerating with worrying rapidity under the influence of a secular media which is obsessed with money, fame, and sex, and a technological impetus which increasingly pays no heed to previous moral boundaries.
Thus a New Evangelization, and one which has a strong Marian element, is imperative for the Church if these trends are to be countered.
Pope Francis emphasized the importance of the role of Mary in the New Evangelization in his apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (“The Joy of the Gospel”), devoting to her a section entitled “Mary, mother of evangelization” (nn. 284-288). In this, the Pope states that there “is a Marian ‘style’ to the Church’s work of evangelization.”
He also wrote that Mary “is the Mother of the Church which evangelizes, and without her we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization” (n. 284).
Pope Francis also wrote: “We ask the Mother of the living Gospel to intercede that this invitation to a new phase of evangelization will be accepted by the entire ecclesial community. . . . Today we look to her and ask her to help us proclaim the message of salvation to all and to enable new disciples to become evangelizers in turn. . . . We implore her intercession . . . that the way may be opened to the birth of a new world” (nn. 287, 288).
And Pope Francis prayed as follows to our Lady in his conclusion to Evangelii Gaudium: “Star of the new evangelization, help us to bear radiant witness to communion, service, ardent and generous faith, justice and love of the poor, that the joy of the Gospel may reach to the ends of the earth.”
Here, then, the Pope is in effect putting the Blessed Virgin at the forefront of the New Evangelization, and so the challenge for the Church is how to translate that vision into reality, given the decline in recent years in both Marian devotion and in the true knowledge and understanding of our Lady’s role in the work of our redemption.
Agents Of Evangelization
Movements inspired by love for Mary have been very active agents of the New Evangelization, and we can see a strong element of Marian devotion in many of the new movements and communities which have grown up in the Church, and particularly since Vatican II.
But some essentially lay movements, such as the Legion of Mary, Militia Immaculatae of St. Maximilian Kolbe, Blue Army/World Apostolate of Fatima, and Opus Dei, were active long before that. It has been said of many of these new movements that they have three main characteristics, namely, a strong focus on the Eucharist, on the papacy, and on devotion to Mary.
In a practical sense, the best way for individuals to promote the Marian dimension of the New Evangelization is to become involved in some way in promoting devotion to our Lady, or living out that devotion in their own life. So at a parish or school level, people could join in praying the rosary, or start a rosary group, or initiate a shrine or “Mary Garden” at a suitable place within their parish or school.
Individuals could also join Marian organizations such as the World Apostolate of Fatima, the Militia Immaculatae, or the Legion of Mary.
Many parishes and dioceses organize pilgrimages to Marian shrines and these can have a very potent effect on those who take part. Pope St. John Paul II initiated the World Youth Days, which are normally celebrated every three years in a different country, and these have grown to be powerful agents of evangelization involving large numbers of young people.
The World Youth Day Cross has been carried around the world continuously since 1984, and it is always accompanied by an icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary, to symbolize the intimate and enduring link between Christ and His Mother.
Clearly, too, the Internet and the various forms of social media have become powerful means of evangelization for the Church. But we should remember that while such methods, and also passing on the faith through one-to-one contact through the positive Christian influence of one soul on another, are very important, our Lord did send the apostles to teach all nations, and therefore teaching is also of the essence of evangelization.
In sum, it’s not an exaggeration to say that our Lady, either personally in her apparitions, or through her influence via religious orders or lay organizations, or on a cultural level, has been at the forefront of efforts to promote and expand the Church down through the centuries, which of course is the essence of evangelization.
Thus, the time has come for Catholics to rediscover a genuine Marian devotion, as contained in the words of recent Popes, the messages from the approved Marian apparitions, the work of the various Marian apostolates, and the teaching of saints such as St. Louis de Montfort, so as to provide a renewed impetus for the Church’s evangelization efforts.
Such a devotion can supply a theme to support and inspire the New Evangelization, as has happened so often in the past. When enough Catholics do this, then we will enter upon a time of true evangelization and ultimately world peace, as promised by Our Lady at Fatima:
“In the end, my Immaculate Heart will triumph . . . and a period of peace will be granted to the world.”
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(Donal Anthony Foley is the author of a number of books on Marian Apparitions, and maintains a related website at www.theotokos.org.uk.)
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