ADVANCING THE NEW EVANGELIZATION
Winning the World for the Sacred Heart of Jesus
Why Not
Join the Band?
Fr. Stephen Pullis
B
eing a graduate of Sacred Heart (Class of 2011),
I heard a great deal about the New Evangeliza-
tion. This phrase has been used in many ways, but
essentially it is a reminder for the Church to refocus
our attention ad extra—to those outside our Church.
Jesus’s command to his disciples was not
simply to carry out pastoral care to those
who had already heard the Good News.
Rather, it was to spread the Good News to
every corner of the world.
For those of us in metro Detroit, we have
an inspiring new charter for how to do this.
In his Pentecost pastoral letter, Unleash the
Gospel, Archbishop Vigneron charges the
local Church—each parish and Catholic
school, each family and individual mem-
ber—to commit to this mission to “unleash
the Gospel.”
So what do we do now?
The “Foundational Conviction” of Un-
leash the Gospel is the place to start. Here
we read that “the Church in the Archdiocese
of Detroit is resolved to obey the Holy Spirit
and be made by him a band of joyful mis-
sionary disciples” (UTG, no. 3).
Band: Jesus does not intend us to be “lone
rangers.” Rather, we are called to be in com-
munion with each other.
God is not alone. He is a communion of
persons. Being made in God’s image, we
must imitate him, for “it is not good for man
to be alone.” The family is the paradigm; a
person comes into the world only through
the “coming together” of two other people,
a mother and a father.
We are hardwired for community. It is
the responsibility of each parish—and each
member of the parish—to help create this
community. This can be done through small-
er groups where each individual can know
others and be known by them. Parishioners
who have gone through RCIA, Alpha, or a
Bible study love the community. We must be
intentional about inviting each member of
our parish to be a part of such a “band.”
Joyful: While we must remember that fol-
lowing Jesus involves taking up our cross,
we should also remember that Jesus’ burden
is light.
A study of most any saint reveals there is
an overriding characteristic of joy in his or
her life. This joy is not a New Age approach
to suffering, where we try to remove any-
thing that brings us down. Rather, the joy
of the saints comes from a confidence that
Jesus has won the victory.
To be joyful requires us to see every part
of our lives as redeemed in the Paschal Mys-
tery of Jesus: his cross is more powerful than
my weakness. Do I show the joy of being
claimed by Christ to those in the world?
Missionary: Bl. John Henry Newman has a
wonderful prayer that contains these words:
“God has committed some work to me
which he has not committed to another.”
Each of us is essential in God’s plan.
As Guidepost 5 of Unleash the Gospel
states, there are “no bystanders.” This means
each of us must have an outward focus.
The first step in this process is praying for
a new openness to hearing God’s prompting.
Then praying for a boldness to obey! We will
make mistakes and we will be uncomfortable
at first. But the salvation of others is worth it!
This is an area where we must be a “band,”
encouraging and challenging each other.
Disciples: “Unleashing the Gospel” only
makes sense if Jesus is worth laying down
our lives for. If he is God—as he claims to be
so often in the Gospel—then the only logical
response is to claim him as Lord and to com-
mit ourselves to making him known.
Jesus calls us to be his co-workers in
this mission of making new disciples. Jesus
called his disciples to be close to him and
so be prepared to be sent out. We can only
be a joyful missionary band if first we are
disciples. This means being close to Jesus—
daily prayer, growing in virtue, frequent re-
ception of the Sacraments—so that we can
be formed according to his Sacred Heart
and unleash the Gospel in the portion of the
vineyard we have been tasked with.
If we succeed in the ambitious plan of
Unleash the Gospel, it will mean that those
outside the Church will recognize us first and
foremost as a band of joyful missionary dis-
ciples. How beautiful that will be!
Fr. Stephen Pullis (Class of 2007, 2011) is director
of evangelization, catechesis, and schools for the
Archdiocese of Detroit and adjunct seminarian
spiritual director at Sacred Heart.
shms.edu
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