Evangelization 2000
by Bishop Robert J. Carlson

The following, in condensed form, is Bishop Carlson’s homily given at the 14th annual Fatima Family Apostolate Congress on June 10, 2000, in Alexandria, South Dakota.

As we come together to celebrate this Marian Congress at the beginning of the new millennium on Pentecost, the birthday of the Church, the Holy Spirit comes to us as the advocate for Christ. The Spirit comes as a witness for Christ, testifying on His behalf to remind us of all that God has done for us who are baptized into the faith. The Holy Spirit has guided the Church from the days the apostles walked the earth to this day, and the Holy Spirit still guides her under the leadership of Pope John Paul II.

Remember the Scriptures: “. . . suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And there appeared to them tongues as of fire, distributed and resting on each of them” (Acts 2:2-3).

You and I, having received the gifts of the fullness of the Holy Spirit in Baptism and Confirmation, should ask God to renew within us those gifts of the Holy Spirit. Let us answer for ourselves these questions: Having been blessed and anointed by the Holy Spirit through the sacraments of the Church, can we describe ourselves as having our hearts set on fire with faith in the service of the Lord? Do we live the sacramental commitment of Baptism and Confirmation in such a way that under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit we are truly God’s witnesses? Or do we leave it to our pastor back home? Or for the good sisters in the school? Or to a handful of lay people who respond as witnesses? How do we see our role in the new evangelization?

Everyone's Responsibility

Before I became the Bishop of Sioux Falls I often had the opportunity to go throughout the country giving parish missions. I used to tell the people that when you go home, drive around the block and notice those people who are not going to church. We have a lot of work to do here in South Dakota. Almost a third of the people in this state do not go to church. We are the ones who are to be the witnesses. When is the last time you invited someone to come here to these annual Congresses? Fr. Fox would not object to that! Or, to come to church with you? When is the last time you asked if you could pray with them?

In the celebration of Pentecost, we are reminded that Jesus ascended into heaven and sent us the Holy Spirit, who instructs us to go forth and proclaim the Good News to the far corners of the earth. Do we leave it to missionaries, thinking it is their work and not ours? Please do not excuse yourselves, for just as Mary becomes the center and the focus of the Spirit-enlightened Church at Pentecost, we must see ourselves as being empowered by God for the great work of the new evangelization.

We pray for our Holy Father. We tell everybody to believe what he says. Do you believe what the Holy Father says? If you believe what the Holy Father says, then you must become coworkers in the new evangelization. You must be the ones who spread the Good News. And you thought you were coming here just to attend the Marian Congress and then go home and feel good about yourselves. It doesn’t work that way. On this Pentecost let us dedicate ourselves to the work which lies before the Church. Let us proclaim the Gospel, but first proclaim it by the way we live, in everything we say and in everything we do.

Spiritual Battle Lines

We would be better evangelists, with hearts set afire by the Holy Spirit, if we came to understand a simple lesson. It is that there is a tremendous battle going on—the battle between good and evil, between the spirit and the flesh. Lest anyone think they are exempt, when is the last time you complained about anything? It seems when God wants most to change or mold us, it is then that we find it most easy to complain.

In family life, have you ever heard this: “How come I’m the one that has to do everything around here?” I had four sisters. I thought this was a litany of the Church. We all feel that way sometimes. “Nothing is wrong with me, it is everybody else.” It is tough when we are finally confronted with our own weaknesses and foibles.

When we focus on others’ problems, it is precisely then that God wants to do something in our lives and we want to put it off. Let us today set aside everybody else’s problems, foibles, and weaknesses and focus on what God wants to do in our lives.

We are in the midst of a great spiritual battle. It is a battle in the end between the saving of our souls and the loss of our souls, and that is serious business. We can either be guided by good or guided by evil. The Holy Spirit sets us free for the noble desire that each of us has within us for what is good.

Jesus, who died on the Cross for us, who rose that we might live forever, is not indifferent to those who seek evil and not His welcome to paradise. May we choose the good, not only of living our faith more boldly, but as the Lord’s witnesses and helpers of the Holy Father in the new evangelization, to actually reach out and welcome others to worship with us, to pray with us, and to invite them to find Christ in the midst of their lives.

In one of our small South Dakota parishes, I said, “Either grow or the parish will be closed.” Under the leadership of the pastor they decided to do something about it. There was an older lady in the parish whose husband had died and she stopped going to church because she did not drive and had no way of going. She still “attended” Mass on television. She wanted to go. Finally they came and knocked on the door. Who is there in your parish community back home whom you have not seen recently? Why don’t you invite them? Give them a ride. Perhaps that is what is keeping them away. We have the responsibility to be our brother’s and sister’s keepers.

Welcome Others Home

I can’t think of a better way to celebrate Pentecost 2000 than for each one of us to go home and welcome one other person back to the Catholic Church. They say the largest church in the United States is the Roman Catholic Church and the second largest is fallen-away Catholics. We bear the responsibility, all of us. We will be judged on what we do to bring those people back.

Years ago I started an apostolate to keep in touch with priests who left the active ministry. I am happy to say I can count three who returned through that invitation to return. Jesus said that we are not to love the sin but the sinner. Since we all admit we are sinners, we don’t lose anything in inviting a few sinners back. If you think you are not a sinner now that you’ve attended Marian Congress 2000, I would like to see you right after the candlelight procession for catechetical instructions.

We have an awesome responsibility to pray people back, to invite them back, to welcome them back, and through our example to challenge them back. I hardly know a family that is not touched by someone who has left the Church. In great charity and love, and with the inspiration of the Spirit, invite them back. The Holy Spirit does not cease to be the Guardian of hope of all human creatures, hope in the human heart, hope in human life, and hope in the Church, especially of those who have the first fruits of the Spirit—joy, peace, patience, love, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). Blessed with these gifts, we wait for redemption (cf. Rom. 8:23). With these gifts, we are equipped to welcome others back to the Church.

When you are evangelizers, when you do the work of the Holy Father, you help the Church for the new millennium by welcoming people back to the altar and assisting in the rebirth of their faith.

Most Rev. Robert J. Carlson is the Bishop of Sioux Falls, SD, and a member of CUF’s episcopal advisory council.

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