Robert J Hater - The Parish Guide to the New Evangelization: An Action Plan for Sharing the Faith

The Parish Guide to the New Evangelization

Nihil Obstat
Msgr. Michael Heintz, Ph.D.
Censor Librorum

Imprimatur
Kevin C. Rhoades
Bishop of Fort Wayne-South Bend
September 4, 2012

The Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur are official declarations that a book is free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

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Copyright 2013 by Robert J. Hater. Published 2013.

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ISBN: 978-1-61278-642-1 (Inventory No. T1338)
eISBN: 978-1-61278-321-5
LCCN: 2013931516

Cover design: Rebecca J. Heaston
Cover art: Shutterstock
Interior design: Sherri L. Hoffman

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

The Good News of Jesus first came into my life through the faith, hard work, and the dedication of my parents, Stanley and Olivia Hater. As early as I can remember, the Christmas crib; the statues of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph; and the crucifix reminded me that life is more than having fun and making money. The environment of our home that my parents established told me that Jesus is God and that the Church is vital in my life. These memories remain to this day, as do the sacrifices of my parents that enabled me and my brother and sisters to attend Catholic schools including college.

The little family store where my dad labored so hard taught me the value of work, reminding me that Jesus was a worker and how we can find God in honest, human labor, whatever it is. My mothers choosing to remain in our home daily and be present to the family was one of the greatest blessings of my life. As I watched her every day, I learned my first lessons in Christian evangelization I learned that it is rooted in being present and in love.

In memory of them, and in appreciation for their love and sacrifice, I dedicate this book to my parents, Stanley and Olivia Hater.

By Father Alfred McBride, O.Praem.

Ever since Pope Paul VIs apostolic exhortation On Evangelization in the Modern World and Blessed John Paul IIs encyclical The Mission of the Redeemer, there has been a growing call to the whole Church to become an evangelizing community. Pope Benedict XVI recently presided over a world Synod of Bishops on this call from the Holy Spirit, to show us how to make the new evangelization a reality.

Father Robert Haters extraordinary book, The Parish Guide to the New Evangelization, is a brilliant, compassionate, and practical way for our over eighteen thousand parishes in the United States to accept the call to the new evangelization. I recommend his book to all our pastors. Father Bobs heart is in touch with the pulse of todays parishes. He accompanies every aspect of evangelization in clear language, with personal stories, discussion questions, and numerous practical guides to get started.

I think pastors will be relieved to know that the author is not proposing new programs or structures to make this happen. Instead, he presents a vision in which pastors, staff members, and families can become evangelizers based on Christs teachings about the kingdom of heaven as found in Scripture, liturgy, service, and Church documents throughout the centuries of faith communities, from the days of the apostles to our contemporary ministries.

Father Bob holds up these ideals in such a way that the fire of faith born in the center of the parish radiates out to its members, who in turn influence their workplaces. I was especially interested in how prudently and creatively he draws lessons from todays evangelical churches. He also sympathizes with priests who run three or four parishes and could benefit from this new evangelization. I like the way he gives positive advice regarding young people who thirst for an ardent prayer life, a love for Scripture, and a genuine understanding of the Eucharist, within our parish life, so as not to drift to evangelical churches.

The author practices the role of storytelling that he commends to evangelizing priests for their homilies. Rarely do many pages go by without personal stories that ratify his message. He often draws attention to the value of the social media. Several times he cites Brandon Vogts perceptive guidance to Catholic blogs in his book The Church and New Media (Our Sunday Visitor, 2011), showing how Facebook, Twitter, i-Pods, i-Phones, etc., can be useful for evangelizing.

Father Bob also explains how the new evangelization can be useful in solving parish problems arising from partisan politics, infighting, and turf building. He proposes numerous solutions for transforming parishes into living communities. He writes that parish staff members can function better if they are people persons. He has an interesting proposal for using a revolving leadership model for parish staffs that would change every two or three years, which would eventually roll back to where they started. His method of personalizing the life of the parish with a spirit of welcoming, reconciling, and prayer, based on word, worship, and service makes new evangelization accessible, attractive, and rewarding.

I had the privilege of spending time with Father Hater when he joined our group of priests for several summer weeks in Cape Cod. I see his personal qualities, so evident there, wonderfully present in his excellent book on evangelization.

I thank Bert Ghezzi for his invaluable help as I wrote this book on the new evangelization, a significant revision of Catholic Evangelization: The Heart of Ministry. He offered many suggestions in the development of A Parish Guide to the New Evangelization.

I am also grateful to the Office of Evangelization and Catechesis of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, whose staff read the manuscript. In addition, I am extremely thankful to my friends Julie St. Croix of the Office of Faith Formation, St. John the Evangelist Church, Frederick, Maryland; to Joseph White of Our Sunday Visitor; and to Barbara Romanello-Wichtman, diocesan director of Religious Education and Catechesis, Columbus, Ohio, for their careful reading of the text, wise advice, and insightful commentary on the book.

The Scripture citations used in this work are taken from:

The Catholic Edition of the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (NRSV), copyright 1989 and 1993 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Jerusalem Bible