What is The New Evangelization? Had I been asked this question six months ago I probably would have ambled around, wordily grasping for an answer. Sure I'd heard of it, and kind of knew what it was, but after reading The New Evangelization and You: Be Not Afraid by Greg Willits, founder of The Rosary Army, I feel like I can clearly and succinctly answer that it is knowing, living and sharing my Faith in a way that is relevant to today's culture and society. The message isn't new, it's the same 'ole Good News of Jesus Christ that has been preached now for over 2000 years now, but it is delivered in a way that speaks to people today...whether that's people who have never before heard the Good News of Jesus, people who have heard the Good News but have maybe gone astray, and all fellow Christians on the road to Heaven.
This book was very reader-friendly, and made clear early on that one does not need to be a theologian or Biblical scholar to be a 'new evangelizer' (whew!).
My favorite part of the book was chapters nine and ten (towards the end), that talked about Twenty-First Century Fishing Tips (think Fishers of Men x 2000 years) and gave 52 practical ways (one for each week of the year) to 1. Know, 2. Live, and 3. Share your Faith (yes, there were three lists, so 156 items in all!!). I actually sat down with my calendar and jotted down one item from each list for the next 6 weeks or so to spur me on the road to New Evangelization. But then, I am kind of a list person anyways...
The other thing I really liked about this book was at the end of each chapter (there are 11 chapters in all) were some questions for reflection and a prayer. The prayers were very well written, I could definitely see revisiting them in future prayer-time. This book was great to read on my own, but would be a wonderful discussion book for a Catholic Book Club or study. It was something that, given the time, could have easily been read in 1-2 sittings.
This review was written as part of the Catholic book reviewer program
from The Catholic Company. Visit The Catholic Company to find more
information on The New Evangelization and You.
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