Parish Leaders Sent Forth to Embrace the Great Commission

St. Paul writes, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved. But how can they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how can they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone to preach? And how can people preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring the good news!” (Romans 10:13-15)

Austin Habash urged parish leaders to think of evangelization in terms of their own church territories during a day of formation at the Catholic Life Center. The Jan.14 event, themed "Embracing the Great Commission," was sponsored by the office of evangelization and catechesis of the Diocese of Baton Rouge.

Habash, a former diocesan seminarian and Carthusian monk, is founder of Think Catholic and Sent Evangelization.

God willed that three things must be present for the "miracle of the Mass," pointed out Habash: the bread and wine, a priest, and words of consecration.

"It's an all-or-nothing type of thing," said Habash.

In the same way, he said, the Lord asks us to do three things, which are contained in Matthew 28:19-20, which is "The Great Commission." Jesus states, "Go therefore and make disciples, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit."

Unfortunately, many parishes only prepare people for reception of the sacraments and celebration of the sacraments on Sunday. For a parish to be vibrant, it must provide a day outside of Sunday Mass for a community-wide gathering for ongoing formation.

"Keep the door open," admonished Habash.

Another vital component of the Great Commission is to go out and evangelize. Habash referred to Canon Law, paragraph 2: "(Pastors of souls) are also to make provision that the message of the gospel reaches non-believers living in the territory since the care of souls must also extend to them no less than to the faithful."

"Imagine that ... the guy across the street receives the Gospel to the same extent as the guy coming to Mass on Sunday. That's not Austin's opinion, that's not a devotional, that's the law of the church," said Habash. "We have to reach out to everyone who is under our geography."

Emphasizing "the parish is your neighborhood," Habash shared methods of evangelizing the community. 

Habash presented practical ways to do door-to-door evangelization. He said this is analogous to a "three-day work week." The  church celebrates the sacraments on Sunday, gathers for a community night on Wednesday or Thursday night, and sends parishioners out to evangelize  on Saturday. 

When evangelizing someone who is non-Catholic in the grocery store, you would invite them to a community night. Then "God willing," you will see them in Order of Christian Initiation (OCIA) class or Mass.

Habash also encouraged door-to-door visitations. He proposed that a two-person team go out every Saturday. He explained that SENT Evangelization focuses on prayer, preaching, and providing.  

To notify people of parish events, Habash recommended USPS Every Door Direct mail that can be sent to people within targeted ZIP codes.

Persistence is the key to success, emphasized Habash. 

He shared a story of a fallen-away Catholic who did not answer the door when they knocked or show up after the priest sent her a handwritten letter. After another attempt with direct mail, she showed up at an event and said to the priest, "You changed my life."

"It might not happen at the door knock, it might not happen at the direct mail or letter, but it's the process over time," Habash said.

To evangelize Mass attendees, thank you cards can be placed in the pews inviting people to write down their contact information so the priest or staff can contact them.

To share the core foundational Gospel Message or the kerygma, parishes must use a uniquely Catholic form. He referred to the acronym GOSPEL:
G – God exists (He is a personal God who cares for them)
O – Our creation (Everything and everyone is created by God)
S – Sin (Disrupted God's plan for man)
P – Payment (Restitution for sin)
E – Ecclesia (Called out body of believers)
L – Lifelong endurance (St. Paul writes about this)

To evangelize, one must first be prayerful, said Habash.

He talked about a "door knock" encounter with a woman, Patty, in Denver. She asked him to pray for her son who had committed suicide. Near the conclusion of their conversation, he asked if there was anything else she needed.

"It's March and she points at her gutter line where Christmas lights are still up. She said, 'My son put those up, but he is no longer with us and I don't trust myself on a ladder. I don't trust my husband on a ladder. Can you help us?' I plucked Christmas lights from the roof. Patty reeled them in from the ground. I sent her a handwritten letter, came back at Easter with an Easter basket. I (later) heard she was going back to Mass," said Habash.

Evangelization is more than knocking on doors, emphasized Habash.

He added everyone has different evangelization gifts that can be used for the shepherding of souls. To be fruitful they must use them following Jesus' example.

"Meet them, invite them, and then that leads to a moment of conversion," said Habash.

For more information about evangelization and faith formation resources, visit augustineinstitute.org, sentevangelization.org, and thinkcatholic.org.