This video by Dr. Scott Hahn is fantastic because it talks about the stages of evangelization.
Real evangelization is not a one-shot deal. It’s a gradual process of revealing, in successive stages, the beauty and wonder of the Catholic Faith as the person is able to receive it.
You have to first build trust, share a little of yourself in relationship, and then as they become more open, you slowly reveal more of God and the Church as they become ready for it. As trust in the Church builds, you can teach the more difficult issues without rejection.
That’s why I’m not a big fan of door-to-door evangelization. It’s too much too soon. It’s like going up to someone in a bar and asking them to marry you. What would happen? You’d get rejected.
You need to get to know the person first, figure out who they are, if you fit together, then enter a deeper, more exclusive relationship, then a formal engagement where you declare your intention to be united for life, and finally a marriage where you make the commitment. Then, of course, comes the lifetime of learning to live with each other.
The Church’s official stages of evangelization fit this model. First there’s pre-evangelization, then initial proclamation, initiation, post-baptismal catechesis, and continuing catechesis.
Following these stages respects who we are as human persons. That’s just the way people work. But it’s also divine. It’s the same way God has revealed himself to mankind of the course of human history and drawn us into covenantal relationship with him.
I love this, Marc! Great video. I love how Scott Hahn explains the stages: we’re evangelised, then catechised, then sacramentalised. One of the things I find saddest in our parishes (over here, anyway) is how many people are ‘sacramentalised’ but not evangelised or catechised. It’s all upside down!
Hi Hannah! Great to hear from you!
Yes, the same thing happens over here. There’s no real thought to evangelizing our kids and I think that’s at the root of our problems. It’s all upside down! And, no one really knows how to fix it. We seriously need to get a handle on this to make some progress in parish catechesis.
Just a note on door-to-door evangelization — I agree. The more Catholic approach is what we do at my workplace (well, this is one aspect of our work): giving presentations on Door-to-Door Home Visitation. That’s when a team/pair visits people within the parish boundary and simply expresses concern for them on behalf of the Church, and invites them to come to the parish. It’s less of a ‘cold call’ and more of a ‘warm hug.’ Ha.
That does sound like a good model. A warm hug would be a great way to build that initial trust.