{"id":3112,"date":"2011-10-18T12:05:02","date_gmt":"2011-10-18T18:05:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=3112"},"modified":"2011-10-21T23:51:09","modified_gmt":"2011-10-22T05:51:09","slug":"answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/","title":{"rendered":"Answering Pope Benedict’s Call for Audacious Evangelization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Recently, Pope Benedict XVI asked European bishops to be audacious in their evangelization.<\/p>\n

He told them to\u00a0“identify new ways of evangelization with\u00a0missionary audacity<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

But isn’t audacity kind of negative? Reckless?<\/p>\n

Should Catholic evangelization<\/a> be audacious?<\/p>\n

Actually, this is nothing new! In fact, it’s biblical.<\/p>\n

Not only should Catholic evangelization be audacious, it always has been.
\n<\/p>\n

Biblical audacity<\/h2>\n

Webster defines audacity as the bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints.<\/p>\n

Audacity is reckless and daring. But it’s also brave, bold, fearless, and dauntless.<\/p>\n

So what is the authentically Catholic audacity Pope Benedict calls for?\u00a0There’s a specific Greek word used in the Bible to describe this–parrhesia<\/em>.<\/p>\n

The apostles were audacious<\/h2>\n

Parrhesia<\/em> is fearless trust, bold confidence.<\/strong> It’s going full speed ahead to the edge of the envelope because you’re fearless in the face of opposition.<\/p>\n

The apostles had parrhesia<\/em> in their preaching.\u00a0When St. Peter preached at Pentecost\u00a0he spoke boldly and\u00a0without fear.<\/p>\n

Nothing could stop them!\u00a0When the temple officials ordered them to stop they wouldn’t. Even after they beat them the apostles wouldn’t stop.<\/p>\n

St. Paul<\/a> had this fearless confidence too.<\/p>\n

“He remained for two full years in his lodgings. He received all who came to him, and with complete assurance [parrhesia<\/em>] and\u00a0without hindrance he proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught\u00a0about the\u00a0Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 28:31).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Our audacity must come from God<\/h2>\n

This boldness comes from the\u00a0Lord. It’s “complete assurance” that the Lord is on your side.<\/p>\n

Authentic audacity is the product of complete trust in God.<\/strong> Christ has conquered! He made us sons and daughters of the Father.\u00a0So, we are members of his family!<\/p>\n

We can be outspoken and bold in talking\u00a0about God\u00a0because he’s backing us up!<\/p>\n

It’s like when a little kid talks trash with his friends because\u00a0his big brother is around. He knows someone has his back.<\/p>\n

New media audacity<\/h2>\n

So here’s the good part. When the Pope talks\u00a0about new ways to be audacious in evangelizing–he highlights new media<\/strong>!<\/p>\n

“There is also question of seeking new ways to evangelize, such as, for example, new technology, the Internet, and social networking sites.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can’t think of any better way to do it! The Pope is recognizing the power of new media and technology to spur Catholic evangelization<\/a>.<\/p>\n

It’s the new missionary frontier. A new and efficient way of reaching people who don’t yet believe in Christ, right where they live and interact.<\/p>\n

Evangelization takeaway<\/h2>\n

One thing is certain. This won’t happen if you and I rely only on our own talents<\/a>, abilities, and skills.<\/p>\n

“But all this is only possible if, following the example of the Christians of the Acts of the Apostles, we open ourselves up in a new way to the Holy Spirit: ‘There will be no new evangelization without a new Pentecost!'”\u00a0Pope Benedict said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It was\u00a0the Holy Spirit that gave the apostles their fearless trust and bold confidence–their audacity. An audacious new evangelization will only take place again if we allow the Holy Spirit to work in us<\/a>, if we allow a new Pentecost to happen in us.<\/p>\n

So my fellow new media evangelists, the call to be audacious is out!<\/p>\n

We need to proclaim our message boldly, with confidence that God (and the Pope) want our message to produce fruit. We need to fearlessly trust that the\u00a0Lord is backing us up and giving us what we need to succeed.\u00a0And, we need to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in developing new ways of telling our Catholic story<\/a> and reaching the world through the internet.<\/p>\n

Why be afraid? God is on our side!<\/p>\n

Image: Salvatore Vuono \/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Recently, Pope Benedict XVI asked European bishops to be audacious in their evangelization. He told them to\u00a0“identify new ways of evangelization with\u00a0missionary audacity.” But isn’t audacity kind of negative? Reckless? Should Catholic evangelization be audacious? Actually, this is nothing new! In fact, it’s biblical. Not only should Catholic evangelization be audacious, it always has been.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3112","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-evangelization-2","post-wrapper","thrv_wrapper"],"yoast_head":"\nAnswering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Answering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Recently, Pope Benedict XVI asked European bishops to be audacious in their evangelization. He told them to\u00a0“identify new ways of evangelization with\u00a0missionary audacity.” But isn’t audacity kind of negative? Reckless? Should Catholic evangelization be audacious? Actually, this is nothing new! In fact, it’s biblical. Not only should Catholic evangelization be audacious, it always has been.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Marc Cardaronella\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Marc Cardaronella\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094\"},\"headline\":\"Answering Pope Benedict’s Call for Audacious Evangelization\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\"},\"wordCount\":619,\"commentCount\":4,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Evangelization\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\",\"name\":\"Answering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg\"},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Marc Cardaronella\",\"description\":\"The Intersection of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Faith.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094\",\"name\":\"Marc Cardaronella\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/164aa4b84d105cd32d10bdd83348b54c63dc618966b633b3dd110dd1c01a8840?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/164aa4b84d105cd32d10bdd83348b54c63dc618966b633b3dd110dd1c01a8840?s=96&d=retro&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Marc Cardaronella\"},\"description\":\"I'm passionate about the most effective ways to transmit the Catholic Faith and spread the Gospel to the world. Join me? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter for the catechetical ramblings of the day.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/author\/marccard\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Answering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Answering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella","og_description":"Recently, Pope Benedict XVI asked European bishops to be audacious in their evangelization. He told them to\u00a0“identify new ways of evangelization with\u00a0missionary audacity.” But isn’t audacity kind of negative? Reckless? Should Catholic evangelization be audacious? Actually, this is nothing new! In fact, it’s biblical. Not only should Catholic evangelization be audacious, it always has been.","og_url":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/","og_site_name":"Marc Cardaronella","article_published_time":"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg","type":"","width":"","height":""}],"author":"Marc Cardaronella","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Marc Cardaronella","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/"},"author":{"name":"Marc Cardaronella","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094"},"headline":"Answering Pope Benedict’s Call for Audacious Evangelization","datePublished":"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/"},"wordCount":619,"commentCount":4,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg","articleSection":["Evangelization"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/","url":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/","name":"Answering Pope Benedict's Call for Audacious Evangelization - Marc Cardaronella","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg","datePublished":"2011-10-18T18:05:02+00:00","dateModified":"2011-10-22T05:51:09+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/10\/18\/answering-pope-benedicts-call-for-audacious-evangelization\/#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/10\/audacious-new-evangelization-224x300.jpg"},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/","name":"Marc Cardaronella","description":"The Intersection of Evangelization, Catechesis, and Faith.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/e35e8cdf8ac882a5e4f1b276d0553094","name":"Marc Cardaronella","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/164aa4b84d105cd32d10bdd83348b54c63dc618966b633b3dd110dd1c01a8840?s=96&d=retro&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/164aa4b84d105cd32d10bdd83348b54c63dc618966b633b3dd110dd1c01a8840?s=96&d=retro&r=g","caption":"Marc Cardaronella"},"description":"I'm passionate about the most effective ways to transmit the Catholic Faith and spread the Gospel to the world. Join me? You can find me on Facebook, Twitter for the catechetical ramblings of the day.","sameAs":["http:\/\/marccardaronella.com"],"url":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/author\/marccard\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3112","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3112"}],"version-history":[{"count":18,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3112\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3136,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3112\/revisions\/3136"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3112"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3112"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3112"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}