Cardinal Dolan is just getting back from nearly a month in Rome attending the Synod on the New Evangelization, and I’m sure we’ll be hearing from him soon on how the Holy Father and the Bishops propose to transmit the Gospel in the new circumstances we face: an increasingly secularized society that suffers from a deep attitude of relativism in moral decisionmaking which is ever more separated from a religious and spiritual world-view. Let’s stay tuned for their perspective on the big picture worldwide.

But success in communicating the Gospel depends first of all on the ground game that every parish and Catholic organization has, and on the vitality of the parishioners who are the real agents of evangelization in practice.

We’ve got good programs in place and we’ve got fired up people who preach and teach the Gospel to our young people, in adult faith formation, and in our many spiritual programs. St. Lawrence is a vibrant center of Catholicism that is all about spreading the Gospel message.

To push those efforts even more, we’ve recently started an Evangelization Committee run by Sally Silvestro. Its mission will be to reach out to the un-churched, to those who are unsure of what they believe, and to wavering Catholics. Evangelization proposes the message and teaching of Jesus as the way forward. But it is first and foremost about a relationship with Jesus Christ, and it seeks to invite each person into a personal encounter with him. As we know, “there is no other name by which we can be saved” but the name of Jesus.

I’m really excited about what this new group will bring to St. Lawrence parish. We’ve got a little chunk of the world known as Brewster NY, which we’re responsible for bringing into heaven. If you want a piece of the action, let me or Sally know. We need some help!