It was Christmas Eve, and extended family members gathered at my parent’s house for the exchanging of gifts and devouring of good food. There was a collection of aunts, uncles, parents, siblings, cousins and my two oldest kids, the first Waring grandchildren.
As gifts were passed around, my son, four years old at the time, was handed a small, neatly wrapped gift by my aunt. He tore off the paper to find a board book version of the nativity story. He’d never seen this particular book before, but as he opened the cover, it was clear that he knew the story.
In the midst of a busy Christmas gathering, one of the smallest members of the family began to recite the Christmas story. Angels, donkeys, shepherds, stables, the star, Joseph (his namesake), Mary and, finally, baby Jesus. He knew it all and remarkably quickly, my rambunctious family stopped what they were doing to listen to this tiny boy tell about the birth of Jesus Christ.
Picture the Charlie Brown Christmas Special, but in real life, and the adults weren’t speaking gibberish. When Jesus tells his disciples that they need to be like children, this moment always stands out to me as an example of how the childlike can bring Jesus straight to the heart of another.
The Catholic Church finds itself at a crucial time right now. The National Eucharistic Congress has concluded and we have entered the final year of the National Eucharistic Revival, a year focused on moving towards mission and evangelization through encountering Christ in the Eucharist.
Evangelization. When we hear that word, it’s not uncommon for things in the Church to come to a standstill. Many individuals and parish ministries alike know they need to evangelize but don’t know where to start.
Forty years ago, Pope St. John Paul II called for a “New Evangelization” where we did not just focus our evangelization efforts on those who were not Christian, but rather recognized the need to evangelize the Church itself. For many people involved with the Church, new doesn’t feel quite so new anymore.
Over the last few years, I have been in the unique position of helping guide our diocese’s participation in the Synod on Synodality. In doing so, I have heard about the amazing things that are happening around our geographically gigantic diocese. It is so clear that the people of the Diocese of Richmond love Jesus Christ and are falling more in love with him and his Church every day.
There is a generosity of time and gifts that is staggering. There is dedication to one’s parish that spans decades. There is a desire to bring Jesus and his Good News to others, so that they can encounter his healing love as well. However, for a variety of reasons, people lack the confidence or are hesitant to share their story and their love for Christ.
With that in mind, the members of the diocesan Office for Evangelization have been thinking through how to best help Catholics here in the Diocese of Richmond. Over the course of the next year, we’ll write this column in an effort to help provide people with ideas, tools and a framework to evangelize more confidently in their daily lives.
This is going to be a practical look at what you can do to evangelize. It’s not going to be about big programs and initiatives (although we might mention those), but rather about the personal journey of falling in love with Jesus and then following the Great Commission to spread the Good News.
The first few columns will focus on the Eucharistic Revival’s Year of Mission by diving deep into the four pillars – Encounter, Identity, Life, and Mission. These writings won’t be a blueprint for everyone to follow to the letter, but rather suggestions and examples to help anyone engage in the work of evangelization.
I firmly believe that simplicity and sincerity will do more to spread the love of Christ than any multi-stepped program. In these columns, we will strive to help you grow in wonder of Jesus and be open to the movement of the Holy Spirit, so that you can respond in faith and courage.
When my son sat there with the Nativity story, he shared what he knew, without an agenda or plan, but with simple faith. Let us pray for open hearts as we approach evangelization, and for generosity in how we respond to God’s call to love and serve him.
Andrew Waring has worked for the Diocese of Richmond since 2011 and has served as director of the Office for Evangelization since 2020. He is a graduate of James Madison University (B.A. in History) and Fordham University (M.A. in Religious Education). Andrew, his wife and their five kids attend St. Bridget, Richmond.