Glenn Beck and the Church continued:
The voice of the Church, that oracle of Christ, has been an effective communicator when she has tapped into the deeply held questions and concerns of the people; whatever that may be. In 1965, the Second Vatican Council, inspired by the Holy Spirit, prophetically spoke to this need; the need of putting the Gospel at the service of common concerns and commonly asked questions about this life and the next.
After the 1960's, meeting people where they were at became more of a necessity! Stomaching abstract theological truths and topics unrelated to the circumstance of the day, would become increasingly more difficult for the average person; especially in our entertainment culture of sound bites.
In anticipating the Sexual Revolution and the cultural shift to Secularism, the Holy Spirit, in 1965, inspired the Second Vatican Council to state the following on evangelization:
“The Church has always had the duty of scrutinizing the signs of the times and of interpreting them in the light of the Gospel. Thus, in language intelligible to each generation, she can respond to the perennial questions which men ask about this present life and the life to come, and about the relationship of the one to the other. We must therefore recognize and understand the world in which we live, its explanations, its longings, and its often dramatic characteristics.” ( Vatican II: Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, Article 4)
In this passage, the Second Vatican Council provides a preamble of how the New Evangelization should proceed. There are three points to remember:
1. Don't only teach about the Gospel but use the Gospel to interpret "signs of the times," that is, what the events of the day mean in light of the Gospel.
2. Use language that is intelligible. Speak the language of the people.
3. Respond to those questions they have about "this life and the life to come." As Catholic teachers and communicators, it is all too natural to respond to our own questions, and not the questions of the people.
I am confident that in using these principles, the Church will make up for what she has lost in these last fifty years. These are the ways in which the she has inspired the multitudes in the past.
Back to Beck on the next blog
