Friends…I want to share the letter below, which Fr David Daly, LC sent earlier this week to the men he serves in spiritual direction. I found it to be inspiriting during these interesting times.
Thy Kingdom Come!
Dear Gentlemen,
Have you broken out of the daze after the results of last Tuesday’s presidential elections? We have all probably experienced and read a variety of reactions to the outcome, reactions that span from despair to a renewed zeal for our country.
I would like to share with you my view which is based in reality and rooted in trust in God’s Providence.
The results of the presidential election not only reveal the divisions in the country and the Catholic Church, but they confirm the urgent mission that we have in the Catholic Church. Our mission is to strengthen the Church and to Evangelize the secularized culture in which we live.
50% of Catholics voted for a leader who publically stands against some of the most critical teachings of the Catholic Church for our times: the sanctity of human life, marriage between one man and one woman, and the protection of religious liberty. And this is after the pastors and Bishops have been more outspoken than ever on these topics. This should not be surprising for anyone who has been observing the culture, but it reiterates a pressing need: Catholics need to be evangelized and catechized so that they can fulfill their mission in this world!
The Holy Spirit is leading the Church to take this task head on . The topic of the recent synod of Bishops in Rome was the “New Evangelization.” Here is a paragraph from the closing homily of the Pope:
A third aspect [of the New Evangelization] concerns the baptized whose lives do not reflect the demands of Baptism. During the Synod, it was emphasized that such people are found in all continents, especially in the most secularized countries. The Church is particularly concerned that they should encounter Jesus Christ anew, rediscover the joy of faith and return to religious practice in the community of the faithful. Besides traditional and perennially valid pastoral methods, the Church seeks to adopt new ones, developing new language attuned to the different world cultures, proposing the truth of Christ with an attitude of dialogue and friendship rooted in God who is Love.
Alongside the parish priests and traditional orders in the Church, the Holy Spirit has raised up many new Movements in which lay apostles are an important evangelizing force. This is the path to the renewal of the Church and evangelizing a secularized world. The Vicar of Christ underlines this in a meeting with American Bishops in Rome in January, 2012:
Here once more we see the need for an engaged, articulate and well-formed Catholic laity endowed with a strong critical sense vis-à-vis the dominant culture and with the courage to counter a reductive secularism which would delegitimize the Church’s participation in public debate about the issues which are determining the future of American society. The preparation of committed lay leaders and the presentation of a convincing articulation of the Christian vision of man and society remain a primary task of the Church in your country; as essential components of the new evangelization, these concerns must shape the vision and goals of catechetical programs at every level.
I am proud to be a Legionary of Christ priest. I see my mission as developing lay apostles to evangelize culture. Our congregation, the Legion and our ecclesial movement, Regnum Christi, are in the midst of a renewal led by a delegate personally assigned to us by Pope Benedict XVI and this renewal is helping us to understand that our mission is more important than ever.
So, although the results of the election are not what I would have liked, I am more confirmed in my mission than ever. I believe that this is the best time ever to be a Catholic. This is a time of work, a time of struggle, a time of glory and quite probably a time for martyrs. The refrain of John Paul II rings true today: Be not afraid!
All of you are men of influence and your deepest mission in life is to lead people to heaven: yourselves, your families and your employees and colleagues. I want to invite you to think about the election in light of our mission as Catholic leaders. I want to invite you to engage in this Divinely-inspired campaign of the Church for our times. It is called the New Evangelization and Christ needs us to be the protagonists!
Sincerely yours in Christ,
Fr David Daly, LC
