By Matt Greeley, Associate Director of Communications and Rose O’Connor, Correspondent

Looking over the dozens of faithful gathered before him, Paulist Father Frank DeSiano said, “Our whole life is a process of conversion. We are a converted people, we are an evangelized people and we need to grow.”

Almost 350 clergy members and laity gathered in St. Robert Bellarmine Parish, Freehold, June 25 for a daylong, bilingual convention, titled “Evangelization: A Call to Mercy.”

To see photo gallery on this story, click here.
To read Bishop O'Connell's homily, click here.

The event, sponsored by the diocesan Department of Evangelization and Catechesis, focused on the “New Evangelization” and the implications this has for all of the faithful to live out their baptismal promises.

The event was “open to all because we are all called to be evangelizers,” said Laura Rivas, associate director of evangelization and adult faith formation in the Department of Evangelization and Catechesis.

“During the Year of Mercy, we focus on the Father’s mercy in our lives as well as how we can be conduits of justice and mercy to others. In this Year of Mercy, we are constantly reminded that there is no greater love than God’s,” Rivas said.

The day provided the opportunity for attendees to visit displays from vendors, network, hear presentations by two keynote speakers and attend Mass celebrated by Bishop David M. O’Connell, C.M.

Father DeSiano, a prolific writer on the topic of evangelization, spoke on “Evangelization,” while Dr. Hosffman Ospino, an assistant professor of theology and religious education in Boston College’s School of Theology and Ministry, discussed “Mercy/Catholic Parish.”

Each presentation was available in English and Spanish at different times throughout the day, providing the participants the opportunity to hear both talks in their native language.

Reaching Out to Others

Concentrating on “Evengelii Gaudium,” the 2013 apostolic exhortation by Pope Francis, Father DeSiano urged Catholics to use the “Joy of the Gospel” as a source of personal conversion. 

In addition, he urged the faithful to spend more time in private reflection and prayer.

“Reflect on your own life,” he said. “We don’t give ourselves the time to meditate, we don’t give ourselves the time to reflect and we don’t give ourselves the time to pray – to experience the joy of the Gospel.”

“We are experiencing evangelization if we are living our Catholic life,” he said. “Evangelization is the heart of who we are, and it is the heart of what it means to be Church.”

Father DeSiano encouraged parish leaders and their parishioners to go beyond their comfort zones, urging them to bring the Gospel to all by going beyond the members of their own parish family.

For John O’Neil, ministry assistant in St. David the King Parish, Princeton Junction, Fr. DeSiano’s words resonated strongly and he spoke of those Catholic Christians who do not participate in the sacramental life of the Church regularly.

“I thought of those who don’t attend Church” O’Neil said. “They are our brothers and sisters, and sometimes we may put them off. Sometimes, we are so wrapped up in our own schedules, we don’t see that Christ is the reason we do what we do.”

The Root of Our Faith

Dr. Ospino discussed the parish as a “microcosm” of the larger Church and society. He discussed how in a parish, faithful are invited to allow God to meet their vulnerability as they trustingly offer their hopes, joys, fears and needs.

“We are called to bring the Good News to the poor one more time, but in new ways. We have work to do!” Dr. Ospino said as he delved into the intrinsic connection between evangelization and mercy.

Dr. Ospino engaged the participants, wanting to know where they found themselves when it came to faith. His point was to show the importance of engaging others in conversation, to learn about them so that they can then get further on their road with Christ. He asked the crowd about the different images of God.

 “What sort of God are we proclaiming?” he asked. “What are some of the images of God we have?”

People’s responses ranged from the ever-watchful God who judges us when no one sees our actions to the mighty old bearded man on clouds to the crucified and merciful images of a God who wants nothing more than to love His people and to have that loved returned.

Dr. Ospino talked about the need for witnesses who have experienced the mercy of God. Parishes, he explained, should respond to the very real needs of the flock, in particular the needs of those on the fringes or peripheries.

From visiting nursing homes and hospitals to walking with the families who have loved ones in jail or prison, the work of the parish is a work that “goes out” and meets people at their most vulnerable.

“Mercy,” Dr. Ospino said, “is at the root of our faith. We are called to be merciful because we have been shown mercy.”

He left the participants with five basic characteristics of God’s mercy, encouraging all to keep them present as they reflect on the work of their parishes. God’s mercy: 1) reminds us that we share the same humanity, all made in the likeness of God; 2) needs to be a revolution of tenderness, goodness and care; 3) calls for genuine hospitality; 4) is about walking with others, not simply opening doors to them, but truly walking with them in their joys and struggles, and 5) seeks justice, but merciful justice, because justice without mercy is just a punishment.

Pedro Batista from St. Anthony Claret Parish, Lakewood, reflected on Dr. Ospino’s talk.

“He talked about relationships, how we need to go to the poorest people and take the Gospel to them,” Batista said. “He also spoke on the mercy of God and how we need to show mercy to people as mercy has been shown to us.”

He said that Dr. Ospino goes beyond the classroom and has “made the commitment to participate actively in the life of the faith community to ground my theological scholarship.”

Dr. Ospino provided concrete ways to evangelize and show mercy to those who are marginalized by society and based much of his discussion on his own experiences serving in St. Patrick Parish, Lawrence, Mass., where he and his wife, Guadalupe, oversee Hispanic ministry and ministries particularly related to faith formation and leadership development.

“He was very clear and to the point; the people wanted to hear his information,” said Liliam Soler from St. Ann Parish, Browns Mills. 

Fellow parishioner Carmen Quesada agreed. “He was very insightful.”

The Desire To Be Saved

Bishop O’Connell celebrated Mass and spoke to the theme of the conference in his homily.

“Evangelization is not an unfamiliar term in the Catholic Church of the last half-century,” he said. “The word itself has roots in Greek, ‘eu-angelion,’ meaning simply ‘good news.’  Evangelization is basically the process of ‘sharing good news,’ as we use it, the ‘Good News’ or ‘Gospel of Jesus Christ.’”

“Evangelization begins with personal conversion,” he purported. “The Apostles preached because they were first sent.  But they first heard.  And they first believed.  And they heard from him whom they first knew.  St. Paul gave us this formula for evangelization.  Evangelization is rooted in a desire to be saved by the Lord Jesus – a real desire, a burning desire – flowing from our love of the one we know, who speaks to us, who touches and moves our hearts.”

It is because of our deep love and conversion that we are called to be merciful people, he said.

“Evangelization begins with a personal conversion to Christ, but it doesn’t end there.  Our personal conversion is so deep, so profound, so compelling that it wants to leap out of our hearts, out of our very being to tell the world what the Lord Jesus means to us.  And so we proclaim it loudly and boldly to others.  Evangelization is a personal conversion that becomes a ‘proclamation of good news.’  It builds upon a very natural, human inclination not to hold good things to ourselves but to let others know.  And the more we speak and proclaim, the more we reach out to others, the more immersed we become in our encounter and conviction of faith in the Lord Jesus.  Evangelization changes us through our proclamation to the point where when others see us, hear us, they see and hear the Lord Jesus.

“My dear sisters and brothers,” he continued, “What is it that we witness in our evangelization or, better, ‘who’ do we witness?  The Lord Jesus!   And what is it in him, about him that is so transforming?  It is his ‘mercy.’  That is why we gather today around the theme ‘Evangelization: A Call to Mercy.’”

“Evangelization is personal conversion to the Lord Jesus that transforms us.  Evangelization is proclamation of the Lord Jesus that draws others.  Evangelization is witness to the Lord Jesus Christ that convinces them that he alone is the way.  And mercy is the motivation and the mission and the message that calls us to evangelize, to make disciples of all nations and to know that he is with us all days, even to the end of time.”

To be a witness of Christ’s love and mercy was in fact the reason Terry Evanko of St. George Parish, Titusville, was interested in participating in the conference.

“I want to be a witness for God,” she said. “I want to be an instrument for God and to spread his love.”

“The call to mercy is a very inspiring topic, and I came to be enlightened,” said Mary Ann Dempkowski, director of religious education in St. John Parish, Lakehurst.

Fellow catechist Cyndi Condello was also eager to take the message gleaned from the day and take it back to her parish.

“I want to grow spiritually on a personal level and take the information back to my students and my classroom,” she said.

The topic of evangelization not only appealed to the laity of the parish, but to the priests in our diocese as well.

Father Daniel F. Swift, pastor of St. Mary of the Lakes Parish, Medford, found the discussion of evangelization and mercy to be timely and relevant, a message he and his parish needed to hear.

“Anytime we have an opportunity to hear about evangelization, to take it to the next step and to bring people back and become part of our Church, I’m all ears,” he said.