Catholics need to be overwhelmed by the Gospel

In his letter to the Romans, St. Paul tells us, “The Gospel is the power of God for salvation” (1:16). This simple verse is rich in meaning. When Paul says “the Gospel,” he means the proclamation of what God the Father has done for us in the Person of His Son, Jesus of Nazareth, born of the Virgin Mary. That announcement, that proclamation, is often referred to in the Church as the kerygma, the Greek word for “proclamation.” The word that is translated as “power” into English is the one from which we get the word “dynamite.” In other words, the Gospel is not mere news; it is extraordinary, unexpected, and life-changing news!

Note also that Paul says the Gospel itself is power. In other words, it doesn’t ultimately depend on the oratory skills of the herald, be he a priest in the pulpit or a mom talking with her children. This takes the pressure off us.
Pope St. John Paul II wrote that the result of preaching the kerygma should be that “a person is one day overwhelmed and brought to the decision to entrust himself to Jesus Christ by faith” (Catechesi tradendae, 25).

Seriously, ask yourself: how many Catholics do you know would say they have been “overwhelmed” by the Gospel? How many people do you know who would say they have made a decision to “entrust,” that is to say, “surrender,” their whole lives to Jesus by faith?

The most urgent need right now in the Church is to proclaim the Gospel. I don’t think most Catholics have ever really heard it. What many of our evangelical brothers and sisters do so well is proclaim the power of the Gospel. And we would do well to make it a priority in our preaching to spend intentional time each year doing the same. How?

One of the joys, and challenges, of being Catholic is the lectionary we read from at Mass on Sundays. The joy is that in the course of three years at Mass, we are immersed in a wide swath of Scripture. The challenge is that the lectionary presumes you already know and understand the story. Because of the level of biblical illiteracy in so many Catholics, as we have found in our ministry at ACTS XXIX, there is a need to intentionally set aside time on at least four consecutive Sundays to just preach “the Gospel.” To help preach and share this, we have broken the Gospel down into just four words: Created, Captured, Rescued, Response.

Behind each is a profound question: Why is there something rather than nothing? Why is everything messed up? What has God done about it? How should I reasonably respond?

The Scriptures help us to see where we came from, where we’re going, and how to get there. In them God reveals His plan, His love, and His power. They make clear that there is an enemy in this life. They reveal his tactics and strategy to deceive us from the happiness God created us for. They help us understand why the eternal Son of God became Flesh. They reveal that Jesus has robbed the enemy of his power and conquered Sin and Death, and so we have nothing to fear. In this time of immense anxiety and fear, we urgently need to know and to share these things.

No one in human history ever entrusted herself to God by faith as our Blessed Mother did. May we beg her intercession this month, that we may grow in faith, and become heralds of hope to a culture desperately in need of it.

FR. JOHN RICCARDO is the founder and executive director of ACTS XXIX, a nonprofit apostolate that equips bishops, priests, deacons, and lay leaders for the apostolic age in which we live. He was ordained a priest of the Archdiocese of Detroit in 1996, where he served as pastor for 15 years. He is host of the Christ is the Answer radio program and has authored several books, including, Rescued: The Unexpected and Extraordinary News of the Gospel.