Wednesday, December 18, 2013

"New" Evangelization? "[It is an] illusory notion that the man of our age can only be reached with the message of Christ in a completely new way." (Dietrich von Hildebrand)

Yes, it's true that evangelizing post-Christian pagans is notoriously difficult, if only because the post-Christian pagan believes he already knows the content of the Gospel, has found it wanting, and dismissed it as so much worthless piffle; whereas in fact his dismissive attitude is simply proportional to his ignorance of it.

Nevertheless, the only way anyone today is going to be evangelized is for Catholics to stop writing books, organizing sub-committees, launching programs, and endlessly talking on and on about the "New Evangelization," and quite simply start evangelizing -- which is to say, sharing the good news about what Jesus Christ has done for them to atone for their sins, save them from hell and damnation, and offer them eternal life in the fellowship of the Blessed Trinity.

5 comments:

LJC said...

Where is the Von Hildebrand quote from?

Pertinacious Papist said...

LJC,

Wish I knew the ultimate source. I got it from the New Oxford Review.

It's most likely got to be in one of his later writings focused on post-Conciliar developments in the Church.

Perhaps one of our readers will know.

Codgitator (Cadgertator) said...

As much as I wanted to find it, for now it strikes me as a very recent Catholic urban legend, of sorts, perhaps not pre-dating 2010.

Last night I discovered the same about the alleged Mao quotation about words as "little sticks of dynamite."

As I read and speak both Chinese and German, I'm of a mind to hunt these down, if there be such beasts.

Pertinacious Papist said...

Codgitator,

Let's see if one of us can get to the bottom of this. My money is on authenticity, as it sounds very much like the sort of thing I have heard attributed by Alice von Hildebrand to her husband. But if you can credibly demonstrate that it's an urban legend, I will happily concede.

Oh, and I like your icon, which reminds me of the renegade computer, Hal, in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey. =)

Pertinacious Papist said...

Codgitator,

I just heard from the editor of the New Oxford Review, Pieter Vree, who says that the Dietrich von Hildebrand quote is from his book, Trojan Horse in the City of God.

Do I get a free beer or something?

Merry Christmas!

Pertinaciously,
Papist