We shall end this section with quotations from the address of Pope St. John Paul II to the delegates of the 36th World Communications Day held on May 12, 2002. The Pope proclaimed: "But the history of evangelization is not just a matter of geographic expansion, for the Church has also had to cross many cultural thresholds, each of which called for fresh energy and imagination in proclaiming the one Gospel of Jesus Christ. The age of the great discoveries, the Renaissance and the invention of printing, the Industrial Revolution and the birth of the modern world: these too were threshold moments which demanded new forms of evangelization. Now, with the communication and information revolution in full swing , the Church stands unmistakably at another decisive gateway. It is fitting therefore that on this World Communications Day 2002 we should reflect on the subject: "Internet: A new forum for proclaiming the Gospel". [Taken from the "Message of the Holy Father for the 36th World Communications Day", passim in: Pontifical Council for Social Communications (Pauline Publications, Bombay, 2002) ed. by John P. Foley and Pier Franco Pastor].
The Pope elaborates on the various uses both good and bad the internet can be put to and pleads for judicious ways of making use of this wonderful instrument of communication for proclaiming the Gospel. One must beware of the tendency to look for facts neglecting values as well as for information to the detriment of insight and wisdom. He asks: "In such a context, how are we to cultivate that wisdom which comes not just from information but from insight, the wisdom which understands the difference between right and wrong, and sustains the scale of values which flows from the difference? The Pope continues further: "The fact that through the Internet people multiply their contacts in ways hitherto unthinkable opens up wonderful possibilities for spreading the Gospel. But it is also true that electronically mediated relationships can never take the place of the direct human contact required for genuine evangelization. For evangelization always depends upon the personal witness of the one sent to evangelize. (See Romans, 10: 14-15)" (ibid.).
After reminding his audience that globalization of human development and solidarity should gradually do away with the inequalities created by the information and communications gap, the Pope concludes his address as follows: " The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evangelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely human space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man".( ibid) The Pope sees possibilities in the communication media, especially the medium of internet, and yet stresses the importance of personal presence when it comes to Gospel Proclamation. We whole-heartedly agree with this assessment and insist on the importance of being a disciple of Jesus for anyone who wants to effectively proclaim the Gospel..
The theme of our Study may be summarized as follows: The Kingdom of God is being established by God Himself through Gospel Proclamation initiated and perfected in and through Jesus Christ. We are called to co-operate in this divine work through the changing times upholding the message of Christ in its purity. The first condition of Gospel Proclamation, therefore, is for the preacher to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The First Section of the total 7 Sections of our Study, each consisting of a number of Posts, deals with the Christian Discipleship as seen from the Gospels. The Second Section treats Discipleship in its specific relation to Gospel Proclamation. As there is no better guide in proclaiming the Gospel than Jesus himself. the next three Sections attempt to capture the mind of Jesus on it from the Gospels. Thus we have Section Three about the Content of Gospel Proclamation, while Section Four is about its Method and Section Five about the Rationale of Gospel Proclamation from the perspective of Jesus Christ. The Rationale of the Gospel Proclamation in the 21st century is discussed in Section Six. This rationale, however, is to be grounded in the plan of God for the world and its salvation, which is explained in the Seventh and Final Section "A Christology for the 21st Century".
Hopefully, our clarifications through the Posts so far on "What is Gospel Proclamation? should serve as an incentive to delve deep into "The Gospel Proclamation in the 21st Century"!
The Pope elaborates on the various uses both good and bad the internet can be put to and pleads for judicious ways of making use of this wonderful instrument of communication for proclaiming the Gospel. One must beware of the tendency to look for facts neglecting values as well as for information to the detriment of insight and wisdom. He asks: "In such a context, how are we to cultivate that wisdom which comes not just from information but from insight, the wisdom which understands the difference between right and wrong, and sustains the scale of values which flows from the difference? The Pope continues further: "The fact that through the Internet people multiply their contacts in ways hitherto unthinkable opens up wonderful possibilities for spreading the Gospel. But it is also true that electronically mediated relationships can never take the place of the direct human contact required for genuine evangelization. For evangelization always depends upon the personal witness of the one sent to evangelize. (See Romans, 10: 14-15)" (ibid.).
After reminding his audience that globalization of human development and solidarity should gradually do away with the inequalities created by the information and communications gap, the Pope concludes his address as follows: " The Internet causes billions of images to appear on millions of computer monitors around the planet. From this galaxy of sight and sound will the face of Christ emerge and the voice of Christ be heard? For it is only when his face is seen and his voice heard that the world will know the glad tidings of our redemption. This is the purpose of evangelization. And this is what will make the Internet a genuinely human space, for if there is no room for Christ, there is no room for man".( ibid) The Pope sees possibilities in the communication media, especially the medium of internet, and yet stresses the importance of personal presence when it comes to Gospel Proclamation. We whole-heartedly agree with this assessment and insist on the importance of being a disciple of Jesus for anyone who wants to effectively proclaim the Gospel..
The theme of our Study may be summarized as follows: The Kingdom of God is being established by God Himself through Gospel Proclamation initiated and perfected in and through Jesus Christ. We are called to co-operate in this divine work through the changing times upholding the message of Christ in its purity. The first condition of Gospel Proclamation, therefore, is for the preacher to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. The First Section of the total 7 Sections of our Study, each consisting of a number of Posts, deals with the Christian Discipleship as seen from the Gospels. The Second Section treats Discipleship in its specific relation to Gospel Proclamation. As there is no better guide in proclaiming the Gospel than Jesus himself. the next three Sections attempt to capture the mind of Jesus on it from the Gospels. Thus we have Section Three about the Content of Gospel Proclamation, while Section Four is about its Method and Section Five about the Rationale of Gospel Proclamation from the perspective of Jesus Christ. The Rationale of the Gospel Proclamation in the 21st century is discussed in Section Six. This rationale, however, is to be grounded in the plan of God for the world and its salvation, which is explained in the Seventh and Final Section "A Christology for the 21st Century".
Hopefully, our clarifications through the Posts so far on "What is Gospel Proclamation? should serve as an incentive to delve deep into "The Gospel Proclamation in the 21st Century"!
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