Wspólnoty neokatechumenalne jako jedna z form duszpasterstwa ewangelizacji

Abstract

The paper is concerned with a special kind of ministry, which is not yet very widespread and has an equally little widespread name of ministry of evangelization. In the article the notion of this kind of ministry is discussed and the need of its development in the parishes sown. Most generally speaking, ministry of evangelization consists in creating small, living communities in parishes in which people gradually reach the mature faith. The fruit of such faith is the love of one’s neighbours developing till it becomes the love of even one’s enemies and the specifically Christian unity growing on the basis of this love and going beyond all the limits normally deviding people into different groups, i.e. the Church community. Owing to these two signs a community can be a missionary, evangelizing one. The ministry of evangelization solves fairly effectively two essential problems which are generally rather badly dealt with by priests. These problems are: the existence in parishes of a considerable number of people whose Christianity is inconsistent and the existence of people who have walked so far away from the Church that it is very difficult to reach them by normal priestly measures. This ministry is a continuation of the ancient institution of catechumenate. Owing to this it can lead to a solution of those difficult problems, since it strikes at their main source which is the lack of leading people to convertion and to the mature faith.