The “new evangelisation” was the theme of this year’s feast of Christ the King, celebrated yesterday in a packed Sta Venera parish church.
The diocesan activity was based on sharing with others “the happiness of our faith”, given that the Church’s pastoral plan for the next three years is to reflect on the way it could, once again, stimulate the hearts of those who have pushed aside their faith so that they would rediscover the “beauty of Christian life”.
The theme also tied in with Pope Benedict’s message to the world, especially in the West, which was experiencing secularisation despite the fact that its origins were based on Christianity. He has even set up a council for the promotion of the new evangelisation.
Archbishop Paul Cremona explained that the new evangelisation did not target those who never heard God’s message but those who knew about but had not accepted it as the good news. Referring to those who said yes to Jesus and no to the Church, he said Jesus’ preoccupation was not about being called king but about his kingdom. That too should be the preoccupation of the Church all the time.
“You cannot be a complete Christian if you are not preoccupied about the kingdom,” Mgr Cremona told the congregation. “If we split Jesus from the preoccupation of His kingdom, we would be taking in only half his message,” he said, insisting that His good news should be lived and shared with others.
The liturgical feast, first celebrated in 1925, also included a feature on the new evangelisation by a group of Catholic families within the Missionary Society of St Paul, known as Miskan, who gave their personal experiences about Jesus in their lives.
Various Catholic youth groups, which are instrumental in spreading faith among youths and other adolescents, also addressed the congregation, explaining why they had come to be and their role in the new evangelisation.
Among those attending the event were President George Abela and his wife, Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi and his wife, Apostolic Nuncio Tommaso Caputo, Vicar General Mgr Annetto Depasquale and Archbishop Emeritus Joseph Mercieca.