A message from the Bishops of England & Wales

We invite every member of the Catholic community in England and Wales to pray for, participate in and support the work of evangelisation – our task of deepening, sharing and proclaiming our faith, sensitively and confidently, wherever we may be.
In July a national conference took place in Birmingham at which representatives of every Diocese looked at this task of spreading the Gospel message. At Proclaim ’15 many practical ideas were explored and exchanged. These are now available for your consideration. Our hope is that every parish will look at these suggestions and take up one or two of them, chosen according to your own circumstances. Our initiative has this theme: building missionary parishes. This is so important as the challenges to faith today are many and deep-rooted.

Pope Francis shows us that the true heart of faith is hugely attractive. He shows us how to let our faith be seen. He does this by making clear the great mercy of God, the mercy that he has received and that he shows to all. The mercy of God is God’s love in action, reaching out to every person, to each one of us in our weakness… As we understand this… then we are freed to offer the same mercy to those around us. In doing so, we show forth the best of our faith. Our response to Pope Francis is to make the task of proclaiming God’s mercy the priority in our own efforts. This we will strive to do most especially during the Jubilee Year of Mercy, established by Pope Francis, beginning this December… So we ask your help. Together let us Proclaim God’s Mercy.

The key, then, to showing our faith in the way we live is to be ready to live constantly in the presence of God, knowing that God never takes his eyes off us, not to catch us out, but because he loves us so much. When we are constantly aware of that loving gaze which is upon us, and of the mercy and encouragement that flows our way, then we are enabled to look on others in the same way.

These are the foundations of evangelisation. On them, other steps can be built: the opportunity to speak about our faith; the expression of that love in programmes of action towards those most in need; a loving care for those who have been hurt by life and hurt within the Church, for whom any return to the practice of their faith is particularly difficult. In this effort for evangelisation we seek out ways of accompanying others, through friendship, through prayer, through conversation, so that they sense in us the welcome that God most certainly extends to them. Our efforts need not be complicated or heroic. As Our Blessed Lady reminds us, through our humble efforts the Lord can do great things!