VATICAN CITY, FEB. 17, 2012 (Zenit.org).- Hours before receiving the red hat, Cardinal-designate Timothy Dolan, archbishop of New York, offered his soon-to-be brothers in the College of Cardinals a seven-point reflection on evangelization.
Cardinal-designate Dolan was chosen by the Pope to address the group for today’s Day of Reflection and Prayer on the vigil of the consistory.
The New York archbishop recommended the following seven pointers:
1) Remembering that even those who boast of their secularism have an innate longing for the divine; the first step of evangelization must be to keep the quest for God alive
2) «Be not afraid» — confident, without being triumphalist, since it is the power of God who sends his people to evangelize
3) Knowing that the new evangelization is not about presenting a doctrine or belief-system, but a Person, whose name is Jesus
4) Nevertheless, this Jesus is the Truth. Hence, evangelization is linked to catechesis
5) An evangelist must be a person of joy — someone who smiles
6) The new evangelization is about love — the love of God made concrete in service
7) Finally, martyrdom. A reminder that the Church is now peopled by those who are suffering persecution for their faith, and that these martyrs give impetus to the new evangelization