(September 29, 2012) Pope Benedict XVI’s general prayer intention for the month of
October is for the traditionally Christian countries - that the New Evangelization
may progress and bear fruit there. Great events around the theme of mission and new
evangelization are scheduled in the Church for the month of October, which is why
the Pope has chosen this prayer intention. The central event is the Year of Faith
which Pope Benedict will inaugurate on Oct. 11. The Synod of Bishops, October 7 to
28, will discuss the theme, “The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian
Faith.” Then on Oct. 21, Mission Sunday, the Pope will raise to the glory of the
altars 7 new saints, among them a Filipino catechist and a native American woman.
The term, “new evangelization” means re-evangelizing those Christians who live in
a context, like the one today, in which the impact of secularization has had a heavy
toll on faith life in traditionally Christian countries. When Pope Benedict first
announced the Year of Faith in October last year, he said the yearlong celebration
is meant "to give new impetus to the mission of the whole Church to lead men out of
the desert in which they often find themselves, to the place of life, of friendship
with Christ". On another occasion he said, “We are faced with a deep crisis of faith
- a loss of religious sense which is the biggest challenge for the Church today.”
Let us therefore join the Holy Father during the month of October, in praying that
the New Evangelization may progress in traditionally Christian countries.