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3. Community
Evangelization invites people to the Body of Christ, which is the
Catholic Church.
The Church is a community brought together by the work of the
Holy Spirit:
The Holy Spirit, sent by the Father and the Son, transforms our hearts
and enables us to enter into the perfect communion of the blessed
Trinity, where all things find their unity. He builds up the communion
and harmony of the people of God. The same Spirit is that harmony,
just as he is the bond of love between the Father and the Son. It is he
who brings forth a rich variety of gifts, while at the same time creat-
ing a unity which is never uniformity but a multifaceted and inviting
harmony. Evangelization joyfully acknowledges these varied treasures
which the Holy Spirit pours out upon the Church.
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The liturgical life of the Church (Baptism, first Holy Communion,
Matrimony, Sunday Mass, indeed all the sacraments and other liturgical
celebrations) is a natural source of accompaniment and comfort for the
Christian faithful, which also builds community. When the liturgy of a
parish is celebrated well, the faith of the members of the community is
strengthened. It is also a door to evangelization. The community of faith
is a place of invitation, welcome, and hospitality, especially for those who
are inquiring or returning.
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The Church’s liturgy, by its very nature as a
proclamation and enactment of the Good News of salvation, is an evan-
gelical act: “The Church evangelizes and is herself evangelized through the
beauty of the liturgy, which is both a celebration of the task of evangeliza-
tion and the source of her renewed self-giving.”
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Fellowship and solidarity with one another in the community of faith
is also a reflection of the Trinity. “The very mystery of the Trinity reminds
us that we have been created in the image of that divine communion, and
so we cannot achieve fulfillment or salvation purely by our own efforts.
Accepting the first proclamation, which invites us to receive God’s love
and to love him in return with the very love which is his gift, brings forth
in our lives and actions a primary and fundamental response: to desire, seek