Trying to condense a full day's oration into a few paragraphs for this web page is difficult. The thrust of Fr Henriques' message though is that Evangelisation is "the basic duty of every man and woman in the Church".

He quotes effortlessly and unaided from Church documents and Scripture again and again to drive home this central theme. He quotes Vatican II as putting it in these words: "Evangelisation is the basic duty of the people of God". And he delves back to the great command given by Christ in the closing lines of St Matthew's Gospel as the source of this instruction: "Go therefore, make disciples of all the nations…" [Mt28:19]

It is a command that comes from none other than Jesus himself.

Much of the morning address was spent in focusing Church teaching back to this responsibility and exploring the ways in which we as individuals are called to evangelise.

The afternoon sessions were more directed at exploration of the practical application of the teaching to what we can do in our parishes and in our personal lives.

Perhaps the very best summary of Fr Henriques addresses can be found in the small illustrated booklet which he handed out at the end of the day. We have reproduced that on this website both in html and pdf format. (The pdf format will be particularly useful for those who want to print it out, photocopy it and distribute at parish-based meeting on Evangelisation.) See links below to the booklet.

Fr Henriques argues there are four essential elements of evangelisation:

1. Witness of Life:
People are more convinced by deeds than by words. We should proclaim the Gospel by living our faith, loving God and neighbour selflessly and obeying God's will. Our happiness will attract attention and help draw others to Christ.

2. Proclamation of the Word:
Witness of life alone is not enough. We must also talk about the Gospel, telling the Good News of Christ's life and teachings. Explaining how Christ has changed our lives can change the lives of others.

3. Acceptance of Christ:
Evangelisation is successful when we accept Jesus and choose to live by His word. This internal change must be translated into outward action by acceptance of the Church and the Sacraments.

4. Discipleship:
The person who has been inwardly converted must in turn become a witness and proclaim the Good News to others. In this way, God's kingdom will spread throughout the world.

The full series of talks given by Fr Gino is available on cd or cassette.
For details of how to order click HERE.