721
Pr egledni	znans tv eni	članek/ Article	(1.02)
Bogoslovni vestnik/Theological Quarterly	81	(2021)	3,	721—732
Besedilo	pr eje t o/R eceiv ed:02/2021;	spr eje t o/ Accep t ed:03/2021
UDK/UDC: 27-475
UDK/UDC: 299.5
DOI:	10.34291/B V2021/03/Sz e w cz yk
©	2021	Sz e w cz yk,	CC	B Y	4.0
Leszek Szewczyk
The Specific Content of Preaching the Word of God 
in a Secularized Environment
Specifična vsebina pridiganja o Božji besedi v sekula-
riziranem okolju
Abstract : The	 pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 mus t	 alw a y s	 c onsider	 the	 unchang-
ing	 Gospel	 and	 the	 pr esen t	 lif e	 of	 the	 Chur ch	 and	 theology ,	 which	 c ons titut e 	
the	 c orr ect	 in t erpr e t a tion	 of	 the	 r e v ealed	 w or d	 of	 God.	 The	 c on t en t	 of	 pr each-
ing	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 is	 the	 g ood	 ne w s	 about	 Jesus	 Chris t,	 Lor d	 and	 Sa viour ,	 and, 	
mor e	 br oadly ,	 God’ s	 r e v ela tion	 and	 human	 e xis t en tial	 pr oblems.	 Ther e f or e,	 the 	
pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 dr a w s	 its	 c on t en t	 fr om	 the	 Bible	 and	 ob ser -
v a tion	 of	 the	 w orld	 in	 which	 c on t empor ar y	 man	 liv es	 and	 cr ea t es.	 This	 s tudy 	
aims	 t o	 indic a t e	 the	 specific	 c on t en t	 of	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 in	 a	 secular -
iz ed	 en vir onmen t.	 This	 pr oclama tion	 should	 lead	 t o	 f aith	 as	 a	 per sonal	 enc oun-
t er	 with 	 Jesus	 Chris t	 and	 sho w	 the	 true	 God	 and	 Jesus	 Chris t	 –	 man’ s	 only	 Sa v -
iour .	 A t	 the	 same	 time,	 it	 should	 tr y	 t o	 ans w er	 people’ s	 ques tions	 and	 desir es.	
Keywords:	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 pr eaching ,	 pr eacher ,	 seculariz ed	 en vir onmen ts,	 pr eaching 	
t o	those	who	seek	God.
Povzetek:	 O znanje v anje	 bo žje	 besede	 mor a	 v selej	 upoš t e v a ti	 nespr emenljivi	 e v an-
g e lij	 in	 sedanje	 življe nje 	 Ce rk v e 	 in	 t eologije,	 t o	 pa	 nar edi	 in t erpr e t acijo	 r az ode -
t e 	 bo žje 	 be sede 	 us tr e zno.	 V sebina	 pridig anja	 o	 njej	 je	 v e sela	 ali	 dobr a	 no vic a	 o	
Je z u su 	 K ri s tu su ,	 Go sp o d u 	 i n 	 Od r eš en i k u ,	 a	 tu d i 	 ši r š e:	 o 	 b o žj em	 r az o d e tj u 	 i n 	 o 	
člo v eških	 ek sis t encialnih	 t e ž a v ah.	 O znanje v anje	 bo žje	 besede	 t ak o	 ut emeljuje	
svojo vsebino na podlagi Svetega pisma in opazovanja sveta, v katerem sodob -
ni	 člo v e k	 živi	 in	 deluje.	 Cilj	 t e	 š tudije	 je,	 pok az a ti	 na	 specifično 	 v sebino	 pridig a-
nja	 o	 bo žji	 besedi	 v	 sek ularizir anem	 ok olju.	T o	 o znanje v anje	 naj	 v odi	 k	 v eri	 k ot	
osebnemu	 sr eč anju	 z	 Je zusom	 K ris tusom	 in	 k až e	 na	 pr a v eg a	 Bog a	 in	 Je zusa 	
K ris tusa,	 edineg a	 člo v ek o v eg a	 odr ešenik a.	 Obenem	 pa	 naj	 po sk uša	 odg o v arja-
ti	na	vpr ašanja	in	hot enja	ljudi.	
Ključne besede :	 v sebina	 pridig anja,	 pridig ar ,	 sek ularizir ana	 ok olja,	 pridig anje	 isk al-
cem	Bog a

722 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
Pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 t o	 t oda y ’ s	 lis t e ner s	 is	 not	 pr e aching	 ne w	 c on t e n t.	
The	 essence	 of	 the	 Gospel	 r emains	 unchang ed	 bec ause	 it	 is	 s till	 the	 g ood	 ne w s 	
c ommunic a t ed	 b y	 God.	 Ther e f or e,	 in	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God,	 one	 should	 al-
w a y s	c onsider	the	unchang ed	Gospel	and	the	 curr en t	lif e	 of	the	Chur ch	and	the-
olog y , 	 w hic h	 is	 an	 ade qua t e 	 in t e r pr e t a tion	 of	 the 	 r e v e ale d	 w or d	 of	 G od.	 The 	 c on-
t en t	 of	 pr eachin g	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 is	 the	 g ood	 ne w s	 about	 Je sus	 Chris t,	 Lor d	 and	
Sa viour ,	 and,	 mor e	 br oadly ,	 God’ s	 r ev ela tion	and	 human	 e xis t en tial	pr oblems. 	
Ther e f or e,	 the	 pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 dr a w s	 its	 c on t en t	 fr om	 the	 Bible	
and	 ob ser v a tion	 of	 the	 w orld	 in	 which	 c on t empor ar y	 man	 liv es	 and	 cr ea t es.	 A t 	
the	 same	 time,	 P ope	 Fr ancis	 c on firms	 the	 principle	 tha t	 the	 sec ondar y	 subject	 of	
pr e ac hing 	 is	 the 	 e xis t e n tial	 pr oble m s	 of	 c on t e m por ar y 	 pe ople 	 and	 the 	 w or ld’ s	 a f -
f air s.	 F or	 the	 P ope,	 a	 pr eacher	 is	 a	 per son	 who	 lis t ens	 t o	 peop le	 and	 under s t ands	
their	 pr oblems,	 a	 per son	 who	 c on t empla t es	 Chris t	 and	 also	 c on t empla t es	 the 	
people	(E G	154).	
The pastoral problem in secularized environments is not only the loss of the 
monopoly	 on	 r eligion	 b y	 the	 Chur ch.	 K nowledg e	 of	 the	 fundamen t al	 truths	 of	 f aith 	
is	 almos t	 c ompl e t ely	 los t.	 It	 has	 also	 bec ome	 f ashionable	t o	 ques tion	 the	 cen tr al	
messag e	 of	 the	 Gospel 	 (Herb s t	 2010,	 210–212). 	 Ther e f or e,	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vir on -
men t	 r equir es	 a	 modific a tion	 of	 wha t	 is	 accen tua t ed	 in	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 the	 pr each -
ing	(P e v ec	R o zman	2017,	291).
This	 s tudy	 aims	 t o	 indic a t e	 the	 specific	 c on t en t	 of	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	
in a secularized environment. Without giving up the traditional content, the 
pr eacher	 should	 lead	 t o	 f aith	 under s t ood	 as	 a	 per sonal	 enc oun t er	 with	 Jesus 	
Chris t.	 In	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vir on men t,	 the	 pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 mus t	
sho w	 the 	 true 	 God	 and	 Jesus	 Chris t 	 –	 man’ s	 only	 Sa viour .	 A t	 the 	 same 	 time, 	 the 	
pr eacher	should	tr y	t o	ans w er	people’ s	ques tions	and	desir es.	
1. Leading to Faith as a Personal Encounter with Christ
The	 purpose	 of	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 is	 f aith	 and	 living	 b y	 f aith,	 and,	 ulti-
ma t ely ,	 t o	 glorif y	 God	 and	 the	 salv a tion	 of	 people.	 The	 Ca t echism	 a tt emp t ed	 t o 	
de fine	 the	 f aith	 of	 the	 Ca tholic 	 Chur ch:	 »f aith	 is,	 fir s t	 of	 all,	 a	 per sonal	 adher ence	
of	 man	 t o	 God.	 A t	 the	 same	 time,	 and	 insepar ably ,	 it	 is	 a	 fr ee	 assen t	 t o	 the	 whole	
truth	 tha t	 God	 has	 r e v ealed.	 As	 per sonal	 adher ence	 t o	 God	 and	 assen t	 t o	 his	 truth, 	
Chris tian	 f aith	 diff er s	 fr om	 our	 f aith	 in	 an y	 human	 per son.	 It	 is	 righ t	 and	 jus t	 t o 	
en trus t	 oneself	 wholly	 t o	 God	 and	 t o	 belie v e	 ab solut ely	 wha t	 he	 sa y s.	 It	 w ould	 be 	
futile	 and	 f alse	 t o	 place	 such	 f aith	 in	 a	 cr ea tur e.«	 (CCC	 150)	 The	 Chris tian	 f aith	 is	
not	 only 	 about	 accep ting	 dogmas	 but	 abo v e	 all	 about	 accep ting	 Chris t	 and	 being	
spiritually	 unit ed	 with	 Him.	 Th e	 enrichmen t	 of	 f aith	 in	 the	 ob jectiv e,	 t opic al	 sen-
se	 (the	 c on t en t	 of	 f aith)	 is	 also	 the	 enrichmen t	 of	 the	 f aith	 in	 the	 subjectiv e	 and	
e xis t en tial	 sense 	 (the 	 a ttitude 	 of	 f aith).	 Benedict	 XVI	 sa y s	 tha t	 it	 is	 vit al	 t o	 kno w 	
the	 c on t en t	 of	 f aith.	 K nowing	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 f aith	 helps,	 with	 r eason	 and	 will, 	
ag r e e 	 t o	 w ha t	 the 	 Chur c h	 pr opose s.	 The 	 k no w le dg e 	 of	 f aith	 br ing s	 the 	 fullne ss	 of	

723 Leszek Szewczyk - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
the	 salvific	 m y s t er y	 r e v ealed	 b y	 God.	 Benedict	 XVI	 also	 not es:	 »When,	 ins t ead, 	
man	 lack s	 f aith	 in	 God,	 the	 essen tial	 c ollap ses	 bec ause	 a	 man	 loses	 his	 pr of ound	
dignity	 and	 wha t	 mak es	 his	 hu manity	 gr ea t	 enough	 t o	 withs t and	 an y	 f orm	 of	 r e -
ductionism.«	(Benedict	XVI	2012)	
As	 a	 r esult	 of	 seculariz a tion, 	 f aith	 and	 the	 Chur ch	 ar e	 r educed	 t o	 the	 priv a t e 	
and	 in t ernal	 spher es,	 e thic al	 de f orma tion	 incr eases,	 the	 sense	 of	 per sonal	 and 	
social	 sin	 w eak ens,	 and	 mor al	 r ela tivism	 gr adually	 incr eases.	 The	 in f orma tion	 so-
cie ty	 pr o vides	 c on t empor ar y	 people	 with	 selectiv e	 da t a,	 which	 leads	 t o	 superficial 	
pr esen t a tion 	 of	 mor al 	 issues. 	 Ther e f or e,	 pr oper	 educ a tion 	 is	 essen tial,	 enabling 	
people	 t o	 think 	 critic ally	 and	 choose	 the	 c orr ect	 v alues	 (E G	 64).	 In	 pr eaching	 the	
w or d	 of	 God	 t o	 seculariz ed	 people, 	 the	 pr eacher	 should	 emphasiz e	 tha t	 f aith	 in	
hum an	 lif e 	 is	 not 	 a	 tr ifle 	 but 	 a	 par tic ular 	 f or m 	 of	 hope .	 Expe r ie nc ing 	 the	 pr e se nc e	
and	 lo v e	 of	 God,	 man	 per ceiv es	 the	 meaning	 of	 his	 e xis t ence	 and	 the	 g oal	 he	 is	
heading	 t o w ar d	 (Šegula	 2018,	 459).	 The	 a w ar eness	 of	 God’ s	 pr esence	 help s	 a	 per -
son	 heal	 fr om	 e x cessiv e	 self -c oncern	 and	 selfishness.	 On	 the	 other	 hand, 	 unbelie f 	
c an	 lead	 t o	 loss,	 w eak ening	 of	 the	 human	 spirit,	 and	 v arious	 kinds	 of	 ensla v emen t 	
(Schönborn	2001,	53).
Pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 r eg ar ding	 f aith	 as	 a	 per sonal	 enc oun t er	 with	 Jesus	
Chris t	 r e f er s	 t o	 the	 mind,	 fr ee	 will,	 and	 the	 spher e	 of	 sensa tions	 and	 emotional 	
e xperiences	 of	 the	 lis t ener s.	 The	 human	 mind	 fir s t	 g e ts	 acquain t ed	 with	 the	 Chris-
tian 	 tru th 	 i t	 h as	 h ear d ,	 th en 	 tri es	 t o	 u n d er s t an d 	 i t,	 an d 	 fi n al l y	 accep ts	 i t	 o r	 r ej ects 	
it,	 or	 r emains	 indiff er en t	 and	 sceptic al 	 t o	 it.	 The	 pr eaching	 should	 help	 the	 lis-
t ener	 r a tionally 	 accep t	 God’ s	 e xis t ence	 and	 pr o vide	 them	 with	 r a tional	 r easons 	
f or	 the	 e xis t ence	 of	 God.	 The	 pr eacher	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 is	 r esponsible 	 f or	 lead-
ing	 people	 t o	 God.	 This	 guidance	 mus t	 be	 a	 c ompanionship	 tha t	 will	 lead	 both	 the 	
pr eacher	 and	 the	 audience	 t o	 eng ag e	 in	 r eason	 t o	 r espond	 positiv ely	 t o	 God’ s 	
v oice.	 A t	 the	 same	 time,	 the	 pr eacher	 should	 be	 a w ar e	 tha t,	 in	 the	 pr ocess	 of 	
tr ansmitting 	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 and	 accep ting	 it	 b y	 human	 r eason,	 God’ s	 gr ace	 pla y s 	
an	 essen tial 	 r ole,	 as	 it	 acts	 m y s t eriously	 and	 inc ompr ehensibly	 f or	 the	 speak er 	
an d 	 th e	 l i s t en er . 	 T h e	 p r each er ’ s	 t ask	 o f 	 Go d ’ s 	 mes sag e	 i s,	 ab o v e	 al l ,	 t o 	 b ear	 wi t -
ness	t o	the	Gospel	thr ough	lif e	and	per sonal	f aith.
P r oclama tion	 of	 the 	 w or d	 of	 God	 c once r ning	 f aith	 also	 r e f e r s	 t o	 the 	 fr e e 	 will	 of 	
man	 and	 aims	 t o	 mak e	 this	 will	 perf orm	 acts	 of	 f aith	 and	 liv e	 b y	 f aith.	 The	 lis t en-
er	 should	 be	 sho wn	 f aith	 as	 g ood	 and	 a	 v alue	 w orth y	 of	 acce p t ance.	 The	 pr ocla -
ma tion 	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 also	 r e f er s	 t o	 human	 f eelings	 tha t	 c an	 support	 or 	
w eak en	 r eason	 and	 will	 in	 the	 act	 of	 f aith.	 The	 pr eacher	 should	 e v ok e	 positiv e 	
feelings because they help to support and enliven the act of faith. The personal 
in v olv emen t	 of	 the	 pr eacher	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 and	 the	 manif es t a tion 	 of	 kind-
ness helps to touch the hearts of the listeners and is an indispensable element of 
pr oclaiming	 the	 w or d	 of	 God.	 Joachim	 W ank e	 poin ts	 out	 tha t	 »r eligious	 f aith	 is 	
not	 the	 r esult	 of	 a	 r a w ,	 pur ely	 r a tional	 choice	 fr om	 se v er al	 op tions,	 one	 of	 which	
I choose for myself. Rather, religious beliefs arise through the experience of a state 
of	f ascina tion,	unc anniness.«	(W ank e	2012)	

724 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
2. Preaching the True God
The	 Ca t echism 	 of	 the	 Ca tholic 	 Chur ch, 	 pr esen ting 	 the	 truth	 about	 God	 the	 F a ther , 	
fr om	 whom	 e v er y thing	 c omes,	 pr esen ts	 Him	 as	 the	 Cr ea t or	 of	 the	 w orld,	 the	 so-
ur ce	 of	 all	 kinds	 of	 lif e,	 the	 F a ther	 of	 »the	 poor ,	 orphans	 and	 wido w s	 who	 ar e	 un -
der	 His	 lo ving	 pr ot ection«	 (W ank e	 2012).	 Ca t echism	 emphasiz es	 God’ s	 pa t ernal 	
c oncern,	 g oodness	 and	 kindness,	 while	 God’ s	 pr o vidence	 is	 r ealiz ed	 b y	 k eeping 	
the	w orld	in	e xis t ence	and	pr eser ving	it.
A theism	 or	 de-Chris tianiz a tion	 is	 based	 on	 »some times	 a	 f alse	 imag e 	 of	 God. 	
It	 is	 about	 the	 h ypertr oph y	 of	 some	 f ea tur es	 a ttribut ed 	 t o	 God,	 thus	 the	 dis t ortion 	
of	 God’ s	 v er y	 idea	 and	 imag e.	 Some times	 a theism	 is	 not	 a	 neg a tion	 of	 the	 true 	
God,	 but	 a	 neg a tion	of	 an	 idol	 tha t	 man	 has	 cr ea t ed,	 a	 neg a tion	of	 f alse	 ideas 	
about	 God.«	 (P alumbieri	 1998,	 152)	 The	 Chris tian	 imag e	 of	 God	 the	 F a ther	 is	 a 	
pr oduct	 of	 f our	 g ener ally	 o v erlapping	 planes:	 the	 biblic al,	 philosophic al,	 and	 theo-
l o gi c al 	 ap p r oach es	 an d 	 th e	 vi e w	 r esu l tin g	 fr o m	 d ai l y	 p i e ty	 p ermea t ed 	 b y	 l i f e	 e x -
perience.	 In	 the	 human	 vie w	 of	 God,	 the	 F a ther ,	 the	 pr e v ailing	 emphasis	 r esults	
fr om	 the	 per spectiv e	 tha t	 domina t es	 a	 particular	 per son.	 God	 c an	 be	 seen	 as	 per -
f ect,	 dis t an t,	 s tr ang er ,	 indiff er en t,	 har sh,	 and	 punishing;	 or	 as	 a	 close,	 mer ciful, 	
c aring ,	 c ompassiona t e	 God	 who	 seek s	 and	 r emember s	 man.	 Difficulties	 in	 f aith 	
and	 a	 r ela tionship	 with	 God	 oft en	 r esult	 fr om	 a	 f alse	 vision	 of	 God.	 A	 dis t ort ed 	
imag e	 of	 God	 mak es	 a	 health y ,	 lo ving	 r ela tionship	 be tw een	 man	 and	 God	 impos -
sible	(Thomas	2012,	133–135).
In	 the	 pr actice	 of	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God,	 one	 c an	 see	 the	 phenomenon	 of	
the	 so-c alled	 pas t or al	 deism.	 Although	 pr eacher s	 do	 not	 den y	 the	 e xis t ence	 of 	
God,	 the y	 do	 no t	 sufficien tly	 emphasiz e	 His	 c ons t an t	 pr esenc e	 and	 actions	 in	 hu -
man	 lif e.	 T aking 	 up	 the	 subject	 of	 God’ s	 pr o vidence	 in	 pr oclaiming	 God’ s	 messag e 	
is	 pr actised	 t oda y	 much	 less	 fr equen tly	 than	 in	 pr e vious	 cen turies.	 T oda y ’ s	 man 	
appeals	 to	 his	 s tr eng th	 and	 skills	 r ather	 than	 God’ s	 will.	 The	 God	 of	 modern 	
pr e aching	 is	 a	 c olourle ss	 God,	 not	 some one	 t o	 be	 f ear ed	 or	 lo v e d;	 He 	 is	 some one 	
no	 one	 f ear s	 or	 lo v es	 an ymor e	 (Bitt er 	 1987,	 17).	 Joachim	 W ank e	 diagnoses	 the 	
morbid	 c ondition	 of	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 pr eaching	 and	 not es	 tha t	 t oda y	 w e	 ar e	 thr ea t -
en ed 	 wi th 	 » Ch ri s tian i ty	 wi th o u t	 Go d « . 	 T h er e f o r e,	 th e	 gr ea t es t	 ch al l en g e	 f o r	 th e	
Chur ch	 is	 not	 the	 pr oblem	 of	 the 	 Chur ch	 but	 the	 pr oblem	 of	 God	 (W ank e 	 2001, 	
15).	 St e f an	 Os t er	 not es	 tha t	 the	 e xhort a tion	 e xpr essed	 with	 the	 slog an	 »Good 	
N e w s	 ins t e ad	 of	 Thr e a t e ning 	 N e w s«	 c on tr ibut e d	 t o	 the 	 do wng r ading 	 of	 Chr is tian	
teaching to a kind of humanism level. 
»Sin is no longer mentioned, there is no need to convert, Hell is out of the 
question! 	 It	 doesn't	 fit	 in	 with	 contemporary	 times	 anymore.	 And	 it 	
somehow	 doesn't	 fit	 in	 with	 the	 Church	 today.	 According	 to	 this	 way	 of 	
thinking,	 the	 message	 of	 the	 Gospel	 is	 a	 nice	 program	 of	 action/behaviour 	
charged a bit by ethics that encourages and calls us to be good to each 
other,	 good	 first	 of	 all	 to	 other	 minorities	 and	 the	 poor,	 good	 to	 the	 world, 	
good	 to	 refugees	 and	 neighbours.	 And	 whoever 	 does	 this	 at	 least	 to	 some 	

725 Leszek Szewczyk - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
extent	 is	 already	 a	 Christian,	 or	 some	 kind	 of	 Christian,	 someone	 who 	
claims	 to	 know	 what	 the	 Church	 teaches	 and	 somehow	 participates	 in	 it	
himself.«	(Os t er	2015)
Al th o u gh 	 th e	 mo d ern 	 p r o cl ama tio n 	 o f	 th e	 w o r d	 o f	 Go d	 i n	 a	 secu l ari z ed 	 en vi -
r o n men t	 c an n o t	 f ai l 	 t o 	 e x h i b i t	 c o u r ag e	 i n 	 e xp o si n g	 al l 	 man i f es t a ti o n s	 o f 	 i d o l a tr y	
and	 a	 f alse	 imag e	 of	 God,	 pr eacher s	 should	 emphasiz e	 the	 positiv e 	 messag e	 of 	
sa ving	 and	 liber a ting 	 lo v e	 of	 the	 Cr ea t or	 f or	 man.	 It	 is	 a	 mis t ak e	 t o	 c oncen tr a t e	 on 	
apolog e tics	 tha t	 tries	 t o	 jus tif y	 the	 idea	 of	 God	 and	 His	 actual	 imag e	 only	 on	 the	
level of natural proof.
A cc or ding 	 t o	 the 	 author s	 of	 the 	 docume n t	 Le tt e r a	 ai	 ce r c a t or i	 di	 Dio ,	 pr e par e d	
b y	 the	 It alian	 Bishop s’	 Con f er ence,	 people	 in	 sear ch	 of	 God	 do	 not	 belie v e	 in	 some 	
private and uncertain life project or in something that gives only a certain sense 
of	 security ,	 but	 in	 someone	 who	 should	 bec ome	 the	 only	 lo v e	 of	 their	 lif e.	 Mor e -
o v er ,	 disc o v ering	 God	 c onsis ts	 of	 finding	 a	 place	 of	 silence	 »i n	 which,	 b y	 hearing	
God’ s	 w or d,	 true	 hope	 springs	 fr om	 the	 c oming	 of	 God	 in t o	 the	 human	 heart« 	
(LcD	2,6).
Preaching to the secularised should refer to the anthropological method, i.e. 
the	 description	 of	 human	 e xperience,	 the	 f ailur e	 of	 human	 sear ches	 and	 solutions, 	
and	 the	 solution	 t o	 the	 pr oblem	 by	 opening	 up	 t o	 Chris tian	 r ev ela tion.	 Such 	
pr eaching	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 aims	 a t	 making	 the	 lis t ener s	 long	 f or	 God.	 The 	
pr eacher	 should	 mak e	 their	 lis t ener s	 a w ar e	 tha t	 the	 disc o v er y	 of	 the	 true	 God 	
help s	 under s t and	 the	 actual	 imag e	 of	 man,	 and	 the	 c aric a tur ed	 imag es	 of	 God	 ar e 	
a real obstacle to the full development of humanity.
Acc or ding	t o	 Joachim	 W ank e,	 »T alking	 about	God	 is	 not	 an	 in s tructiv e	 e xpr es-
sion	 or	 indoctrina tion,	 but	 it	 is 	 disc o v ering	 the	 pr e-e xis ting ,	 c onscious	 or	 unc on -
scious	 r ela tionship	 of	 e v er y	 human	 being	 with	 God«	 (2012).	 God	 is	 some times 	
t oo	 quickly	 r educed	 t o	 jus t	 a	 f ormula	 tha t	 e xplains	 e v er y thing.	 In 	 principle,	 in 	 this 	
w a y , 	 all	 biblic al	 and	 old	 Chris tian	 s t a t emen ts	 about	 God’ s	 tr anscendence, 	 about 	
His	 otherness,	 ar e	 not	 t ak en	 seriously	 enough.	 Y ou	 c annot	 pr a y	 t o	 the	 f ormula; 	
y ou	 c annot	 cr y	 in	 fr on t	 of	 it;	 y ou	 c annot	 e v en	 cur se	 it.	 A t	 mos t,	 it	 c an	 be	 c onsid -
er ed	 f alse,	 denied	 or	 r edundan t.	 Or dinar y	 Chris tian	 pie ty	 is	 s till	 f ar	 fr om	 the	 r adi -
c alism	 of	 the	 Old	 T es t amen t	 psalmis t,	 who	 c omplained	 about	 God,	 pr ot es t ed 	
ag ains t	 Him,	 and	 some times	 doub t ed	 Him	 as	 w ell	 (W ank e	 2012).	 God	 is	 not	 an 	
abs tr act	 principle	 or	 a	 pr ecur sor	 who	 turned	 his	 back	 on	 the	 w orld.	 He	 is	 the 	
w r it e r 	 of	 salv a tion, 	 the 	 G od	 of	 c o v e nan t	 and	 lif e .	 The 	 pr e ac he r 	 should	 de liv e r 	 the	
messag e	 tha t	 the	 in finit ely	 sublime	 God	 mak es	 a	 c o v enan t	 with	 people	 and	 mak es 	
them	 hi s	 allies	 and	 associa t es	 (Z ollitsch	 2016,	 270–272).	 Although	 God	 does	 not	
fit	 in t o	 the	 or derly	 gr amma tic al	 de finition,	 the	 pr eacher s	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 mus t 	
c on v e y	 the	 cri tic al 	 tru th 	 about	 the	 m y s t er y	 of	 God	 as	 a	 l i vi ng	 God 	 who	 w an ts	 t o	
giv e	 e v er y	 human	 being	 e v erlas ting	 lif e.	 This	 messag e	 should	 be	 one	 of	 the	 cen tr al 	
pr eaching	themes	(Richar dson	and	Lo v el	2011,	206).

726 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
3. Jesus Christ – the Only Saviour of Man
The	 object	 of	 the	 Chris tian	 f aith	 is	 Jesus	 Chris t,	 who	 bec ame	 man	 f or	 the	 salv a tion 	
of	 people.	 A t	 the	 beginning	 of	 being	 a	 Chris tian,	 ther e	 is	 an	 enc oun t er	 with	 the 	
e v en t,	 with	 the	 per son	 who	 giv es	 lif e	 a	 ne w	 per spectiv e	 and	 thus	 a	 decisiv e	 dir ec-
tion.	 Th e	 specifi city	 of	 Chris tianity	 is	 r ela t ed	 t o	 the	 f act	 tha t	 God	 is	 the	 author	 of	
the	 idea	 of	 ,g e tting	 closer ‘	 t o	 man. 	 The	 cen tr e	 of	 Chris tian 	 doctrine	 lies	 in	 the	 f act 	
tha t	 the	 dir ection	 of	 the	 salvifi c	 initia tiv e	 is	 t op-do wn:	 God	 bec omes	 e v er	 closer	
t o	 man,	 and	 thus,	 man	 bec omes	 e v er	 closer	 t o	 God.	 This	 f act	 dis tinguishes	 Chri -
s tianity	 fr om	 mos t	 of	 the	 gr ea t	 r eligions	 in	 which	 ther e	 ar e	 so-c alled 	 gr assr oots 	
mo v emen ts	wher e	people	ar e	tr ying	t o	en t er	the	spher e	of	the	sacr ed.
Chris t oph	 Theobald	 poin ts	 t o	 the	 need	 f or	 a	 r ene w ed	 in t er es t	 in	 Jesus.	 He	 jus -
tifies	 it	 with	 thr ee	 principal	 r ea sons.	 Fir s t	 of	 all,	 thank s	 t o	 the	 figur e	 of	 Jesus,	 his -
t or y	 g ains	 an	 escha t ologic al 	 and	 holis tic	 aspect. 	 Sec ond,	 on	 the	 w a y	 of	 Jesus	 t o 	
dea th	 and	 r esurr ection,	 man	 g ains	 the	 opportunity	 t o	 under s t and	 his	 mort al	 e x -
istence. Finally, modern man lives in the age of the universal experience of death, 
which	 is	 in t erpr e t ed	 in	 v arious	 w a y s;	 he	 liv es	 in	 the	 ag e	 of	 par ado x	 (Theobald	 2002, 	
435–400).
Jesus	 Chris t	 is	 a t	 the	 heart	 of	 ecclesial	 pr eaching.	 Those	 who	 belie v e	 in	 Him 	
t es tif y	 of	 Him.	 B y	 pr oclaiming	 the	 Gospel,	 the	 Chur ch	 leads	 t o	 the	 kno wledg e	 of	
Jesus	 Chris t.	 This	 kno wledg e	 is	 possible	 only	 in	 an	 en vir onmen t	 of	 f aith.	 This,	 in 	
turn,	 does	 not	 equa t e	 with	 the	 in t ellectual	 kno wledg e	 about	 the	 inc arna t e	 Son	 of 	
God	 but	 c onsis ts	 in	 adhering	 t o	 Him	 with	 lo v e	 and	 c on firming	 c ommunion	 with 	
Him	 with	 our	 lif e.	 It	 is	 an	 e xis t en tial	 f aith	 tha t	 shapes	 the	 whole	 lif e	 of	 the	 f ollo w -
er s	 of	 the	 Cruci fied	 and	 Risen	 Lor d.	 The	 t eaching	 c on t en t	 is	 the	 m y s t er y	 of	 Chris t	
and everything else to the extent that it is related to this mystery.
In	 the	 apos t olic	 e xhort a tion 	 on 	 pr oclaiming	 the	 Gospel 	 in 	 the	 modern 	 w orld, 	
E v ang elii	 Gaudi um,	 P ope	 Fr ancis	 emphasiz es	 tha t	 the	 cen tr e	 of	 the	 pr oclama tion	
of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 and	 its	 esse nce	 ar e	 alw a y s	 the	 same:	 »the	 God	 who	 r e v ealed	
his	 immense	 lov e	 in	 the	 crucified 	 and	 risen	 Chris t.«	 (E G	 11)	 A t	 the	 same	 time,	 P ope 	
Fr ancis	 a ffirms	 tha t	 »ther e	 c an	 be	 no	 authen tic	 e v ang eliz a tion	 without	 e xplicitly	
pr oclaiming 	 tha t	 Je sus	 is	 Lor d«	 and	 tha t	 Je sus	 Chris t	 is	 the 	 basis	 f or	 pr oclaiming	
the	 w or d	 of	 God	 in	 all	 e v ang eliz a tion	 activities.	 The	 main	 prio rity	 of	 the	 Chur ch’ s	
activity	should	 be	 »the	 joyful,	 pa tien t	and	 gr adual	 pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 sa ving 	
dea th	and	r esurr ection	of	Jesus	Chris t«	(110).
In	 the	 c ons titutions	 of	 the	 Sec ond	 V a tic an	 Council,	 ther e	 ar e	 tw o	 basic	 me thods 	
of	 pr esen ting	 Jesus	 Chris t.	 In	 the	 dogma tic	 c ons titution	 on	 di vine	 r e v ela tion,	 Dei	
v erbum,	 the	 dogma tic	 c ons titution	 on	 the	 Chur ch’ s	 Lumen	 g en tium	 and	 the	 c on -
s titution	 on	 the	 sacr ed	 litur gy ,	 the	 Sacr osanctum	 Concilium,	 one	 c an	 see	 the	 de-
ductiv e-theologic al	 me thod	 of	 pr esen ting 	 Jesus	 Chris t.	 In	 c on tr as t, 	 in	 the 	 pas t or al 	
c ons titution	 of	 the	 Chur ch	 in	 the	 modern	 w orld,	 Gaudium	 e t	 spes,	 the	 inductiv e-
an thr opologic al	 me thod	 domina t es.	 Thus,	 in	 Dei	 v erbum,	 Jesus	 Chris t	 is	 sho wn	 as 	
t he 	 c hie f	 R e v e la t or 	 of	 G od; 	 in	 Lum e n	 G e n tium , 	 t he 	 e c c le siolog ic al	 im ag e 	 of	 Chr is t	
domina t es;	 and	 in	 the	 Sacr osanctum	 Concilium,	 the	 per cep tion	 of	 the	 m y s tic al 	

727 Leszek Szewczyk - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
Chris t,	 pr esen t	 and	 activ e	 in	 the	 litur gy ,	 c omes	 t o	 the	 f or e.	 A	 sligh tly	 diff er en t	 im-
ag e	 of	 Jesus	 Ch ris t	 is	 dominan t	 in	 Gaudium	 e t	 spes.	 This	 c ons titution,	 addr essed	
not	 only	 t o	 belie v er s,	 pr esen ts	 Chris t	 as	 help	 in	 solving	 man’ s	 e xis t en tial	 pr oblems. 	
This man can be understood, and he can understand himself only in the mystery 
of	 the	 inc arna t e	 w or d.	 The	 me thod	 of	 pr oclaiming	 Chris t	 used	 in	 Gaudium	 e t	 spes 	
should	 be	 an	 inspir a tion	 f or	 those	 who	 pr each	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 in	 an	 en vir onmen t 	
of	 non-b elie v er s	 and	 seculariz ed	 people.	 Pr oclaiming	 Chris t	 in	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vi-
r onmen t,	 acc or ding	 t o	 P ope	 Fr anci s,	 c onsis ts	 of	 sho wing	 tha t	 »t o	 belie v e	 in	 and	
t o	 f ollo w	 Him	 is	 not	 only	 some thing	 righ t	 and	 pr oper	 but	 also	 some thing	 beauti-
ful,	 c apable	 of	 filling	 lif e	 with	 ne w	 splendour	 and	 pr of ound	 jo y ,	 e v en	 amid	 difficul-
ties«	(167).
F or	 man y	 c on t empor ary	 lis t ener s,	 both	 unbelie v er s	 and	 w eak	 belie v er s,	 Chris t	 is 	
a respectable friend of the poor and the oppressed, a great master of the spiritual 
lif e,	 and	 ev en	 the	 f ounder	 of	 a	 r eligion.	 A t	 the	 same	 time,	 he	 is	 r eject ed	 as	 God,	 who 	
mus t	 be	 trus t ed	 and	 whose	 t eaching	 one	 should	 surr ender .	 The	 pr eacher	 who 	
pr eaches	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 in	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vir onmen t	 should	 enc our ag e	 their	 lis-
t ener s	 not	 only	 t o	 accep t	 the	 truth	 about	 Chris t	 but	 abo v e	 all	 t o	 accep t	 the	 v er y 	
per son	 of	 Chris t.	 The	 r ecipien t	 of	 the	 pr oclama tion	 should	 hear	 the	 truth	 tha t	 Chris-
tianity	 has	 a	 diff er en t 	 salvific	 v alue	 than	 other	 r eligions	 and	 tha t	 Jesus	 is	 not	 only 	
one of the founders of the religion, but above all, He is the only Saviour of man.
4. Answering Human Desires and Questions
The 	 dr a wback , 	 s till	 notice able 	 in	 c on t e mpor ar y	 pr e aching , 	 is	 clothing	 the 	 tr uth	 of 	
God	 in	 pr ecise	 v erbal	 f ormulas	 and	 dogma tic	 de finitions	 and	 t eaching	 f aith	 b y	 ma-
s t ering	 c a t echismal	 truths	 (Hal ik	 2009,	 130).	 Ins t ead	 of	 f ocus ing	 on	 the	 ans w er s,	
the	 pr eacher	 should	 t each	 t o	 ask	 ques tions.	 Acc or ding	 t o	 P aul	 Michael	 Zulehner ,	
pr eacher s	 oft en	 »ans w er	 ques tions	 tha t	 no	 one	 ask s,	 while	 on	 t opics	 tha t	 people	
ar e	r eally	bother ed	b y ,	the y	sa y	nothing«	(2006,	5).
Und er s t and i ng	 th e	 e xi s t en tial 	 and 	 spi ri tu al 	 n eeds	 of	 p eopl e	 l i vi ng	 t oda y	 al l o w s 	
us	 t o	 find	 the	 c oncep t	 of	 pr eaching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 tha t	 is	 mos t	 adequa t e	 f or 	
t oda y ’ s	 c onditio ns.	 The	 pr eacher	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 mus t	 mak e	 an	 e ff ort	 t o	 g e t	
t o	 kno w	 another	 per son	 and	 t ak e	 in t o	 acc oun t	 human	 e xis t ence	 and	 r e f er	 t o	 fr e-
que n t 	 hum an	 e xpe r ie nc e s	 in	 the ir 	 pr e ac hing .	 The 	 Le tt e r 	 t o	 those 	 w ho	 se e k 	 G od	
r eminds	 us	 of	 the	 truth	 tha t	 the	 Chris tian	 c ommunity	 is	 the	 place	 wher e	 special	
a tt en tion	 is	 paid	 t o	 the	 mos t	 subjectiv e	 and	 per sonal	 aspects	 of	 human	 e xis t ence. 	
The	 Chris tian	 c ommunity	 emphasiz es	 the	 meaning	 of	 human	 lif e	 disc ov er ed	 thank s 	
t o	 ans w e r s	 t o	 the 	 m os t 	 fundam e n t al	 que s tions, 	 inc luding 	 the 	 one s	 about	 jo y , 	 suf -
f ering ,	 lo v e,	 the	 v alue	 of	 w ork,	 and	 celebr a tion 	 (LcD	 1,5).	 One	 of	 the	 fundamen t al 	
t ask s	 o f	 t o d a y ’ s	 p r each er s	 o f	 th e	 w o r d	 o f	 Go d	 i s	 t o 	 tr y	 t o 	 an s w er	 th ese	 q u es tio n s.
When	 pr oclaim ing	 God’ s	 messag e	 in	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vir onmen t,	 the	 pr eacher	
should	 r e f er	 t o	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 the	 Chris tian	 messag e	 tha t	 mee ts	 t oda y ’ s	 cultur al	
situa tion	 and	 c on t empor ary	 man’ s	 sear ch.	 The	 pr eacher	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 should 	

728 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
ar ouse	 in	 their	 lis t ener s	 the	 need	 f or	 self -de t ermina tion	 and	 per sonal	 de v elop-
me n t.	 In	 the 	 Chris tian	 se nse , 	 this	 de v e lopme n t	 me ans	 cr e a ting	 an	 a tmosphe r e	 of 	
fr eedom	 and 	 participa tion. 	 Chris t	 is	 a	 model	 of	 r esponsible	 and 	 fruitful 	 use	 of	 the 	
gift	 of	 fr eedom.	 In	 times	 of	 mor al	 r ela tivism	 and	 uncert ain ty ,	 poin ting	 t o	 this	 pa t -
tern in preaching is a real help in making important life decisions. True freedom 
allo w s	 one	 t o	 achie v e	 happiness	 and	 help s	 one	 t o	 kno w	 the	 g oodness	 and	 turn 	
t o w ar ds	it.
The	 issue	 of	 lo v e	 is	 fundamen t al	 in	 e v er y	 en vir onmen t	 of	 pr oclaiming	 the	 w or d 	
of	 God.	 No w ada y s, 	 ther e	 is	 an	 e x cellen t	 risk	 of	 f alsif ying	 the	 accur a t e	 and	 c om -
ple t e 	 c onc e p t 	 of	 lo v e 	 be c a use 	 it 	 is	 e a s y 	 t o	 g o	 t o	 e x t r e m e s	 in	 de fining 	 it .	 A s	 pa r t 	 of	
a	 r a tion alis t	 a ttitude,	 the	 true	 meaning	 of	 lo v e	 is	 under es tima t ed	 bec ause	 man	 is	
judg ed	 only	 in	 t erms	 of	 his	 t echnic al	 and	 r a tional	 abilities.	 Mean while,	 man	 needs 	
unc onditional	 lov e	 t o	 sur viv e	 all	 c ompe titions	 and	 only	 be	 giv en	 by	 God,	 who	 lov ed 	
man	 immeasur ably .	 Tha t	 is	 wh y	 it	 is	 necessar y	 t o	 pr oclaim	 t o	 modern	 man	 the 	
lo v e	 tha t	 has	 its	 sour ce	 in	 God,	 the	 lo v e	 mos t	 fully	 r e v ealed	 in	 Jesus	 Chris t.	 Dis-
c o v ering	true	lo v e	leads	t o	the	ques tion	of	its	sour ce,	about	God.
Another issue that should be the preaching content in a secularized environ -
ment is the problem of the meaning of life. Man »remains a being that is incom-
prehensible to himself. His life is meaningless if love is not revealed to him. There -
f or e,	 Chris t	 the	 R edeemer	 ›fully	 r e v eals	 man	 t o	 man	 himself‹	 /.../	 In	 Him	 man	 finds 	
his	 true	 gr ea tness,	 dignity	 and	 v alue	 of	 his	 humanity«	 (John	 P aul	 II	 1979,	 10). 	
Finding	 the	 mea ning	 of	 lif e	 allo w s	 a	 per son	 t o	 g ain	 inner	 peace	 and,	 c onsequen t -
ly ,	 happiness.	 The	 pr eacher ’ s	 t ask	 is	 t o	 open	 the	 lis t ener s	 t o	 the	 Good	 Ne w s,	 t o 	
Chris t,	 who	 r e v eals	 t o	 each	 per son	 the	 truth	 about	 themselv es	 and	 their	 c ondition 	
and	fr ees	them	fr om	uncert ain ty	and	a	sense	of	nonsense	(Luc as	1998,	12).
Another	 human	 desir e,	 which	 should	 also	 be	 the	 subject	 of	 pr eaching ,	 is	 hap -
piness.	 This	 desir e	 is	 vividly	 pr esen t	 in	 e v er y da y	 human	 lif e.	 F or	 the	 belie v er ,	 Jesus 	
Chris t	 is	 authen tic	 and	 g enuine	 happiness.	The	 lif e	 of	 a	 Chris tian	 is	 tha t	 of	 a	 hap -
p y	 per son	 who	 e xperiences	 c ommunion	 with	 the	 Crucified	 and	 Risen	 One.	 Human 	
e xperience	 also	 includes	 e xperiencing	 illness	 and	 suff ering.	 The	 Chris tian	 f aith 	
help s	 the	 suff er ing	 per son	 en trus t	 this	 e xperience	 –	 not	 en tir ely	 under s t andable	
t o	 the	 inc ompr ehensible	 God.	 F or	 belie v er s	 kno w:	 »I	 ha v e	 someone	 t o	 whom	 I 	
can shout my helplessness. The cross is not just an object that aches, but it is an 
obje c t	 t o	 w hic h	 I	 c an	 look 	 up.«	 (Z ollitsc h	 2 0 1 6 , 	 2 7 2 )	 On	 the 	 one 	 hand, 	 the 	 e xpe r i-
ence	 of	 sickness	 and	 suff ering 	 ma y	 r esult	 in	 the	 v erific a tion	of	 the	 curr en t	 vie w 	
on	 one’ s	 o wn	 lif e	 and	 opennes s	 t o	 the	 in fluence	 of	 the	 Gospel,	 and	 on	 the	 other	
hand,	 r e jection	 of	 suff ering	 and	 r ebellion	 leads	 t o	 br eaking	 the	 r ela tionship	 with	
God.	 In	 this	 c ase,	 the	 pr oclama tion	 of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 aims	 t o	 sho w	 Jesus	 as	 the	
fir s t	ph y sician	able	t o	heal	the	body	and	the	soul	(Busch	2009,	42–43).
In	 his	 speech	 t o	 the	 R oman	 Curia	 deliv er ed	 on	 December	 21
st
	 2009,	 P ope	 Bene -
dict	XVI	s t a t ed:	
»I	 think	 that	 today	 the	 Church	 too	 should	 open	 a	 sort	 of	 ‚Court	 of	 the 	
Gentiles‘	 in	 which	 people	 may	 in	 some	 way	 latch	 on	 to	 God,	 without 	

729 Leszek Szewczyk - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
knowing	 Him	 and	 before	 gaini ng	 access	 to	 His	 mystery,	 at	 whose	 service	
the	 inner	 life	 of	 the	 Church	 stands.	 Today,	 in	 addition	 to	 interreligious 	
dialogue,	 there	 should	 be	 a	 dialogue	 with	 those	 to	 whom	 religion	 is 	
something	 foreign, 	 to	 whom	 God	 is	 unknown, 	 and	 who	 nevertheless	 do 	
not	 want	 to	 be	 left	 merely	 Godless,	 but	 rather	 to	 draw	 near	 to	 Him,	 albeit 	
as	the	Unknown.«	(Benedict	XVI	2009)
In	 r esponse	 t o	 this	 appeal,	 the	 P on tific al	 Council	 f or	 Cultur e	 cr ea t ed	 a	 special	
s tructur e	 c alled	 the	 ,Courts	 of	 the	 Gen tiles ‘ .	 This	 initia tiv e	 aims	 t o	 cr ea t e	 mee tin-
gs	 be tw een	 belie v er s	 and	 non- belie v er s	 and	 eng ag e	 in	 dialog ue	 on	 c ommon	 pr o-
blems of humanity, such as the meaning of life, good and evil, the role of love, the 
meaning	 of	 suff ering ,	 and	 human	 righ ts	 and	 jus tice.	 It	 w as	 f ound	 tha t	 the	 bes t 	
pla tf orm	f or	 the	 dialogue	 be tw een	belie v er s	 and	 non-belie v er s	 is	 the	thr ee	tr an-
scenden t als:	 truth,	 g oodness,	 and	 beauty .	 The y	ar e	univ er sal	 human	 v alues,	 and	
e v ery	 human	 being	 is	 looking	 f or	 them,	 no	 ma tt er 	 wha t	 the y	 belie v e	 or	 do	 not 	
belie v e.	 One	 of	 the	 initia tiv es	 pr eceding	 the	 so-c alled	 ,Court	 of	 the	 Gen tiles ‘	 w as	
the	mee tings	 of	 Car dinal	 Carlo	 Maria	 Martini	 under	 the	auspices	 of	 ‚ The	 Chair	 of	
the	Non-Belie v er s ‘	(Martini	2015).
P ope	 Fr ancis	 also	 dr a w s	 a tt en tion	 t o	 the	 necessity	 of	 pr oclaim ing	 these	 v alues	
in preaching. He observes that the preacher should base each homily on truth, 
beauty	 and	 g oodness,	 using	 imag es	 t o	 enc our ag e	 lis t ener s	 t o	 w ork s	 of	 lov e	 in 	
e v er y da y	 lif e	 (E G	 142;	 146).	 The	 abo v e	 issues	 should	 be	 the	 c on t en t	 of	 the	 pr ea-
ching message addressed to secularized listeners.
Objectiv e	 truth	 about	 the	 w orld	 and	 man,	 including	 the	 issues	 of	 the	 origin	 and 	
existence	 of	 the	 world	 and	 man	 and	 his	 desires	 and	 aspirations,	 is	 this 	
pr oclama tion’ s	 actual	 c on t en t.	 An thr opologic al	 issues,	 such	 as	 a	 s tr ong	 desir e	 t o	
f eel	 tha t	 lif e	 is	 meaningful	 and 	 happ y ,	 and	 the	 need	 t o	 figh t	 e vil	 and	 suff ering	 in	
the	 w orld,	 ar e	 additional 	 c omponen ts	 of	 this	 c on t en t.	 Dialogue	 c onduct ed	 within 	
the	 ,Court	 of	 the	 Gen tiles ‘ 	 also	 c o v er s	 the	 univ er sal	 pr oblem	 of	 g ood,	 under s t ood 	
mos t	 oft en	 as	 helping	 and	 being	 in	 solidarity	 with	 the	 needy ,	 and	 c aring	 about 	
peace	 and	 social	 jus tice.	 This	 subject	 should	 be	 t ak en	 up	 b y	 pr eacher s	 of	 the	 w or d 	
of	 God	 in	 a	 seculariz ed	 en vir onmen t.	 These	 pr eacher s	 should	 also	 r e f er	 in	 the 	
c on t en t	 of	 their	 pr eaching	 t o	 the	 thir d	 univ er sal	 v alue	 t ak en	 up	 in	 the	 ,Court	 of 	
the	 Gen tiles ‘ ,	 which	 is	 beauty	 and	 its	 import ance	 f or	 people	 pr ejudiced	 ag ains t 	
the	 Chur ch.	 Seculariz ed	 people	 e xperiencing	 a	 crisis	 of	 f aith	 ha v e	 the	 righ t	 t o	 learn 	
about	 God	 seeking	 man.	 The 	 pr eacher ’ s	 t ask 	 is	 t o	 cr ea t e 	 the 	 so-c alled	 f or egr ound 	
of	 f aith,	 a	 space 	 of	 se nsitiz a tion	 t o	 v alue s	 le ading	 t o	 God, 	 such	 as	 g ood, 	 tr uth, 	 be -
auty ,	silence,	na tur e,	art,	and	the	cultur e	of	the	w or d.	
Human	 desir e	 and	 ques tions	 also	 t ouch	 the	 essen tial	 ar ea,	 which	 is	 God.	 These 	
ques tions	 ar e	 ask ed	 b y	 both	 belie v er s	 e xperiencing	 crises	 of	 f aith	 and	 non-belie -
v er s.	Benedict	XVI	simult aneously	addr essed	both	of	these	gr oup s:	
»Those	 of	 you	 who	 are	 non-believers	 challenge	 believers	 in	 a	 particular 	
way	 to	 live	 in	 a	 way	 consistent	 with	 the	 faith	 they	 profess	 and	 by	 your 	

730 Bogoslovni vestnik 81 (2021) • 3
rejection	 of	 any	 distortion	 of	 religion	 that	 would	 make	 it	 unworthy	 of	 man. 	
Those	 of	 you	 who	 are	 believer s	 long	 to	 tell	 your	 friends	 that	 the	 treasure	
dwelling	 within	 you	 is	 meant	 to	 be	 shared,	 it	 raises	 questions,	 it	 calls	 for	
reflection.	 The	 question	 of	 God	 is	 not	 a	 menace	 to	 society,	 it	 does	 not 	
threaten	 a	 truly	 human	 life!	 The	 question	 of	 God	 must	 not	 be	 absent	 from 	
the	other	great	questions	of	our	time.«	(	2011)
The	 ques tion 	 of	 God’ s	 e xis t ence,	 the	 possibility	 of	 es t ablishing	 c on t act	 with 	
Him,	 and	 the	 possible	 in fluence	 of	 God	 on	 human	 lif e	 ha v e	 been	 bothering	 people 	
f or	 cen turies.	 Th is	 is	 a	 char act eris tic	 tr ait	 of	 a	 man	 who	 ask s	 about	 the	 other	 side	
of	 his	 lif e.	 Also ,	 a	 seculariz ed	 socie ty	 ask s	 about	 the	 sour ces	 fr om	 which	 visions 	
of	 humanity ,	 mutual	 trus t,	 social	 ties	 and	 in t erper sonal	 r ela tions	 ar e	 deriv ed	 (W an-
k e	 2012).	 The	 ques tion	 of	 the	 pr esence	 of	 God	 i n	 human	 l if e,	 i n	 his t or y , 	 and	 the	
w orld	 t ak es	 time 	 t o	 disc ov er	 the	 superna tur al	 dimension	 of	 human	 e xis t ence. 	
P eople	 who	 see k	 God	 ar e	 not	 looking	 f or	 an	 unde fined	 lif e	 pr oject	 and	 a	 sense	 of	
security ,	 but	 someone	 who	 c an	 bec ome	 the	 gr ea t es t	 lo v e	 of	 their	 lif e	 (LcD	 1,5). 	
F or	 God	 is	 not	 only	 an	 eas y	 ans w er	 t o	 human	 needs	 but	 a	 r esponse	 t o	 the	 desir e	
t o	mee t	the	e t ernal	Other	who	help s	us	under s t and	our selv es.
Joachim	 W ank e	 poin ts	 t o	 an	 e x ample	 of	 an	 in t er es t	 in	 God	 in	 eas t ern	 German y: 	
»This	 can	 also	 be	 observed	 in	 our	 country:	 where	 we	 cut	 off	 from	 religious 	
traditions,	 we	 lo ng	 for	 continu ity	 and	 being	 at	 home.	 When	 happiness	 in	
this	 life	 become s	 fragile	 and	 barren,	 a	 new	 question	 arises	 as	 to	 what	 it	 is	
that actually satisfies. Where an ideologically tired society plunges into 
distrust and envy, there is a longing for honesty, for successful 
interpersonal	 contacts,	 for	 someone	 who	 can	 be	 trusted,	 for	 total	 devotion 	
and	 adoration.	 Shadow	 can	 only	 be	 found	 in	 the	 presence	 of	 light.	 Hunger 	
and	 thirst	 are	 especially	 troublesome	 when	 one	 senses	 the	 possibility	 of	
satisfying	 them	 /.../	 Here	 is	 an	 outline	 of	 what	 it	 would	 esse ntially	 mean	
today	 to	 proclaim	 God	 in	 a	 society	 that	 is	 sometimes	 lost	 in	 doubt, 	
suspicion	 and	 distrust:	 not	 a	 threat	 or	 intimidation,	 but	 an	 invitation	 to 	
accept	 life	 and	 trust.	 This	 is	 the	 only	 way	 to	 overcome	 fear	 in	 life	 and 	
ingrained distrust. Often, personal faith is more of a longing than a desire 
to	understand	and	explain	everything	at	all	costs!«	(2012)
P r e aching	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 t o	 se cular iz e d	 pe ople 	 should	 be gin	 with	 ar ousing	 a	
longing	 f or	 God.	 An	 a tt emp t	 should	 be	 made	 t o	 r each	 a	 per son’ s	 mos t	 pr of ound	
ques tions	 and	 desir es	 and	 de fine	 them	 pr ecisely .	 Lif e	 without	 God	 is	 char act eriz ed 	
b y	 an	 e xis t ence	 »without	 a	 spi ritual	 backgr ound«,	 »a	 kind	 of	 f ear	 of	 the	 futur e«,	
which	 oft en	 mak es	 »the	 imag e	 of	 t omorr o w	 c olourless	 and	 uncert ain«,	 and	 c au-
ses	 f ear	 r a ther	 than	 a	 desir e	 f or	 the	 futur e	 (John	 P aul	 II	 2003,	 7).	 Modern	 lis t ener s 	
of	 the	 w or d	 of	 God	 oft en	 e xperience	 dr ama tic	 f ear	 and	 an xie ty	 and	 the	 e xpect a-
tion	 of	 some thing	 or	 someone	 diff er en t.	 This	 e xpect a tion	 is	 r ealiz ed	 in	 Chris t,	 who 	
giv es	 meaning	 t o	 human	 lif e	 and	 sa tis fies	 the	 deepes t	 desir es	 (Douglas	 J .	 Da vies	
and	Michael	J .	Tha t e	2017,	102).

731 Leszek Szewczyk - Catechesis in the Church’s Dialogue with the World
Andr eas	 W ollbold	 s t a t es	 tha t	 »speaking	 t o	 lis t ener s	 without	 delving	 deeper 	
in t o	 and	 under s t anding 	 their	 pr oblems	 is	 the 	 f as t es t -acting 	 poison	 t o	 a	 sermon. 	
Therefore, every sermon should remain completely related to the listeners them-
selv es	 and	 the	 specific	 situa tion,	 and	 it	 c annot	 disappear	 has tily	 and	 irr e trie v ably	
in	 the	 theologic al	 clouds	 a ft er	 a	 beautiful,	 but	 de t ached- fr om-lif e	 in tr oduction.«	
(2017,	 222)	 The	 homile tic	 lit er a tur e	 poin ts	 t o	 fiv e	 e xpect a tions	 of	 the	 modern	 li -
s t ener 	 of	 the 	 w or d	 of	 God: 	 r escue, 	 especially 	 in	 difficult 	 lif e	 situa tions; 	 opening	 t o 	
the	 futur e,	 tha t	 is,	 helping	 t o	 see	 the	 w a y	 of	 lif e	 and	 indic a ting	 possible	 s t eps; 	
critic al	 time	 signal,	 ability	 t o	 r ec ogniz e	 the	 signs	 of	 the	 times;	 e xplana tion	 of	 the	
situa tion	 in	 whi ch	 the	 man	 f ound	 himself	 based	 on	 the	 biblic al	 messag e;	 solida -
r it y , 	 t ha t 	 is, 	 t he 	 a c c om pa nim e n t 	 a nd	 c om pa ssion	 of	 a 	 pe r son	 a nd	 a 	 Chr is tia n	 w ho	
d oes	 n ot	 h a v e	 si mp l e	 an s w er s	 r ead y ,	 b u t	 i s	 a w ar e	 of	 c omp l e x	 l i f e	 si tu a tio n s. 	 »An -
s w ering	 ques tions	 tha t	 no	 one	 ask s,	 or	 c a t ching	 the	 lis t ener s’	 e xpect a tions	 and 	
dir ecting 	 the	 c on v er sa tion	 t o	 the	 Gospel	 –	 it	 is	 be tw een	 these	 alt erna tiv es	 tha t 	
the	success	of	the	sermon	is	f ound	and	r esults	fr om	them.«	(222)
Mee ting	 the	 abo v e	 e xpect a tions	 enables	 c on t empor ar y	 pr eacher s	 t o	 r each	 au-
diences living in a secularized environment. The preacher should lead the audi -
ence	 t o	 a	 per sonal	 enc oun t er	 with	 Jesus	 Chris t	 and	 ans w er	 man’ s	 mos t	 funda-
men t al	ques tions	and	desir es.
Abbreviations
 CCC – Catechism of the Catholic Church 	2012.
 EG –	 Fr ancis	2013	[E v ang elii	Gaudium].
 LcD –	 Commissione	 Episc opale	 per	 la	 Dottrina	 della	 F ede	 2009	 [Lett er a	 ai 	
cer c a t ori	di	Dio].
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