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| Illustration copyright 2014, by Leighton Drake |
Evangelization, the sharing of the Good News of Jesus Christ, happens in many ways. But it is always--- if authentic and potentially effective--- grounded in humble prayer and a spirit of Christian charity.
Evangelization should flow from our sincere desire to share something of supreme value with our brothers and sisters, something that, by the grace of God, we have discovered ourselves.
I suggest the following practical considerations, though by no means is this a comprehensive and exhaustive listing. Maybe it is a beginning.
Begin with prayer. “Take” the person you desire to share the Good News with to Mass and to the chapel with you in your heart. Remember them in your nightly prayers. Pray rosaries and Divine Mercy chaplets for them. Fast for them. Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you.
Lead with love. Evangelization is not about winning arguments and convincing others to believe what you believe. It is about loving others enough to share the Good, the True, and the Beautiful with them. Keep loving them no matter what. Never give up on the power of love. Don't compromise truth--- ever. Lead with love.
Live it. Be fully Catholic. Believe and live what the Catholic Church professes. Those who live a "full throttle" Catholicism, meaning they are "all in" when it comes to living the Faith, point to Christ who was "all-in" for us when he gave His life on the Cross and rose from the dead. He held nothing of Himself back. We are called to follow His example. He was not a "pick-and-choose savior," and we shouldn't be "pick-and-choose Catholics" who treat Catholic doctrine like food choices on a cafeteria line. Our relativistically inclined culture is in need of authentic models of fully committed, humble obedience to truth.
Be real. And when you stumble--- as we all will--- seek reconciliation through the sacrament of Reconciliation in order to begin anew. Be honest with yourself and with others that you are a "work in progress," a "saint-in-training," and acknowledge you have a long way to go. People are rightly turned off by phony piety. We are to proclaim the Lord, not ourselves. We are broken vessels, to borrow St. Paul's image. Don't pretend you are "there" yet out of some fear that if someone knows you struggle to be holy they will discount the Gospel. They will appreciate and respect your integrity when you admit you are a work in progress. Humility is knowing the truth about ourselves. Be real.
Give good Catholic books. Books have the potential to change lives. Books are safe and unthreatening to the seeker who may be checking the Church out, but not ready to engage in dialogue with someone they fear will "try to convert them." Books can provide for a profound encounter with Truth that leads to further inquiry. They can be read and re-read, thought about, and processed in a way that a conversation doesn't allow. Books can reach places of the heart that are defensively closed to others. Give good, solid, and trusted Catholic books.
Invite. Invite someone to join you for the Bible study, men's or women's program, or prayer group at your parish. Invite a neighbor or relative to Christmas Midnight Mass. Invite someone who’s going through a difficult time to join you for a Holy Hour in the Adoration chapel. Especially, and most importantly, invite Catholics who have drifted from the Church back to the sacraments, which will transform people’s lives more than anything else, because the sacraments are real encounters with the living Jesus Christ (example: "Hey, I go to the sacrament of Reconciliation on the first Saturday of the month, and you are always welcome to join me. Man, I don't know how I'd get by as a husband and dad without it.").
Offer to pray for someone. When someone shares a struggle or difficulty with you, promise them your prayers. Tell them you will take their intentions to Mass. That means a lot to people, even to those who don’t practice faith. How many times I have had a non-practicing friend or relative ask for prayers! Even those who don’t pray much seem to know deep down that prayer makes a difference. Be really bold and ask if you can say a prayer with them. If so, put a hand on their shoulder and say a brief prayer for them.
Give your witness. Share the things the Lord has done in your life when the occasion presents itself. Of course we want to avoid being preachy-- which is often a symptom of pride, and something I have been guilty of in my own clumsy evangelization efforts--- but we should not be afraid to tell the "glory stories" of God's love demonstrated in our lives. Others are inspired and encouraged to hear how the Lord actively demonstrates His concern for us because it reminds them that He is there for them, too, and is only a prayer away.
In the parish office we have discussed the idea of coming up with an “elevator witness.” In other words, how could you tell your story of conversion in the brief time you would be in an elevator?
Be prepared. My daughter, who served N.E.T. Ministries (an amazing Catholic apostolate that evangelizes Catholic teens at parishes and schools) for almost a year as a traveling evangelization team leader, was trained how to give a three minute witness talk. Her witness is brief but powerful.
Be assured, the Lord will provide the opportunities to be a witness. We just have to be ready to share the Good News (in season and out of season, according to St. Paul).
A few years ago a friend invited me to a prescreening of the movie Seven Days in Utopia--- on the surface a movie about golf and life, but at a deeper level about God and His fatherly love. The audience members invited were golf enthusiasts, but not necessarily Christians.
Following the movie, a middle-aged man stood before the audience and gave a ten-minute witness talk about his conversion to Christ. His shaky voice revealed his nervousness. He shared that most of his life he had ignored God, but in his early forties he came to a realization that he was missing something essential, and admitted that his personal life had reflected that. Inspired by the witness of others, he gave his life to Christ and it changed everything. He spoke humbly and convincingly of God’s love. I was moved and inspired that he had the courage to get up in front of strangers to speak boldly for Christ.
Be a person of joy. Christian joy is not contingent on life’s circumstances. Christian joy comes from Christ. Joy is the delight of the soul in His presence. Father Robert Barron has said, “The most effective way to evangelize is to share the contagious joy of being a friend of Jesus Christ.” And as St. Teresa of Avila and Pope Francis have said, we have too many sour-faced “saints” in our midst! We need to lighten up and enjoy life! “Rejoicing in the Lord is your strength” (Neh 8:10, NABRE). People are attracted to authentic joy.
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Illustration copyright 2014 by Leighton Drake
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Be a gift of self. When we serve others (as Jesus modeled in the washing of the disciples’ feet), we “speak” volumes about God’s steadfast love. “Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and he who loves is born of God and knows God… for God is love” (1 Jn 4:7-8, RSV). If you live transparently, and people know you are a person of faith, it won’t be difficult for them to connect the dots between your worship of God and your acts of charity.
Be who you are without apology. Let people see that being Catholic is the very center of who you are. For example, when you have someone over for dinner, don’t change your family faith tradition. Pray before the meal as always. Include in your prayer words of thanksgiving for the presence of your guests. That can be a conversional experience.
I will never forget: I was a young man, far from God but seeking, visiting a mission to the poor in Mexico. The Franciscan priest prayed aloud at our first meal in thanksgiving for my presence. That left a huge impression on me: “He’s praying to thank God for me, a non-believer!?!”
The Lord will give you many opportunities to witness your faith in public without resorting to a phony piety. A couple of colleagues during my pre-Christian days used to go to a park near the art department office during the lunch hour to pray and study the Bible. They didn’t make a big deal of it, but I saw the worn Bibles they carried, and they consistently demonstrated a joy that eluded me. I couldn’t help but notice it and secretly admire their faith.
Start something! Start a lunch Bible study at work; or a Catholic book study with members of your faith community and invite a non-believing neighbor. Start a prayer group and invite people who wouldn’t normally be connected to that sort of thing. It can't hurt to ask. And it may just change a life. A young friend of mine started a Catholic ministry group at a secular college because there was little happening for the large Catholic population there. It began very small but grew quickly, and is still flourishing and feeding young Catholics who are trying to be true to their faith in the midst of a very secular world.
We who are baptized in Christ are called to evangelize. There is no getting around that. It is an essential element of the Christian life. But the Lord doesn’t ask us to be someone we are not. He calls us to evangelize within the reality of our personalities, gifts, and circumstances.
The time to begin is NOW!
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