Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Had a good reminder of a basic evangelization principle today. At a wedding of friends, held at my beautiful church, the priest explained to the couple that it is what they do, and not so much what they say, that will be a powerful witness to our world of marriage as God intended it. Love and committment are inseparable, he said, and it is in the dailyness of our lives that this truth is refined and revealed. With all the broken marriages in our world, the example of a solid, strong marriage lived deliberately will stand out. When we live counter-culturally, people do take notice.
What a wonderful reflection for all of us. I don't think any of us really know just how much of an impact we have on others by simply trying to live a good Christian life. We may struggle much, we may fail often, we may even feel like we are a rather poor excuse for a Christian. And yet, if we strive for holiness and grow in love, we will make an impression on someone, whether we know it or not. Therefore, it is not in our being perfect or knowledgeable, but in our being faithful that will speak volumes to the world.
Preach the Gospel always, use words if necessary.
Sunday, July 31, 2005
Saturday, July 30, 2005
Cardinal Ratzinger on the New Evangelization: Building the Civilization of Love
"Human life cannot be realized by itself. Our life is an open question, an incomplete project, still to be brought to fruition and realized. Each man's fundamental question is: How will this be realized—becoming man? How does one learn the art of living? Which is the path toward happiness?
To evangelize means: to show this path—to teach the art of living. At the beginning of his public life Jesus says: I have come to evangelize the poor (Luke 4:18); this means: I have the response to your fundamental question; I will show you the path of life, the path toward happiness—rather: I am that path.
The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries. The inability of joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice—all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.
This is why we are in need of a new evangelization—if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works. But this art is not the object of a science—this art can only be communicated by [one] who has life—he who is the Gospel personified. "
Here is the rest of this lovely essay by our Holy Father.
http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
"Human life cannot be realized by itself. Our life is an open question, an incomplete project, still to be brought to fruition and realized. Each man's fundamental question is: How will this be realized—becoming man? How does one learn the art of living? Which is the path toward happiness?
To evangelize means: to show this path—to teach the art of living. At the beginning of his public life Jesus says: I have come to evangelize the poor (Luke 4:18); this means: I have the response to your fundamental question; I will show you the path of life, the path toward happiness—rather: I am that path.
The deepest poverty is the inability of joy, the tediousness of a life considered absurd and contradictory. This poverty is widespread today, in very different forms in the materially rich as well as the poor countries. The inability of joy presupposes and produces the inability to love, produces jealousy, avarice—all defects that devastate the life of individuals and of the world.
This is why we are in need of a new evangelization—if the art of living remains an unknown, nothing else works. But this art is not the object of a science—this art can only be communicated by [one] who has life—he who is the Gospel personified. "
Here is the rest of this lovely essay by our Holy Father.
http://www.ewtn.com/new_evangelization/Ratzinger.htm
Friday, July 29, 2005
Evangelization 101
Blessings to everyone! This website is the beginning of an experiment. As a committed Catholic that harbors a deep passion for evangelization, I wanted to attempt to gather into one place a resource of sorts relating to this subject. I have observed that many of my brothers and sisters in the Lord also have a desire for this, a desire to reach out to the broken souls in our world and give them the chance to choose healing and life and wholeness, and to experience the joy and happiness that comes from friendship with God. What we have is very good, and we ought to share it!
Yet the average Catholic will be the first to tell me that they don't know how to evangelize - they feel ill-equipped, they're afraid, they don't know enough about their faith, or they simply wouldn't know how to go about it in the first place. Since none of us Christians are exempted from this baptismal call to spread the good news, I say that it's high time we started figuring out how.
There is much information about it - yes, even in the Catholic world. My postings will likely be quite varied, with articles and links about evangelization, musings on different aspects of it, stories of my own experiences and that of my friends, and what we need to pay attention to in order to evangelize effectively (love, prayer, study, learning how to share our faith, etc). I hope to provide some encouragement to all of you to take up the challenge to be a missionary for Christ right where you are, in your normal everyday life.
Let us not be afraid - the Lord is with us!
St. Therese, patron saint of missionaries, pray for us. Come Holy Spirit!
Yet the average Catholic will be the first to tell me that they don't know how to evangelize - they feel ill-equipped, they're afraid, they don't know enough about their faith, or they simply wouldn't know how to go about it in the first place. Since none of us Christians are exempted from this baptismal call to spread the good news, I say that it's high time we started figuring out how.
There is much information about it - yes, even in the Catholic world. My postings will likely be quite varied, with articles and links about evangelization, musings on different aspects of it, stories of my own experiences and that of my friends, and what we need to pay attention to in order to evangelize effectively (love, prayer, study, learning how to share our faith, etc). I hope to provide some encouragement to all of you to take up the challenge to be a missionary for Christ right where you are, in your normal everyday life.
Let us not be afraid - the Lord is with us!
St. Therese, patron saint of missionaries, pray for us. Come Holy Spirit!
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