AND THEY'LL KNOW WE ARE CATHOLICS BY OUR BLOGS, BY OUR BLOGS, YES THEY'LL KNOW WE ARE CATHOLICS BY OUR BLOGS

“I am ready to die a martyr before getting involved with evangelization.  I don’t want to be one of those guys that people dread seeing on their stoop or avoid passing on the street corner.”

 

I’ve often dreamed (fantasized) of that before; being martyred for the glory of God and stepping out of this life and directly into the heaven.  But put a Bible in my hand and tell me to go knock on some doors?

 

Not so much.

 

But the truth is that evangelization is a collective term for everything that the Church does to bring people closer to Christ.  The act of dying a martyr is in itself an act of evangelization.  A church building (if you can tell that it is a church building) is an act of evangelization.  A rosary on the rear view mirror of your car can be an act of evangelization.

 

“What’s that?”

 

“A rosary.  It helps me remember to pray when I am driving.”

 

“Oh.  Cool.”

 

Saying grace at a restaurant is an act of evangelization even if it seems to done quite inconspicuously.  (Doing it for show is poor form.)  A crucifix hanging in your home, telling people why you will be late (we’ll get there about noon.  We’ve got to get to Mass first) the type of Christmas cards you send, what you write on your blog, even being joyful is an act of evangelization.

 

“Why do you seem to handle things so well?

 

“Truthfully?  My faith helps me keep things in perspective.”

 

When I was in (public) high school the Catholic students were warned not to put their confirmation name on their graduation certificate.  “It might hurt future job prospects” we were told.  That just made me want to do it all the more.

 

Of course I became a priest.

 

The truth is, just about anything you do can be evangelization as long as you are pointing toward Christ.  The first thing to do really is to discover what it is you are already doing that could be considered evangelization.  Most people are surprised that they do so to some extent already.  The next step is to consider the other areas of your life and see if there is anything that could be adjusted in them so that they too could become acts of evangelization.

 

“Tell you what, instead of meeting you at the party do you want to join us for Mass first and then we can go over together?”

 

Then, after you are comfortable with that, in prayer, start asking God what could you do that would be a more bold step.