As a baptized Catholic, what are you doing to contribute to the Church’s mission of evangelization? 

What kind of witness are you being, in the way that you speak and live? 

How does your being Catholic affect the purpose of your life and the way you treat others?

The ministry of evangelization begins here, within ourselves.  It begins with an encounter with one Person, the Person of Jesus, and effects a change within us, a conversion of heart, which touches every area of our lives.   Life with Christ brings joy, peace, and fulfillment.  It brings healing, forgiveness, and truth.  But it also oftentimes means a change in perspective and direction, a breaking away from what is comfortable or convenient, or “the norm.”  This purification can be painful, but it is exactly in this struggle that the Lord will be glorified through us.  In our weakness, He is strong.  In our brokenness, He makes us whole.  He wishes to use us, to move in us, in such a way that our own lives become a means of evangelization toward everyone we meet.  Christ needs disciples who are not afraid to speak of his love and mercy from their own lived experiences, from the depths of their changed being.

“Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.” (Pope Paul VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, para. 41)

All of the programs and knowledge made available by the Church are for naught if we keep the doors of our hearts bolted shut.  But when we open wide those doors to Christ, the light of truth will penetrate the darkest corners, and all of the areas of past brokenness can finally be found and restored. 

Are we ready to open ourselves up?  To surrender?  To be changed?  To let go of whatever image we have created for others to see?  He is patiently waiting…

"Here I am!  I stand at the door and knock.  If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20)