Father John H. McKenzie is Pastor at Saint James the Apostle in Refugio.
Married and single people have an important role in evangelization, just as much as priests and those in consecrated religious life.
There are many well-meaning people who do not belong to the Catholic faith who, nonetheless, are very sincere. How do we reach them? There are right ways and wrong ways to do it. The Apostle Peter left us with us great instruction: “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope, but do it with gentleness and reverence...(1 Pt 3:15-16)” Knowing this, we should always be polite with all to whom we witness.
I remember during my deployment to Afghanistan how many Afghans came over to Christ. They did that largely because of their good experience with Christians. They did not see hypocrisy in the Christians who spoke of Christ. When Afghan soldiers asked me about the different Christian denominations, I told them that these were different expressions of the Christian faith. The opportunity to share the Catholic faith will certainly come, but when there is the question about Christ we should speak first of Christ.
There are right ways and wrong ways to evangelize. Words or no words can say a lot. St. Francis of Assisi told his friars to preach Jesus and when necessary to use words. I remember a 90-year-old woman who evangelized simply by walking to Mass every day in the cold or heat. People who saw her faithfully going to Mass admitted feeling shame because they did not make the time to go to church.
A self-defeating example of evangelizing was the woman I knew who wore crosses and medals around her neck and religious pictures on her coat. She was always willing to talk about her Catholic faith. That was good, but the problem came one day at an auto service shop when she was angry about the service. She began yelling and cursing at the staff. Her language would have shocked any foul mouth. Any potential converts in the store were likely driven away.
The faith we profess must always be reflected in our lives.
There are opportunities to evangelize when we travel. While at a hotel, ask the desk clerk for the location of the nearest Catholic Church. I was in Holland a few years ago. I asked the desk clerk where I could find the nearest Catholic Church. She was surprised as she told me that so few people go to church in Holland. I told her how my faith was very important. As I was taking a taxi, the cab driver was a Muslim immigrant. He asked me about my faith and we had a good conversation. Hopefully I was able to answer his questions. There were very few people at Mass, but our presence at Mass anywhere is great support for the local church—this is true at home or far away. After all, the Mass is the Mass wherever you are and in whatever language it is celebrated.
If you travel abroad to a non-English speaking country, take a Catholic Bible and a Catechism with you. You can order them in any language. The opportunity may come in those countries to share your faith. You could give them a Bible in their own language. If you do not meet someone, give it to the local parish in that city. These are opportunities to evangelize.
As there are many challenges, so are there many good resources to help us to evangelize. You can order good booklets and pamphlets that help explain our faith and give them to people. Do not throw away a Catholic publication, like the South Texas Catholic, when you are finished reading them. Give them to someone. There are also many good books explaining our faith, which can be ordered online.
The harvest is rich and so are the opportunities and resources for evangelization. All of us have an important role to evangelize.