{"id":40992,"date":"2013-08-01T11:45:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-01T16:45:56","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=40992"},"modified":"2013-08-01T12:09:08","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T17:09:08","slug":"setting-your-family-ablaze-part-5-of-5-evangelization","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/08\/setting-your-family-ablaze-part-5-of-5-evangelization\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting Your Family Ablaze – Part 5 of 5 – Evangelization"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Bonfire\"<\/a>The last key to setting your family ablaze is to embrace the call to evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and testimony of life” (Catechism of the Catholic<\/em> Church, 905).\u00a0 For most Catholics, this seems to be the hardest one to embrace.\u00a0 Faith and Integration, the first two keys, can be done in private, so to speak.\u00a0 I can study the faith and attempt to apply it to my life without taking too much risk.\u00a0 With Relationships, the third key, we have some control over with whom we choose to cultivate our friendships.\u00a0 We can get comfortable in our own circle of friends who share our beliefs and values.\u00a0 Evangelization contains something we feel uncomfortable about.\u00a0 It requires leaving our comfort zone.\u00a0 The Great Commission for all Christians occurred on the day of Jesus’ Ascension into heaven: “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. \u00a0Go therefore and make disciples of all nations<\/strong><\/strong><\/em>” (Matthew 28:19-20).\u00a0 Because Jesus has been given all authority, he calls on His followers – you and me – to GO and MAKE disciples.\u00a0 This can be daunting and uncomfortable.\u00a0 Jesus must have recognized this apprehension in the disciples on the day of the Ascension because He ends with a very comforting set of words for them and for us as well: “I am with you always” (Matthew 28:20).\u00a0 Jesus is with you always!\u00a0 He, who is with us always, just asks that we take Him to others.\u00a0 He’ll provide everything we need, the opportunities, the words, the everything.\u00a0 We need only to take seriously His commission, and then to act upon that commission.\u00a0 Do it.\u00a0 Evangelize.\u00a0 He asks you, He asks me to Go and Make disciples. So, ….<\/p>\n

GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES!\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n

First,\u00a0PRAY.<\/strong>\u00a0 Evangelization requires that we fully embrace the fact that Jesus has all authority in heaven and on earth, that He loves me, and that He is with me always.\u00a0 What that means is that we must be in relationship, in love, with Jesus.\u00a0 We must PRAY before and as<\/em> <\/strong>we GO.\u00a0 Isn’t that what the disciples were asked to do after receiving this commission, resulting in the descent of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost?\u00a0 We, too, must pray, asking for the Holy Spirit to come to our aid.<\/p>\n

Second, GO.<\/strong>\u00a0 We can get stuck in prayer mode, so to speak.\u00a0 Think of Peter, James, and John at the Transfiguration.\u00a0 They wanted to stay up on the mountain with Jesus.\u00a0 Sometimes, as we grow in our prayer life, we can want to stay on that “mountain” with Jesus.\u00a0 As with those apostles, after the mountain top, we must re-enter, descend so to speak, into the real world which lies below the mountain.\u00a0 The good news is that Jesus comes with us.\u00a0 Be encouraged and GO!\u00a0 Go do the laundry.\u00a0 Go to work.\u00a0 Go to baseball practice.\u00a0 Go make breakfast.\u00a0 Go back to your ordinary life.\u00a0 According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church<\/em>, “this evangelization …. is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world” (CCC,<\/em> 905).\u00a0 Go do what you do. <\/em><\/p>\n

Third, LIVE.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong>The witness, the testimony of our life is the first means of evangelization.\u00a0 In fact, without living the life, our words will have little impact.\u00a0 This is the “I” in the FIRE acronym – Integration.\u00a0 For some thoughts on and practical ways of integrating the Faith into our lives, go back and read Part 3 of this series, on Integration.\u00a0 The bottom line is summed up in a couple of cliches that we’ve all heard.\u00a0 “Don’t tell me that you love me.\u00a0 Show me!” and “They won’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”.\u00a0 Actions often speak louder than words (OK, so it’s 3 cliches)!\u00a0 We have to live lives that evangelize, that proclaim that Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life.<\/p>\n

Fourth, LOOK<\/strong>.\u00a0 Now, having prayed, re-entering the ordinary duties of your life, and living our faith in and through those duties, continue to ask Jesus to help you to see the opportunities to proclaim His Good News.\u00a0 We cannot settle for just witnessing through our lives only.\u00a0 Often, we’ve heard the line (frequently credited to St. Francis), “preach always, use words when necessary”.\u00a0 Unfortunately, too often, the line has been used to suggest that living our faith, our “witness of life”, is sufficient to evangelize.\u00a0 In other words, it’s used to justify not using words at all in our evangelization. Yet, the Church is clear on this point, “this witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the<\/strong> lookout for occasions of<\/strong><\/em> announcing Christ by word<\/strong><\/em>, either to unbelievers … or to the faithful” (CCC, 905).\u00a0 So, where do we look?\u00a0 Look for opportunities in our existing relationships (the third key, the “R” in the acronym FIRE) – primarily our spouses and our children.\u00a0 Also, be on the lookout at work.\u00a0 Is someone going through a difficult time in their marriage?\u00a0 Has there been a death in their family?\u00a0 Always be looking for opportunities to share the love of Christ with others.\u00a0 Stay in constant conversation with the One who promises to be with us always.\u00a0 Is this the time, Lord?\u00a0 Is this the person that You want me to introduce You to?\u00a0 If so, please give me the actions and the words that will show You to her.\u00a0 I’m ready to GO!\u00a0 Help me to MAKE her Your disciple!<\/p>\n

For more on evangelization and going and making disciples, we highly recommend a book called Forming Intentional Disciples: A Path to Knowing and Following Jesus<\/em> <\/a>by Sherry Weddell, published by Our Sunday Visitor, Inc.<\/em>\u00a0 The book lays out the current situation within the Catholic Church with regard to discipleship and evangelization and then provides very practical steps to implement in our lives so that we might answer Christ’s call to evangelize, to make disciples.\u00a0 Reading that book would be a great starting point for anyone who takes seriously the Great Commission, yet would like some practical help with how to go about answering the call.\u00a0 You’ll really enjoy the read.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The last key to setting your family ablaze is to embrace the call to evangelization, “that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and testimony of life” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 905).\u00a0 For most Catholics, this seems to be the hardest one to embrace.\u00a0 Faith and Integration, the first two keys, can be done… [Read More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[671],"tags":[1905,452,62,50,1906,1800,165],"class_list":{"0":"post-40992","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-column","7":"tag-catholic-parenthood","8":"tag-christian","9":"tag-evangelization","10":"tag-faith","11":"tag-forming-intentional-disciples","12":"tag-intergration","13":"tag-parenting","14":"entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":124040,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/06\/a-response-to-what-sucks-about-the-catholic-church\/","url_meta":{"origin":40992,"position":0},"title":"A Response to “What Sucks about the Catholic Church”","author":"Lindsay Wilcox","date":"June 23, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Every spring brings the Church a batch of shiny new Catholics, and every year I see the same list of complaints. No, not the ones about people \"taking your pew.\" The ones about the niggling weaknesses in the Church. 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