Family, work, and public responsibility
by Lucille O’Donnell
The term evangelization is a negative and scary term for many of us. We often perceive it as going door to door, as preaching, as a marketing tool, or as an anti-Catholic term. In l975 Pope Paul VI stated in his message, On Evangelization in the Modern World that evangelizing means bringing the Good News of Jesus into every situation, individually and in society, so that change will take place in line with Gospel values. That means being a witness to the Gospel in our families, where we work, play, in the political arena and in the media. It means working to change society in every area of life so that justice prevails.
Why do we hesitate to tell our stories of faith? Maybe we are shy, or we don’t believe ourselves, or it is just too difficult. G.K. Chesterton once said of Christianity, "It’s not that Christianity was tried and found wanting, but that it was tried and found difficult, and so discarded." Jesus never told us that to live the Gospel would be easy.
Pope John Paul II told the young people on the opening of World Youth Day in Rome, August 15, 2000, "The journey of faith is part of everyday life. God is at work in the concrete and mysterious ways of each of us. Do not let the time the Lord gives you go by as if everything happens by chance. God directs the history of the individual as well as the history of humanity. Believe in God and in his Word." Evangelization will not just happen by chance. We need to be messengers of the Good News in every aspect of our lives.
Lucille O’Donnell is assistant professor of Occupational Therapy, College of St. Catherine, St. Paul, MN.
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Do I Really Need Community?
Vatican II in History
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The Gospel is a Social Message
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