Stop Complaining And Evangelize!

The minute you walk outside of your church on Sunday you’re in mission territory. | Bishop Robert Barron

There is a lot of complaining about social and political upheaval. Many Western societies are tipping sideways due to poorly thought out and poorly managed governmental social policies. Peoples from very different cultures are inflecting their new homelands, and responses range from indifference to confrontations of one kind or another.

I am not capable of doing big things, but I want to do everything, even the smallest things, for the greater glory of God.  | Saint Dominic Savio

May it be suggested that there is an opportunity to evangelize newcomers and invite them to embrace the Christian Faith? Though social circumstances could be seen as a challenge or threat, the creative mind can see beyond obstacles to create opportunities to welcome people, foster civility, and to work for the common good by sharing what Christianity has always offered: faith and reason, authentic hospitality and social cohesion, universal fraternity, and societal stability. Of course, let's get our priorities straight. As much as those offerings are important, the primary focus that fosters all other goods is the mission of disciples of Jesus Christ to save souls.

The Christian should be an alleluia from head to foot. | Saint Augustine

Language embodies culture. Churches can offer language courses for newcomers. The moral grammar of any society relies on a common tongue whereby people can avoid unnecessary miscommunication and establish common frames of reference, for example, in business.

There are those who might argue, "But the newcomers do not want to integrate." People tend to favor the familiar, so that might be the case for a while. People do, however, have a tendency to use services that make life simpler (healthier and more balanced and reasonable), and they will use such services when they learn of other positive interactions that can make life more bearable. Building bridges, overcoming ingrained viewpoints, and enabling connections beyond the restricted use of closed associations, social silos, and ghettos are the challenges of communication.

They who want to win the world for Christ must have the courage to come into conflict with it. | Saint Titus Brandsma

There are those who rightly point out that among recent immigrants are criminals of the worst kind. The victims of such recent arrivals, many of whom are in countries illegally and/or promote civil unrest, are women and girls who have been subject to diabolical mistreatment and murder. Those same badly managed policies are responsible for putting citizens at risk and contribute to the destabilization of societies. Many western cities are plagued with tribal warfare.

Evangelization is not something optional, but the very vocation of the People of God, a duty that corresponds to it by the command of the Lord Jesus Christ himself. | Pope Benedict XVI, 40th Anniversary of Ad Gentes, March 13, 2006

As Catholics, we are realists. Our obligation is to live and make known the message of the Gospel. We are not ignorant of the risks nor do we settle on comfortable religion that allows us to hide behind performative solidarity that mimics right action. We place ourselves in ways and in locales that allow us to serve others and draw attention to the sweet scent of holiness in Jesus Christ, to draw others to the possibilities of their new situations. We must look to Jesus and the saints as models of interaction that call people to new life in Christ.

Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire. | St. Catherine of Siena

As Catholics, our mission derives from the supreme law of the Church given to us by Jesus Christ: the salvation of souls. That may not be (and usually isn't) an easy mission. Undeterred by the messiness of the bad behavior of men, we must offer the rescue services entrusted to us by Jesus, the Lord. And, if we must, we must suffer for love of Jesus and neighbor and become an offering of love for those in most need of God's mercy.

Pray for an increase of grace to sustain in you zeal for the salvation of souls.

Saint Francis Xavier: pray for us.