Jan 7 Tue
What is evangelization?
Transmitting values, merely increasing membership, is this evangelization?
Listen to the saints. “Bear in mind, son, that you are not just a soul who has joined other souls to do a good thing. That is a lot, but it's still little. You are the Apostle who is carrying out an imperative command from Christ.”
Evangelization is the work of the Church, a mandate given by the Lord (“Go into all the world”). Christians are called to proclaim our faith. But in our individualistic, voluntaristic culture, we can confuse it with the transmission of ethical principles or values and run the risk of forgetting the foundation. We can do good and noble work, but without the encounter with Jesus, we cannot call it evangelization.
“Apostolic zeal is a divine craziness I want you to have. Its symptoms are: hunger to know the Master; constant concern for souls; perseverance that nothing can shake.”
Docility to the Spirit is needed. “What a pity if in the end, you had carried out 'your' apostolate and not 'His' apostolate!"
St. Josemaría advised us to follow the Lord, letting ourselves be transformed by the love of the Father, and allowing Him to dwell in us. Christian life is listening to and allowing ourselves to be guided by the Spirit in making our decisions. The path of St. Josemaría is a serene listening in prayer and work, all in freedom. It is far from extremism and voluntarism. There lies the key to evangelizing: intimacy with God, and docility to the Spirit.
God takes the initiative, because His works are promoted and maintained by Him, and this is worth more than any strategy. If the Lord guides, there will be spiritual fruits. Then, a man discovers that his desires and prayers constitute human collaboration with God.
Am I hindering the work of God?
St. Josemaría places special emphasis on the frequency of the sacraments and prayer life for evangelization, since it helps to discern what God wants and to place oneself in God's hands. The opposite is self-indulgence. The evangelizing path of St. Josemaría implies not falling into worldly approaches such as vainglory, or power: the work of God is not moved by economic interest. If we do not opt for the path of humility, we run the risk of being a hindrance to the work of God.
The apostle must have the following characteristics:
- Friendliness, cordiality;
- Absence of protagonism, “to aspire to positions in any apostolic undertaking is a useless thing in this life and a danger for the next."
- Avoidance of worldly calculations;
- Generosity; readiness to suffer everything, from everybody, with infinite charity;
- Prudence;
- Naturalness;
- Willingness to serve one's neighbor.
St. Josemaría invites us to evangelize in every area of human life; in the middle of the ordinary occupations. Moreover, the Christian is called to serve those whom no one loves, the poor and the excluded, because he sees charity as the compendium of the whole doctrine of Jesus.
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