Have you ever stopped to consider evangelizing for a specific purpose? Of course we want people to know Jesus but what about people who already know Christ and are Catholic but are not living out their faith in life, specifically young people who don’t think marriage is important?
I started thinking that marriage needs to be evangelized. Those of us who are married need to spread the good news about being married.
I have been married almost 30 years and my husband and I do many things to let others know we are happy being married and want others to share that joy as well. So what habits do we have that evangelize marriage? We spend time together doing everyday chores like grocery shopping; we hold hands; John opens doors for me; he pumps the gas even if I am driving; we each do the things we are good at even if is not the traditional way people think. I carve the chickens and turkeys and laundry gets done by whoever has the time; however, I only take the trash out if no one else is home.
We are courteous to each other and respectful. We wear our wedding bands. We laugh. We share our faith life. I think people can see we are happy together. This is not to imply we are perfect (far from it). We are not strangers to difficult times but we have worked through them to be much stronger.
The world needs to see happy marriages. Our children, yes, OUR CHILDREN, need to know that marriage is a good and positive thing. Are we teaching them that marriage, though full of ups and downs, is a positive and fulfilling way to live? Our actions matter as do our words about our spouse and marriage.
We are all called to live out our life in service to others. If you are married, you have the person to serve right there next to you. It is in our service that we draw others in to see the beauty and goodness of married life and help them see it is possible for them, no matter what others may say.
Copyright © 2013, Deanna Bartalini
Deanna Bartalini
Deanna G. Bartalini, is a Catholic writer, speaker, and educator. She serves on the retreat team at Our Lady of Florida Spiritual Center. Deanna loves teaching about Catholicism and how it fits into our daily lives. She writes at DeannaBartalini.com, serves as the editor of the NewEvangelizers.com blog, and is a contributor there as well as at AmazingCatechists.com. Deanna contributed to A Catholic Mom's Prayer Companion published by Ave Maris Press. She is the author of “Invite the Holy Spirit into Your Life: Growing in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness and Self-Control” published by Our Sunday Visitor. Deanna is available to lead retreats and speak at catechist and ministry events.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.