Sharing the Good News–the evangel (Greek) in evangelization–isn’t all smooth sailing. Yes, we have Good News to share. The best news, in fact. Yet, being an evangelist can be frustrating, even heart-wrenching at times. It can leave you feeling burned out, defeated, disappointed…
Hitting a Wall on My Own
Did you catch the reading from Paul’s Letter to the Romans at Mass yesterday? It was easy to miss, with the absolutely life-changing declaration from Jesus in the Gospel, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me,…
The Ups and Downs of Conversion
Today’s Old Testament reading cues us in on some of the emotions and dispositions that often go along with conversion. We meet Naaman. He’s got things pretty good. He’s “highly esteemed and respected by his master” and is quite successful in his professional…
Spiritual Cross Training
If you’re looking for a new way to pray, Catholic spirituality is simply brimming [overflowing!] with set prayers, specific patterns for prayer, and more. There’s the Liturgy of the Hours, the first century practice of praying the Our Father three…
Proclamation Gets Personal
“the sheep hear his voice, as he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out” (John 10:3) While assisting in a Catechesis of the Good Shepherd atrium, I watched as a catechist read this passage from the Gospel…
Avoiding Generic Discipleship
This is the third post in a series examining concerns and cautions about evangelization voiced by Fr. Francis P. DeSiano, CSP, President of the Paulist Evangelization Ministries. Over the past few weeks, Fr. DeSiano has challenged us to ask some…
Elitism: To Be or Not to Be?
“Is evangelization inevitably elitist?” asks Fr. Francis DeDiano, CSP, president of the Paulist Evangelization Ministries. Good question. In the light of our Catholic faith, I think the answer is a clear no. In fact, the call to evangelize helps us…
Waiting for the Next Big Thing
Today is the First Monday in Ordinary Time. A beginning, but not one that we really celebrate. Compared to the intensity of Advent—the color changes, the music, the familiar sermons about taking time for Advent—or the outright and overflowing joy…
The Challenge of Evangelization
Last week on Christmas Eve my husband, young son, and I were on the road driving across Maryland to visit family. This meant that we were passing through the Baltimore area right about the time when Christmas Eve Masses begin,…
Evangelization through Handel
Every December thousands of people flock to hear orchestras and choirs perform Handel’s Messiah. These performances are extremely popular, often sold-out. And when you think about it—the popularity is a little bit surprising. I mean, Messiah is Scripture set to…