The Joseph and Francis Evangelization Excuse: Part I

There is a theme out there that makes its way among Catholics regarding evangelization. It goes something like this, “Just focus on your work and be a good person like St. Joseph, you know, humble and quiet and that’s enough.”  And the other is in the same theme; “St. Francis said: preach the gospel if necessary use words”.  It is not recorded that he actually stated that.  I agree with this concept to a point, though. It reminds me of the saying, it is a half-truth.  I think that these sayings are the main foundation we should all aspire to, but only as the foundation of a moral life.  As the old saying goes, “actions speak louder than words”.  According to the Church:

lay people also fulfill their prophetic mission by evangelization, that is, the proclamation of Christ by word and the testimony of life”. For lay people, this evangelization . . . acquires a specific property and peculiar efficacy because it is accomplished in the ordinary circumstances of the world.  This witness of life, however, is not the sole element in the apostolate; the true apostle is on the lookout for occasions of announcing Christ by word, either to unbelievers . . . or to the faithful (CCC 905 -emphasis added).  

I have heard it said that we can get to Heaven by solely keeping God’s commandments. It seems that is true, based on the above Catechetical excerpt.  If we solely operated in such a fashion by working hard, going to church, and loving our families would we attain heaven so long as we cooperate with God’s grace regarding keeping the commandments?  Love God with all your heart, mind, and soul. What about loving thy neighbor as thyself (cf, Matt 22 36:39)?  If I didn’t know how to understand the gospel, and no one taught me, that wouldn’t be love from an intentionally mute neighbor who kept it all to himself so as to “keep the peace” or some other reason.

Our Lord gave us all a further mission in cooperating with His grace, and that is to carry the Gospel message to the ends of the Earth.  According to St. Paul, this is a linchpin in getting to heaven, as we shall see.  Nowadays this is primarily the fulfillment of Saint John Paul II’s spearheading of the “New Evangelization,” it is a re-awakening of Christ’s message among mankind now spread “to the ends of the Earth,” (cf,  Matt 28:16-20 and Acts 13:47) which has been evangelized the past 2000 years.

This is the other half of living a good and upright life, carrying it to others by word as well as lifestyle.  Truly, as St. Dominic said, “seed that is hoarded rots.”  And as Dr. Scott Hahn points out in his audiobook: Stand up for Your Faith!, “faith that is not shared is soon lost.” This evangelization begins in the Church, then the home, often warmly called the “little church.”  We are baptized, then take home this power to hopefully experience “new life” along with our birth or foster parents, a mentor in the faith, and possible siblings.

We are all called to participate in the evangelization of mankind, and in different ways and in combinations of ways (cf 1 Cor 12:15-26).   People need to hear the Words of Christ, be it visually or audibly: the latter is the best manner according to a statement I recall hearing in the above-mentioned audiobook, Hahn in his reference to the Bible and laity being called to preach as well.  That doesn’t mean we “buy company time,” as he says in the audiobook, to preach (although we workers tend to “miraculously” find time to talk about the latest scores in the game, the neat jacket that person wore, and even gossip among other superfluous things).  We reach others “where they are at” in common life.  We can talk about God on a break, without breaking the professional relationship with our co-workers.

Preaching doesn’t mean freaking others out by not using common sense, making the whole place nervous and uncomfortable (although at times “uncomfortable” is “necessary”).  We are obligated just like St Joseph to fulfill our patristic duties first, in lay terms, to take care of our family.   We learn by hearing (cf Rom 10:14) but does the apostle when making that statement, perhaps mean exactly that, or is he drawing also into where Our Lord stated, “to those of you who have ears to hear?” (c.f. Matt 11:15) Not all learn literally by hearing like the mute and the deaf, nor can all verbally preach; so is Paul leaving out the deaf and mute?  Of course not!  There are other vehicles to learn by, I think that the apostle Paul is “driving home” that is the primary way we learn.

Sadly, largely due to those afraid to preach, we have a different type of cry of many confused and lost souls today; they have not heard the Good News, they know about it in a wrong way, it is enmeshed in all kinds of lies Satan has laid upon the Truth throughout the centuries and herein lies a large part of the task of the New Evangelization, demystifying and untangling.

These souls are like a blind person in a new home against their wishes, stumbling around searching intuitively for God in their thoughts and actions unknowingly in desperation for answers. The Answer is Jesus, who answers these subconscious prayers.  Ultimately the current fog of the immoral mixed with the moral is a veritable sea of confusion, wherein we are called to let out into the deep and drop anchor as well as the nets.

Before the “new” evangelization, one big, old obstacle to conquer in evangelization was primarily distance and travel, ie Paul’s shipwreck and preaching, c.f. Acts 27-28.  The new obstacle to others hearing the Word of God, the new “distance and travel”, is also all the different gadgets and electronics that tend to separate, more than unite.  It is also the ocean between us, in our homes, workplaces, etc.  Ironically, though, these same devices can be used to evangelize.

We are called to re-educate others with the original message of Christ, now enmeshed in many different perspectives that are all too confusing, such as combining Eastern Religious thought with Christianity in an attempt to create a more friendly religion by leveling the playing field in a watered-down attempt at reaching others.

Yes, JP II did see “thresholds of hope” for evangelizing in the good and true elements in pagan religions, but he also warned of the danger in deviating from the gospel message of Christ, as did Fr. Thomas Merton who created a pantheistic mysticism,  according to the late Fr. John Hardon, S.J. who worked personally with him. Jesus is the only One who can save us. (cf Crossing the Threshold of Hope, page 80 last para.)  We should share our commonalities, but we need to be careful in not creating neo-hippy religions.   I suppose the new distance and travel is also the hardened egos of men as well, once evangelized, whose sons now reject what was handed on.

The practicing what we preach comes into play by living moral and upright lives like Joseph and Francis, essentially.  We are all called to preach, in one form or another, again, words audibly stated being the primary avenue according to the Bible (Sacred Scripture, c.f. Rom 10:14), and Paul’s “woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (c.f. 1 Cor 9:16) “remains true for every age of the Church” according to John Paul II.

Again, though, whatever the greatest talents one has by God, should be the primary mean(s) many and myself believe for the conveying of the message (c.f. 1 Cor 12).  There are many different gifts and many different ministries.  Saint Francis De Sales eloquently in his writings in Introduction to The Devout Life lays out the comparison of the practice of devotion, for example, of the mechanic’s life compared to the gentleman’s, the Bishop to the monk, the father of a family that has to save money shouldn’t be confused with the austerity of a monk who takes a vow of poverty and may refuse to take money, never mind save it (c.f. An Into. to the Devout Life, Chapt. 3, 1^st page).

Maybe all different gifts and ministries figuratively like candles, statues, and incense around an altar, point and guide us to well, the preacher!  (c.f. Roman 10: 14-15, again the emphasis is on hearing). All the architecture from Michelangelo to the modern statue maker, all the music from Vivaldi (did you know he was a priest?) to the Oregon Catholic Press Hymnal in your pew, are luminaries to coax you and guide you to prayer, which leads you to the preacher, who, as a priest of God can forgive your sins in The Person of Christ, also confecting Almighty God on the altar. Yes, perhaps these gifts and ministries are to serve to lead us to the preacher, who is the priest, who has the office/power given by Christ to forgive your sins.