Tiber River Cafe--Catholic Evangelization, 2-minute version

Hello, and welcome to the Tiber River Café.  My name is Dean Humphreys, and today’s two minute topic is Catholic Evangelization.  Catholic evangelization simply means we bring the Good News of Jesus Christ into every aspect of our lives.  We share the Good News of Jesus with our family, with our friends, and with our neighbors. 

In the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 4, at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry he calls his disciples, “Come, follow me.”  Jesus then spends the next three years teaching his disciples, he teaches them the Good News.  Then at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, chapter 28 verse 19-20, right before Jesus ascends to heaven, he gives his disciples one last instruction, to “Go, therefore, and make disciples.”  Jesus instructs his disciples to evangelize.  They are to go to the ends of the world to tell the Good News of Jesus.  We as Catholics have the same command.  We are called by Jesus to first, “Come, follow me.”  Then we are trained and educated in the Faith which is a life-long process.  And then Jesus sends us out into the world, “Go, therefore, and make disciples.”  We are to evangelize.

And by learning about Jesus, we become more and more joyful.  We will radiate love and joy in everything do.  And people will become curious.  Others will often ask us why we are so happy and joyful.  And this is a wonderful opportunity to start a conversation, to start sharing the Good News. And as we continue to grow deeper in Christ, becoming his disciple, we yearn to share our excitement with others—our family and friends. 

Remember, our job is to be prepared, we are to plant the seed of faith, and then the Holy Spirit will take it from there.  We are to weave our faith into our everyday life.  We are to live our faith every moment of every day, and people will see our joy and they will be curious, and perhaps ask where our joy comes from, and then we can share our story, what it means to be Catholic.

Well, thanks for stopping by the Tiber River Café, where there is always plenty of room at the banquet table.  I hope to see you next time.  Peace be with you.