What is Love?
As Catholics and as people of faith, evangelization is and should be a top priority in inviting people to come back and to enter the faith. There are a variety of ways this can be done, and the list is most likely endless. Creativity is important, as we are all different in terms of how we live out our faith daily and what works best for various personality types. With that said, is there one “best” way to evangelize? If so, what it is?
Basic elements
Before narrowing in on the best way to evangelize, let us discuss some of the essential ways to do it. First and foremost is prayer. Prayer is where our relationship with God happens, and where we listen and communicate with the Lord. Nothing can happen without prayer, because we need the Holy Spirit to guide us in all that we do and speak.
As Catholics, living the sacramental life of the Church including receiving the Eucharist by attending Mass, is of prime importance. The Eucharist is the “source and summit” of our faith, and it is the true Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. In addition, following the teachings of the Catholic Church is a basic element in evangelization that we cannot do without.
So, what IS the best way to evangelize?
All the above basic elements are necessary to evangelize others to the faith They are needed 100% in inviting those who are away from the faith or who need to be invited. However, the best way to evangelize is to live the faith. This may sound simple, but it is a combined effort of following the tenets of the Church and in living it out.
What does this mean exactly? It means that we are called to know and follow the truth and to be a “good person”. Some may frown upon these words “good person”, but without it we cannot evangelize others since the fruits of our labors must be in living and acting on the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy. A combined effort of knowing and living the faith is how this is done.
How we treat people in daily life matters immensely right down to how we interact with strangers and people we don’t care much about or know. We are not “well-catechized” if we treat people badly. We must care for the less fortunate, the lonely, and the outcasts. We all know people in our lives who need a friend, and we are called to reach out.
Living day-to-day in loving God and others as much as we love ourselves is where it is at. The key to evangelization is to remember that the best evangelization is when we live our faith and keep in mind that loving and caring for the marginalized is not only significant, but it is also essential in evangelization and in journeying toward our heavenly home.