(Listen to this homily here).
Shortly after moving to International Falls there was a
knock on my door. My Mom—who was
visiting with Dad—spoke with two women who at the door before calling me
over. It was two Jehovah’s Witness
going door-to-door. I don’t think
they knew I was priest, or what they were getting into!
I
have also noticed that we have two Mormon gentlemen in town. To my understanding, such men go on
mission for a year or two in which they walk through neighborhoods spreading their
message.
While
we have different beliefs from the folks at Jehovah’s Witness and Mormon
communities, I admire their zeal for mission. I wonder what it would be like if we Catholics knocked on
doors to spread the faith. Jesus sent
his apostles to do just this: “Jesus
summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two and gave them authority over
unclean spirits.”
It
seems to me that we are not all called to spread our faith by knocking on
doors. But too often we sell our
evangelism short by thinking, “I don’t want to make someone uncomfortable,” or,
“My faith is private”. Too often
we label respectfulness with lack of courage.
St.
Agatha certainly had courage. She
gave her life for our faith, shedding her blood as a martyr.
We,
too, have many reasons to be courageous in proclaiming our faith by our words,
deeds and lives. Jesus gave his
apostles authority. What he gave
them was a taste of the work of the Holy Spirit which would be fulfilled at
Pentecost. Jesus gives us similar
authority, and the same Spirit. We have been baptized. We have been confirmed. Jesus wants the same Spirit at work in us that was at work with the apostles and
with St. Agatha. Trust in the Holy
Spirit! Be courageous to spread
the faith!
While
we may not be called to go door-to-door, we are called to share the Good News
to all we meet by our lives, our words and our actions.
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