We Need Tools to Become Evangelists

I often hear people in the Church speak about evangelization, and the word is reiterated and reiterated, but I still have yet to see a movement or effort that truly seeks to bring in or reach out to non-believers, or those of other faiths.

Last night, I sat through a catechetical talk and again the topic of evangelization was mentioned and reaching out to those who don’t believe, but I am more often times disappointed that greater efforts are not carried out to educate the laity to carry out such a mission; in fact, it will often be found that laity haven’t been properly instructed themselves, so how is it possible then that they can transmit the faith.

I am a firm believer that faith and reason go together, but I cannot help but feel that laity are not often given the tools to put the two together and bring them out to the world. It should be remembered that not all people have faith and sometimes they must be given proofs to help foster that faith, and simply quoting scripture in such instances will not always do the trick.

I understand that there is much more the evangelization than words, and much of what society gains from us exists in how we lead our lives and the love that we show. Our living example is an excellent way to gain souls, but in this day and age where secularism is flourishing, it is surely not enough.

Catholics have been called to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. We are called to gather souls for Christ, but how many can actually say that they’ve engaged someone and shared their faith and given the reason why they have hope in their hearts. Yes, there are some who do this on regular basis, but more times than not I believe we see Catholics that self-censor in the public arena for fear of offense and push their morals, value, and religious belief to the curb when challenged.

I guess deep down I am saying that I feel that there needs to more available to laity and that such efforts in preparing for evangelization should not always left to us to prepare for on our own. We are called to preach, to spread the faith and we should be properly trained for it, and while I love the Catechism, it is not exactly the most useful tool when speaking to someone who does not have faith or to person of another faith. There need to be courses and programs on a large scale which do study comparative religion and that show that science can proves faith. Laity need to be properly trained so that they do not become confused or doubtful when defending their faith or taken in by reasons that can deceive them or lead them astray.

Perhaps I’ve overstepped my boundary in writing this or sharing this thought, but it is something that has been rattling around in my head for quite some time, and it is an opinion that is shared by those who I associate with and who share their faith quite regularly. I just think it time that such knowledge for evangelization be not gained by the books that I pick up to study, but be widely disseminated from the Church to the benefit of all her children.