Evangelize like Jesus did

[may_they_be_one]

The wedding at Cana.
The woman at the well.
Mary Magdalene’s conversion.
Jesus sending out the 72 to “heal the sick, cast of demons, proclaim the Kingdom…” Jesus’s words in Mark 16:17, “these signs shall follow those who believe: the sick will be healed…”

What do these events have in common? How do these events help us form a model for evangelization?

Hint: Gifts of the Holy Spirit

Anyone curious about how to be more effective evangelizers in this manner? I’d love to discuss!

“If I am not doing the works of my Father, then do not believe me; but if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me and I am in the Father” (John 10:37-38).

 

[Polycarp1]

Jesus, spoke and taught with authority. That’s very hard to duplicate but we can try as He wanted us to.

He wasn’t diplomatic or politically correct. He spoke truth bluntly.

 

[DaveBj]

Jesus, spoke and taught with authority. That’s very hard to duplicate but we can try as He wanted us to.

He wasn’t diplomatic or politically correct. He spoke truth bluntly.

He also backed up his authoritative words with works of supernatural power, a power that has been lacking in the Church for a long time.

 

[may_they_be_one]

He also backed up his authoritative words with works of supernatural power, a power that has been lacking in the Church for a long time.

Fr. Raniero Cantalamessa’s homily at St Peter’s, as preacher to the Papal household, (vatican.va/liturgical_year/holy-week/2013/documents/holy-week_homily-fr-cantalamessa_20130329_en.html) may shed light on why this is:

*As happens with certain old buildings. Over the centuries, to adapt to the needs of the moment, they become filled with partitions, staircases, rooms and closets. The time comes when we realize that all these adjustments no longer meet the current needs, but rather are an obstacle, so we must have the courage to knock them down and return the building to the simplicity and linearity of its origins. This was the mission that was received one day by a man who prayed before the Crucifix of San Damiano: “Go, Francis, and repair my Church”.

“Who could ever be up to this task?” wondered aghast the Apostle before the superhuman task of being in the world “the fragrance of Christ”; and here is his reply, that still applies today:

“We’re not ourselves able to think something as if it came from us; our ability comes from God. He has made us to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; because the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (2 Cor 2:16; 3:5-6).*

Fr Cantalamessa’s book Come, Creator Spirit is an awesome read, giving much credence to the power of the Holy Spirit available to use for evangelization today…