I don't want to evangelize

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Well, at least I don’t want to evangelize to certain people. The people who probably need God the most. I have a burning desire inside of me to speak about God, just like Jeremiah did, but like him I’m also scared and angry about how much people seem to hate God. I’m know this is cowardly and selfish. But I wish I could see some fruits of my prayers for people, or the evangelization I have done. I know it is spiritually immature, but I don’t know how to grow out of it. I’m frustrated; I know sometimes I make mistakes when evangelizing, but I’m trying my best. Can’t God help me out a bit? Intellectually I know he has a plan, but it is hard to live in confidence of that. Everyone around me seems to give simple advice that is overly optimistic, and it just doesn’t carry out well in the real world.
I am tempted to just give up on evangelizing, write off some people as lost..

I know all of this reflects my own brokeness and sinfulness. So I need something more than people telling me that. I would appreciate if someone could advise me on how to get out of this rut.
 
Same here, people don’t seem to take evangelizers very well especially in college. They all make fun of the street preachers at our campus who show up now and then. But then again those street preachers tell us everyone’s going to hell except them.
 
Evangelizing does not require words.

In the Benedictine tradition it means living your life according to the Gospels and letting that life do the speaking for you.

Don’t confuse street preachers with evangelizing. They’re not evangelizing, they’re proselytizing.
 
What is your personal definition of evangelizing? If it’s preaching to people about God and sin and everything else, it’s unlikely that’s going to be very effective.

If it’s living your life in a way that reflects your faith and belief in our Lord Jesus Christ and letting your life be a light shining on a lampstand for others, that’s probably the better way to do it.
 
I am most mindful of aspects absent from my philosophical outlook when confronted with true acts of kindness and consideration…true charity…and true virtue…words are typically insufficient to convey such concepts…but actions speak volumes…and I watch with interest…

Good luck with your pursuits…!
 
OraLabora said:
Evangelizing does not require words.

In the Benedictine tradition it means living your life according to the Gospels and letting that life do the speaking for you.

Don’t confuse street preachers with evangelizing. They’re not evangelizing, they’re proselytizing.
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👍 Well stated.
 
Evangelization requires words and deeds for example look at how St. Vincent Ferrer evangelized he used words and deeds.

He talked about the need for repentance and taught about the importance of the rosary, confession and living a holy life.

So words really do need to be said. No matter what society thinks of our Faith it must be protected also St. Vincent Ferrer evangelized by doing acts of charity.
 
Jelrak_TB said:
I am most mindful of aspects absent from my philosophical outlook when confronted with true acts of kindness and consideration…true charity…and true virtue…words are typically insufficient to convey such concepts…but actions speak volumes…and I watch with interest…

Good luck with your pursuits…!
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When I was an atheist, I have had the good fortune to meet Christians who through their action spoke more fluently to me of their faith than all the words spoken by proselytizers.
 
Trad_Catholic27 said:
So words really do need to be said.
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But not necessarily by me - or others who are not called. Read what St Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 12:12-31, especially verses 27 - 31.

For many of us, our actions can be more eloquent than our words.
 
Remember that love is in the will. You don’t have to feel the emotion of love in order to like people and have patience and love for them.

It is good to pray for people who are bent against anything that has to do with God. It is obnoxious to hear them rationalize their dislike of faith in God.

They have been deceived by the evil one, and the Lord loves them and desires their salvation. In imitating Jesus, we need to desire what He desires. So, if you show Christ-like love and peace to them, it is better than words. They may one day come to ask you about your faith, and Jesus can have another to give Him glory.
 
I agree with all the posts here. Honestly, we’re all called to evangelize - but we evangelize first with our actions. If we try to evangelize using words, and our words do not match our actions, people will see right through our hypocrisy and we will do more harm than good. Evangelize with actions first. Let the love of Jesus shine through you as you treat others as if they were Jesus Himself. If they ask why you care about them so much, then tell them about Jesus. That is true evangelization.
 
Jelrak_TB said:
I am most mindful of aspects absent from my philosophical outlook when confronted with true acts of kindness and consideration…true charity…and true virtue…words are typically insufficient to convey such concepts…but actions speak volumes…and I watch with interest…

Good luck with your pursuits…!
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👍 Great post
 
one of our oldest Deacons, and a dear friend, often says:

Preach the Gospel at all times
Use words only when necessary.

A variation of the phrase often attributed to St. Francis of Assai. IMHO, we do more harm to our faith as Christians, especially as Catholic Christians, when we fail to live our faith. People see us, and judge all Christians by the acts of the few they meet. So try to evangelize by your life and behavior if not by your words. 🙂
 
This concept of “preach always, use words when necessary,” (which, btw, st francis never said) just seems completely off. Someone should have told Saints Paul, John, and Peter to just be nice and loving and stop all that proselytizing!

Look at how many converts protestants get vs catholics, and how much more passionate and knowledgeable your average protestant is compared to your average catholic.

Yes, evangelism means to use words AND speaking openly. If people want to see nice people, they can go to the peace Corp or other charitable NGOs. But recall that pope francis talked negatively about the church being treated as a charitable NGO. He tells us to take the gospel out onto the streets.

My recommendation is to also do penitential acts before evangelizing. Fasting, offering up pain, etc.

Remember how st patrick would lay in ice before going out to preach.

Remember that when the disciples couldn’t cast out a demon, they asked why, and our Lord told them it could only be cast out with both prayer and fasting.
 
I think that it is extremely important to look at our own gifts and skills. There are those have a great gift of communicating ideas with words. And there are those who don’t express themselves well but have a gift of giving and loving compassion. Musicians have their own talents to share.

If our lives do not reflect God’s joy and love our words will mean nothing.
 
Well, I wouldn’t have said I’m not trying to set an example by my life. I always took that part for granted. And I also think that’s not enough. But since almost all of you suggested it, maybe the Holy Spirit is trying to point something out to me. I will pray about this. Thank you all for your help.
 
OraLabora said:
Evangelizing does not require words.

In the Benedictine tradition it means living your life according to the Gospels and letting that life do the speaking for you.

Don’t confuse street preachers with evangelizing. They’re not evangelizing, they’re proselytizing.
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Well said. 👍
 
Even though people choose to close their hearts to God, He never closes his heart to any of us. Pray that Our Lord will enter their hearts and in feeling his love they too will spread love to everyone they meet.
 
Hey. If God’s telling you to speak then you had better speak. You’ll be dreadfully uncomfortable and unfulfilled until you do. HOWEVER, caution to make sure it’s God telling you. I have a gift of listening, not speaking, and God sometimes asks me to listen to strangers. I know when it’s God because what I need to do comes very clearly into my head and my heart pounds at a million miles a minute and it’s absolutely terrifying and totally inconvenient. Those are my signs for my gift. Figure out yours, and then when God gives you the words to speak beware of “burying your talents” like that parable. Dangerous ground there. Lastly:
Dacinom said:
Listen to people, ask them questions. Ask people about their faith, ask people why they believe what they believe and sit back and listen respectfully and hesitate to give advice unless asked.
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^ Socrates did that supposedly. Be advised, it could result in getting executed, but it really made people sit up and listen. Maybe worth a try?
 
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