By Dr. Jeff Mirus ( bio – articles – email ) | Aug 15, 2024
Evangelization is not just a matter of preaching the Gospel. For any effectiveness at all, it requires that we first live the Gospel. We don’t have to live it perfectly, but we have to be seen to be “different” in that respect, and when we fall, we need to get up and try again. Where relevant, we also have to apologize. In other words, to evangelize others we must be seen not only to preach the Gospel, but to live the Gospel; not only to claim an integral authenticity, but to live it.
Indeed, a friend recently mentioned to me that he thought the most important part of evangelization today is simply living in a way that causes others to notice that we are different. At least for many people, who are inundated with words expressing this or that “point of view”, a kind of lived authenticity—especially an obviously sacrificial authenticity—is going to be noticed in a fresh way, a way that is not just more words and arguments, a way illuminated by a light that is not yet directly seen. As true as this is, it is also true that Christ is the Word, and to draw others to Him, at some point we need to use words.
Talk may be cheap, and perhaps in an age of endless “communication”, it may even be cheaper. But in the last analysis there must be something in both how we live and how we speak that prompts others to ask, “Where are you staying?” or “Where do you live?” , or even “Where did you come from?” This was the question that two of John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus when John identified Him as the Lamb of God (John 1). But since Our Lord is no longer present on earth as a particular man in a particular place, now the question must initially be asked of Christ’s witnesses. It is when another wants to know us better, to know the origin of our different kind of speech and our different kind of life—when another wishes to know what grounds us—that we have begun to open a fresh way to Christ.
Here are six new books which have come across my desk recently that, in one way or another, can help us to live and speak in ways that prompt the right sort of questions:
For the Life of the World: Invited to Eucharistic Mission by Bishop Andrew Cozzens and Tim Glemkowski (Our Sunday Visitor)
You have probably heard or read about the Eucharistic revival deliberately sponsored by the American bishops, which made news again when a hundred bishops turned out for the opening Mass of the National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis last month. More than 50,000 people gathered for the closing Mass, after what was certainly the longest Eucharistic procession in history. We are all being called more deeply to what Bishop Andrew Cozzens calls “Eucharistic Mission”. To learn what this means, and allow it to revitalize you and your family, read this brief, simple, and effective book.
God Is Ever New: Meditations on Life, Love, and Freedom by Pope Benedict XVI (Ignatius Press)
This is a collection of excerpts from the writings of Pope Benedict, each one a page or less in length, divided into sections on God and Jesus, Faith, Love, Prayer, Young People and Families, Hope, Holiness, Truth and Freedom, and Joy. Each one has the crystalline brilliance of spiritual simplicity. Taken together, they are a treasure trove of meditations which will prompt our own reflections, and can easily and simply enrich our prayer life—for three months, if used daily, or for far longer if spread out, or again and again through the years. I am reading one carefully-crafted excerpt each night. Pope Benedict’s jewels of wisdom are simply stunning.
Catholic Evangelization: Stories of Conversion and Witness edited by Steve Dawson (Ignatius Press)
Originally published in 2016 under the title of “Catholic Street Evangelization”, this collection of personal accounts by ten experienced Catholic “street evangelists” who have learned how to actively preach the Gospel and share their faith publicly with others—including one priest who learned the benefits of taking the message of Christ out beyond the boundaries of Church property. This particular approach may not be for everyone, but Christian witness of some kind is definitely for every Catholic. These accounts are a testimony to what can be done—and what we can all do by giving effective witness to Christ in our own lives and our own situations.
Rabbles, Riots, and Ruins: Twelve Ancient Cities and How They Were Evangelized by Mike Aquilina (Ignatius Press)
If you use materials on CatholicCulture.org with some frequency, you will already by familiar with our podcast, Way of the Fathers, which was initiated by Mike Aquilina and, after three-and-a-half years, was turned over to the current host, James Papandrea. In 2023, the third sequence of episodes was devoted to the great Patristic cities and how they grew in Christ. This expertise has prompted Mike not only to lead pilgrimages but to publish this book on a dozen ancient cities which, to a significant extent, accepted Christ in the early centuries of the Church’s life. Learn the fascinating Christian origins of Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, Ephesus, Edessa, Lugdunum, Ejmiatsin, Constantinople, Milan, Ravenna and Carthage. It happened once; it can happen again.
Now and at the Hour of Our Death: Making Moral Decisions at the End of Life by Nikolas Nikas and Bruce Green (Ignatius Press)
In our round-up of books our writers and podcasters had read in 2023, I included the solo effort by Stephen E. Doran, MD, To Die Well: A Catholic Neurosurgeon’s Guide to the End of Life. Now I want to call attention to a new book in a simpler question-and-answer format. The book is divided into sections covering the importance of the issues, what the Church teaches, hindrances to moral decisions, how God sees us when it comes to end-of-life decisions, happiness and moral decision-making, the moral law, and preparing and planning for serious illness and the end of life. What does this have to do with your inner evangelist? Simply this: How we die and how we help others to prepare for death can be a tremendous Christian witness, not only to our own family members, but to others. This too is living the Gospel.
On the Demonic by Archbishop Fulton Sheen, compiled and edited by Fr. Dave Tomaszycki (Emmaus Road)
I have already written about this book more thoroughly in Fulton Sheen’s new book on the demonic, but I want to mention it again because it is an enormously effective use of a great many things written by the famously effective Archbishop Sheen to produce the book he wanted but never got the chance to write. The need could not be more pressing for his coverage of the nature of the demonic, the signs of the demonic, and the essential weapons against the demonic. Take this as basic training for understanding the seriousness of evangelization, how much the Devil hates evangelizers, and why there is no way that this should stop us.
These books are not overly long; nor are any of them “heavy” reading. Intended for broad audiences, one or more of them will almost certainly be just what you need to jump-start your inner evangelist.
Jeffrey Mirus holds a Ph.D. in intellectual history from Princeton University. A co-founder of Christendom College, he also pioneered Catholic Internet services. He is the founder of Trinity Communications and CatholicCulture.org. See full bio.
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