www.byzcath.org Forums Personal holiness and evangelization

Happy Lord's Day everyone, and happy Father's day as well.

I was wondering if anyone had any thoughts on the connection between "evangelization" and developing personal holiness among the faithful. It seems that we can have a great deal of difficulty "presenting" the Faith to secular people unless the Holy Spirit is acting through us.

Anyone with experience in this regard?

LatinTrad

I think it is perhaps the other way around. When one looks at the likes of the Desert Fathers, St. Herman of Alaska, St. Seraphim of Sarov, St. Benedict, the "fools for Christ", and countless others, it is the Christian life lived that becomes the vehicle of witness. I think that is all too often overlooked in our age of bullet points, agendas, conference calls, programs and ministries.

I think first our own house has to be in order, ourselves and our families in the domestic church. Then we go from there. If you can pray with and pass on that witness of the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Faith to your children, a mighty seed has been sown.

Not only is the family, the domestic church, a microcosm of the universal Church, but when prayer, love, and communion of faith are lived out in that family, a living icon of the heavenly realm as well.

I think in this current age of "validation", unless we are seen actually doing what we say first, then little good fruit will be realized.

The only reason my evangelical protestant friends discuss anything with me is because, I think, they have witnessed a massive change since I converted to Catholicism.

Experience of the risen Christ and the fullness of the faith ought to be a life changing experience. One way of reading St. James' letter on "faith without works" being dead (Jas. 2) is that our faith should be manifested in a transformation of self or else what good is it? Living that personal call to holiness is what makes people stop and think, "hey... maybe there is something to all that stuff."

It's actually quite easy to be considered a radical in today's society just by living the Catholic faith. Just think, no condoms?!! "Preposterous!" is what the world thinks. Renouncing the world for a life of monasticism?!! "Ludicrous!" is what the world thinks. Being a radical in word *and* deed is what gets people's attention. As one way of understanding the incarnation, we manifest the work of the Spirit in the way we live out our days. We show Jesus incarnate to the world today by being conformed to He who is perfect.

Just my 2 cents.