Friday, January 24, 2014


THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL
The Joy of the Gospel is a speech and discourse presented by Pope Francis that encourages and earnestly advises us about the Gospels and how they affect our lives, and how they do it joyfully.

The following is a handout prepared for discussion regarding that apostolic exhortation . . . 
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APOSTOLIC EXHORTATION EVANGELII GAUDIUM

OF THE HOLY FATHER FRANCIS

 TO: THE BISHOPS, CLERGY,

CONSECRATED PERSONS,

AND THE LAY FAITHFUL.


ON THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL IN TODAY’S WORLD

 THE JOY OF THE GOSPEL fills the hearts and lives of all who encounter Jesus. Those who accept his offer of salvation are set free from sin, sorrow, inner emptiness and loneliness. With Christ joy is constantly born anew. In this Exhortation I wish to encourage the Christian faithful to embark upon a new chapter of evangelization marked by this joy, while pointing out new paths for the Church’s journey in years to come.


I. A JOY EVER NEW, A JOY WHICH IS SHARED [1-8]

 The great danger in today’s world, pervaded as it is by consumerism, is the desolation and anguish born of a complacent yet covetous heart, the feverish pursuit of frivolous pleasures, and a blunted conscience. Whenever our interior life becomes caught up in its own interests and concerns, there is no longer room for others, no place for the poor. God’s voice is no longer heard, the quiet joy of his love is no longer felt, and the desire to do good fades. This is a very real danger for believers too. Many fall prey to it, and end up resentful, angry and listless. That is no way to live a dignified and fulfilled life; it is not God’s will for us, nor is it the life in the Spirit which has its source in the heart of the risen Christ.

3. I invite all Christians, everywhere, at this very moment, to a renewed personal encounter with Jesus Christ, or at least an openness to letting him encounter them; I ask all of you to do this unfailingly each day. No one should think that this invitation is not meant for him or her, since “no one is excluded from the joy brought by the Lord”.[1] The Lord does not disappoint those who take this risk; whenever we take a step towards Jesus, we come to realize that he is already there, waiting for us with open arms. Now is the time to say to Jesus: “Lord, I have let myself be deceived; in a thousand ways I have shunned your love, yet here I am once more, to renew my covenant with you. I need you. Save me once again, Lord, take me once more into your redeeming embrace”.

 

II. THE DELIGHTFUL AND COMFORTING JOY OF EVANGELIZING [9-13]

9. Goodness always tends to spread. Every authentic experience of truth and goodness seeks by its very nature to grow within us, and any person who has experienced a profound liberation becomes more sensitive to the needs of others. As it expands, goodness takes root and develops. If we wish to lead a dignified and fulfilling life, we have to reach out to others and seek their good. In this sense, several sayings of Saint Paul will not surprise us: “The love of Christ urges us on” (2 Cor 5:14); “Woe to me if I do not proclaim the Gospel” (1 Cor 9:16).

10. The Gospel offers us the chance to live life on a higher plane, but with no less intensity: “Life grows by being given away, and it weakens in isolation and comfort.

 Eternal newness [11-13]

11. A renewal of preaching can offer believers, as well as the lukewarm and the non-practicing, new joy in the faith and fruitfulness in the work of evangelization. The heart of its message will always be the same: the God who revealed his immense love in the crucified and risen Christ. God constantly renews his faithful ones, whatever their age: “They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not be faint” (Is 40:31). Christ is the “eternal Gospel” (Rev 14:6); he “is the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb 13:8), yet his riches and beauty are inexhaustible. He is for ever young and a constant source of newness. The Church never fails to be amazed at “the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God” (Rom 11:33). Saint John of the Cross says that “the thicket of God’s wisdom and knowledge is so deep and so broad that the soul, however much it has come to know of it, can always penetrate deeper within it”.[7] Or as Saint Irenaeus writes: “By his coming, Christ brought with him all newness”.[8] With this freshness he is always able to renew our lives and our communities, and even if the Christian message has known periods of darkness and ecclesial weakness, it will never grow old


III. THE NEW EVANGELIZATION FOR THE TRANSMISSION OF THE FAITH [14-18]

14. Attentive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit who helps us together to read the signs of the times, the XIII Ordinary General Assembly of the Synod of Bishops gathered from 7-28 October 2012 to discuss the theme: The New Evangelization for the Transmission of the Christian Faith. The Synod reaffirmed that the new evangelization is a summons addressed to all and that it is carried out in three principal settings.[10]

In first place, we can mention the area of ordinary pastoral ministry, which is “animated by the fire of the Spirit, so as to inflame the hearts of the faithful who regularly take part in community worship and gather on the Lord’s day to be nourished by his word and by the bread of eternal life”.[11] In this category we can also include those members of faithful who preserve a deep and sincere faith, expressing it in different ways, but seldom taking part in worship. Ordinary pastoral ministry seeks to help believers to grow spiritually so that they can respond to God’s love ever more fully in their lives.

A second area is that of “the baptized whose lives do not reflect the demands of Baptism”,[12] who lack a meaningful relationship to the Church and no longer experience the consolation born of faith. The Church, in her maternal concern, tries to help them experience a conversion which will restore the joy of faith to their hearts and inspire a commitment to the Gospel.

Lastly, we cannot forget that evangelization is first and foremost about preaching the Gospel to those who do not know Jesus Christ or who have always rejected him. Many of these are quietly seeking God, led by a yearning to see his face, even in countries of ancient Christian tradition. All of them have a right to receive the Gospel. Christians have the duty to proclaim the Gospel without excluding anyone. Instead of seeming to impose new obligations, they should appear as people who wish to share their joy, who point to a horizon of beauty and who invite others to a delicious banquet. It is not by proselytizing that the Church grows, but “by attraction”.[13]

 The scope and limits of this Exhortation [16-18]

17. Here I have chosen to present some guidelines which can encourage and guide the whole Church in a new phase of evangelization, one marked by enthusiasm and vitality. In this context, and on the basis of the teaching of the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen Gentium, I have decided, among other themes, to discuss at length the following questions:

 a) the reform of the Church in her missionary outreach;

b) the temptations faced by pastoral workers;

c) the Church, understood as the entire People of God which evangelizes;

d) the homily and its preparation;

e) the inclusion of the poor in society;

f) peace and dialogue within society;

g) the spiritual motivations for mission.

 
CHAPTER ONE

THE CHURCH’S MISSIONARY TRANSFORMATION [19]

 19. Evangelization takes place in obedience to the missionary mandate of Jesus: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:19-20). In these verses we see how the risen Christ sent his followers to preach the Gospel in every time and place, so that faith in him might spread to every corner of the earth.

 
I. A CHURCH WHICH GOES FORTH [20-24]

24. The Church which “goes forth” is a community of missionary disciples who take the first step, who are involved and supportive, who bear fruit and rejoice. An evangelizing community knows that the Lord has taken the initiative, he has loved us first (cf. 1 Jn 4:19), and therefore we can move forward, boldly take the initiative, go out to others, seek those who have fallen away, stand at the crossroads and welcome the outcast. Such a community has an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of its own experience of the power of the Father’s infinite mercy. Let us try a little harder to take the first step and to become involved.

Taking the first step, being involved and supportive, bearing fruit and rejoicing [24]

25. I am aware that nowadays documents do not arouse the same interest as in the past and that they are quickly forgotten. Nevertheless, I want to emphasize that what I am trying to express here has a programmatic significance and important consequences. I hope that all communities will devote the necessary effort to advancing along the path of a pastoral and missionary conversion which cannot leave things as they presently are. “Mere administration” can no longer be enough.[21] Throughout the world, let us be “permanently in a state of mission”.[22]

II. PASTORAL ACTIVITY AND CONVERSION [25-33]

An ecclesial renewal which cannot be deferred [27-33]

27. I dream of a “missionary option”, that is, a missionary impulse capable of transforming everything, so that the Church’s customs, ways of doing things, times and schedules, language and structures can be suitably channeled for the evangelization of today’s world rather than for her self-preservation

III. FROM THE HEART OF THE GOSPEL [34-39]

We need to be realistic and not assume that our audience understands the full background to what we are saying, or is capable of relating what we say to the very heart of the Gospel which gives it meaning, beauty and attractiveness.

IV. A MISSION EMBODIED WITHIN HUMAN LIMITS [40-45]

45. We see then that the task of evangelization operates within the limits of language and of circumstances. It constantly seeks to communicate more effectively the truth of the Gospel in a specific context, without renouncing the truth, the goodness and the light which it can bring whenever perfection is not possible. A missionary heart is aware of these limits and makes itself “weak with the weak... everything for everyone” (1 Cor 9:22). It never closes itself off, never retreats into its own security, never opts for rigidity and defensiveness. It realizes that it has to grow in its own understanding of the Gospel and in discerning the paths of the Spirit, and so it always does what good it can, even if in the process, its shoes get soiled by the mud of the street.

 
V. A MOTHER WITH AN OPEN HEART [46-49]

46. A Church which “goes forth” is a Church whose doors are open. Going out to others in order to reach the fringes of humanity does not mean rushing out aimlessly into the world. Often it is better simply to slow down, to put aside our eagerness in order to see and listen to others, to stop rushing from one thing to another and to remain with someone who has faltered along the way. At times we have to be like the father of the prodigal son, who always keeps his door open so that when the son returns, he can readily pass through it.
 

47. The Church is called to be the house of the Father, with doors always wide open. One concrete sign of such openness is that our church doors should always be open, so that if someone, moved by the Spirit, comes there looking for God, he or she will not find a closed door. There are other doors that should not be closed either. Everyone can share in some way in the life of the Church; everyone can be part of the community, nor should the doors of the sacraments be closed for simply any reason. This is especially true of the sacrament which is itself “the door”: baptism. The Eucharist, although it is the fullness of sacramental life, is not a prize for the perfect but a powerful medicine and nourishment for the weak.[51] These convictions have pastoral consequences that we are called to consider with prudence and boldness. Frequently, we act as arbiters of grace rather than its facilitators. But the Church is not a tollhouse; it is the house of the Father, where there is a place for everyone, with all their problems.

 CHAPTER TWO

AMID THE CRISIS OF COMMUNAL COMMITMENT [50-51]

51. It is not the task of the Pope to offer a detailed and complete analysis of contemporary reality, but I do exhort all the communities to an “ever watchful scrutiny of the signs of the times”.[54] This is in fact a grave responsibility, since certain present realities, unless effectively dealt with, are capable of setting off processes of dehumanization which would then be hard to reverse. We need to distinguish clearly what might be a fruit of the kingdom from what runs counter to God’s plan. This involves not only recognizing and discerning spirits, but also – and this is decisive – choosing movements of the spirit of good and rejecting those of the spirit of evil.

I. SOME CHALLENGES OF TODAY’S WORLD [52-75]

How can it be that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?
“No” to an economy of exclusion [53-54]

“No” to the new idolatry of money [55-56]

“No” to a financial system which rules rather than serves [57-58]

“No” to the inequality which spawns violence [59-60]

Some cultural challenges [61-67]

Challenges to inculturating the faith [68-70]

Challenges from urban cultures [71-75]

II. TEMPTATIONS FACED BY PASTORAL WORKERS [76-109]

76. I feel tremendous gratitude to all those who are committed to working in and for the Church. Here I do not wish to discuss at length the activities of the different pastoral workers, from bishops down to those who provide the most humble and hidden services. Rather, I would like to reflect on the challenges that all of them must face in the context of our current globalized culture. But in justice, I must say first that the contribution of the Church in today’s world is enormous.

The pain and the shame we feel at the sins of some members of the Church, and at our own, must never make us forget how many Christians are giving their lives in love.

“Yes” to the challenge of a missionary spirituality [78-80]

“No” to selfishness and spiritual sloth [81-83]

“No” to a sterile pessimism [84-86]

“Yes” to the new relationships brought by Christ [87-92]

“No” to spiritual worldliness [93-97]

“No” to warring among ourselves [98-101]

Other ecclesial challenges [102-109]

 CHAPTER THREE

THE PROCLAMATION OF THE GOSPEL [110]

110. After having considered some of the challenges of the present, I would now like to speak of the task which bears upon us in every age and place, for “there can be no true evangelization without the explicit proclamation of Jesus as Lord”, and without the primacy of the proclamation of Jesus Christ in all evangelizing work”.[77] Acknowledging the concerns of the Asian bishops, John Paul II told them that if the Church “is to fulfill its providential destiny, evangelization as the joyful, patient and progressive preaching of the saving death and resurrection of Jesus Christ must be your absolute priority.”[78] These words hold true for all of us.

I. THE ENTIRE PEOPLE OF GOD PROCLAIMS THE GOSPEL [111-134]

 111. Evangelization is the task of the Church. The Church, as the agent of evangelization, is more than an organic and hierarchical institution; she is first and foremost a people advancing on its pilgrim way towards God.

A people for everyone [112-114]

112. The salvation which God offers us is the work of his mercy. No human efforts, however good they may be, can enable us to merit so great a gift. God, by his sheer grace, draws us to himself and makes us one with him.

A people of many faces [115-118]

We are all missionary disciples [119-121]

Every Christian is challenged, here and now, to be actively engaged in evangelization; indeed, anyone who has truly experienced God’s saving love does not need much time or lengthy training to go out and proclaim that love. Every Christian is a missionary to the extent that he or she has encountered the love of God in Christ Jesus: we no longer say that we are “disciples” and “missionaries”, but rather that we are always “missionary disciples”.

The evangelizing power of popular piety [122-126]

[97] Once the Gospel has been inculturated in a people, in their process of transmitting their culture they also transmit the faith in ever new forms; hence the importance of understanding evangelization as inculturation

Person to person [127-129]

127. Today, as the Church seeks to experience a profound missionary renewal, there is a kind of preaching which falls to each of us as a daily responsibility. It has to do with bringing the Gospel to the people we meet, whether they be our neighbors or complete strangers. This is the informal preaching which takes place in the middle of a conversation, something along the lines of what a missionary does when visiting a home. Being a disciple means being constantly ready to bring the love of Jesus to others and this can happen unexpectedly and in any place: on the street, in a city square, during work, on a journey.

 Charisms at the service of a communion which evangelizes [130-131]

Culture, thought and education [132-134]

II. THE HOMILY [135-144]

The homily can actually be an intense and happy experience of the Spirit, a consoling encounter with God’s word, a constant source of renewal and growth.

The liturgical context [137-138]

A mother’s conversation [139-141]

Words which set hearts on fire [142-144]

 III. PREPARING TO PREACH [145-159]

Reverence for truth [146-148]

Personalizing the word [149-151]

Spiritual reading [152-153]

An ear to the people [154-155]

Homiletic resources [156-159]

IV. EVANGELIZATION AND THE DEEPER UNDERSTANDING OF THE KERYGMA [160- 175]

160. The Lord’s missionary mandate includes a call to growth in faith: “Teach them to observe all that I have commanded you” (Mt 28:20). Hence it is clear that that the first proclamation also calls for ongoing formation and maturation. Evangelization aims at a process of growth which entails taking seriously each person and God’s plan for his or her life. All of us need to grow in Christ. Evangelization should stimulate a desire for this growth, so that each of us can say wholeheartedly: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Gal 2:20).

161. It would not be right to see this call to growth exclusively or primarily in terms of doctrinal formation. It has to do with “observing” all that the Lord has shown us as the way of responding to his love. Along with the virtues, this means above all the new commandment, the first and the greatest of the commandments, and the one that best identifies us as Christ’s disciples: “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 15:12). Clearly, whenever the New Testament authors want to present the heart of the Christian moral message, they present the essential requirement of love for one’s neighbor: “The one who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the whole law… therefore love of neighbor is the fulfilling of the law” (Rom 13:8, 10). These are the words of Saint Paul, for whom the commandment of love not only sums up the law but constitutes its very heart and purpose: “For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, ‘you shall love your neighbor as yourself’” (Gal 5:14). To his communities Paul presents the Christian life as a journey of growth in love: “May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all” (1 Th 3:12). Saint James likewise exhorts Christians to fulfill “the royal law according to the Scripture: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (2:8), in order not to fall short of any commandment.

“Jesus Christ loves you; he gave his life to save you; and now he is living at your side every day to enlighten, strengthen and free you.” to express God’s saving love which precedes any moral and religious obligation on our part


Kerygmatic and mystagogical catechesis [163-168]

Personal accompaniment in processes of growth [169-173]

Centered on the word of God [174-175]

All evangelization is based on that word, listened to, meditated upon, lived, celebrated and witnessed to. God’s word, listened to and celebrated, above all in the Eucharist, nourishes and inwardly strengthens Christians, enabling them to offer an authentic witness to the Gospel in daily life

 CHAPTER FOUR

 THE SOCIAL DIMENSION OF EVANGELIZATION [176]

To evangelize is to make the kingdom of God present in our world.

I. COMMUNAL AND SOCIETAL REPERCUSSIONS OF THE KERYGMA [177-185]

 Confession of faith and commitment to society [178-179]

178. To believe in a Father who loves all men and women with an infinite love means realizing that “he thereby confers upon them an infinite dignity”.[141] To believe that the Son of God assumed our human flesh means that each human person has been taken up into the very heart of God. To believe that Jesus shed his blood for us removes any doubt about the boundless love which ennobles each human being. Our redemption has a social dimension because “God, in Christ, redeems not only the individual person, but also the social relations existing between men”.[142] To believe that the Holy Spirit is at work in everyone means realizing that he seeks to penetrate every human situation and all social bonds: “The Holy Spirit can be said to possess an infinite creativity, proper to the divine mind, which knows how to loosen the knots of human affairs, even the most complex and inscrutable”.[143] Evangelization is meant to cooperate with this liberating work of the Spirit. The very mystery of the Trinity reminds us that we have been created in the image of that divine communion, and so we cannot achieve fulfilment or salvation purely by our own efforts

The kingdom and its challenge [180-181]

The Church’s teaching on social questions [182-185]

II. THE INCLUSION OF THE POOR IN SOCIETY [186-216]

In union with God, we hear a plea [187-192]

Fidelity to the Gospel, lest we run in vain [193-196]

The special place of the poor in God’s people [197-201]

The economy and the distribution of income [202-208]

Concern for the vulnerable [209-216]

III. THE COMMON GOOD AND PEACE IN SOCIETY [217-237]

218. Peace in society cannot be understood as pacification or the mere absence of violence resulting from the domination of one part of society over others. Nor does true peace act as a pretext for justifying a social structure which silences or appeases the poor, so that the more affluent can placidly support their lifestyle while others have to make do as they can. Demands involving the distribution of wealth, concern for the poor and human rights cannot be suppressed under the guise of creating a consensus on paper or a transient peace for a contented minority. The dignity of the human person and the common good rank higher than the comfort of those who refuse to renounce their privileges. When these values are threatened, a prophetic voice must be raised.

Time is greater than space [222-225]

Unity prevails over conflict [226-230]

Realities are more important than ideas [231-233]

231. There also exists a constant tension between ideas and realities. Realities simply are, whereas ideas are worked out. There has to be continuous dialogue between the two, lest ideas become detached from realities. It is dangerous to dwell in the realm of words alone, of images and rhetoric. So a third principle comes into play: realities are greater than ideas. This calls for rejecting the various means of masking reality: angelic forms of purity, dictatorships of relativism, empty rhetoric, objectives more ideal than real, brands of a historical fundamentalism, ethical systems bereft of kindness, intellectual discourse bereft of wisdom.

The whole is greater than the part [234-237]

IV. SOCIAL DIALOGUE AS A CONTRIBUTION TO PEACE [238-258]

Dialogue between faith, reason and science [242-243]

Ecumenical dialogue [244-246]

Relations with Judaism [247-249]

Interreligious dialogue [250-254]

Social dialogue in a context of religious freedom [255-258]

CHAPTER FIVE

SPIRIT-FILLED EVANGELIZERS [259-261]

259. Spirit-filled evangelizers mean evangelizers who fearlessly open to the working of the Holy Spirit

I. REASONS FOR A RENEWED MISSIONARY IMPULSE [262-283]

262. Spirit-filled evangelizers are evangelizers who pray and work. a spirituality which can change hearts.

Personal encounter with the saving love of Jesus [264-267]

The spiritual savior of being a people [268-274]

The mysterious working of the risen Christ and his Spirit [275-280]

The missionary power of intercessory prayer [281-283]

II. MARY, MOTHER OF EVANGELIZATION [284-288]

284. With the Holy Spirit, Mary is always present in the midst of the people. She joined the disciples in praying for the coming of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:14) and thus made possible the missionary outburst which took place at Pentecost. She is the Mother of the Church which evangelizes, and without her we could never truly understand the spirit of the new evangelization.
Jesus’ gift to his people [285-286]

Star of the new evangelization [287-288]

With Mary we advance confidently towards the fulfillment of this promise, and to her we pray:

Mary, Virgin and Mother,

you who, moved by the Holy Spirit,

welcomed the word of life

in the depths of your humble faith:

as you gave yourself completely to the Eternal One,

help us to say our own “yes”

to the urgent call, as pressing as ever,

to proclaim the good news of Jesus.

 Filled with Christ’s presence,

you brought joy to John the Baptist,

making him exult in the womb of his mother.

Brimming over with joy,

you sang of the great things done by God.

Standing at the foot of the cross

with unyielding faith,

you received the joyful comfort of the resurrection,

and joined the disciples in awaiting the Spirit

so that the evangelizing Church might be born.

Obtain for us now a new ardour born of the resurrection,

that we may bring to all the Gospel of life

which triumphs over death.

Give us a holy courage to seek new paths,

that the gift of unfading beauty

may reach every man and woman.
 
Virgin of listening and contemplation,

Mother of love, Bride of the eternal wedding feast,

pray for the Church, whose pure icon you are,

that she may never be closed in on herself

or lose her passion for establishing God’s kingdom.

Star of the new evangelization,

help us to bear radiant witness to communion,

service, ardent and generous faith,

justice and love of the poor,

that the joy of the Gospel

may reach to the ends of the earth,

illuminating even the fringes of our world.

 
Mother of the living Gospel,

wellspring of happiness for God’s little ones,

pray for us.


Amen. Alleluia!

Saturday, January 18, 2014


Attention Blog Visitors! 
Thank You for checking out my blog.  I also have a Facebook Page listed as “Tom Feiten.”  Please feel invited to visit me there too!

“Do you have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ?”

 Have you ever been approached by someone you’ve never met before and they ask you: “Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ?”

 Don’t you feel like – “Oh No, how do I get out of this conversation?” So you answer with a lame “Yes” or maybe a flippant “Of Course” - you certainly are not going to answer by saying  “No,” since that will only make this conversation get more involved!

 How many have ever been asked to be a “witness;” to give a firsthand account of something you have seen, heard, or experienced?

 All of the readings for Mass this weekend are about being a witness.

 The reality is we witness in many different ways and forms every day!

 Have you ever “witnessed” about a movie you saw? Or a restaurant you have eaten at? Or given witness to a sports team?  (GO GREEN!) Or a vacation place you have visited?

 You see, we give witness about all sorts of things – and we pretty much do it voluntarily and with some passion and much conviction.

 Today we hear about being a witness and having a living relationship with God.

It is no longer enough to just be a faithful servant. What is required is for us to be an actual reflection of God in the world.

 It’s all about being a witness – and witnessing to others!

 Witnessing is the beginning point of building
our FAITH in GOD, in JESUS CHRIST, and the HOLY SPIRIT.

 Even though we may cringe at being asked if we have a personal and living with Jesus, it is no longer sufficient to just say “Yes” or “No” or, to answer in a flippant manner:  “Of course!”

 In the “Catholic” world that most of us grew up in, it was never about having a “personal relationship” with Jesus; it was more about having a “factual” or “intellectual” knowledge of Jesus.

 Sure we can all say that Jesus is:
·        Son of God  
·        Second person in the Trinity  
·        One divine person in two natures  
·        The Messiah  
·        My Redeemer
·        The Light of the world
·        The Good Shepherd,
·        The Bread of Life.

 We all identify that Jesus is all of these, but they do not answer the question:

” Do you have a personal relationship with Jesus?”

 The question is not about giving a ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ answer – it is  about being able to make a personal statement about where you are “at the present moment” in your relationship with Jesus – and how you got there.

Jesus asks in Luke’s Gospel:
"Who do you say that I am?"
                                                                                          (Luke 9:20)

 
Witnessing, regardless as to what it is that we are witnessing to, is an all important human activity.

 
·        There can be no learning without the witness of those who teach us.

·        There can be no safety without the witness of others in their lived service or sacrifice.

·        There can be no purpose in life without the witness of those who can enlighten and direct us.

 
All of society depends on the witnessing of others.

 To be a true and authentic witness of anything we must first have a personal experience to what it is that we are witnessing.

 Admittedly it can be difficult to understand much of what Jesus says and does in the Gospels.

It can even be more difficult trying to live out what it is that we do understand.

So, how do we develop a “personal living relationship” with Jesus and become a true witness? 

 
NOTICING GOD’S ACTION IN OUR LIVES

 We begin by making a habit of noticing God’s action in our lives; we can let God’s light shine into any darkness we experience.

We can be personally “present” with Jesus – separating in our minds the images and ideas that come with Christian tradition, or what others have said about what Jesus has meant to them.

Having a personal relationship with Jesus will be different for each of us. A relationship with Jesus will also be different from the “human” relationships we experience with others – it will be a relationship based on “spiritual awareness” rather than on physical presence.

So, the first step in beginning a “spiritual” personal relationship begins with some honest self-examination. The probability is that you may not know all the reasons why you are even drawn to Jesus, or fully understand the struggles you encounter that obstruct you in following him. 

Building a personal relationship with anyone begins with spending quality time together. A specific time, like a date with a loved one, a time set aside to experience who this person is.

It’s not only about reading prayers, or reciting prayers, or being involved is church activities. It’s more about having “one-on-one” time – a time to talk – but, more importantly a time to listen.

 BUILDING A RELATIONSHIP

 Building a relationship is about exercising courage, patience, caring, hoping, loving, and believing. It’s about having faith in those who witness to us; it’s about having faith in those who guide us; it’s about having faith in those who encourage us.

It’s about the willingness to be completely open and honest with ourselves and with God.

 BUT, WHAT IF . . .
 
Will my personal relationship with Jesus or my witnessing of God’s presence in my life attract others to Jesus?

Or, will my witnessing turn them away from Christ rather than draw them closer?

Will it be enough to speak the only truth I know?

 We can only be responsible to ourselves. Not every seed that is planted germinates and blooms.

When Mother Teresa was asked: ...”Don’t you sometimes get discouraged?”  Mother Teresa responded:

“No, God doesn’t call me to be successful;
God calls me to be faithful.”

 To be a witness is mostly about desire; a desire to want to grow in a living relationship Jesus. 

·        A desire to be singularly focused on building that relationship.

·        A desire to know and meet the expectations God’s has personally implanted in our souls to live out.

 
Does my life and my actions reflect my beliefs?

 Do I reflect on and thank God for the gift of faith?

 Let us pray . . .

 Let us pray for one another, that God may give us an opportunity to witness and proclaim the mystery of Jesus Christ. Colossians 4:3 That God will give us a resolute determination to do his will and help us put our whole strength into the work of living a Christian life. Amen.
 
Homily proclaimed on January 18-19, 2014