The Happy Priest: Be Not Afraid! We are All Called to Be a Witness

Never be afraid to be a witness of the Gospel. You will change the world around you and the reward is eternal life in Heaven.

A true witness of Christ will be someone who is also fearless.  Fearless witnesses are those who have abandoned themselves to the loving friendship of Jesus. They trust his power and his presence.  They know that the judgments of time will be corrected by the judgments of eternity. We are in dire need of men and women who will evangelize a difficult world by the witness of their lives. Will you be one?

CORPUS CHRISTI, TX (Catholic Online) - A number of years ago I was invited to give a retreat to a group of lay people in New York City.  A seminarian graciously accompanied me in order to help with the practical details.  Prior to the evening retreat, we had a number of appointments, so that meant that we would have lunch in New York. The seminarian really enjoyed Asian cuisine, so I accommodated his palate by inviting him to lunch at a Korean restaurant.

As we went to our table, we were met by a Korean woman who graciously attended us with delicate courtesy. Having had many years of experience at my father's restaurant, I was able to notice that her kindness, manners and spirit of service were far from ordinary. 

Towards the end of the meal, another Korean woman finished waiting on our table.  When we were ready, I asked her for the check.  She then proceeded to tell me that there would be no charge for the lunch because the first waitress took care of the bill.  I was very surprised and I asked her why she had decided to pay for our meal.  "She is Christian," was the unanticipated answer from the waitress.

"She is Christian," meant that all the other waitresses were not Christian, and that all though encountering a free meal in the middle of downtown New York City surprised me, they were not surprised at all.  They knew that this woman was different.  Because of her Christianity, she was different.

This is just one example of what it means to be a witness.  The Korean woman, through her profound generosity, gave an amazing witness to all of her co-workers.  She is Christian.
In this Sunday's gospel passage from Saint Mark, Jesus summons his Apostles and sends them out two by two.  The commissioning of the Apostles reminds us that through Baptism, we too are summoned to go out and to preach the Gospel.  Every apostle is a witness.

A true witness of Christ will be someone who is convinced of the truth. Converts to Catholicism from other faith traditions and cradle Catholics who have had to work through doubts and questions are people with profound convictions because they know the reasons why they believe. 

A true witness of Christ will be someone who is also fearless.  Fearless witnesses are those who have abandoned themselves to the loving friendship of Jesus. They trust his power and his presence.  They know that the judgments of time will be corrected by the judgments of eternity.

It has become easy for any American to give witness to the Gospel in a society that has become completely secularized.

Greeting everyone with a smile, being of good cheer, displaying a professional spirit at work, good manners, neat attire, wholesome conversations, praying a blessing before meals in a restaurant and simple acts of kindness are magnificent ways of showing others that you belong to the Lord.

It is amazing the response that young couples get when they walk through a supermarket or a Mall with a few kids, or even a large number of children.  Priests and religious who wear their clerics in public will be shinning lights in a world darkened by sin.

There are three responses to anyone who is committed to authentic Christianity.  Many times a true witness of the Gospel will be confronted with indifference.  There are people, even family members and co-workers who will simply not care.

Within some circumstances there will be people who will respect a true witness of the Gospel and even be moved to conversion by the way you live your life.

However, the true witness will also meet head-on with challenging persecution.  Persecution can take the form of ridicule, rejection, or it can even be violent. The highest form of witness is martyrdom.

Blessed Pope John Paul II once wrote: "We cannot be content when we consider the millions of our brothers and sisters, who like us have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but who live in ignorance of the love of God. For each believer, as for the entire Church, the missionary task must remain foremost, for it concerns the eternal destiny of humanity and corresponds to God's mysterious and merciful plan. (Redemptoris Missio, #86).

Many years ago, as a young seminarian, I arrived to Rome for the first time in order to continue my studies for the Catholic priesthood.  As I arrived to the center of Catholicism, I immediately thought about the thousands of my brothers and sisters who shed their blood for Jesus Christ.  As these heroes of the Gospel stood in the middle of the Coliseum waiting for the wild beasts to tear them apart, perhaps during the terror of the moment they were able to cry out a loving prayer of hope to the God of the universe.  Maybe, as the wild animals came charging toward them, they remembered the resounding words of their Savior: "You will be hated by all because of my name, but whoever endures to the end will be saved" (Matthew 10: 22).

Our own age has been blessed with countless heroic men and women who never wavered under persecution.  Multitudes of martyrs in such places as China, Russia, Spain and Mexico have shed their blood for Christ.  People like Archbishop Oscar Romero of El valiantly shed his blood for the Kingdom as he fought for a better life of justice for the peoples of his country.

We are in dire need of men and women who will evangelize a difficult world by the witness of their lives.  We all need the deep, unyielding convictions of the heroes of the civil rights movement such as Dr. Martin Luther King and the un-sung heroes of the pro-life movement who have been imprisoned in order to save the lives of millions of unborn children.

Never be afraid to be a witness of the Gospel.  You will change the world around you and the reward is eternal life in Heaven. 

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Father James Farfaglia is a contributing writer for Catholic Online and author of Get Serious! - A Survival Guide for Serious Catholics.

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