Catholic Laity Responsible for Re-evangelization

Catholic Laity Responsible for Re-evangelization

By John A Hardin S.J.* – www.cinopsbegone.com – Wednesday, January 12, 2011

“Why are the Catholic laity mainly responsible for re-evangelization? The answer is simple to put in words, but not easy to put into practice. Of course, re-evangelization is more demanding. It is always harder to reconvert a former believer than it is to convert a former believe than it is to convert a non-Christian to Christianity or non-Catholic to the Catholic Church.

“However, our question centers on the adverb “mainly” responsible for the re-evangelization of America. There are five principle reasons.

“The laity are the most numerous members of the Mystical Body of Christ. They are empowered by the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation to evangelize and re-evangelize others…

“The laity are in direct contact and in daily association with the de-Christianized world in which they live…

“The laity are in positions of influence in the world and on the world, such as no bishop or priest can have. How did the pagan Roman Empire of the first century of Christianity come to know about Jesus Christ? From the Christian faithful among whom the pagans lived, with whom they were in constant contact, and whom they saw living lives that their pagan contemporaries had never seen.

“Let me quote at some length from the famous letter to a certain Diognetus, written in the early second century. The writer, who is unknown, compares the life of Christians with that of pagans among whom they lived: “Christians are indistinguishable from other men either by nationality, language or customs. They do not inhabit separate cities of their own, or speak a strange dialect, or follow some outlandish way of life… They pass their days upon earth, but are citizens of heaven. Obedience to the laws, they live on a level which is above all human law.” It is no exaggeration to call the believing faithful who are loyal to Christ “the moral soul of the world.”

“The laity realize as fathers and mothers of families, as persons of the world of business and politics, how deeply our beloved country has been de-Christianized. No words of mine can described the sorrow and anguish, dare I say the agony that a sincerely believing and deeply committed Catholic layperson experiences in trying to remain faithful to the Savior in our nation today… The faithful laity are blessed with extraordinary grace from God. The Holy Spirit provides them with the gifts they need to not only survive, but actually thrive, in a world that has rejected the Savior and made sin the norm for being normal.”

George H. Kubeck * Lay Witness- Sept. /Oct. 2010 – www.cuf.org