Table of Contents

Send out fragrance like incense

(Sir 39:14)

           When we joined Couples for Christ, we joined a highly evangelistic Christian community. Rapid, massive and global evangelization is our urgent mission. But what is meant by evangelization?

           Pope Paul, in Evangelii nuntiandi, writes that evangelization is the carrying forth of the good news to every sector of the human race so that by its strength it may enter into the hearts of men and renew the human race. To evangelize, therefore, is to carry forth the good news. But what is the good news?

           The good news is that “the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen His glory” (Jn 1:14). The good news is that Jesus Christ became man, died on the cross, rose again from the dead, and won for us the salvation of our souls. The good news is that this salvation is offered to every man as a free gift – the gift of the grace and mercy of God Himself.

           But we are just laypersons. We are not priests or members of a religious order. How then can we carry forth the good news? How can we proclaim the word of God, when we have no training?

           Let us look again at what Pope Paul VI said. He said to carry forth the good news so that by its own strength it may enter into the hearts of men. The good news will enter into the hearts of men not by our own strength, not by our own abilities, but by its own strength. The good news is the word of God. And “the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing until it divides soul from spirit, joints from marrow” (Heb 4:12). By its own power the word of God can pierce the hearts of men and renew the human race. All we need to do is to carry it forth.

           A classic example is St. Anthony the Abbot. He was born in a village in Egypt in 251. Before he was twenty, his parents died leaving him a considerable fortune. He was charged with the care of his younger sister. Shortly thereafter, while in church he heard the words Christ had spoken to the rich young man in Mt 19:21: If you wish to be perfect, go, sell your possessions, and give the money to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me. These words were not specifically addressed to him but they penetrated his heart. As a result, he sold most of his inheritance keeping only what he thought was necessary to support him and his sister.

           Another time that he was in church, he heard the words from Mt 6:34: So do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries of its own. Again while these words were not directed at him only but to the entire congregation, they penetrated deeply into his consciousness and he decided to sell all his remaining properties. He gave the money to the poor and entrusted his sister to the care of a monastery. He retired into solitude and lived off the alms of the people.

           Then still another day, he heard these words from Paul’s Second Letter to the Thessalonians 3:10: Anyone unwilling to work should not eat. Convinced that these words were meant for him, he stopped begging, began cultivating a garden on the mountain desert, and made mats for his support. He founded his first monastery and he and his monks supported themselves by working. He studied the Scriptures, he preached, worked miracles, and converted many. He died in 356 at the age of 105, a model of humility, charity and prayerfulness.

           My brothers and sisters, by its strength the word of God entered into the heart of Anthony and he was changed. He was renewed. He became a new man. Most of us will not be called by God to be like St. Anthony the Abbot. But all of us are called by God to be evangelizers, to bring forth God’s word to all people. This we can do by caring, sharing, daring and praying.

           When we care for people, we evangelize. Paul’s First Letter to the Thessalonians 2:8 expresses this: So deeply do we care for you that we are determined to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you have become very dear to us. The ministry of evangelization requires of the evangelizer fraternal and ever increasing love for those whom he is evangelizing (Evangelii nuntiandi).

           We should share Christ with others. We share Christ when we tell others all the good things that Christ has done for us. Pope Paul VI said it very accurately: The men of our day are more impressed by witness than by teachers, and if they listen to these it is because they also bear witness. When we tell others how God has touched our lives, when we relate the many little miracles that God allows to happen, when we share the joy of Christ’s love, we move others to change their lives. And we become evangelizers.

           We should dare transmit the word of God to our friends and neighbors. We should dare invite them to our Christian Life Programs. We should dare bring them to church. We should evangelize without fear of rejection. We should dare to invite others into our community repeatedly and persistently.

           Finally, we should pray. St. Paul, one of the greatest evangelists, begged the young Christian community in Ephesus to pray for his ministry: Pray for me also, so that when I speak, a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak (Eph 6:19-20). Prayer is our line to God. We can be effective evangelizers only if we live a prayerful life.

           To care, share, dare and pray – these are what God wants us to do. God is telling us: Listen to me, my faithful children, and blossom like a rose growing by a stream of water. Send out fragrance like incense, and put forth blossoms like a lily. Scatter the fragrance, and sing a hymn of praise; bless the Lord for all His works (Sir 39:13-14). We “blossom like a fragrant rose” when we are nourished by God’s grace. We ought to “scatter that fragrance” in gratitude for His infinite mercy and love.

    Table of Contents