Here is a list of 7 practical tips for how to live out the new evangelization in your own walk of life. First, in case you missed them, here are the last two blog posts for some context: Mission of Mercy and Christian Witness.
1. Encounter the Mercy and Love of God
Witnessing to Christ means that you have a relationship with Him and want to invite others to encounter His love and mercy for themselves. You cannot give others what you do not possess. If you want others to “taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8), then you need to “taste and see” for yourself first! Develop your relationship with God through the sacraments, prayer, scripture reading, and adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Take time each day to be with God and allow Him to be with you.
When the apostles saw the Resurrected Lord in the upper room, He invited them to encounter Him by going beyond seeing Him with their own eyes and truly touch His wounded side. He even ate in front of them (cf. Luke 24:36-33). He wanted them to see and touch and believe this truth: Jesus is REAL. We encounter a real person in Christ. Not an idea, a theory, a concept. A person. And not just any person, but the Son of the living God.
When you encounter the person of Jesus Christ and experience His love, mercy, and goodness in a personal way, not sharing His goodness with others is practically impossible! Even under threat of arrest and punishment, the apostles could not stop proclaiming Christ: “As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard” (Acts 4:20).
As a personal example, I have encountered Christ in simple, small ways and in amazing ways. I’ve encountered His mercy and love in the sacraments, in prayer, and frequently in other people. I’ve experienced powerful healing from my own wounds in my past. I have even seen and heard my guardian angel! (No kidding, really!) This makes me so grateful and joyful that like the apostles I cannot help but tell people about it—of course when the timing is right!
2. Be Ready to Witness
Talking about your faith can feel awkward when you begin to share it with others in a way you haven’t before. A great way to feel more confident is to follow St. Peter’s advice: “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have” (1 Peter 3:15). Ask yourself and prayerfully discern what your own cause for hope is.
Something fun could be to write your own “elevator speech”—basically a 20-30 second version of the reason for your hope. How has Christ worked in your life in the past? How is He working in your life today? How has Christ touched my heart? How have I grown in love for Him and other people because I seek to follow Him? How is my life different because I choose to be His disciple? What words of your heart come up that you would like to share with others about your experiences with Christ? Have you experienced joy, sorrow, desire, aversion, love, hate, anger, hope, or despair in your walk with God?
This “reason for hope” shouldn’t be a script you follow when speaking to others, but rather a touchstone for yourself. When you know the reason for your hope in Christ, it becomes easier to share this hope with others.
For me personally, I have several experiences that I call on frequently that I like to share with others, depending on the situation. I have shared my conversion story as a lost teenager, when I first encountered Christ, which sometimes sounds like a “how we met” love story. I share about the joys and sufferings of married and parenting life with friends who are down in the trenches with me and how Christ nourishes and strengthens me in these times. I share about encounters with Christ where He has healed me from wounds of my past, of being a survivor of child abuse and neglect. I talk about how Christ my Good Shepherd saved me and carried me past that. These are all reasons for my hope. With one person I may share my experience of God speaking to me about a problem I had or a sin I was trying to overcome. With another I may share my healing journey in a way that speaks to them. It all depends on where the Holy Spirit leads our conversation. Speaking of that…
3. Be Open to the Holy Spirit
Once you know your “reasons for hope,” be open to sharing your personal experiences, how you see God working in your life, and the emotions you’ve felt along the way. Pray to the Holy Spirit to guide you to recognize the times when He is moving you to speak to someone about your reasons for hope. When you pay attention to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, you will become aware of when to speak and when to be silent and listen. Remember that you never truly witness to Christ by yourself; the Holy Spirit will be with you.
My personal experience with this is finding time to be silent in order to be able to hear the Holy Spirit speaking to me. I also do A LOT of listening to others before sharing my reasons for hope. When I share, it is not about putting the focus on me and my stories and how great I am, but how God worked in my life and how that might be applicable to the person who I am listening to.
For more about being silent and listening for the promptings of the Holy Spirit, here is a blog you might enjoy: The Gentle Fluttering of the Holy Spirit.
4. Don’t Be Afraid; Just Believe
Jesus said, “Don’t be afraid; just believe” (Mark 5:36). It can be a little scary to open up to another person about your deepest beliefs. This requires some vulnerability, and vulnerability is courageous. Trust in Jesus to guide you in your interactions with others. Remember that your goal is not to force people into loving and knowing God. Only God can move hearts! Your goal is to invite them to encounter Christ. When you send an invitation to something wonderful, you don’t demand that people attend. You invite them to come. That’s the point: invite others to “taste and see” God’s goodness.
For me personally, shame and regret about my past was something that I had to overcome in order to be open up to others about my faith journey. I have some pretty scary stuff in my past, like many of us do. We all have hurts, failures, and regrets. Once I accepted these things about myself and allowed God to continually heal me from these, sharing them became easier. I also learned that it is these moments where God was working most powerfully in my life. Find those powerful moments and be vulnerable about them. Also, bonus! Sharing your real-life experiences of sorrow and fear and how God walked with you or delivered you from them is good for your soul, too.
5. You Don’t Have to Have All the Answers
Thank goodness for this tip! Our faith is so rich and deep that we couldn’t possibly know the answer to every question that a friend or relative asks us. Of course, we should have a basic knowledge of our faith and what we believe – that’s in the Nicene Creed. But you don’t have to have a degree in theology to witness to Christ. Your personal witness is just a seed to plant in the heart of a friend. You cannot win over people with facts anyway. You don’t have to know all the answers, but you can always find the answer for someone who is asking. That’s also a great way to have additional conversations about Christ. It might sound something like, “I’m not sure of the answer to that, and I want to learn, too. Let me find out and get back to you.” Then make a point to find your answer. Ask a trusted priest or go to Catholic Answers online for help. Also remember to answer all challenges and questions “with gentleness and respect” (1 Peter 3:15). The goal is to invite another to encounter Christ, not impose your will upon him or her.
6. Be Authentic, Confident, and Pure of Heart
Be sincere in what you share with others. Being authentic is key. Share your genuine experiences, your setbacks, your griefs, and your joys in Christ. People respond to authenticity and pull away from what they see as “fake” or inauthentic. Just be yourself! Another aspect of authenticity is sharing specific personal experiences. Only you can tell your story. When you share concrete experiences, they motivate others by enabling them to imagine what it is like to experience Christ. It makes them want to “taste and see” His goodness. These authentic personal stories can prompt one to take an action in his or her own life, to take a step closer to God.
Be confident that your efforts to witness to Christ are not in vain. Scripture tells us that “the victory that conquers the world is our faith” (1 John 5:4). You may not see the fruits of your conversations and witness to others. In fact, you probably won’t see it immediately, if ever. But that doesn’t mean that you haven’t been an effective witness. Think again of the tiny seed you plant, almost invisible, but still there growing.
Be pure of heart by not wanting to convert souls or win people to Christ for your own glory. All our efforts to witness to Christ should be motivated toward glorifying God and in His name: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Colossians 3:17). Remember that He does the converting, after all. We are simply ambassadors in His name: “We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Most of all, be motivated by love for the person you are speaking with and for God.
A personal example for me of an invisible seed growing in my life would be the quiet witness of a family who I spent time with as a teenager during my conversion. They did not impose their beliefs on me, but simply invited me to join them for Mass when I would like. I went along at first, just noticing what was going on but not really changing my external actions at that point. I was just taking it all in. But silently and slowly, something was changing in me. First I was curious: “What is this bread that they eat, and why do they treat it with such respect?” “Why do they seem so happy even when things are difficult?” “Why is their life so different than mine?” Questions like those changed to “I want to eat that bread, wait, I get it–it is the Lord!” and “I want to be happy even when things are difficult!” and “I want a family like this, I want to love like they do!” That was all happening inside me, hidden like a seed growing. It grew and grew (despite by best efforts to sabotage it at times) and thanks be to God, that seed continues to grow to this day.
7. Pray
Pray, pray, pray! Pray before, during, and after you share your witness. Pray to be ready to witness at the prompting of the Holy Spirit. Pray for the person who you share Jesus with. Pray that he or she will be open to hearing God’s saving message. Pray for the conversion of all hearts. Pray for the Holy Spirit to work and speak through you. Give thanks for the opportunity to share in Christ’s mission of mercy.
Here is part of the Regnum Christi prayer to Jesus Christ that speaks to how to pray and live as a Christian witness each and every day: “Lord Jesus…make me a faithful, zealous apostle of your Church and grant me the grace that will enable me to proclaim your saving message to the brothers and sisters I meet on my journey today. May I live my Catholic faith with such evident conviction and share it with such ardent zeal that I become a fruitful and effective fisher of souls for the Kingdom.”
Personally, prayer is the place where I find rest, clarity, conviction, comfort, and inspiration in my vocation as a wife, mother, and writer. Without prayer, I would starve spiritually and burn myself out in two weeks flat. I could have put prayer at the top of this list, as it is truly the source of all Christian witness.
I will be praying for each of you as you consider your reasons for hope and how to share them with those you meet in your journey of faith. St. Mary Magdalen, apostle to the apostles, pray for us! St. Paul, patron saint of evangelists, pray for us! St. Pope John Paul II, champion of God’s Divine Mercy and the new evangelization, pray for us!
Special thank you to Fr. John Jirak for your help on this reflection. As Diocesan Vicar of Evangelization, Discipleship and Stewardship for the Diocese of Wichita, Kansas, this topic is dear to his heart. Thank you so much!