Pulpit not needed to be an evangelizer
By Sister Irene Hartman, OP
Blessed Teresa of Calcutta wrote, "If you give to the people a broken Christ, a lame Christ, a crooked Christ, deformed by you, that is all they will have. If you want them to love him, they must know him first. Therefore, give the whole Christ first to each other, then to the people in the slums." She knew well how to practice the charism of Evangelism. This gift is defined as being a channel of God’s love in sharing one’s faith.
A reader may say, "I am not a preacher, not a minister. I have no pulpit, no TV station. I cannot be an evangelizer." However, if one has the gift of faith and is eager to spread the Good News of the Gospel, one can become an evangelizer. Simple personal sharing can be the most effective type of evangelization. It isn’t the way one shares that matters; it is important what happens when one does share. Cardinal Newman wrote this prayer: "Help me to spread your fragrance everywhere I go; let me preach to you without preaching, not by words, but by my example."
All Catholics are evangelizers by virtue of their baptism. This is the call, the first invitation to further the mission of the Church by proclaiming the beauty, the truth and goodness of the Church. The evangelizer lets the other in on the secret that Jesus loves them and loves the world.
"At all times, share the Gospel; if necessary, use words."
Henri Nouwen was born in Holland in 1932, received his early education and seminary training and was ordained a priest at the age of 25 for the Utrecht diocese. There he wrote the first of his many books. Later, he came to the states and taught in the universities of Notre Dame, Yale and Harvard. As challenging as these ministries were, Father Nouwen felt unfulfilled. As he searched for that to which God was calling him, Nouwen spent a summer among the poor in Latin America, and 13 months in a Trappist monastery. Neither of these experiences satisfied his desire to be the Gospel for others.
Almost by chance, he became acquainted with the L’Arche Daybreak Community in Toronto, Canada. There he became the chaplain for a community that ministered to severely handicapped individuals, most of whom had no one to care for them. Besides his duties as chaplain to celebrate the Eucharist and give pastoral care, he was assigned to the care of a 22-year-old man called Adam who was multi-handicapped. Nouwen took over his care with the tenderness of a mother and came to love Adam like a son. Nouwen’s gift of Evangelism became real in the care he gave to Adam. Care meant waking Adam, bathing him, brushing his teeth, shaving him, feeding him, and in general, taking care of all his personal needs. Because Adam could give no response to his caregiver, Nouwen experienced no recognition and never a word of thanks. But this did not deter Nouwen from being the Gospel for Adam in very ordinary ways.
Nouwen counted these 12 years of his life at L’Arche as his best ministry. He was spreading the Gospel in the way that best fit his gifts.
One does not need a pulpit to be an evangelizer. One can carry the message of the Good News in the ordinary events of the day. One’s pulpit can be one’s kitchen or office or factory or board room or hospital room, or any place in which one works.
"At all times share the Gospel; if necessary, use words."