"It is the Spirit who impels us to proclaim the great works of God".
Pope John Paul II Para. 1 Redemptoris Missio.
What characterised the Saints was their fervour. Whatever obstacles they came across they kept going and were not phased by them. We too are called to have that interior enthusiasm reflected through lives which are filled with peace and joy.
Why not stop for a moment and say a prayer to the Holy Spirit, asking Him to bear new fruits in your family, parish and in the community where you live and work?
It is impossible for anyone of us to be evangelisers if we do not possess and have on on-going relationship with the Holy Spirit. An interior openness to His promptings is an essential pre-requisite to the life of any evangeliser. The Holy Spirit is truly the fuel for the task which lies before us.
Each one of us, as individuals and as members of a Catholic community, are called to be "Pentecost People". What does that mean? It refers to people who are open to the presence of God within them and have the courage to respond to the promptings of the Holy Spirit with great love and zeal. To be a Pentecost person is to be on fire with God's presence to such an extent that wherever they, he or she goes, that presence is self-evident for all to see.
The only way to cultivate the life of the Spirit within you is through prayer. It will be He who opens doors for you, He who gives you the words to speak, He who empowers you to do amazing things. Stake your evangelistic aspirations and efforts on Him. The prayer section on this website suggests a variety of prayers to this end.
We have to try to live what we preach. People look for this sign of authenticity. Our proclaiming of the Good News is gravely in error if our lives do not point to holiness of living. "Without this mark of holiness, the Word will have difficulty touching the heart of modern man." (Evangelii Nuntiandi., para. 76 ).
This is the test of our credibility. We must work towards this in our relationships within the Church and outside of it. At home and in our parishes, unity is a great source of strength and gives our message added force. It is also an important sign of hope, pointing to the fact that an end to divisions between men and women is an achievable reality.
Each one of us has been given the word of truth. We must respect it and be good stewards of it. Whatever it costs us, we must share this truth with others. We must seek to be the servants of this pearl without price.
Evangelisation without love is empty. We must approach those whom we hope to touch with love. This finds expression, in the first instance, in respecting where the person we might be talking to is at. We must be intensely concerned with not wounding the person we are speaking to, and yet at the same time, be actively trying to share with them certainties about the faith that are based in God's word.