For The Sake of the Gospel # 14
Ten Ways to Reach out to Those Who Have Left Us

In my homily of August 25-26, I spoke of the need to reach out to those who have left us. After that homily, many of you asked how we might go about this. Below I have listed some steps we can take.

1. Begin by praying and reflecting about your faith life. Why is your faith important to you? How does it give you life and fill you will joy? Why do you want to share it with others? It is easier to share something with others when we have determined what we want to share. For my part, I want to share the newness of life I experience in Jesus Christ thorough the power of God’s Spirit.
2. If you find it difficult to answer the first question, you may need to spend time renewing and strengthening your faith before reaching out to others. By renewing and strengthening your faith, you will be able to articulate your faith to others.
3. Pray and reflect about those whose have fallen away from the faith or who have not heard the word of faith. With whom would you like to share your faith? Choose one person or family for the coming year. St. Monica prayed for the conversion of her son Augustine for eighteen years. It was worth the time and effort since Augustine became the Church’s most important theologian.
4. Pray and reflect about how you model your faith to others. Is your life of faith inviting to others? Do they see the joy of the Spirit in your life because of the faith that you live? If we do not present a positive and life-giving example of faith, we will not attract others to Christ. Remember that the goal is to bring others to the fullness of life in Christ. Such a life is filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit.
5. When the opportunity arises, take the initiative to share your faith with someone who has left the church or has not heard the word of the gospel. Approach others gently and humbly. Tell them what is going on in our parish. Invite them to Sunday Mass or a parish event.
6. Since reaching out is the work of the whole parish community, we must work as a community to return people to the faith.
7. The Parish Council can establish an Evangelization Committee that will find and implement strategies to reach out to others.
8. If you are willing to host a neighborhood gathering in your home in which you invite the Catholics of your neighborhood, non-practicing as well as practicing, I will come for an open discussion about Catholicism.
9. If you know people who are interested in the faith, invite them to become part of the RCIA (Rite of Christian Initiation for Adults) this year.
10. The parish can host of series of open forums in the lower church in which we invite those who have left us to air the grievances.

Father Matera