Homily: 6th Sunday of Easter - St. Peter's program for Evangelization

In the last few years we have heard a lot about the New Evangelization.  In light of the Christian faith being abandoned in Europe and the United States, the Pope and Church leaders are urging all Catholics to engage in a renewed effort to spread the Gospel, a new evangelization. 

Dr. Peter Kreeft, a catholic philosopher and college professor tells a little anecdote about a visit to a monastery in Connecticut.  At the end of his visit, the abbot, a very wise and holy man approached Dr. Kreeft and said, we ask every visitor to our monastery the same question when they are about to leave, “If God said to you he would give you any one gift for us what would you ask.”  Dr. Kreeft, thought about it for a moment, and said, “I would ask God to make every single one of you fall totally in love with Jesus Christ for the rest of your life.” The abbot smiled and the other monks began to chuckle.  The abbot said, we are not laughing at you or your response, it’s just that last month, Mother Theresa visited us, and she gave the exact same answer.

That you may fall deeply in love with Jesus Christ: that is the work of the new evangelization.  To help others know him, understand him, and fall in love with him.  And that is the task not just of priests and bishops, but all Christians.

In the second reading today, St. Peter gives a wonderful outline for the new evangelization.

St Peter in today’s second reading says, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” 

Each one of us needs to be prepared to give an explanation for the hope that is in us. 

The Greek Word St. Peter uses here is “apologia”—the verbal defense you would give in a courtroom.  Be ready, be prepared Peter is saying to give a reason of why you believe in the Gospel and a full verbal account of what you believe.

Our way of life, our rituals, the teachings of the Church are found strange to non-Catholics. So we need to be able to explain WHY we do these things, WHY we believe things things.

And Peter then explains HOW we are to give explanation for our hope: with gentleness and reverence.  The world of the first century was generally not friendly toward Christian beliefs and practices. Peter is anticipating that non-Christians will often question Christians with an aggressive or even a harsh tone. 

So return harshness and aggression with gentleness and reverence.  Seek to win others to the faith through a gentle and persuasive word.

It’s hard to remain patient and gentle in the face of hostility, but Peter says it’s better to suffer for doing good than to do evil.

Last year we observed a Year of Faith: a year where we were to go back to the books—back to the catechism--to study with fresh eyes and hearts the teachings of our faith that we could be better prepared to give explanation.  Each of us should engage in some sort of bible study or faith study on a regular basis.  It is a sad day when we don’t learn something new about our faith or come to a deeper understanding of a scripture passage.

We need knowledge of the mind in order to be prepared to give explanation for our faith, but we also need knowledge of the heart.  If we are to be leading others to a deep love of Jesus Christ, we ourselves need to be deeply in love with Him.

In the work of the new evangelization we aren’t just reaching out to atheists and secularists and post-modernist that we are supposed to be reaching out to.  Many Catholics need to fall more deeply in love with Jesus Christ. 

St. Peter tells us, “sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts.”

This is why the greatest evangelizers are saints.  Christ is so reverenced, so radiant, in their hearts that he begins to shine through their actions.

How did they get that way?  How did they fall so deeply in love with Christ?  Love of God is always nurtured by prayer.  St. Francis de Sales said every Christian is in need of a half hour of prayer every day, unless he is busy, then he needs an hour.

Prayer is like inhaling and exhaling.  We need both the public exhaling prayer of participating at Mass, and also the private inhaling prayer of quiet, contemplative, meditation. 

Those who say they don’t get anything out of attending Mass are often not praying throughout the week as they should. They have nothing to exhale because they have not inhaled throughout the week.

But those who spend time in God’s presence in prayer of adoration and surrender throughout the week, find participation at Mass to be the source and summit of their prayer life.  If you want to get more out of Mass on Sunday, put more into prayer throughout the week.

Finally St. Peter says, keep your conscience clear.  In other words, in order to give an effective account of the Gospel  we need to be living it.  If you have fallen, go to confession, so that your conscience may be clean.

In the opening prayer of this mass asked God to grant that we may celebrate with heartfelt devotion these days of joy.  “Heartfelt devotion”; “affectus sedulus” in the original latin.  Affectus is affection or love or devotion.  But that word sedulus can mean, busy, diligent, careful, zealous, industrious, unremitting.

In other words, God help me to be busy, diligent, industrious, zealous in my love for you.  Would you describe your prayer life as zealous, diligent?  Are you industrious in your study of the faith?  If not, then let today be a new start. 

In these final weeks of the easter season may we engage in prayer and study with greater zeal, that we can lead others to a deeper knowledge and love of Jesus Christ for the glory of God and salvation of souls.