St. Aloysius Gonzaga, Religious
2 Kings 19:9-11,14-21,31-36 | Psalm 47:2-4,10-11 | Matthew 7:6,12-14
Do not give dogs what is holy; and do not throw your pearls in front of pigs, or they may trample them and then turn on you and tear you to pieces. So always treat others as you would like them to treat you… (Matthew 7:6,12)
In other words: show, then tell. Or, as Pope Francis put it:
Remember what Benedict XVI said: “The Church does not grow by proselytizing; she grows by attracting others”. And what attracts is our witness. (Address to Catechists, 27 September 2013)
In this context, “proselytism” refers to conversion through coercive means:
More recently, however, the term has taken on a negative connotation, to mean the promotion of a religion by using means, and for motives, contrary to the spirit of the Gospel; that is, which do not safeguard the freedom and dignity of the human person. (Doctrinal Note on Some Aspects of Evangelization, note 49)
For instance, I once overheard a lady’s advice to her friend: “better convince your husband to join RCIA, otherwise he’ll burn in hell”. It might have been well-intentioned, but also aggressive as hell, and certainly not how Christ would want us to bring others to God.
So we’re called to go about our earthly mission as Christians by being witnesses to love, i.e. consistently living the gospel life. Through our life-giving examples, we may then intrigue others into enquiring about why we choose to reject the back-stabbing antics that’s a staple of the secular world, at which point we can effectively share our faith with them. Words and deeds in harmonious tandem – that’s true evangelisation.
(It’s also best not to think of non-believers as animals, but Jesus might have been thinking of the “unteachable” Pharisees of Mark 10:5.)
Lord, you taught us through your own Incarnation as the Word of Love made flesh, that our words of faith are nothing without consonant deeds. Help us put that into practice each day, acting in faith, hope and charity towards everyone we meet, from the greatest to the least, so that we may draw them to You in the spirit of love that drew us too. Amen.