This greeted me in the inbox this morning. Pope Paul VI seems to follow my dear friend Tracy around. He haunted her with a quote from "Evangelization of the Modern World" this weekend. I love how his definition of witness does two things: (1) it binds Christians to the reality of the Church while at the same time (2) embracing all vocations, states of life, and daily actions in its scope.
"Above all, the Gospel must be proclaimed by witness. Take a Christian or a handful of Christians, who in the midst of their own community, show their capacity for understanding and acceptance, their sharing of life and destiny with other people, their solidarity with the efforts of all for whatever is noble and good. Let us suppose that, in addition, they radiate in an altogether simple and unaffected way their faith in values that go beyond current values, and their hope in something not seen and that one would not dare to imagine. Through this wordless witness these Christians stir up irresistible questions in the hearts of those who see how they live. Here we have the initial act of evangelization." ~Paul VI
1 comment:
Exactly. Great description. One of our priests says something that I think fits here very well: If people know you, would they want to meet your God? It is often less what we say and more how we behave and what we do that influences others.
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