Part II Continued

The Reluctance of Catholics to Evangelize

“Me? Evangelize? I’m Catholic!”

Something of this sort goes through the minds of most Catholics when they hear the word “evangelization.” Evangelizing is something Protestants do. Catholics are more private and do not wear their religion on their sleeves. Many Catholics even have a hard time saying right out loud that they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Catholics have not learned that it is their tradition to express their faith openly.

We do not typically engage in “God Talk.” How embarrassing to discuss God and salvation as though they were normal subjects of conversation like football, food, or the movies! The fear seems to be that people will call us nanve or think we are trying to impose our morality or our religion on them. To many Americans and to most Catholics, evangelization is in poor taste. Some of this reticence is rooted in Catholic history in the United States. Today, the Church plays a vibrant role in American life and is, for the most part, well-known and respected. But it was not always that way. The Church came to the United States as an “immigrant,” and frictions between the Church and society persisted. Some Catholics were persecuted. Catholics were in the society but not entirely of it. As a result, most Catholics did not share their faith with others. They did not believe that it was important to do so, and they felt ill-equipped whenever push came to shove and they had to discuss their faith even with those who shared the same beliefs. Catholics were generous and contributed to many just causes, as they do today, but most Catholics were tight-fisted when it came to sharing their faith.

What is more, by and large, Catholics kept to themselves. Protestant children were okay to play with, as long as our parents knew their parents. Still, they were different, living in the shadows around our bright Catholic world. Catholics hugged their special faith like a life jacket, afraid they themselves would sink if they tried to share it with others.

The election of President John F. Kennedy, a deep international affection for Pope John XXIII, and the figurative window opened by the Second Vatican Council laid the groundwork for greater encounters between the Church and United States society. Today, Catholics have taken a place among the best-educated and most prosperous citizens of this country. Most of the barriers to full Catholic participation in life in the United States have fallen away. But our reluctance to share our faith with others has not.

These days, despite this reluctance, there is a growing number of Catholics who realize their faith is not a treasure to be jealously guarded lest someone snatch it away. Rather, they are looking for concrete ways to share a treasure which only grows richer the more people partake of its truth, love, and grace. Catholic evangelizers take the most precious gift they have in their hands and offer it to other people. They let their light shine.