You Can Do This! Three Simple Steps to Sharing Your Catholic Faith.

Marcie, a cradle Catholic, left her Catholic faith when she left home for college. But midway through second term of her sophomore year, she went on a weekend retreat. The Saturday evening adoration was the turning point in her life. While she knelt in prayer, Jesus revealed Himself to her. She became aware of His reality and, for the first time in her life, she knew that He loved her personally, unconditionally, and that He had a great plan for her life. Today she is a dedicated Catholic, a pediatric nurse, and a loving wife and mother. Marcie has a story to tell. She has experienced the power of the Risen Christ to change her life. But she doesn’t know how to share what God has done.

Does this sound like you?

The feeding of the five thousand began with the sharing of some humble loaves and fishes. Our loaves and fishes for evangelization is the story of how God has worked in our lives. Like those barley loaves, it may not seem like much. Yet God knows how to feed and care for His own. He only needs our willingness. Read on for three very simple steps that Marcie (and you) can use to put those loaves and fishes into the hands of Jesus to feed the spiritually hungry.

Step One: Remember

“I will remember the deeds of the Lord: yes your wonders of old I will remember.” Psalm 77:11

Take some time in prayer and ask yourself these questions:
What was going on in my life before I turned to the Lord?
When did Jesus reveal Himself and His great, unconditional love to me personally?
How did this new understanding change my life?

Three times in the Acts of the Apostles we read of the account of the conversion of St. Paul. (Acts 9:1-19, 22:3-16, and Acts 26:2-18). Paul gives a simple, clear account of what happened to him. The spotlight is on God’s action in the life of Paul. We want to follow that example, highlighting how God’s love has changed us.

Step 2: Rehearse

Freely write down the story of this very important point in your life as it comes to mind. (I would recommend doing this before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament.) At home, read it aloud with a timer on and then edit your ideas until you can relate the basics in about three minutes. The key points you want to communicate are: a) you had a situation you were struggling with b) God met you in the middle of it and revealed Himself to you, and c) your life has changed for the better and here is how …

Paul’s conversion story has this same structure.

Just because your encounter with Jesus might not be as dramatic as that of Saint Paul, don’t underestimate God’s ability to use your words to bless another. Your job is simply to be willing to share the story of God’s action in your life. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

Once you have a brief version of your personal encounter with Jesus you need to call in a buddy. First, practice reading and then sharing from your heart your personal story until it begins to feel comfortable and has a flow. Don’t worry too much if things seem a little wooden. Remember that right now you are fashioning a tool (an account of God’s intervention in your life) for the Holy Spirit to use. It will take on its real power when the Holy Spirit prompts you to share God’s love with the person He sends you to. Don’t forget to pray. Daily. We can begin each day by simply praying, “Lord, I am ready to share You with others. Lead me to the person who is waiting for You.” If we give the Holy Spirit time each day, lifting up in prayer all those we’ll have contact with He will lead us to those who need to hear good news.

Step 3: Relate

We have many accounts of divine intervention throughout the New Testament but one of my favorites is Acts 8:28-40, the story of the Ethiopian eunuch. Phillip obeyed the Holy Spirit and at His prompting was ready to speak. He engaged the eunuch based on his need. Phillip recognized that God wanted him to help meet that need and then he “proclaimed Jesus to him.”

Don’t worry if your face gets red or your mouth goes dry. Press on if you stumble through some words. You are sharing words that will bring life. They don’t have to be eloquent. They just have to be true. It is the Holy Spirit who will bring those words to life in your listener’s heart.

I once heard that the definition of evangelization is “one beggar telling another beggar where the bread is.” Jesus Christ is the Bread of Life. Like the boy who shared his loaves and fishes, let’s be bold and share what we have. We do not know how many more the Lord Jesus will feed with His love through us.