I used to be enthralled with the quote, "Preach the Gospel always; use words when necessary." I think partially it is because I heard that it was attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, after whom I got my middle name. I admire St. Francis' radicalness. I saw this quote as replacing the evangelical outlook of pushing faith on others through strong arguments with a more peaceful exemplification of Christianity through one's actions. Later on, I found out that that quote has not been found to be actually tied to St. Francis. Nonetheless for a long time, I liked the idea of spreading the faith by clearly living the Christian lifestyle. It lines up with the common adage, "Actions speak louder than words." Carrying a lot of weight in its letters, this statement emphasizes how doing things can have a greater impact than just saying things because actions show one's intention.

However over the years, I found that my affinity toward this quote led me toward complacency and timidity. For example, I would tell myself that I did not need to talk to my friends about faith because I thought they saw that I was living out the Christian lifestyle. I thought by just going about my business as a Catholic (Mass, Confession, trying to live virtuously, etc.), I would bring others to Christ. Over my years in high school and early college, I reinforced the habit of remaining silent with others explicitly about my faith, so much so that I found it hard to bring up faith with my friends. I knew that I should be asking my friends how they were doing in their faith and sharing with them about mine, yet they weren't asking me so I wasn't going to ask them.

No doubt living a life faithful to Christ will bear fruit through the grace one receives from him through the church and the sacraments. But he wants more. In Matthew 28, Jesus commands the Apostles, "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you."

In my recent reflections, partially inspired by my contact with the Catholic missionary organization FOCUS (Fellowship of Catholic University Students), I realized the importance of evangelization. I'm a nerd, so I'm going to explain the etymology of this powerful word. It comes from the Greek euangelistes, which means "bringer of good news." And how can you bring good news to someone, except through telling them? No one will know that you got a promotion at work solely by seeing you walking around with a smile on your face and a spring in your step. There are thousands of possibly reasons for why you are happy. You can't share the news that you've found the cure for a disease just by your actions; you must tell others about it, verbally or in writing. Likewise, people won't know the reason for your joy, virtue, and mission unless you tell them the truth of the gospel: that God became incarnate to restore us to a personal relationship with him, and you are striving for that relationship!

Christ most clearly exemplifies how we need to use words to evangelize throughout his public ministry. For example, with the woman at the well (John 4) and the forgiving of the woman caught in adultery (John 8), it is through words that Christ renews the women. In all his healings, resurrections, and miracles, Christ doesn't just perform the action and walk away, he then calls them to repentance and a new life in him.

If we want to be Christ-like, we must mirror him in all that he does. So based on the way he lived as an itinerant preacher, bringing "not peace but the sword" (Matthew 10:34), we can't just go about our Catholic business quietly. We must be moved from our own faith toward joyfully sharing it with others.

The great Jesuit missionary St. Francis Xavier said, "Many, many people hereabouts are not becoming Christians for one reason only: There is nobody to make them Christian." He may have been talking about the shortage of Christian missionaries in foreign countries who have never heard the gospel. Still there is a shortage of lay people to re-evangelization those who need it in our secular society.

Pope Francis says, "I prefer a church which is bruised, hurting, and dirty because it has been out on the streets, rather than a church which is unhealthy from being confined and from clinging to its own security ... I do not want a church concerned with being at the center and then ends up by being caught up in a web of obsessions and procedures." It is time that we leave the four walls of our churches and chapels, and go amidst the world and encounter the broken, naive, and lonely. Christ changed people by meeting them personally and showing them who they truly are. We as his disciples must do the same.