Word to the Wise
Tuesday, January 26, 2016 - Jan. 26 - Sts. Timothy and Titus, bishops
[2 Tim 1:1-8 or Titus 1:1-5 and Luke 10:1-9]"I remind you to stir into flame the gift of God that you have through the imposition of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of cowardice but rather of power and love and self-control. So do not be ashamed of your testimony to our Lord...but bear your share of hardship for the Gospel with the strength that comes from God." [2 Timothy]
Our culture has "privatized" religious faith to such an extent that many of us are uncomfortable with expressions of faith in venues outside a formal church setting or in our homes. We will attend a church service or even a public memorial service with religious sponsorship, but those are "settings" or contexts where we know most of the people there will be at least people of faith. The passage from the Second Letter to Timothy brings a story to mind from my own life.
When I was an undergraduate student at Tulane in New Orleans back in the early 1960's, I used to go to the home of a cousin of mine on the weekends. Across the street lived a man who was from my hometown in northern Louisiana and I often visited with him and his family as well. He was what I would have called a "radical Catholic" even then. (The Second Vatican Council was just getting underway.) We were sitting in his backyard one bright warm Sunday afternoon when a gentleman came across the lawn with his suitcoat over his arm and his tie pulled loose. He had some papers in his hand and he introduced himself as being from the Jehovah's Witnesses. He wanted to share his faith with us. We thanked him for his concern but told him of our Catholic identity and gently invited him to continue his door to door evangelization elsewhere. When he had left, my radical Catholic friend turned to me and said: "You know! We should be doing that today." Even if I, an itinerant preacher, would find door to door ministry difficult, I haven't forgotten my friend's comment. What is it that makes such a witness so difficult? Is it the "hardship" that Timothy is urged to bear with the strength provided by God? Are we really "religious cowards?" What has happened to the Spirit that we received in baptism and confirmation?
Those are uncomfortable questions. I know they make me somewhat uncomfortable. When I suggested to my parishioners at St. Ann's in San Antonio that they imitate the small evangelical churches in their neighborhoods and go door to door to invite people to come to Mass at St. Ann's, they responded, "Oh no, Father! That's what the Protestants do!" I said, "Catholics can do that, too!" Can we? AMEN
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