RBWords

     These words from the story of Isaiah's call to prophecy are familiar to me because I had them printed on one of the ordination cards I gave to friends and family when I was ordained in May 1971.  Isaiah's protests of unworthiness are put aside as an angel takes a burning coal from sacred fire to touch his lips.  I certainly cannot claim to have had as dramatic an experience, but I found Isaiah's experience inspiring and I still do.  However, I think Isaiah's call is not unique.  It is the call we all receive in baptism.

     A great deal of evangelism goes undone because good people fear that they are unworthy to speak out.  The faith we profess is a precious gift, but it is meant to be shared and not kept as a private and individualistic possession.  There are many ways to do this.  Some do it through public liturgical actions: ushering, singing in the choir, lector, Eucharistic Minister, acolyte,. (I was pleasantly surprised by the elderly altar servers at daily Mass in parishes in Florida where I preached parish missions.)  As important as these ministries are, the greatest need is outside the liturgy in ordinary spaces of encounter.  Bible study or prayer groups can be places of evangelism, but so can simple encounters in the grocery store aisle or waiting in line for something.  Those who participate in RCIA programs know the power of the individual stories of those who come to the faith and how important the witness of other Catholics had been in those stories.  Some go on mission trips to serve the poor and sick.   All of these actions are important forms of evangelism