By Lindsay Schlegel

“Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me…. Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me!” ~ Psalm 66:16, 20

The Church is called to share the Good News of the Gospel, to proclaim Christ crucified to the glory of God. Hopefully, you are still on an Easter high, rejoicing in the beauty of the Resurrection and the witness of those who came into the Church in your parish this year. 

As the end of this season draws near, it’s worth examining what it can look like to proclaim the Gospel. Sometimes that means speaking to crowds as Philip does in the account we read from the Acts of the Apostles today. Or it could be singing praise to God as we hear in the Psalm. At other times, the proclamation of His goodness is in a gentle, reverent explanation for the conversion of one’s heart, as Peter exhorts us to give in an excerpt from his first letter. 

These examples are inspiring and beautiful, though they are not exhaustive. Different situations and relationships call for their own responses. At times, our proclamations can be quieter, yet just as earnest. 

Ordinary Proclamations

If we are to let Christ live in us, we ought to proclaim Him in every thought, word, and deed. When we hear someone who was sick is recovering, we can say “Praise God,” rather than “thank goodness.” When we’re out to lunch with friends, we can pause for a moment to say grace silently—or ask our friends to join in—rather than skipping the prayer for fear of interrupting a conversation. 

Such smaller gestures, when done consistently and sincerely, have as much potential to move a heart as the larger ones. And as we can see from so many of the saints, it is these daily acts of faith, these routine mortifications that give us the strength to offer a more significant action when the time comes. 

Extraordinary Witness

We ought not to be discouraged when a crowd doesn’t materialize for our presentation or there isn’t a stage for us to sing from. The situation of evangelization we’re called to exists wherever we happen to be. Recognizing and responding to that is proclaiming Christ. 

When I recall the most faithful people I have been blessed to know, the theme is their constant witness to the Gospel: an interior clam, a peaceful disposition, the ability to nobly acknowledge a failure, joy in the presence of others. They delighted in the time they made for prayer. They served without a thought for themselves. If any of this was a challenge, they didn’t gripe about it. 

All this came not through an act of the will, but through a reliance on Jesus Christ, who “died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).

Prayer:

Risen Lord, help me to see the opportunities to proclaim Your love and mercy. With Your grace, may my words and deeds help draw another soul closer to You. Amen.

Call to Action:

Consider a public way you can proclaim the Gospel. Tell someone who’s struggling you’ll offer a prayer for them or share the story of your conversion of heart.

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