St. Cecilia is responsible for a remarkable number of conversions to Christianity. And let’s not forget, she lived during a time when being Christian could lead to a death sentence. Can you imagine people being so inspired by St. Cecilia that they were willing to risk their lives? That is an inspirational woman!
I wonder how she found a way to share the good news of Jesus Christ in a way that so many people would believe her and be drawn to the faith. Furthermore, I wonder how she found the courage to preach in that hostile environment. I have a hard time wrapping my brain around it.
Even if we can’t figure out exactly how St. Cecilia practiced her evangelization, we can still be inspired by her. As a teacher in a public school, I can’t – and shouldn’t – preach about any religion at school. That’s just not the place for it.
But I can still live out my faith by example. I can still teach lessons of kindness and love. Maybe that is just as important in our world as the work we do at church.
Now that I think about it, demonstrating the faith by the example of our lives is the most effective form of evangelization. Even in our regular social lives, people aren’t going to be impressed by Christianity based on our words. What speaks louder than any words we could ever find are good works. “Just so, your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father” (Matthew 5: 16)
The epistles include countless mentions of the importance of showing our faith by the way we live our lives. For example, “What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,’ but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it? So also faith of itself, if it does not have works, is dead.” (James 2: 14-17)
So many saints that we have considered in the last several weeks adopted a mission to win souls for Jesus. St. Teresa of Calcutta taught about satisfying the Lord’s thirst for souls. St. Therese of Lisieux longed to do missionary work and vowed to spend her time in heaven working to win souls on earth. So I suppose this is a theme we should consider. The example of the saints certainly includes a call to evangelization. How should we incorporate that call every day?
Lord God, we are learning about a life well-lived through the examples of the saints. We want to fulfill Your plans for us. Guide us to do your will.