"While Jesus was walking along the shore of Lake Galilee, he saw two brothers. One was Simon, also known as Peter, and the other was Andrew. They were fishermen and they were casting their nets into the lake. Jesus said to them, 'Come with me! I will teach you how to bring in people instead of fish."

~Matthew 4:18-19

Do You Like To Talk About St. Blase?
Recently, the Pastoral Parish Council authorized the “reformation” of the Evangelization Committee. The work of this committee will be to assist the existing committees and commissions to spread the word about all the good things that happen here at St. Blase to the community around our building.

• We are NOT planning any door-to-door campaigns
  because evangelization is so much more than just that.
• We ARE seeking folks who have a background and
  interest in promotions, marketing and advertising to begin this important task.
• We ARE seeking folks who want to see St. Blase grow and thrive.
• We ARE seeking folks who are a lot like YOU!!!

"The Goal of Catholic Evangelization is to invite a person to believe in Jesus Christ; to enfold the believer in the sacramental, communal life of the church; and to enable, inspire and support a lifetime of full discipleship." ~ From "Spreading the Holy Fire, Archdiocese of Chicago

Evangelization: It’s Not So Scary

One Sunday at St. Blase many years ago, the weekend priest began his homily by telling the assembly to go out, find one person that we didn’t know and share the Good News that Jesus had risen from the dead, and come back when we had. He would be waiting for us. Needless to say, everyone sat very still, stunned by this directive. Go out? Talk to a stranger? About our faith? Oh, no! Surely he wasn’t serious! After a minute of quiet during which absolutely no one moved or made eye contact, the priest began to talk about how scary it is for Catholics to share their faith with others — in other words — Evangelize!!

When most Catholics hear the word Evangelization, they get uncomfortable, often associating it with people going door to door, standing on street corners, or being pushy in a variety of social situations from work to school. Many also think that evangelization is proselytizing, preaching, and converting, and that this is relegated to a select few of enthusiastic, committed parishioners who possess the knowledge and dedication to bring others to church. This is intimidating to many people. They feel they will be exposed for what they don’t know, rather than talking about what they do.

Do any of the following describe you?

• One of my favorite things is a long talk with friends.
• I usually enjoy discussions and debates on different questions.
• I generally prefer to physically help people rather than become involved in religious
  discussions.
• I am happy when I am able to include new people in the activities I am involved in.
• I often identify with people by stating, “I tend to think like that” or “I used to feel that way, too.”

If any of the above describes you, then you are evangelizing. Just as there are different people in this world, so are there different styles of evangelization.

The word evangelization comes from the Greek word for gospel, or the "good news" of Jesus Christ. Thus the fundamental mission of the Church is to spread this “good news”. Since this is the entire mission of the Church, what better place to start our series on language than with Evangelization.

Every Christian is called to evangelize by openly living their Christian beliefs in a proactive way whereby each person seizes the opportunities in the world to talk about why he/she prays, goes to church, trusts in God, etc. Our personal story of faith is the most powerful tool we possess. At Easter, family members can remember those who have died in the past year
and celebrate anniversaries of those who have celebrated the sacraments of initiation.