Gulf Pine Catholic

Gulf Pine Catholic • August 20, 2021 19 BY DEACON JOHNNY WILLIAMS Homily for the 15th Sunday in Ordinary Time Cycle B When I say the word “evangelism,” what comes to mind? Personally, I always think about Billy Graham. I can remember as a child the Billy Graham Crusades that came on television. He preached to big crowds and was on TV in prime time. He had a wonderful musical program, and the highlight of the evenings was when he invited all those who wanted to accept Jesus Christ into their hearts to come down to the ont and he would pray with them. Although he wasn’t Catholic and didn’t include the Blessed Sacrament or the Mass, he did succeed in bringing many people to Jesus by his evangelizing efforts, and although he has passed away, he continues to be an inspiration to many through his ongoing ministry led by his son. A lot of times, this concept is foreign to us Catholics. We don’t make a practice of thumping our Bibles and raising our voices while preaching. We don’t make a big show in our calling others to accept the Catholic faith. We’re really cautious at who we even talk religion with for fear of being labeled. Our evangelizing activities are much more sedate than Reverend Graham’s or than many of the televangelists that we see on TV today. But why is this so? Are we truly aaid of getting out of our comfort zones by sharing our faith with others and trying to convince them that ours is the true faith? We are given a couple of good examples in our readings of what evangelization should look like. In our first reading, the prophet Amos is cononted by Amaziah, the priest om Bethel and is warned to leave and not to preach in Bethel again, but to return to his own country in the land of Judah. Amos told Amaziah that he was a shepherd and a dresser of sycamores, but God called him away om his flock and told him to prophesy to His people Israel. Amos was really just a common guy who had lived a simple life. But the call of God to prophesy was life-changing for Amos. He truly became an evangelizer in a foreign land, where he was unpopular and made waves with the natives. In Mark’s Gospel, Jesus called the Twelve and sent them out two by two to go into hostile territory, to preach repentance and heal the sick. Jesus even made it more difficult on the Twelve. He told them not to take any money or food or even a second tunic with them. They were to rely on the goodness of strangers to provide for their needs. Of course, if we truly want to evangelize and bring others to Christ, we don’t really have to go that far. There are many people in our own circles who are hungry and are searching for God in some way or another. Even in our own parish, there are many who may attend Mass, but are searching for something greater. For the past several years, Bishop Kihneman has been encouraging all members of our Church in the Diocese of Biloxi to learn how to form intentional disciples. An intentional disciple is one who has a strong relationship with Jesus and who is called to share that relationship with others in helping them to increase their faith and to strengthen their relationships with our Lord. The Diocese has established the Office of Evangelization, and has spent much time, effort, and money in reaching out to teach the Catholics of our diocese how to effectively evangelize within our own communities and parishes. A few weeks ago, the Gulf Pine Catholic , our diocesan newspaper ran a feature article describing “Our Mission,” which is the mission of our diocese in forming intentional disciples in every aspect of our lives. This mission is built upon the great commission of Jesus when he called His disciples to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” Our mission calls for a change in our culture. Our secular culture is often hostile to those of faith, and discourages expressions of faith and prayer in secular society. The new mission calls us to work to change this culture, much like the disciples did in the Gospel. But we are mostly called to change the culture of our parishes. As I said earlier, Catholics in general are not very forceful evangelizers. This has to change. In the Diocese of Biloxi, the transformation has begun in all of its diocesan ministries, moving om passive evangelization to forming intentional disciples and actively growing our evangelization efforts in all aspects of our church. Our parish recently elected new members to its pastoral council, and this group has made it a priority that our parish begin to reactivate those parish ministry teams that have become dormant and inactive. Teams like the Social Justice Team, which includes the St. Vincent de Paul Society, and the Liturgy Team have remained very active. But teams like the Spiritual Life team and the Parish Life Team have been mostly inactive. This is about to change. These teams, among others, are in the process of reactivating and will be looking for evangelizers who are committed to helping enrich the spiritual lives of our parishioners. Our intent is to form intentional disciples, who have that strong relationship with Jesus, and who are not aaid of sharing their faith with others. COVID has really taken a toll on our parish life. It has put a damper on our parish activities, and has damaged our faith community. But just as Amos and the disciples braved the obstacles that were placed in their evangelizing activities, we should also look to God for guidance and strength so that we too can begin to build up the spiritual and social life of our parish. God has given each one of us unique gifts and talents, and He calls us to use those gifts and talents and to share them with others in our evangelization efforts. We don’t have to be biblethumpers or spend our time calling out on the street corners. But we can be intentional disciples by using these gifts and talents to bring the Good News to others, and to support Our Mission of building the Kingdom of God, one person at a time. I ask you to be open to God’s call, and to respond by joining the effort of our parish in building intentional disciples. Deacon Johnny Williams is assigned to Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Cathedral in Biloxi. Evangelizing the world, the diocese, and the parish Williams Elizabeth Smart om page 15 “We have an interactive services map and potential access to the crime victims’ compensation fund,” Beeland said. “We encourage all victims, or anyone who may know of someone being trafficked, to report that information to the National Human Trafficking Hotline. “Tips can be reported anonymously, 24/7, and are directed to local authorities on the ground, like our office, in real time, to ensure quick and timely respons- es to possible victims. I’ll also be sharing information on the signs that you or someone you know is being trafficked, and how to report trafficking.” Call the National Human Trafficking Hotline at 1-888-373-7888, or text the word INFO to 233733. For more information on victim assistance at the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office, visit www.AttorneyGeneralLynnFitch.com . Visit Catholic Charities Inc. at catholiccharitiesusa.org . Heavenly Father, bless Your Church with an abundance of holy and zealous priests, deacons, brothers and sisters. Give those You have called to the married state and those You have chosen to live as single persons in the world the special graces that their lives require. Form us all in the likeness of Your Son so that in Him, with Him and through Him we may love You more deeply and serve you more faithfully, always and everywhere. With Mary, we ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Prayer for Vocations