Fr. Thomas M. Pastorius
December 28, 2014
Spiritual Ponderings
7 Virtues of a Good Evangelizer

We come now to the last two virtues that will help us become better proclaimers of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I hope that our reflections on these virtues have helped you become better at telling others about Jesus Christ even if it has only been through your actions. I also hope that you have learned what some of the non-productive ways of spreading the faith are and I hope that you will avoid those in the future. Let us once again turn to Mark Brumely and his book: How Not To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my thoughts will appear in the normal font.

6. Hope
The Sixth Habit of Effective Apologists is the theological virtue of hope. We already mentioned it in connection with prayer: turning to God in dependence on him in prayer is tied to hope. Now we consider it directly, in itself. Hope is the virtue by which we desire God as our highest good and firmly expect to enjoy eternal life with him, trusting and relying on him to provide us with the necessary means (CCC 1817, 2090). Hope is the virtue of placing our confidence in God because he is all-good and all-powerful. Since he is all-good, he wants to save us. Since he is all-powerful, he can accomplish what he wants.

In the few times I have heard Cardinal Dolan preach or read something that he has written he always seem to quote Leon Bloy who observed, “Joy is the infallible sign of God’s presence.” I know that I am excited to be a Catholic because of the hope I have in God. If God can overcome death then He can overcome any of my sins, imperfections, or mistakes. I know that I personally have a problem showing joy because of my upbringing. There are times in which I have think I am grinning ear to ear with the biggest smile anyone has ever seen but my outward face is flat lined. Those who get to know me know though I am a joy filled man because of the hope that I have in Jesus.

Spiritual writers point to two main sings against hope, presumption and despair. Presumption expects God to save us, without our willingness to use the means he has established. We sin by presumption when we judge ourselves capable of pleasing God by our own powers or when we think that God’s goodness will save us regardless of what we do or do not do (CCCC2090). Despair by contrast, either denies that god can save us even if we use the means he has given us, or it denies that he wants to save us (CCC 2091). In this sense despair is more than an emotional state; it is an act of the will to disregard God’s power and goodness.

I truly believe that all virtues are in the middle of two vices and we see above that the virtue of hope is surrounded by the vices of despair and presumption. I do my best in order to bring joy to my Heavenly Father but I strive to remember that God loves me whether I am winning or losing. On the other hand I do not want to take God for granted and so I try to live a life of gratitude.

7. Charity
Finally we come to charity, the greatest of the theological virtues and indeed the “form of all virtues (CCC1827). Charity is the virtue by which we love God above all things for his own sake and love our neighbor as ourselves for love of God (CCC 1822).

We must never forget the ultimate commandment is love God , neighbor and ourselves and those who do it the best should be our role models. We should all be striving to become saints.

Nor must we forget that God loves those with whom we are argue, that they are made in his image, and that Jesus died for them. This is the necessary link between love of God and love of neighbor for the sake of our love of God. The one is inextricably bound to the other.

God loved Judas as much as He did Peter the difference was Peter would ask for forgiveness and Judas did not. Love is something that grows when shared and not something that diminishes.