A missionary's toolkit

A brilliant talk that every Catholic should hear, from one of the great evangelists of our day. From the excellent website, Word on Fire. If you aren't familiar with it, go check it out!

The speaker is something of a hero of mine, Father Robert Barron, the current rector of Mundelein Seminary in the Archdiocese of Chicago. Many will know him for the Catholicism series that he recently finished. He has been called the hardest working priest in America. I admire him especially for his outstanding ability to build bridges between our culture and Christ. He has an uncanny ability to identify "logoi spermatikoi" (seeds of the Logos) planted throughout the culture. It is our job to cultivate these mustard seeds, knowing always that Christ gives the growth. 

(A) In summary, a new evangelist is: 

1. Prayerful. In love with Christ. 
2. Zealous. On fire in proclaiming Christ. 
3. Scriptural. A good storyteller of salvation history. 
4. Compassionate. Familiar with our culture and its desires. 
5. Studied. Steeped in the riches of the Catholic tradition.
6. Pastoral. A missionary passionate for souls. 
7. Savvy. Adept at communicating via the New Media.

(B) So all begins in prayer, as Mother Teresa was so insistent in reminding us: "The fruit of silence is prayer. The fruit of prayer is faith. The fruit of faith is love. The fruit of love is service. The fruit of service is peace." We cannot be missionaries unless we are first souls of deep prayer, because we cannot give Christ if we do not first possess him in our hearts.

Before we can speak, we must learn deep silence.

Let us resolve to spend some minutes in silent prayer each day.