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“To the Ends of the Earth"

Pope Benedict recently urged the pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square to live out their Christianity, their communion with Christ by taking the message of the Gospel “to the ends of the earth.” Pope Benedict reminded us that the Apostles were the first to tread the steps of Jesus’ ministry of evangelization all over the world. At the Sea of Galilee, Jesus had called Simon, Andrew, James and John “fishers of men.”

“The Apostles’ adventure began as an encounter between people who opened to one another,” Pope Benedict explained. He added that because they had a direct knowledge of the Master, they were “witnesses to the person of Christ.” not just “proclaiming an idea.”  

Because the Apostles had a personal relationship with Jesus they were able to accurately and articulately convey Jesus to those they met. If they hadn’t developed that intimate friendship with Jesus they would not have been able to pass on the true and entire message of Christ to others. It would have been only nice words or good intentions. 

In the same way, if we are to evangelize through our encounters and relationships with people…in our families, in the work place and in the community, we must deepen our relationship with our Lord first, so that we will be bringing His message, to the ends of the earth, not a watered down version or our own interpretation. 

Reaching the ends of the earth is begun in our own hearts. We deepen our prayer lives and strive to come closer to our Lord. We make use of the sacraments as often as is possible to immerse our souls with Truth and light. Our intimate relationship with Jesus compels us to continue His ministry on earth as the Apostles did. 

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, whom I was fortunate to know, preached the gospel by doing, by living it. She seldom preached to the masses, only when asked to address a gathering, she spoke God’s words and inspired others to also do the Lord’s work.  But, the majority of her preaching was within her ministry of wholehearted service to the poorest of the poor.  To one person at a time, she preached Christ’s message, through her loving hands and her selfless heart. She did not shout it from the rooftops, but from her heart to each person she met. Her life was an utter living testament to the gospel. 

We are each called in all of our walks of life to continue Christ’s message of love, of repentance, of forgiveness, of mercy and of everlasting life. Our evangelization will occur each and every day to the extent that we are willing to truly live the gospel. We must consider our responses to everything and everyone that fills our days. We must realize that our actions are many times much more articulate than our words can ever be. 

Are we going to go about our days with grumbling and complaining about our circumstances and situations, or with a joy that will radiate out to others and attract them to the blessedness of our Christianity? “Joy is a net to catch souls,” Blessed Teresa always used to say. Are we catching souls by our lives of love and joy?  

In our lives, maybe “the ends of the earth,” actually means the ends of the household, the ends of the rectory or convent or the ends of the workplace. But when we all follow in our Lord’s footsteps to evangelize our world, the households, rectories, convents and workplaces will be transformed and souls will be converted by God’s grace. 

To the ends of the earth, let us be fishers of men with our nets of love and joy! 

© 2006 Donna-Marie Cooper O'Boyle

3/31/06

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