Evangelization Myths (3 of 7)

Eric Sammons authored a new book “The Old Evangelization: How to Spread the Faith Like Jesus Did” and he cites 7 common myths that deter Catholics from evangelizing. 

Myth 3: We’re Not Supposed to Proselytize.  We often hear, even from the highest levels of the Church, that Catholics are not supposed to “proselytize.” Many have taken that to mean that we are not supposed to evangelize. However, since Christ himself commanded his followers to evangelize (Matt. 28:19-20), then either those who say we are not to proselytize mean something other than evangelization, or they are simply wrong.

On the recent Feast of the Ascension, Pope Francis said that Jesus’ Ascension reminds us of his constant assistance and that of his Spirit, “who gives strength and security to our Christian witness in the world.”  The Holy Spirit “reveals to us why the Church exists: she exists to announce the Gospel” he said.  Furthermore, he said the Church includes all faithful that have been baptized, who today “are invited to better understand that God has given us the great dignity and responsibility of announcing it to the world, of making it accessible to humanity.”

For our purposes, proselytizing is focused on telling while evangelizing is focused on asking. A guest professor was lecturing a tour group in Peru, and asserted that Catholics engage in cultic worship of Mary.  “There are eight factions in Peru, each worshiping a specific statue of Mary and dismissing the validity of all the others.”  Instead of contesting the matter, I asked the professor, “Have you ever had a student misunderstand your lecture, then erroneously tell others that those were your stated views?”  “Yesss…” he replied thoughtfully.  His face conveyed his brain making the connection and he moved on to another topic.  A question was more effective than a contrary assertion.