The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it.

-- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 2471

 

Does this mean that I have to do more than just go to Church on Sundays? Do I have an obligation to tell others about Jesus Christ? But I'm Catholic... we don't evangelize... or do we?

 

As a CSC leader, I was challenged with this call to evangelize. However, I found great strength in the Lord when I felt weakest and the least able to do so. The military can be an intimidating place to share your faith, and in most work places it is more than just a faux pas to discuss religion. At least that was the impression I got when I arrived at my first assignment in Germany as a brand new Lieutenant. I noticed that if my co-workers did talk about religion it was usually the controversies within the Church. How can my words compete with a thrilling Dan Brown novel?! As for finding like-minded Catholics, the chaplaincy at my AFB was great, but seemed to be mostly focused on married couples and children. I guess I was looking for something to belong to -- something like what I had experienced in college with the Fellowship of Catholic University Students (FOCUS). They had been an important support and connection with people my age as I tried to live out my Catholic faith at a secular university.

 

At last, I decided to sit down with the Catholic Chaplain, and we both agreed -- CSC was the answer. Bringing the leader training to Ramstein AB was actually the easy part.The difficulty came with finding the young adults to join us. But seeking out members was a blessing. I could use the group as a way to talk to my co-workers about my faith. People were curious about why I was starting a group. "You mean Catholics do more then just go to church?"

 

Through it all God was definitely calling me out of my comfort zone when I went to make announcements at Mass or invite co-workers to our evening SQ sessions. But knowing that I was not a practiced evangelizer helped me realize that I needed the Holy Spirit even more. Most importantly, though, I brought it to prayer. Within the first couple of months, we had a small group of regulars! I was amazed by the discussions we had and inspired by the group members' testimonies of faith. As a CSC leader, I had the idea that I would help others make strides in their relationship with God and their understanding of the Church, but I wasn't prepared for just how much I would receive from them!

 

 

When I was later assigned to Keesler AFB, I was thrilled to find a CSC group there as well. Our discussions on theology and Church teaching brought to the surface my love for these topics and eventually led me out of the military and into a full-time program of evangelization training. I am now studying at the St. Patrick's Evangelisation School (SPES) in London, England. This school answers the late Pope John Paul II's call for a New Evangelization by young adults. I am joined by 6 other students from all over the world, and we are spending the year studying the Catechism, hearing lectures covering all aspects of the Church, working with the poor, and learning to speak about the love of Christ and His Church to those searching for more.

 

 

I think the most challenging part of this year is the evangelizing we do right outside our front door in Soho (London's red light district). In my military mindset, I can very much see us being on the front lines of the Spiritual Combat, which is always a threat to us and to the Church. It was hard for me to leave the US military because I still see so much good in the call to serve and defend. But in the end, I see that I am not so far from my original profession. The sense of honor, discipline, self-sacrifice and excellence is strong in both the military and the genuinely lived Catholic life.

 

 

So stand your ground, with truth a belt round your waist, and uprightness a breastplate, wearing for shoes on your feet the eagerness to spread the gospel of peace and always carrying the shield of faith so that you can use it to quench burning arrows of the Evil One. And then you must take salvation as your helmet and the sword of the Spirit, that is, the word of God.

-- Ephesians 6:14-17