Denver Catholic

3 DENVER CATHOLIC | MAY 2021 The Catholic Foundation facilitates charitable giving for the long-term benefit of donors, and parishes, schools and ministries through: • Planned Gifts • Donor-Advised Funds • Charitable Gift Annuities • IRA Charitable Rollovers • Gifts of cash, stock, real estate, etc. 303.468.9885 • TheCatholicFoundation.com Call us today. Deacon Steve Stemper Lisa Kukura Joshua Gideon Your Partner Legacy " I want my kids and grandkids to experience Jesus Christ and His Church that is alive and thriving. A good example of the impact of a missionary outlook is seen in Ananias, a Christian who we hear about in the conversion of St. Paul. Ananias was clearly a man attuned to the Holy Spirit, since he received a vision of Jesus, who told him to go to Paul and heal him of his blindness. Because he trusted in Jesus' direction, Ananias obeyed, even though he knew that Paul had been persecuting the Christian commu- nity in Jerusalem. Ananias knew where he was going in the larger sense. He knew that spreading the Gospel was more important than any threat of imprisonment that he might risk by listening to what he heard through the Holy Spirit. So, he went to see Paul and the trajectory of the Church was eternally impacted by his obedience. We need to individu- ally and as a Church seek to grow in this kind of faith if we are to be effective witnesses in the world today. The final thing that Ananias did when he arrived where Paul was staying lays out the path we should follow in building the kingdom of God. Ananias called Paul his brother, trusted in the Lord's word to him about Paul's conversion experience, and laid his hands on him to pray for his healing from blindness. In other words, we should respond to God's love for us by relying on him to transform our hearts, to make us new creations that are capable of resisting and sabotaging Satan's plans, and bring healing to those in need through the gifts of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments. Those are somewhat general guidelines for our mission as Catholics in a post-Christian culture, so I would like to offer some additional fatherly advice. First, pack for the journey, which means establishing a regular prayer life of at least 15-20 minutes a day with the Scriptures, spending time listening to the Lord in his Word. Second, find a faithful, supportive community of friends, with whom you can pray together and talk about Scripture. If you don't have a community in your parish, then you should consider if God is calling you to start one. You can meet in your home with that small community. Third, apply St. Therese's approach to the spiritual life to evangelization. St. Therese believed that following Jesus happens in everyday experiences, in little things. She was convicted that she could not be perfect in following the Lord and that he was always ready to forgive her if she was repentant. When applied to evangelization, this means that we should humbly seek to show our love for Jesus in the small acts and words of ordinary life and rely on his mercy when we fail to do so. In the words of St. Mother Teresa, "Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time and always start with the person nearest you." Finally, we should look for the action of the Holy Spirit and be willing to follow his lead. Do not be afraid to ven- ture into the deep and let down your nets for a catch. From now on, as Jesus told the Apostles, you will be fishers of men. This is how God calls us to respond to all that he has done for us. Let us pray for the courage and strength to follow him where he leads us.

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