A Catholic Approach To Sharing Our Faith

• Read the scriptures – even if only a verse or two – daily. The power of God’s Word itself will help you share it. 
• Display a Cross, or holy picture in your home or office. If someone comments on it, tell the story.
• Invite someone who has been away from the Church to attend Mass with you. 
• At a wedding or a funeral, help a visitor with the responses in the Mass – or show them how to use the missalette. You may also be able to help them with any questions they may have about the service. 
• Ask forgiveness for someone you have hurt. 
• Make the Sign of the Cross as you pray before meals – even in the restaurant. 
• Respond, “Thank God” when someone shares a success or joy from their life. 
• Respond, “I’ll pray for you and for your intentions” when someone shares a fear or trial they are facing in their life. 
• Pray often, asking God’s grace to help you share your faith with others. 
• After the Mass, discuss the Readings, or the Homily, with your family and friends. Share the good news you’ve heard. 
• When you visit someone in the hospital, say a prayer with them. If you change to 
  chat with the person or family of the patient in the other bed, tell them you’ll pray
  for their health or their intentions. 
• Make time in your life to be with or share with those who are suffering, lonely, or
  in need.
• Make a list of unchurched friends and neighbors – pray for them, daily.
• At Mass, warm greet and welcome a person you do not know. Many people drift 
  away from Church because they do not feel “welcomed” or “at home”. 
• Refer to a story or to something you have read or remember from the Bible during
  conversations about life.
• Pray a rosary for the people of the parish – that we may become evangelized 
  persons and an evangelizing parish.
• Have a Mass said for the intentions of a person in need. Send them a Mass card 
  with note affirming your love and concern. 
• Practice random acts of kindness. 
• Look for appropriate opportunities to invite an inactive Catholic to take “another 
  look” at the Church in their life. Listen to their concerns and respond with love. 
  Never “guilt-trip” or pressure them. Speak your own truth about the place of the 
  Church in your faith and your life. 
• When telling family stories to your children, be sure to mention the faith of their 
  grandparents or great aunts, and uncles and how they shared their faith with you.
• When you see God working in your life, celebrate his presence in yourself and 
  others. We are all blessed by stories of personal witness. 
  
  “ You have received the Spirit of Christ Jesus, which brings salvation and hope, your lives are a witness of faith. Whether you were baptized as a child or joined the Church as an adult, you have a story of faith. Whether you have a grade-school knowledge of the catechism, or have a theological degree, you have a story of faith. We all have – and are – stories of faith.” (From the US Bishops, Go and make Disciples, 1992)