The Holy Martyrs Onisiphorus and Porphyry (456-474); Our Venerable Mother Matrona (456-74); the Venerable Theoctista of Lesbos
1 Thessalonians 2:1-8; Luke 11:9-13
Read 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Glory to Jesus Christ! Glory forever!
In our current culture and world, the Church has placed a new emphasis on evangelization. The Catholic Church calls this the New Evangelization, an approach that invites each of us to hear and embrace the Gospel and then go forth throughout the world, preaching Jesus Christ in a way that will reach the modern man, woman, or child.
St. Paul, in today’s reading from his Letter to the Thessalonians, gives us some essentials that are key to our evangelization efforts. When we evangelize, we are to be bold in confessing Christ (v. 2), not seek earthly glory (v. 6), be gentle (v. 7), and commit our lives to this work (v. 8).
Evangelization is the vocation of every baptized member of the Body of Christ, and we are to use these tools, given to us by St. Paul, in fulfilling the mission of Christ to preach the Gospel of every nation (cf. Matthew 28:19-20). As we approach evangelization opportunities in our lives, let us first take today’s Epistle to prayer that we may align ourselves to Christ in all our sharing of His Good News.