HONG KONG (UCAN): “Whether we can share our relationship with God fluently and naturally depends on whether we have enough spiritual reflections in our lives,” said Father Christopher Chor Yuk-wa in an online talk about the skills of evangelisation prepared by the Ad Hoc Committee for the Diocesan Mission Sunday Celebration on August 15.
The committee arranged three talks in July and August help people learn about the principles and techniques in spreading the message of the gospel. Most of the speakers stressed the need for a strong spiritual life to be effective.
According to Father Chor, although there are lots of ways to evangelise, face-to-face communication and a life testimony are the most direct and effective ways to spread the Word of God. He said that spiritually strong people can evangelise better, as others can see that what they speak is part of their true lives. “That is why we need to do proper spiritual studies and maintain our moral values as well as good conduct,” he said.
He invited people to make a self-assessment by giving themselves a score out of 10 concerning their dedication to evangelisation. If the score is too low, he encouraged people to pray for the rekindling of their hearts and ask help from the Holy Spirit.
Spreading the gospel does not need a wide social circle, as family members, close friends and relatives can all be our targets of evangelisation, Father Chor opined.
“But we may find it hard to share the gospel with family members as they have seen all our weaknesses, especially when we fail to bear good testimony to God,” he said.
“Yet an improving personality is also a good witnessing to God for every one around us,” he continued. He invited people to ask for God’s help in this respect.
Father Chor reminded people to cultivate good friendships first to avoid giving the impression of approaching people solely for the purpose of introducing the faith to them. However, he said it is still extremely important to make a timely invitation to go to church after a related discussion.
He also pointed out that while childhood traumas can also be obstacles to evangelising, we can be wounded healers, as these experiences help us understand others better
While social media and websites are powerful tools to spread messages, Father Chor also encouraged the laity to make good use of music to evangelise as it can move the hearts of people.
In another online talk on August 8, Father Chor talked about preaching as he spoke about the life of St. Dominic, the 13th century priest who founded the Order of Preachers. On his feast day, Father Chor talked about how the saint preached with deep knowledge of the Bible, real love for people, humility and spiritual poverty.
Quoting the gospel passage in which Jesus commissioned his disciples to make disciples of all nations and teach them to observe all that he commanded (Matthew 28:16-20), the priest said the mission to spread the gospel comes from Jesus regardless of where we are in time and history.
On July 31, Father Thomas Kwan Tsun-tong addressed the importance of good personal qualities. Although we have our human weaknesses, we are still given blessings from God and chosen as his messengers, so it is important to reflect about ourselves in order to work better for God.
Father Kwan encouraged people to look into their strengths and weaknesses and think of ways to face their limitations. He advised people to uphold their values, maintain effective communication and be determined to love.
He also pointed out that while childhood traumas can also be obstacles to evangelising, we can be wounded healers, as these experiences help us understand others better.
Above all, he said spiritual literacy, or the habit of regular spiritual study and the ability to see the sacred in everyday life, can be the strongest motivation for people to proclaim the gospel despite their human weaknesses.
