Spread the Good News to the young in our families

In order to present the Good News to others, we need first to reach out to the young in our families. We should also focus on those in the community who already know Christ, but are not practising the faith.

Apr 12, 2019

IPOH: In order to present the Good News to others, we need first to reach out to the young in our families. We should also focus on those in the community who already know Christ, but are not practising the faith.

Michael Xavier, spoke about Sharing Christ with others in a formation programme held at St Michael’s Church (SMC) on March 30. He said this was important because “we are trying to make disciples for Christ.”


“We can’t evangelise to the whole world until we first evangelise to those around us, and especially the young in our families,” he said.

He said sharing Christ with others should be a defining moment in our lives, because it means sharing Christ’s light within us with others.


When we are willing, we should offer our willingness to the Holy Spirit, and he will do the rest to shine forth the light in us.

This light within us may be our individual gifts and talents that can be used as a doorway to sharing Christ with others.

“Having experienced Christ’s love and mercy, we want others to experience the same. Each time I share Christ, the more I come to know Christ. Evangelising opens doors. It is Christ working through me and on me, and we must use our gifts to share Christ,” he said.

Dispelling the notion that only some people can be evangelisers, Michael said every Catholic is an evangeliser, and it was all about sharing your story.

“Pray for an open door, and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal someone to share Christ with,” he said. He added that to be evangelisers, Catholics must lead “magnetic” lives, to draw people to them. If they lead successful and holy lives, it is a good example for people to follow.

In the same way, Catholics have to make their BECs attractive enough to draw young people in. “Don’t make it a place where you can complain about your aches and pains, and what medicines you take for them. That will make it a pharmaceutical seminar.

“Most of all, when young people join, don’t push the responsibility of doing things on them,” he said. He added that we must be sacrificial in nature, since our mission is to reach out to young people.

“It begins in our parish, and pray for the people through the Holy Spirit, asking him to expand the picture in the person’s life, (whom you want to reach out to).” Take time to reflect and pray before beginning your mission, he added.

Michael Xavier is a parishioner of the Cathedral of the Holy Spirit, Penang. He is also the secretary of the parish pastoral council since 2012. He heads the parish Family Life Ministry and is actively involved as a prison Faith Sharer with the Roman Catholic Church Prison Ministry, in the diocese of Penang since 2015.

He is responsible for outreach activities, which include looking into the needs of the family members of those convicted. He recently started Freedom House, a centre that meets ex-offenders twice a month, to help them re-integrate into society and find meaning in their lives by getting to know Jesus.

He is passionate about communication and leadership, and believes that every Christian must joyfully and boldly proclaim their encounter with Jesus by first having an attractive life, that eventually attracts people to God.

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