Families called to be evangelizers

Aug 06, 2015

By Percy D’Cruz
“As families, we should be challenged not only to keep the faith and Word of God steadfastly but also to share it with others in the community, and society in general. Thus, families are called to undertake their share of evangelization.”

These words formed the crux of Fr Ryan Innas Muthu’s homily in conjunction with the Feast of Sts Anne and Joachim at the chapel on June 26.

Fr Ryan in his homily said, “When honouring Sts Anne and Joachim, the parents of Mary, we look at the role of parents and families in general. These two saints were chosen to bring Mary into the world, the mother of Our Saviour Jesus Christ, who would bring salvation for the whole world.

“Devotion to both these saints is an extension of the affection families have for Our Blessed Mother Mary. We too, owe a debt of gratitude to our grandparents, parents and family elders for assistance in our Christian faith formation. This ‘work’ is absolutely vital to our parish community, society and to the Church.

“As families, we need to grow more, not only in our personal faith but also in deepening our relationship with God. All this enables us to become effective ‘instruments’ of God’s love, not only within respective families but also in the community around us. We should also be challenged to keep our faith strong and vibrant and to share it with others.

“Ask yourselves how you are carrying out this task in context with what Christ has done for us individually because of His Love, before becoming ‘evangelizers’ to proclaim the Gospel and The Word to outsiders.

“Sadly, we sometimes do not even recognize God’s call: some people say ‘we do not have the time, we are afraid to do so or we have become indifferent to the Gospel.’ We seem to be engrossed about local politics, our recreational lifestyle or with our work and putting food on the table. More often than not, we are afraid to proclaim Jesus in public, sometimes even to our children and family members. The Gospel is not to be hidden but to be proclaimed.”