Dn. Raphael Both my parents served in our nation’s military during World War II.
My mother was a communications specialist for the Navy in San Francisco. She relayed secret messages to and from Washington D.C. and the Pacific Theater. In this case, the word theater means area of battle.
My father served in the Mediterranean and European Theaters. He was a cook of a portable kitchen for an ambulance unit that followed a M.A.S.H. unit (that’s Mobile Army Surgical Hospital). His unit followed the Third Army across Africa, Sicily, Italy, France, and Germany. He was close to the action but not in the action. In other words, the bombings were far from where he camped, but he could hear the explosions in the distance.
There are many positions in the military. Everyone does their part to insure success whether they shoot a gun, handle communications (like my mom), or cook for the drivers who rescued the wounded troops (like my dad). It is no different in the Lord’s Army, or as we say at St. George, Warrior Saints.
One special kind of Warrior Saint is the Evangelist. All Warrior Saints are assigned to this duty, but some are more active in this task than others.
The famous French Resistance of WWII is a good example. This was an organized effort to get the Nazis out of France. All occupied countries had resistance fighters, but the French got more media attention. Most were not members of the military but citizens who did their part to restore their nation’s independence from the Nazis.
They acted in secret because discovery meant certain death and failure of the mission. It’s possible next-door neighbors were resistance fighters and did not know it.
Some resistance fighters blew up train tracks. Some carried secret messages. Others helped free prisoners, leading them safely back to allied forces. No matter what the task, how big or small, all assignments were important.
Evangelists are not secretive like resistance fighters. Our primary task is to help free prisoners from our enemies. Sin, the world, and sinister spiritual forces that occupy God’s creation. We take blindfolds off some blinded by the world. Others are waiting for someone to lead them to Christ. We lead them to the safe fortress of our parishes so they can be restored to their humanity, the way God meant us to live.
“But Deacon,” I hear some saying. (Yes, I have this special internet power to hear comments like this.) “Isn’t it the priest’s job to evangelize?”
Did Charles DeGaulle, leader of French forces during WWII, personally handle day-to-day tasks of resistance operations? Did Eisenhower lead the charge at Normandy on D-Day?
No, your priest, like DeGaulle and Eisenhower, coordinates efforts “behind enemy lines.” There is more to running a parish than evangelization. Besides, doesn’t he help heal “the wounded” we bring to our parishes?
Is someone already mentoring you in evangelism? Stay with them. You don’t need me. But if you let me, I will be your Deacon of Evangelism. I will lead you to be an evangelist.
Evangelism was the first calling of the disciples of Jesus. It’s our first calling too. So sign up right now for my Evangelist Basic Training (EBT). Three-week trainings start every other month. Sign up now to be included in the next training session.
Three weeks? Not 13 weeks like the Marines?
Yeah, I told you it would be easy. About five minutes a day. You can keep up with that. And two days of homework. Take a day or two to think about the assignment, then less than 30 minutes to write a half a page. It’s not like a college class which means three hours a week with six hours of homework.
Go ahead. Click here to sign up. This is a critical mission every Christian needs to know. I make it as easy as possible to get started.