The Explanation

Always be ready to give an explanation
to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,
but do it with gentleness and reverence…
(1 Peter 3:15)

I am not ashamed of the Gospel:
it is the power of God for salvation
to everyone who has faith.
(Rom 1:16)

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Do you know how to share the Gospel? Would you even know what to say? Are you ready to share it, “whether it is convenient or inconvenient” (2 Timothy 4:2)?

Over the years, I have heard Catholics say they don’t talk about their faith to others because it’s “private.” Well, your faith is personal — but it’s never private.

You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden… your light must shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your heavenly Father. (Matthew 5:14, 16)

You might take this passage to mean that all that is necessary is to be a good person. But Jesus also commanded the Church to make disciples of the nations, “teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” ^[1]Matthew 28:20 So it’s not enough to simply fulfill our Sunday obligation and be nice.

…it is not enough that the Christian people be present and be organized in a given nation, nor is it enough to carry out an apostolate by way of good example. They are organized for this purpose, they are present for this: to announce Christ to their non-Christian fellow-citizens by word and example, and to aid them toward the full reception of Christ. —Second Vatican Council, Ad Gentes, n. 15; vatican.va

These words, no doubt, will stir a number of fears and responses, such as:

Embarrassment at the thought of talking about Jesus
Fear of losing friends
Fear of causing division and controversy
Fear of being seen as a bible-thumping whacko
Fear of having to speak if words don’t come easy
Fear of a lack of knowledge of one’s faith
Fear of losing one’s job
Fear of failing.

The devil doesn’t have to kill you in order to silence the Gospel; he just has to convince you that it’s better not to rock the boat, to stay in your own lane, to keep the peace. But Jesus throws that argument overboard:

Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. For I have come to set a man ‘against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’ (Matthew 10:34-36)

Why? Because…

…this is the verdict: that the light came into the world, but people preferred darkness to light, because their works were evil. (John 3:19)

Still, do you want to know what Jesus said immediately before saying He came to bring the sword?

Do not be afraid of them… What I say to you in the darkness, speak in the light; what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops… Everyone who acknowledges Me before others, I will acknowledge before My heavenly Father. (Matthew 10:26-27, 32)

How to Become Unafraid

And here is the secret to becoming unafraid to share the Gospel. It’s not about joining Toastmasters; it’s not about acquiring a degree in theology or reading the Catechism from front to end — as beneficial as these may be. Rather, it’s about knowing Jesus personally — daily inviting He, who is love itself, into your heart, for…

…perfect love drives out fear… We love because He first loved us. (1 John 4:18-19)

You can’t share what you don’t know; you can’t give what you don’t have. Becoming unafraid is a work done at Christ’s feet in daily prayer, where you will encounter His love, His Word, His presence, healing, and power.

...we can be witnesses only if we know Christ first hand, and not only through others — from our own life, from our personal encounter with Christ. Finding him really in our life of faith, we become witnesses… —POPE BENEDICT XVI, Vatican City, January 20th, 2010, Zenit

As St. John Paul II said,

…it is not a matter of merely passing on a doctrine, but rather of a personal and profound meeting with the Saviour. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Commissioning Families, Neo-Catechumenal Way, 1991

Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses… —POPE ST. PAUL VI, Evangelii Nuntiandi, n. 76

A teacher shares doctrine; a witness lives it. Hence, one of the most powerful things you can do is to simply share your story, or a part of your story, with another soul. Share how you have experienced the love and power of God; we call this a testimony.^[2]cf. Rev 12:11 The point, especially with unbelievers, is to help them to put their faith in Jesus; to accept Him as their Savior too, and thus, to receive the gift of eternal life.

The following is a basic explanation of the “reason for our hope.” When the time comes, you can articulate its essence in whole or in part in your own context and in your own words, with confidence and joy, as the Holy Spirit leads…

The Explanation

God created man and woman in His own likeness. Unlike animals, humans are created with both an eternal soul and free will. God made us for Himself, to freely love and be loved. He created the Earth for us to live in and enjoy, as both an expression of His love and a reflection of His divine attributes:

For from the greatness and beauty of created things comes a corresponding perception of their Creator. (Wisdom of Solomon 13:5)

Part of God’s creation includes angels, who also possess free will. Sadly, some turned away out of pride. The Devil, in turn, tempted our first parents (Adam and Eve) to pride, to become their own gods. They disobeyed their Creator and thus…

…through the devil’s envy death entered the world (Wisdom of Solomon 2:24)

Indeed, the Bible tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and that…

God did not make death, and He does not delight in the death of the living. (Wisdom of Solomon 1:13)

All the sadness and suffering in the world were never God’s plan… but they were always a possibility because He created us to be free to love or reject Him. Adam and Eve freely rejected His love, and as a consequence, deprived themselves not only of friendship with God but also of eternal life.

But rather than abandon the human race, the Heavenly Father had another plan:

God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:16-17)

Jesus became man, taking our human form. He suffered and died on a cross out of love for you so that the eternal consequences of sin could be wiped away.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). He himself bore our sins in His body upon the Cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24) He brought you to life along with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this He set aside, nailing it to the Cross. (Colossians 2:13-14)

So now, Jesus is offering you this free gift: eternal life. He is offering to forgive all your sins, to wash you clean, and restore you to the Father. Jesus wants to set you free from the powers of darkness and shame, and restore you to friendship with God.

What do you need to do? The Scriptures say:

Repent, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be wiped away. (Acts 3:19)

We have to turn away from those things which separate us from God — what we call “sin.” The Bible says, “To be a lover of the world means enmity with God” (James 4:4). But Jesus said,

I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)

We come to this new life in God by believing in Jesus, which means obeying the truth He taught — and “The truth will set you free”, He said.^[3]John 8:32 We just have to choose whether we will follow Jesus… or follow our own way, as Adam did…

God in the beginning created human beings and made them subject to their own free choice. If you choose, you can keep the commandments; loyalty is doing the will of God. Set before you are fire and water; to whatever you choose, stretch out your hand. (Sirach 15:14-16)

Referring to the Devil, who, by the way, also has a plan for your life, Jesus said:

A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly. (John 10:10)

I want this abundant life. Jesus wants you to have it, too. To whatever you choose, stretch out your hand, for “to those who did accept Him, He gave power to become children of God.” (John 1:12)

Receiving Salvation

That is the essence of the Gospel. If someone chooses Christ in your presence, you can lead them right there in a prayer like this:

Lord Jesus, I choose You.
I am sorry for the sins I have committed.
I accept your love and forgiveness.
I ask you to be my Lord and my Savior.
I want to follow you and be your disciple.
Fill me with your Holy Spirit
that I may be one with you
and the Father in Heaven.
Jesus, I thank you for dying for me.
Jesus, I trust in you.

If the person has never been baptized, encourage them to do so, since it is God’s will for initiation into the Body of Christ.^[4]cf. Matt 28:19, Acts 2:38, 8:38, 10:48, 19:4-5, Rom 6:3, etc. Put them in touch with a good priest. Encourage them to read the Bible; to begin spending time each day speaking to Jesus as if to a friend;^[5]cf. John 15:13 to find help if they are struggling with addiction; to break with the past. And make yourself available to them in whatever way is practical and possible.

If the person you are accompanying is someone who has fallen away from the Faith, you could lead them with a prayer like this:

Lord, I have let myself be deceived;
in a thousand ways I have shunned your love,
yet here I am once more,
to renew my covenant with you.
I need you. Save me once again, Lord,
take me once more into your redeeming embrace.
—Evangelium Gaudium, n. 3

Finally, put your faith, not in your own skills, but in the power of the Gospel. He has commissioned us to share the Gospel, and thus, there is power in the Word:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes… The message of the Cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. (Romans 1:16, 1 Corinthians 1:18)

I leave you with this powerful exhortation:

Do not be afraid to go out on the streets and into public places, like the first Apostles who preached Christ and the Good News of salvation in the squares of cities, towns and villages. This is no time to be ashamed of the Gospel. It is the time to preach it from the rooftops. Do not be afraid to break out of comfortable and routine modes of living, in order to take up the challenge of making Christ known in the modern “metropolis”. It is you who must “go out into the byroads” and invite everyone you meet to the banquet which God has prepared for his people. The Gospel must not be kept hidden because of fear or indifference. It was never meant to be hidden away in private. It has to be put on a stand so that people may see its light and give praise to our heavenly Father. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Homily, Cherry Creek State Park Homily, Denver, Colorado, August 15th, 1993; vatican.va

…the first proclamation must ring out over and over:
“Jesus Christ loves you;
He gave his life to save you;
and now He is living at your side every day
to enlighten, strengthen and free you.”
—POPE FRANCIS, Evangelii Gaudium, n. 164