The late Father Benedict Groeschel said that when people get drunk, what they really want is the Eucharist. When people engage in sexual promiscuity, what they really want is marriage. By living in the joy of the Lord and by sharing that joy with others we can help them see that they want what we, as Catholics, have. We want to be strong in the love of Christ so that, more often than not, we radiate joy. We won’t radiate joy because we believe we are special, or that we have made better life choices, but because we recognize that we are sinners saved by grace (Eph 2:8-9). We have received a gift, and want to share that good gift with others.
Who are evangelists? They are disciples of Jesus. They are sent out. They bring peace. They spend time with people they evangelize – they eat and drink with them. They heal the sick. They proclaim the gospel. The evangelist presents the Way of Life, the Way that follows Christ, with the promises of the Holy Spirit in this life, and eternal life in the next; and he warns of the way of death, the way that follows the devil and his fallen angels, with the consequences of vanity and falsehood in this life, and eternal death in the next. “Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:7-8). In bringing the gospel, the evangelist lives faithful to Jesus Christ, loves like Jesus, proclaims the love of Jesus in His Cross and Resurrection, and with Jesus, makes the appeal that Moses made:
For this commandment which I command you this day is not too hard for you, neither is it far off. … But the word is very near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart, so that you can do it. … I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse; therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice, and cleaving to him; for that means life to you and length of days. (Deut 30:11, 14, 19-20; See Rom 10:5-9)