As a Catholic school teacher, I am passionate about sharing my faith with young people and their parents. I speak openly and honestly about my beliefs and encourage my students to do the same. I know that teaching the faith is required of me, yet even though I don’t have a choice in the matter it is honestly one of my favourite parts of the job.
I only wish I had the same openness and confidence about sharing my faith in other areas of my life. It’s easy to share my beliefs with a captive audience of young people who share a similar faith foundation. It’s easy to voice my opinions with children whose parents expect me to do so. At the same time, it is difficult to speak openly about my beliefs on the softball field, at parties, or on social media. I transform from someone who speaks of faith enthusiastically and without hesitation to someone who sits in silence, hoping no one calls on me – a “church person” – to speak up.
It is probably most difficult to share my faith openly with those closest to me. I find it challenging to address faith issues with my young-adult and teenaged children who are developing their own opinions. While they live in our home, they follow our expectations regarding Mass attendance and grace before meals, but I do worry about crossing a line with them. They still come to church, and this makes me very happy, but I worry about being too “preachy” with them, and I fear creating conflict and pushing them away.
I also find it especially difficult to speak about my beliefs with family members and friends who no longer practise their faith. I really want them to return to the Church and even have an alarm set on my phone to pray daily that they will find or rekindle a personal relationship with Jesus; however, I shy away from openly voicing my hopes for them, out of fear of being ridiculed or rejected.
As a result, Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians strikes a chord with me. Paul speaks of God giving them courage to share “the Gospel of God with much struggle” (1 Thes 2: 2). He was suffering and taking great risk to share his faith, and I appreciate knowing that this great saint experienced difficulty and “drew courage” from God to share the good news with others.
Paul goes on to say that God judged him worthy “to be entrusted with the Gospel … not as trying to please men, but rather God who judges our hearts” (1 Thes 2: 4). We are called to share the Gospel without worrying about what others may think of us, for what matters most is what God – who trusts us to spread the Word – thinks of us.
While pleasing God certainly motivates me, what strikes me most is how Paul’s work is rooted in love, not fear. His love for God and his love for others motivated him to share the Gospel: “With such affection for you, we were determined to share with you not only the Gospel of God, but our very selves as well, so dearly beloved had you become to us” (1 Thes 2:8). It’s easy to share the faith with my religion students. They expect nothing less. I care about them, but they are not my primary relationships. It is very difficult on the other hand to risk facing rejection from the people closest to me; however, out of love for them, I really have no choice.
I anticipate the next few years being emotionally and spiritually challenging, as I accept the fact that in the eyes of my children, my family, and my peers I am a “church person,” and many of them hold certain biases related to that reality.
As a result, I need to remember that I am educated, not naïve; I am faith-filled, not superstitious; I am convicted in my beliefs, and I am called to share them with the people in my life, not to impress anyone but because I want to share the greatest gift of all with them.
If I truly love other people, how can I do anything less?
