Hoping to make a difference

Peter (said) to them, "Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the holy Spirit. For the promise is made to you and to your children and to all those far off, whomever the Lord our God will call." He testified with many other arguments, and was exhorting them, "Save yourselves from this corrupt generation." Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand persons were added that day.

They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread and to the prayers. Awe came upon everyone, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.

All who believed were together and had all things in common; they would sell their property and possessions and divide them among all according to each one's need. Every day they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple area and to breaking bread in their homes. They ate their meals with exultation and sincerity of heart, praising God and enjoying favor with all the people. And every day the Lord added to their number those who were being saved. (Acts2: 38-47)

When I began this blog, my intention was to lessen my grief over the loss of my brother Tom, who passed away in January of 2001. I grieved for a long time in silence, and realized that the "tribute" I wrote about our life together was what kept me from being a total wreck. It occured to me that writing is quite therapeutic for me. I also realized that if something were to happen to me suddenly , it might lessen my family's grief to know what I thought about and felt while I was with them. Since most of my life revolves around my relationship with Jesus and my family and the example I want to set as a father, my blog evolved into a vehicle to share my thoughts and my life as I take my journey of faith.

When I read the passage above today, I saw a correlation between what the early disciples of Christ were doing and what I and others who use the "web" are doing to spread the Good News.

What I hope I am doing is showing others, through my own experience, the trials and joys of being a follower of Christ. I have wondered what effect my blog is having as far as evangelization because as I said earlier, I thought the only people reading it were family. In a sense, that's true. We, as the Body of Christ, are family. What I meant though is my blood relatives.

But in the last few weeks, I've been made aware that several other people are regular readers of my humble little blog and have actually enjoyed what I had to say and, more importantly, want to hear more! They tell me they especially like the occasional Bible readings and interpretations as they relate to my own life. These non-"family" members have remarked to me that they have either grown in their own faith or are asking me to help them in their search for Truth.

There is something else I've noticed lately--and I hope it's simply because of the way I conduct myself daily....I no longer get the dirty emails or jokes from co-workers and friends because they "don't want to offend me". I prefer to think that they have stopped because they "see" Christ in me and don't want to offend Him!

I have said time and again that I'm not a qualified apologist in the strictest sense, but I also feel that if I'm asked for help in bringing someone to Christ, I cannot and must not refuse. There is an old saying that (roughly) if one person is on a journey, it's quite lonely--but if two are on the journey, it's an adventure. I do hope that by writing this blog and living a Christian life that I am making a difference and becoming a part of Pope John Paul II's "new evangelization" and becoming that "second person on the journey". After all, isn't it our responsibility as "Christians" to tell everyone we come in contact with the Good News that God loves us all and is calling us to share in the happiness of His Son's kingship?

Mary, Mother of the Eucharist