My wife Teresa is in the cosmetic and fragrance business. One of the products her company makes is a lotion that helps relieve razor burn. Every now and then, she looks at my neck and says, “You still using that Razor Burn Relief? Because right now, you’re not a good advertisement for me.”
I normally don’t think of myself as an advertisement, it seems a little cheap and cheesy. But the business of advertising and sales is alot like evangelization – it’s something that can be lost of some of the most sincere Catholics. Every day is an opportunity to meet and have an impact on people that are not living fully in Christ.
I’m writing these tips because I’ve been running into people who are good, active Catholics but aren’t going to get people to buy what they are selling. It’s not a holiness issue, it’s a communication issue. Here’s Tip one:
The Joyful Christian is the best evangelist
Are you an angry Catholic? Does your brow wrinkle when you see altar girls? Do you long for the Latin Mass so much that you trash the venacular version? Do you seethe when a priest’s homily is about how there will never be women priests? Do you get angry when the Kyrie is done in the original greek? No one wants to be around an angry Catholic, except other angry Catholics.
Are you a content Catholic? Are you merely pleased and satisfied with your Christianity the way you are with a nice home-cooked meal? Is your parish merely comfortable for you because you have lots of pals there? Content Catholics are thoroughly uninspiring.
Are you a frightened Catholic? You don’t readily admit you’re a Catholic because of all the scandal and difficult that going on in the Church? Are you scared you don’t know enough about the Faith to witness? Frightened Catholics don’t get a chance to evangelize because they are heading away from the opportunity.
Or, are you a joyful Catholic? Are you filled with joy at the thought of participating in the fullness of the Truth and the life of Christ through the Church?
In business, you don’t buy something you can’t be enthusiastic about. That’s why sales people are engaging, professional and happy to be selling. They believe in what they are selling.
I’m out of time for now, I’ll try to post some ideas on finding Joy later on.
Well said, John! I have to admit that I am a “Content Catholic” much of the time, but certain sacraments, life events or liturgical seasons kick me into “Joyful Catholic” mode. I guess those are the times when I should do the majority of my selling. I tend to live the faith by example. For instance, on a recent Lenten Friday, I went to lunch at McDonald’s with non-Catholic friends for lunch and ordered a Fillet-O-Fish, of which I am not a huge fan, but I can deal with it. Being a typical man (my friends were all women), I jokingly whined a little about it. This lead to a serious discussion among us about the Faith, which was partially my intention. I didn’t win over any converts that day, but I think I helped them understand and respect the Catholic faith a bit better, and hopefully made them think a little.
Frankly, do any of us fit perfectly into any one of those categories all of the time? My parish priest mentioned on the feast of St. Thomas that periods of questioning and doubt are some of the signs of a dynamic and growing faith. To use an insect analogy (mine, not my priest’s): as you grow, you break out of your old skin, feel cold, uncomfortable and exposed for a while, and then settle in for a while until you grow some more. With our faith, this cycle should be ongoing throughout our lives.