On a very rainy Saturday afternoon in August, fourteen men from a group called the Men of St Joseph, visited Bury Town Centre to witness to their Catholic Faith.
A large image of the Divine Mercy was set up and Divine Mercy prayer cards were handed out. On several occasions, passers-by stopped to engage in a conversation about God. The group finished off by singing the Divine Mercy Chaplet, whilst gathered around the image on their knees. To me, the steady rhythm of the guitars and percussion, combined with the tone of their voices, sounded like a heartbeat; the heartbeat of Jesus right in the middle of Bury! In a way, that is a true image. An evangeliser is not alone in the mission of reaching out. Christ is the centre of that mission.
This was a great example of evangelisation by ordinary guys, amidst shoppers going about their everyday lives.
All who call on the name of the Lord will be saved. But they will not ask His help unless they believe in Him, and they will not believe in Him unless they have heard of Him, and they will not hear of Him unless they get a preacher, and they will never have a preacher unless one is sent, but, as Scripture says, ‘The footsteps of those who bring good news is a welcome sound’ (Rom 10:13-15).
Therefore, to be an evangeliser is to have a vocation, so that all may hear the Gospel of Jesus, believe in Him and invoke His name. This vocation is born on the day of our baptism and calls on every believer in Christ to make himself a credible bearer of the Good News which is embedded in His teaching. (Archbishop Rino Fisichella)
The Men of St Joseph have put this calling from their baptism into action by giving witness to the love of Christ. They were formed in Stockport in 2017 and groups have now been set up in other parts of the UK. They meet together on a weekly basis to study the faith. The group are working and praying for the re-evangelisation of England and have an outreach ministry to prisoners and the homeless, bringing hope and the message of Christ to those on the margins of society.
