Lay Life in a Year

52 Reflections on JPII's vision for the Laity

Week 43 – Evangelizing Ourselves: The Key To Loving God

Going on a mission trip is deeply impactful. I remember years ago, when I was much younger, my home parish took a trip to Eastern Kentucky to serve the poor. It was eye opening in ways that I could have never anticipated.

Yet, while the trip changed me, it didn’t transform me. For the longest time after the trip, I couldn’t recognize that while I was a practicing Catholic and going out on mission, I may have been financially sound but was spiritually impoverished.

I was so focused on evangelizing others, I failed to love God myself—I failed to live in the Gospel.

St. John Paul II guides us to see this need in our lives. And the place where this begins, the very heart of our life of faith, is in ourselves.

We must evangelize ourselves to transform the world.

What does that look like? We evangelize ourselves by responding to Christ with a full yes. It doesn’t have to be a huge decision, but can be something small. Especially when it comes to the home, our small yes can impact generations to become centered on the Gospel message.

Christ is calling us each moment to a small act of love to bring the Gospel message back into our hearts.

When we have brought the Gospel message back into our hearts—into our families—that becomes the starting point for our work in evangelization.​

Lay Life in a Year Overview

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Week 44 – Family, Hope, and A Little Wink

My dad was the youngest of seven, so our family celebrations were raucous. Aunts, uncles, cousins, and even random neighbors piled up around the dinner table, and everyone talked—loudly . As the youngest with the smallest voice, I often felt overlooked. The...

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Week 42 – The Missing Piece to Passing on the Faith

There have been times when I’ve tried so hard to share my faith but felt like I was missing something. I wasn’t sure where I was going wrong until I had a conversation with my older sister. She helped me see that I wanted to follow God, but I wasn’t giving it my all—I...

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Week 41 – This Is The Moment for Re-Evangelization!

Pope Benedict XVI tells a story about a clown who runs into a village, crying out that the circus is on fire. He jumps, shouts, and pleads for help—but the more he yells, the more they laugh. They can’t see beyond his costume, so they ignore him. Then comes the punch...

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