Apostolic Courage

Citing an encyclical of St. John Paul II, Bishop Alvaro del Portillo urges us to spread the Gospel message with "apostolic courage."

Go, preach the Gospel…I will be with you. Jesus has said this, and he has said it to you” (The Way, no. 904), as our Father [Saint Josemaria] wrote, echoing our Lord’s command. Faithful to this divine mission, the Church has never ceased bringing the Gospel to every nation, in every era. But there are moments when the Holy Spirit urges people especially to fulfil these words of Christ. As the Holy Father, John Paul II, has written in his most recent Encyclical: “We Christians are called to an apostolic courage based upon trust in the Spirit” (Redemptoris missio, no. 30).

My daughters and sons, apostolic courage: in the place where you work, and at home; in the silence of a laboratory and in the noise of a factory; in parliament and out in the street: wherever we happen to be, that is where we have to be apostles, full of determination: God and daring!

(. . .)

God asks and demands that we be “souls devoted to the Blessed Eucharist,” so that we can sanctify our work and all the activities we are carrying out in the middle of the world. If we do so, he assures us that he will attract all things to himself. He is the one who will bring it all to completion, if we are faithful. This is why we must never forget that the influence of each person’s holiness goes much further than the sphere we move in and the people we are in touch with. It extends to the whole world, to all souls. We must not limit the scope for our self-giving, or measure its effectiveness only by the immediate fruit we manage to discern . . . The Blessed Trinity and souls are awaiting our response, and it has to be complete, unconditional and without half-measures (Letter, March 1, 1991).