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Franciscan at Home

Forming those who form others

Evangelization Today, Old and New: Practical Suggestions to Help the Unchurched

Archangel Rafael asking Tobias to take out a fish from the river

My first Christmas Eve as a priest, while I was putting the finishing touches on my Midnight Mass sermon, the rectory office doorbell rang continuously with devoted parishioners dropping off many gracious gifts. I opened the door for the umpteenth time, and there appeared before me a college-aged guy . . . without a present or card. “Are you a priest?” he asked. My collar was apparently not tipping him off. “Yes,” I confirmed. “I want to be Catholic!” he eagerly rejoined. It was a far better Christmas present than any other I would receive.

The technical term “care of souls” sadly remains almost unknown outside of clerical training. The concept encompasses serving the spiritual needs of all: reconciling the wayward, evangelizing the unchurched, serving the suffering, challenging the staunch—in short, everything that makes the life of the Church fruitful from the parochial level on up. An older translation renders it “cure of souls,” highlighting the hope of health for the spirit from the disease of sin with which we are plagued. For that reason, it applies specifically to the responsibilities of bishops and parish priests, the holy doctors of human hearts, but all the faithful have a share in its spirit of pursuing the salvation and sanctification of souls. No devout Catholic can be without a long prayer list for special cases in need of conversion or reversion. Imagine including the ones we’ve not even encountered yet!

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Father Tyron Tomson is a priest of the Diocese of Columbus pursuing his License in Sacred Scripture at the Pontifical Biblical Institute in Rome. He formerly was a pastor of multiple parishes and a teacher in Catholic high schools for over a decade, as well as a diocesan vocations promoter.

Notes

[1] Some extraneous details of Karl’s story have been modified to preserve his anonymity.

This article originally appeared on pages 31-39 of the print edition.

Art Credit: Tobias and the fish by Andrea Vaccaro, Naples, 1604-1670; Wikimedia Commons.

This article is from The Catechetical Review (Online Edition ISSN 2379-6324) and may be copied for catechetical purposes only. It may not be reprinted in another published work without the permission of The Catechetical Review by contacting [email protected]

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