Announcing New Life -- Christians are called to be not only defenders of life but also restorers

Announcing New Life
Christians are called to be not only defenders of life but also restorers of life. by Father Tom Forrest, C.Ss.R.

In this story of the raising of the dead son of the widow of Nain, Jesus reveals himself as a conqueror of death. He comes upon a scene of terrible sadness and changes the anguish of death into joy, the pain of separation into the thrill of reunion. The same power that on this occasion brought a dead boy back to his mother’s arms, on many other occasions brought sons and daughters spiritually dead through sin back to the loving arms of a heavenly Father.

As evangelizers, we too are called to be conquerors of death, communicators of new and abundant life, renewers of the human condition as we lead people to rebirth and re-creation. This story of a widow who lost both her husband and her only son to death offers a model of our task as Christians, people of God and servants of his people.

Heralds of Good News. All sin does damage to our lives as children of God. It can even destroy life completely. We have all been born into the death of original sin and must be brought to life by baptism. Those who suffer the death of personal sins must be brought back to life by faith in the victory of Christ. It’s our job as Christians to be heralds of the good news, to proclaim to both the physically and spiritually dead that they can come back to life.

The world has never heard happier or more important news. This is more important than any announcement made by Sigmund Freud or Dr. Jonas Salk. We can come back from the dead! We can come back from our wounds, weaknesses, and sins to the health and innocence of the children of God (1 John 3:9)!

In athletics, business, and politics, people work with incredible enthusiasm and determination in their quest of fame, money, power, and pleasure. But no one ever had a goal comparable in importance to that of a Christian as a restorer of life. We are chosen and anointed instruments of nothing less than the resurrection! We are chosen to speak words of life, words of hope, words of rebirth and re-creation, to those who are spiritually or emotionally dead or dying. We are chosen to speak the way Jesus spoke to the dead son of the widow of Nain. We have been chosen to echo Jesus’ proclamation: “Those who believe in me, even though they die, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11:25-26).

These words have meaning for the here and the hereafter! God the Father raised his crucified Son from the dead so we could rise with him to a new life, the life of God’s children, life in abundance (John 10:10). That life begins with belief, and belief begins with clear proclamation: “How are they to believe in one of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him?” (Romans 10:14).

A Culture of Death. The world needs to hear this proclamation of the new life that is ours in Jesus Christ. People can be so misled and confused by what Pope John Paul II calls the “culture of death” and see death as the easiest solution to many of our problems. Or they can lose their sense of the reality of death as newspapers and news programs bombard their minds with the latest tallies of deaths resulting from wars, acts of terrorism, racial violence, state executions, murders, assisted suicides, and the millions of abortions.

But these are not the only deaths over which we have to proclaim victory. There are also the deaths of marriages, killed by a love turned to hatred or put to death by the suicide of a quick decision to divorce. There are all the suicidal deaths through addictions to drugs and alcohol, the plight of those whose hope has died completely. Vital relationships are dying every day as people allow the tiniest word or slightest offense to end a valuable friendship.

All over the world, peace is dying because nations and cultures do not see their differences as gifts to be shared but as divisions to be resolved through war and death. They have no sense of the forgiveness we have been sent to proclaim!

Messengers of Hope. God is calling us to an action so vital and practical that it can make the difference between life and death. Our task is to be conquerors of death in this valley of tears (1 Corinthians 15:54-57; John 16:33; Revelation 21:4). Like Ezekiel, we must prophesy life back into the dry bones (Ezekiel 37:1-14). Like St. Paul optimistically calling out “Don’t worry!” after a young boy took a fatal fall from a window (Acts 20:9-12), we must pray to bring back to life all those who have suffered a fatal fall from grace. And like Jesus commanding the mourners, “Go away!” once he reached the home of the little dead girl (Matthew 9:24), we must restore hope to all those who are trapped in despair and grief.

Jesus commanded his disciples, “Preach as you go, saying, ‘The kingdom of heaven is at hand.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead” (Matthew 10:7-8). This is exactly what we are doing when we evangelize. We are administrators of the only healing available to those spiritually dead through sin. We are the resuscitators of those dying because of failed relationships, disordered emotions, or overpowering passions. Do you want to know what a Christian is? A Christian is a messenger of hope, an angel of light, a communicator of life with a voice filled with optimism and joy.

We are sent to cry out “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). We are to lead every Lazarus we find out of the tomb. We have a message that can transform even the inescapable reality of physical death into nothing more worrisome than a peaceful transition to a better life. We are sent as “salt” to restore flavor to a world gone sour with too much sin and death (Matthew 5:13). Salt is a preservative. Our job is to keep the world preserved from going bad and dying the death of despair.

We are sent as “light” to people so blinded by despair that they are unable to forgive others or even to forgive their own sins. We are sent to carry hope, the healing message of the Father of life, to all his beloved children threatened by either the attraction or fear of death.

Passing On the Torch. There is a living Savior to announce, the conqueror of death, the giver of life who calls himself “the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). There is a world to be saved, sin and death to be overcome, families and nations to be kept alive in hope, children to be protected, crimes and wars to be avoided, hunger and injustice to be ended. There is a humanity in need of healing, peace, and love. There are millions who need a “new life,” millions in need of resurrection.

Because the whole world needs us so badly, we can’t surrender to discouragement. The world has enough of that already! We must be vibrant, enthusiastic, and dedicated Christians of the gospel of Life. Our task is to pass the torch of life to our fellow Christians and to all people, setting them on fire with joy to share with others the thrilling and totally satisfying life of Christ. We are leaders of God’s Easter people, ministers of nothing less than resurrection.

May we see the dead coming back to life as God uses us as his chosen instruments of the new creation! May the Holy Spirit, who gave life to the church, empower us. May our dear mother Mary, who gave life to the Savior of the world, inspire us to go and bring the dead back to a life destined to last for all eternity, together and alive in Christ. We can bring a world lost in the darkness of death back to the Light of Life!

The Harvest is Ready

Go with Urgency
“Go! I have a job for you! I commission you and I send you forth and expect you to produce abundant fruit.”

The word “Go!” is used 1,514 times in the Bible. It appears 233 times in the New Testament, and 54 times in Matthew’s Gospel alone. Jesus says, “Go, and be reconciled with your brother” (Matthew 5:24). . . . “If any one forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles” (5:41) . . . . “Go to the other side of the lake” (8:18). . . . “Go to the lost sheep” (10:6)
. . . . “Go tell John” (11:4). . . . “Go, sell all you have” (19:21) . . . . “Go, invite all you meet” (22:9). And finally, “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations” (28:19).

The job of saying “Go!” is something like the job of the engineer who pushes the button that launches the space shuttle. As Christians following Jesus’ command to evangelize, we need even more thrust, even more power than that. We are not sending a space ship to the moon or to Jupiter. We are trying to bring humankind all the way to God, all the way to heavenly glory. That’s going to take a lot of thrust!

The first “push” came two thousand years ago from the Holy Spirit. Five minutes after the Spirit was poured out on Pentecost, he had the apostles down in the street evangelizing and baptizing three thousand new believers. I usually grow impatient when I see something requiring dynamic action and immediate response being left undone or done too slowly or done too late to make a difference. That’s how I feel even if the situation is just something I’m watching in a movie: “Unidentified planes are heading for Pearl Harbor!” “Oh, it’s probably just another false alarm.” “Help, officer! Someone is trying to kill me!” “Okay, but could I first have your social security number, ma’am?” But I am excited and delighted when an emergency is met with dynamic and immediate action.

No Time to Waste. Do you remember, in every Tarzan film, how quick Tarzan was to come to the rescue? Whenever Jane or Boy was in distress, he came running faster than a deer, swinging through the trees faster than the apes. He knew the job was urgent. There was no time to waste. And he responded accordingly. To a far greater degree, Jesus saw his own mission as extremely urgent. Even as a young boy, he explained, “I must be about my Father’s business” (Luke 2:49). And when he gives the same message to us, the language he uses expresses urgency: “Go out quickly . . . and bring in the poor and the maimed, the blind and the lame” (Luke 14:21).

The angel also spoke urgently when he said to the women at the tomb: “Go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead” (Matthew 28:7). The angel seemed to be saying, “No excuses or no hesitation now. Get going fast!” After the ascension, another angel was equally urgent: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up toward heaven? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go” (Acts 1:11). That time, the angel seemed to be saying, “And when Jesus comes back, he’d better not catch you standing around doing nothing!”

We respond with urgency when there’s a fire, or a baby falls down a well, or someone has a heart attack. In an urgent situation, a late response is useless. When the chance to do something urgent is gone, it’s usually lost forever. That’s why it’s called an emergency. If an office is on fire, does the secretary say, “Let me finish my mail first”? If a home is on fire, does a father whose children are inside call the fire department a half hour later? Do the firefighters say, “We’ll drop by after our coffee break”? Do the firemen and the father calmly talk about the outside chance that the children may get out on their own . . . if everyone just keeps cool?

Doing Our Job. Very often today Christians and the Christian churches are too cool, forgetting Jesus’ warning: “Because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I am about to spit you out of my mouth” (Revelation 3:16). We don’t seem to realize that it is the Father’s house on fire with his beloved children inside! It is not time for just another quiet chat or another workshop!

The mission to evangelize is urgent. We are searching for the lost sheep of Christ, and there are wolves out there! A roaring lion is on the prowl, looking for those he can devour (1 Peter 5:8)! The world is in mourning, and we must roll back the stone to unveil the risen Christ for all the world to see! Without him, there is only darkness. Many people have totally lost their way. And we must bring them home as children of God. They could die without ever coming to know their heavenly Father.

What is our job as Christians? Why are we sent? Why does Jesus tell us, “Get going!”? Because he wants us “to open the eyes of those to whom I am sending you, to turn them from darkness to light, from the dominion of Satan to God, that through their faith . . . they may obtain forgiveness of their sins and a portion among God’s people” (Acts 26:16-18). What message are we bringing? “There is no other name in the whole world given to men by which they are to be saved” (4:12).

What promise are we given? “Whoever brings a sinner back from his way will save his soul and cancel a multitude of sins” (James 5:20). The first Christians had a strong sense of urgency: “Every day in the temple and at home they did not cease teaching and preaching Jesus as the Christ” (Acts 5:42). As Paul exclaimed, “Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel! . . . I am entrusted with a commission. . . . I have made myself a slave to all, that I might win the more. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. . . . To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some” (1 Corinthians 9:16-22).

Pope John Paul II also frequently reminds us that our task today is especially urgent: “The urgency of the church’s mission is obvious” (Mission of the Redeemer, 3). “What moves me even more strongly to proclaim the urgency of missionary evangelization is the fact that it is the primary service which the church can render to every individual and to all humanity in the modern world, a world which . . . seems to have lost its sense of ultimate realities and of existence itself” (Mission of the Redeemer, 2).

Let’s Get Going! So let’s go. Let’s go with God: “It was God who multiplied the descendants of Abraham like the sands of the sea, and the stars of the sky” (Hebrews 11:12). When the early Christians preached to the Greeks in Antioch, “The hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number that believed turned to the Lord” (Acts 11:20-24).

Let’s go with the word: “Is not my word like fire, says the Lord, like a hammer shattering rock?” (Jeremiah 23:29).

Let’s go together and without competition: It was as the apostles gathered together in prayer that they experienced the very first Pentecost—and the beginning of worldwide evangelization. As Paul noted, “Some preach Christ from motives of envy and rivalry, others do so out of good will. . . . What of it? All that matters is that in any way . . . Christ is being proclaimed. That is what brings me joy” (Philippians 1:15-18).
Let’s also go with courage: “I am not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God leading everyone who believes in it to salvation” (Romans 1:16).

But today, more than anything else, let’s go with urgency! We are heralds of Christ, heralds of salvation. In ancient times, the news of a victory was carried by a messenger, a trained runner who sometimes ran himself to death to bring the good news as quickly as possible. “How wonderful it is to see a messenger coming across the mountains, bringing good news, the news of peace! He announces victory and says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns’” (Isaiah 52:7).

The World Is Waiting. “A reliable messenger is refreshing to the one who sends him, like cold water in the heat of harvest time” (Proverbs 25:13). We have very little time. Tens of thousands will die today without having heard of Christ, without coming to know their heavenly Father. If we work urgently, their numbers will be less and the number of the saved will grow. The Father’s house will be filled—and the Father will be pleased that his Son did not die in vain.

So take off! Shoot for the stars! Shoot for the heights of holiness! And take as many as you can along for the ride. I’ll see you when we get there! I’ll see you in glory! And if you bring along a greater crowd than I do, I will only be delighted!

For now: Go! Go with urgency! There’s a whole world waiting to be evangelized, waiting for you. Go, chosen herald of Jesus Christ! Run with urgency! Run to win! No one ever had a greater opportunity or carried better news—the good news that Jesus Christ is with us, freeing and sanctifying us until the end of time!

Evangleization Ping!

A “Sign of God’s Love”
Papal Teaching on the Call to Evangelize

God is opening before the Church the horizons of a humanity more fully prepared for the sowing of the Gospel. I sense that the moment has come to commit all of the Church’s energies to a new evangelization. . . . No believer in Christ, no institution of the Church can avoid this supreme duty: to proclaim Christ to all peoples.
—Pope John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer, 3

We cannot be content when we consider the millions of our brothers sisters, who like us have been redeemed by the blood of Christ, but who live in ignorance of the love of God. For each believer, as for the entire Church, the missionary task must remain foremost, for it concerns the eternal destiny of humanity and corresponds to God’s mysterious and merciful plan.
— Pope John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer, 86

The missionary is a person of charity. In order to proclaim to all his brothers and sisters that they are loved by God and are capable of loving, he must show love toward all, giving his life for his neighbor. The missionary is the “universal brother,” bearing in himself the Church’s spirit, her openness to and interest in all peoples and individuals, especially the least and poorest of his brethren. As such, he overcomes barriers and divisions of race, cast or ideology. He is a sign of God’s love in the world—a love without exclusion or partiality.
—Pope John Paul II, Mission of the Redeemer, 89

For the Church, the first means of evangelization is the witness of an authentically Christian life, given over to God in a communion that nothing should destroy and at the same time given to one’s neighbor with limitless zeal. As we said recently to a group of lay people, “Modern man listens more willingly to witnesses than to teachers, and if he does listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses.”
—Pope Paul VI, On Evangelization in the Modern World, 41

An Interview with Billy Donovan

“Coach D”
An Interview with Billy Donovan

TWAU: What can you tell us about your early years?

Billy Donovan: My two sisters and I grew up in New York. We were a strong Catholic family who went to church together every Sunday. My dad also brought me to church on a regular basis just to talk to God. He was always telling me about the importance of faith.
My sisters and I really admired our parents. We admired the sacrifices they made for us and the way they were always challenging us to tackle our work head-on. They were very honest, straightforward people. They never deceived us or misled us, but were always truthful and plainspoken.

They were also very clear in telling us that we would face adversities in our lives. Things don’t always go the way we want them to, but it’s the way we handle these adversities that determines the kind of people we will be.

TWAU: What can you tell us about the way your parents shaped your spiritual outlook?

Billy Donovan: As I mentioned earlier, my Dad made it a point to take me to church on a regular basis. Sometimes he took me just so I could be with him when he went to pray. At other times, he asked me to turn to God and pray. This was especially true when I would be going through a difficult time in my life.

We didn’t have a formal time for family prayer, but Dad did make sure we thanked God for all the blessings he had given us, especially for our family. It was the witness of my parents’ faith—shown mostly through their leadership and their love—that had the greatest impact on me. Now that I have children of my own, I only hope that I can do for them what my parents did for me.

TWAU: How did you get into basketball?

Billy Donovan: For a number of years, my dad was my coach in the local CYO (Catholic Youth Organization) basketball league, so he coached me all the time. By the time I reached fifth grade, I had fallen in love with the game. It was the only sport I wanted to play.

I loved basketball, but I wasn’t a superstar. I was the kind of player who had to work extra hard. As I got older, my coaches saw my willingness to work at it and so they took time for me, both during practice and after everyone else had gone home. They helped me take my limited talents to new heights.

These men were a great witness of generosity and kindness to me. They taught me how to be focused on a mission. They expected every member of the team to do their best for the entire practice. If it was a two-hour practice, then we were expected to spend all two hours doing the very best that we could.

TWAU: How did you get into coaching?

Billy Donovan: After I completed my education at Providence College, I went to work on Wall Street as a stockbroker. I must tell you that it wasn’t much fun at all. In 1989, I decided to make a career change. I called Rick Pitino, who coached me at Providence and was then working at the University of Kentucky, and told him that I wanted to get into coaching. At first, he tried to discourage me, but when he saw how passionate I was about the game, he hired me to be his graduate assistant. I worked with Rick for the next five years. Then, in 1996 I accepted the head coaching job at Marshall University. Two years later, I accepted the job as head coach of the University of Florida.

As I look back on this path from a spiritual standpoint, I can see that God gave me a passion and a talent for basketball and then led me into coaching. He has given me this opportunity, and in my heart I know that I have a special responsibility which goes beyond coaching. I have a responsibility to help young people have faith in God and to put Christ in their lives. At some point, every young person will face some kind of adversity. I want to tell them that the one thing that will help them get through these challenging times is faith.

As a coach, I think it’s critical that my players trust me. They have to believe that I know what it takes to win. They also have to believe that I am helping them grow as individuals, not just as basketball players. I strive to build a personal relationship with each of my players. I encourage them to come into my office and feel free to talk to me about basketball issues, girlfriend issues, school, or anything else. I want my players to say, “Billy Donovan isn’t just my coach, he also cares about me as a person.”

TWAU: What role does God play in your coaching?

Billy Donovan: God plays a major role. There are many times when I feel that Christ is using me to talk to the players. For instance, I tell them that we are on this team because God gave us the opportunity to be here. I tell them that God is in control of everything—of my ability to coach and their ability to play—and that we need to put our faith and trust in him.

I don’t pray for “wins.” I pray that our lives can be in harmony with God and with the way the Bible tells us to live. I pray for wisdom, knowledge, and strength. I ask God to give my team a good work ethic so we can do our best in preparing for each game and in playing the game. If this leads to a victory, then so be it.

TWAU: So, what about your family? How do you balance work and home, and what role does God play in your family?

Billy Donovan: Coaching isn’t the easiest profession for a husband and father to have. I don’t want to get so caught up in my work that I neglect the ones I love the most. I always try to spend quality time with each member of my family. When I’m home I spend as much time as I can with them and try not to let work get in the way.

Spiritually, I want my kids to understand that we live in an imperfect world. We’re all going to sin and make mistakes, but I want my family to know that we don’t have to live in the guilt of sins. The best thing God did for us was to send his Son, Jesus, to die for our sins and save us so that we could be with him in heaven. I want my children to know how much Jesus loves them.

I pray that as my children grow older they will freely accept Jesus into their lives. I know that God will provide the opportunity for this to happen, but I also know that my children have to make a personal decision when the opportunity presents itself. Our family is young. As our kids grow older, they will have to make their own choices. For now, my wife Christine and I need to show them how important Jesus is to us, just as my parents did with me.

TWAU: Can you tell us a bit about what happened to you and Christine a year and a half ago?

Billy Donovan: In October of 2000, when Christine was nine months pregnant with our fourth child, she became concerned because all of a sudden, she wasn’t feeling any movement from the baby. A few days later, our daughter Jacqueline was stillborn. It was the most devastating experience we ever went through. I can’t begin to explain what Christine was feeling. She had carried Jacqueline within her for so long. For me, it was very hard to accept. I know Jacqueline is in a better place, but not having her with us really hurt.

When I asked, “Why?” my mind raced. Was it because I wasn’t a good person? Did I do something to offend or upset God? Is God doing something drastic to get my attention? In hindsight, I don’t believe any of that stuff now. We will never know why our daughter died. We would love to have Jacqueline with us and to watch her grow and develop, but for some reason God wanted her with him. This is the way we look at it. Maybe Jacqueline’s not being here is the best thing for her.

What happened to Jacqueline affected my outlook on life. I saw how fragile life could be. I saw how we are here on earth for only a short time. I saw how God wanted me to use every second of my life to do the best job that I could with my family, with the players and coaches, and in my life in general.

I’ll never forget what it felt like for Christine and me to tell our kids—ages eight, six, and three—that their baby sister wouldn’t be coming home. It was very painful and yet, I believe that our great loss will bring us closer together as a family and closer to God.

TWAU: What advice would you give our readers?

Billy Donovan: I want people to know that God is good, all of the time. Sometimes we can’t explain things. Sometimes we have severe problems to face, like divorce, prolonged sickness, or the loss of a job. In those times, the only thing that will get us through is faith.
Faith is believing without seeing. We have the Bible. We know that God is with us. We believe that he will provide the means to get us through every adversity. The Bible says that God won’t give us something that we can’t handle. Our faith and our relationship with Christ will carry us through each day.

At the same time, we have to carry our share of the load. I want to encourage everyone to try their best, no matter where they are in life. We have to try to treat one another with the same kind of respect and compassion that we would like to receive ourselves. Isn’t that what Jesus taught us to do?

Finally, we all need to try and reach out to others and “coach” them. Perhaps at your office, or maybe as a Little League coach, or maybe in music. God wants us to share our talents and help others. If it weren’t for my parents and a few good coaches who went out of their way to help me, I doubt that I’d be where I am today.

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