Notes Taken From Archbishop On Witnessing

During one of the presentations by Archbishop Mancini on the building blocks of the New Evangelization, the followings notes were taken as it relates to being witnesses to our faith. This may be of particular interest to Grandparents who wish to share their faith within the family context. 

If we are to be a disciple of Christ, a follower, then we must also be a witness. We must possess within ourselves a sense of our own story or personal testimony. We profess that we are Christian. We profess that we are a follower of Christ. What goes out from us that gives witness to that? If we have a relationship with Christ, how has it changed us?

This can be experienced at various levels. The first level of witnessing is usually expressed in the way we live. Through the way we live, we convey to those around us, who we are and what we believe. This is living our faith. 

Now there’s another side of that. Through the way we live, we also convey who we are not. As a result, this does not, by itself, completely convey the Christian message. Living by example is usually not enough.

So that moves us to the area of witnessing in other ways. What is witnessing? 

First of all, perhaps we should look at what it is not. Think of a court situation. In witnessing, we do not become the judge. In witnessing, we do not become the policeman, or the arresting officer. In witnessing, we are conveying to another what we have seen, what we have heard, what we have experienced. And when we witness to our faith in Christ, we focus on our experience as it relates to our encounter with Christ. 

In 1st Cor. 2:1-5, St. Paul says: 

“When I came to you, I did not come proclaiming the mystery of God to you in lofty words or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I came to you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. My speech and my proclamation were not with plausible words of wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit of power so that your faith might rest not on human wisdom but on the power of God.”

To St. Paul, witnessing is proclaiming the power of Christ.

Perhaps witnessing could be described as the sharing of what we’ve seen and what we’ve heard from our own experiences. What has Christ taught you? What has Christ done for you? Do you have life experiences of moments of your own death and resurrection?

Tertullian defines grace as "the awareness of the fact that I am acceptable by God despite my unacceptability."  Can we imagine the New Evangelization to be like an AA meeting. Joe comes forth during the meeting, and introduces himself: "My name is Joe. I’m an alcoholic."  And the community responds: "Good evening Joe. Welcome to our meeting." Grace becomes an awareness of the fact that I am acceptable despite my unacceptability. This awareness that we are acceptable despite our unacceptability gives us cause to witness to the goodness of the transforming presence of Christ.

Being a witness makes us ambassadors of Christ. An

ambassador is one who is called to represent, or to be a witness for the other.