We Must Develop Virtues Of Apostles

[Livin_the_MASS]

"St. Francis knew that his mission of evangelization could be accomplished. He knew that, if he remained faithful to his apostolate, God would provide the graces necessary for the true Faith to flourish once again within the hearts of these good people.

What was it that sustained St. Francis in his difficult search-and-rescue mission, when others had given up?

[b]He developed the virtues that flow from an apostle's heart---a heart full of love for Christ.[/b] It is these virtues that you and I must also develop if we are to bring our family and friends into the Church:

* [i]Prayer[/i]: St. Francis knew that he could win no souls without prayerful reliance on God. [b]Being faithful in prayer allowed God's grace to well up within him and flow forth, reaching untold numbers of people.[/b]

To win souls to Christ, you must grow faithful in prayer. Remember the example of St. Monica, the mother of St. Augustine: when she complained to a bishop that Augustine would not listen to her admonitions that he became a Catholic, the bishop urged her, [b]"Speak less to Augustine about God and more to God about Agustine." When you're working to convert someone, do the same it works![/b]

* [i]Absolute trust in God[/i]: Measured by human standards, the task of winning sixty thousand Calvinists back to the faith seemed to be impossible. [b]But St. Francis trusted in Christs words: "What is impossible with men is possible with God." He knew that God's grace could melt even the hardest hearts. [/b]He wasn't daunted, therefore, by the seemingly impregnable resistance to the Church he saw in the people he had to evangelize.

[b]The greater your trust in God, the better you'll be able to carry out your own work of evangelization.[/b]

*[i]Humility[/i]: In his search-and -rescue mission, St. Francis saw countless conversions, not as a result of his own clever preaching, but because of the power and mercy of God. [b]What God needed was someone to take His message to the people, and St. Francis recognized that he was merely the messenger.[/b]

Remember that the messenger is subordinate to the message: this will help keep you humble. [b]The task and success, if any, will never be yours alone. On the contrary, God is merely using you as His instrument to do His will in the world."[/b]

(Bolds added by me)

Quotes from the book "Search and Rescue" by Patrick Madrid.

Awesome book my mom just gave it to me, it blew my mind away when I read this had to share it.

Cmom I thought I seen you post some where that this man has a series on E.W.T.N.?
Awesome book can't wait to finish reading it.

God Bless Pham
Jason

Edited April 3, 2004 by Jason

[cmotherofpirl]

Yep.

If you want to keep typing, copy the stuff practical tips at the end of the chapters.
They should be pinned.

[Livin_the_MASS]