Very simply, to be evangelized means consciously to confirm one’s Christianity; that is, to make the act of the will to accept Jesus Christ as one’s Lord and Savior; to determine to be Christ centered and not self centered or other creature centered; to believe in him and not just that he exists and, therefore, daily. Through faith in Jesus to follow him as “…the way, and the truth and the life” (Jn 14:6a).
Evangelization has its foundation in Peter’s Pentecostal sermon when he proclaimed to the gathered Jews of the Diaspora: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:38).
When Peter states the need to “repent,” the Holy Spirit is making known that it is necessary for us to be willing to forsake and forego any obstacle to greater freedom and happiness; to die to our sinful selves. Evil spelled backwards is live; to be fully free and alive, in Christ Jesus we must completely break with the bonds of evil.
And Paul reminds us, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?”(1 Cor 6:19). As Jesus had promised, “I have told you this while I am with you. The Advocate, the Holy Spirit that the Father will send in my name–he will teach you everything and remind you of all that I told you” (Jn 14:25,26).
But suppose you have contracted to have the interior of your home refurbished, and the first thing the interior decorator says upon entering your home is, “I will need your help to move the furniture, the obstacles, from the rooms so I can be free to beautify them.” Likewise, the Holy Spirit, the Divine Artist, Artisan –the Sanctifer–is only free to beautify, to transform your temple to the degree you are willing to cooperate in removing the clutter, the sin obstacles.
However, our fallen human nature rebels at the thought of parting with obstacles that afford a bit of pleasure we are always seeking in our legitimate desire for fulfillment. Accordingly, in this relentless pursuit, many become addicted to drugs, pornography, alcohol, gambling, food and other limited creatures. But in his abortive attempt to satisfy his emptiness by a lustful way of life, St. Augustine finally realized that our hearts are yearning for God–the Unlimited–and cannot find rest until they rest in him.
Therefore, after telling the Jews it was necessary to repent, Peter said they must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. To be baptized, therefore, means to be Christ centered, not self centered or other-creature centered.
Most of us Catholics were baptized as infants and were raised on a doctrinal faith–were catechized. However, just knowing the doctrine does not enable us to live it, as Paul agonizingly realized: “The willing is ready at hand, but doing the good is not. For I do not do the good I want, but I do the evil I do not want….Miserable one that I am! Who will deliver me from this mortal body?” (Rm 7:18b, 19, 24). Paul found the answer. Let us identify with him.
In the first book of the Bible, Gen 1:26,29 and 9:6, we are told we are made to the image and likeness of God. In the last book of the Bible, Rev. 3:20, we find the answer as to how the realization of that transforming image is to evolve; how we are able to fill the void in our lives and live the truth that sets us free.
In Rev 3:20 Jesus says, “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, [then] I will enter his house and dine with him and he with me.”
I want you to imagine your heart as your temple. If you were an infant when baptized, you received God into your temple, but not into the inner chamber, the throne room. That is, you were not capable of making an act of your will to accept what it means to be a Christian; to be Christ centered; to acknowledge Jesus as your Lord and Savior. As you reached the age of reason, you were able to learn about God and the various tenets–of your religion–to be catechized.
However, it is one thing to be catechized and to believe in the existence of God, but so much more to acknowledge total dependence on God and live life with steadfast faith in him. And so Jesus says that only if you believe in him–are willing to accept him as your Lord and Savior and follow him as the way, the truth and the life,–can you realize the fulfillment you are seeking; can you overcome the world, flesh and devil whom he has conquered; can you become whole, holy, happy, more human, free, mature, in control, a lover, Christlike–who you are called to be; can you receive the Fruits of the Holy Spirit to the fullest. For as Jesus says, “I am the vine you are the branches. Whoever remains in me and I in him will bear much fruit, because without me you can do nothing” (Jn 15:5).
Therefore, if you have not already done so, to be evangelized it is necessary to open your temple throne-room door on which Jesus knocks and invite him in. And having made the decision to get yourself and any other creatures off of the throne of your temple, you should invite Jesus to assume his rightful position, that you might be the Christ-centered Christian you are called to be. It is in this act of the will to receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior that you become evangelized.
And this is the essence of the Sacrament of Confirmation: In being confirmed a person freely chooses to accept what it means to be Christ centered; freely invites Jesus to be Lord and Savior and determines to live a life of faith in him.
Following is a prayer of evangelization, a simple formula for accepting Jesus as your Lord and Savior: Jesus, only begotten Son of our Father, I am sorry for all of my sins against you, myself and my neighbor. With your strength, I am determined to live one day at a time as you wish me to live it. At this moment I invite you into my heart to be my Lord and my Savior.
Holy Spirit, I recognize in me your abiding presence; and in the name of Jesus, I claim a greater freeing of you in my heart for your work of sanctification, that I may become the total person you have called me to be. Father, Son and Holy Spirit, I praise and thank you for your goodness to me. Amen.