Does Speaking About Christ Terrify You?

It is not often that you encounter a group of people who exhibit a sense of terror when asked about the first time they discovered Jesus Christ in their lives. The responses to this question were wide-ranging. Some responded at baptism, others during a particular Mass, others during a near-death experience or the loss of a loved one. One solemnly said, when he overcame his addiction, and another emphatically said, when I finally felt his forgiveness for my sins in the confessional.” The beauty of these responses reveals how each one of us can be on a different journey towards Christ but receive the same outcome. All of these beautiful souls had one important characteristic in common: they made the conscious effort to surrender themselves to the will of God.

As the responses to the question became more vivid, there was also a sense of fear about a question no one had ever dared to ask them or thought they would answer.  It is not that these souls did not believe in Jesus; the simple point is that they had never been asked about their relationship with Christ or thought that it would be that important to hear. The backdrop for this question concerned a group of potential OCIA-Catechumenal sponsors and the role and nature of a sponsor.  

As the initial fear subsided, I stressed that a sponsor becomes a caretaker of souls. This means that the sponsor presents his or her journey and how they encountered the living God, Jesus Christ, for the very first time and realized who He really is. The journey to Jesus Christ is a sacramental one that aids in one’s discovery of who Jesus Christ actually is. The Catechism provides context where it describes that the universe was created in a state of journeying toward an ultimate perfection yet to be attained, to which God has destined.[1]  

A fundamental characteristic of any disciple is to unveil his movement to Christ or better yet, what moved him to recognize, affirm, believe, and model his life in and for Christ. One gentleman spoke openly describing how his Catholic upbringing never compelled him to talk about his relationship with Jesus, let alone the day he actually discovered who Christ really was in his life. He described his Catholic upbringing as “saying your prayers, going to Mass, going to confession when you did something really bad, praying before meals, attending every liturgical event, and memorizing the Baltimore Catechism; that’s it. The idea that I would casually talk about Christ to someone else, or God forbid preach it was not something we were formed to do. I did not think we had to.”

For anyone who has ever been placed in a situation where a discussion about Jesus Christ was inevitable and was terrified to do so, you are not alone. The mere thought of saying the wrong thing can be terrifying to many. However, there is an approach that can guide even the most terrified child of God to express the joy of his relationship with Christ. The Catechism, quoting St. John Paul II’s apostolic exhortation Catechesi Tradendae,[2] provides us with a way to subdue our fears when we speak of Christ,

First, demonstrate how your faith is aroused by Christ, what moves you to pray and speak with and about Jesus. This does not have to be exhaustive but simple. This is your initial proclamation of the Gospel. Demonstrate how you engage Christ through your daily prayer regimen.

Second, explain why you believe in Jesus Christ and his teachings as revealed through Scripture and Tradition in the Catholic Church.

Third, reveal how you engage the sacramental life; why you go to confession, why you attend Mass during the week and on Sunday, the Lord’s Day.  

Fourth, initiate an invitation to engage the parish community through a communal prayer service, meal, or spiritual or corporal work of mercy.     

Any sense of fear can be overcome with a sense of joy. The virtue of joy can be an infectious antidote to the fear of speaking about your relationship with Jesus Christ.  

In his great work in the life of Christ, The Lord, Romano Guardini lovingly and vividly initiates us into the life of Jesus Christ and provides us with a coherent view of God’s love for His children through His Son, Jesus Christ. There is a particular section where Guardini encapsulates Christ’s salvific message and how our response in faith dispels all fears:

Faith means to see and to risk accepting Christ not only as the greatest teacher of truth ever lived, but as Truth itself. Sacred reality begins with Jesus of Nazareth. If it were possible to annihilate him, the truth he taught would not continue to exist despite the loss of its noblest apostles, but itself would cease to exist. For he is the Logos, the source of Living Truth. He demands not only that we consent intellectually to the correctness of his proclamation-that would be only a beginning-but that we feel with all our natural instinct for right and wrong, with heart and soul and every cell of our being, its claims upon us . . . Religion tells me that I have been created; that I am continuously receiving myself from divine hands that I am free yet living from God’s strength. Try to feel your way into this truth, and your whole attitude towards life will change.^[3]