Apostolate
Talk – Retreat 25 March 2016
Good Friday

“Hidden wisdom and unseen treasure, what advantage is there in either of them?” Apostolate is really sharing, an overflow of our own interior life.

As I was preparing for this talk, I was going over my old notes. It’s good to write down what inspires especially in spiritual activities such as this one, and go back to from time to time to draw lessons. I came across the following passages in my notes to answer the question on “how do you re-Christianize Society?” or how do you do Apostolate? I do not own these lines nor do I remember where I got it from but these are as relevant as it is now.

To quote, “Since doctrinal subjects have to be repeated, we should make a special effort to present them attractively, so that people don’t get bored with hearing them again and again. We say the same things, but in different ways. Faith and morals obviously remain the same, but our style can be fresh and varied. The same ideas but in a hundred different languages, pleasantly, so that our speech may always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.

Addressing people “in their own language” is certainly a start, but in doctrinal apostolate we also need to say the same things over and over again, firstly because what we say may not be properly grasped in a single hearing, and secondly because it may not be retained. Fearless repetition is the norm. One has to go back over things. Ideas may be perfectly clear but still not get across, either because we are not so good at explaining them or because the audience is not so good at understanding them – or perhaps even both. This means being ready to dress up ideas in fifty different ways if necessary. Eventually they hit home. We need…to be able to say the same thing every day with new attractiveness. With the help of the Holy