Digging into the depths of Integrity's Vault of Records, I stumbled across this post from 2002 talking about a great book, The Everyday Apostle, by Fr. Edward F. Gareshé.
What is so wonderful about this little book is that it uses the language of apostleship to speak about many ordinary things. Fr. Gareshé doesn't make the mistake of "dumbing down" Christianity, as can often be the case when people relate the Gospel to commonplace activities. Instead, he provides a glimpse of what ordinary things, like encouragement, hospitality, character, and counsel, can become when fused with one's life in Christ.
To take one example, consider what Fr. Gareshé refers to as the apostleship of encouragement.
All of us have experienced moments of discouragement or depression. It is in these times, that caring relatives, friends, mentors and coaches can be of great aid. Now, as Fr. Gareshé rightly states, we "need not grieve so much" when discouragement leads one to forego a "temporal honor or service", such as when a young man might give up on a dream of being a mighty statesman because he doesn't receive the right encouragement. But of serious concern to the Christian is when discouragement or depression results in "spiritual and eternal losses":
"We are too likely to forget, in our superior way, that it is mere downright discouragement and dispiritedness about themselves and their own possibilities of reform which keep many, many poor sinners groveling in their sin. Get a man into a hopeful, eager spirit within himself, keen and sanguine about his own chances of improvement, and you will have given him an immense lift along the paths of righteousness and perfection."
It is in this way that Fr. Gareshé helps us see how the Christian, because of Christ, can make what we might consider ordinary things an opportunity for others to encounter Christ.
The Everyday Apostle is published by Sophia Institute Press. (If you want a preview, the post from Integrity's Vault of Records provides a nice snippet from each chapter.)
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