Our apostolate in the joy of the Gospel

As Pilgrims of St. Michael, an important aspect of our apostolate is our door-to-door evangelization. We knock on the doors of our communities and invite our friends, neighbors and even strangers to pray one decade, ten Hail Mary’s, of Our Lady’s Rosary with us. This “Rosary Crusade” has been an amazing “vehicle” for many, helping them in their return to the Church and in their practice of the Faith. When we strive to live a sacramental life, especially through the Eucharist and the Rosary, we cannot do otherwise than to bring the graces which we receive, to everyone with whom we encounter.

In his Apostolic Exhortation, Evangelii Gaudium, Pope Francis says that, “Today, when the networks and means of human communication have made unprecedented advances, we sense the challenge of finding and sharing a ‘mystique’ of living together, of mingling and encounter, of embracing and supporting one another, of stepping into this flood tide which, while chaotic, can become a genuine experience of fraternity, a caravan of solidarity, a sacred pilgrimage. Greater possibilities for communication thus turn into greater possibilities for encounter and solidarity for everyone. If we were able to take this route, it would be so good, so soothing, so liberating and hope-filled! To go out of ourselves and to join others is healthy for us. To be self-enclosed is to taste the bitter poison of immanence, and humanity will be worse for every selfish choice we make.”

In our Rosary Crusade apostolate, in our MICHAEL Magazine and other publications, in our seminars on economic democracy, we need to create a “culture of encounter” in solidarity with each other and with others; with the Holy Spirit as our guide. He (the Holy Spirit) opens the eyes and ears of our hearts, enabling us to better use the charisms (gifts), which He has bestowed upon each of us for the greater glory and honor of God.

Pope Francis in the concluding pages of the Joy of the Gospel, seems to summarize our entire mission, “There is a Marian ‘style’ to the Church’s work of evangelization. Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves. Contemplating Mary, we realize that she who praised God for ‘bringing down the mighty from their thrones’ and ‘sending the rich away empty’ (Lk 1:52-53) is also the one who brings a homely warmth to our pursuit of justice. She is also the one who carefully keeps ‘all these things, pondering them in her heart’ (Lk 2:19). Mary is able to recognize the traces of God’s Spirit in events great and small. She constantly contemplates the mystery of God in our world, in human history and in our daily lives. She is the woman of prayer and work in Nazareth, and she is also Our Lady of Help, who sets out from her town ‘with haste’ (Lk 1:39) to be of service to others. This interplay of justice and tenderness, of contemplation and concern for others, is what makes the ecclesial community look to Mary as a model of evangelization. We implore her maternal intercession that the Church may become a home for many peoples, a mother for all peoples, and that the way may be opened to the birth of a new world. It is the Risen Christ who tells us, with a power that fills us with confidence and unshakeable hope: ‘Behold, I make all things new’ (Rev 21:5). With Mary we advance confidently towards the fulfillment of this promise, and to her we pray…”