In today’s world, the mission field can be right at home, with a significant focus on those who identify with no organized religion—a.k.a. the “nones.” According to data from the most recent Pew Research Center Survey, conducted in 2023, the rate of non-affiliation is approximately 28% in the United States. Alarmingly, young adults worldwide are increasingly joining this demographic.
To reach out to the “none” generation and introduce them to Jesus, we must first ensure that we ourselves have a deep relationship with Christ. We cannot share Christ’s teachings if we do not embrace our own Catholic faith and experience God’s infinite love. Only by encountering Christ ourselves can we help others to do the same. Falling in love with our Eucharistic Lord and building an intimate relationship with Him is the foundation for sharing His love with others.
Pope Francis, in his 2013 apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium (The Joy of the Gospel), emphasizes that Christians can become missionary disciples by joyfully announcing the Gospel and spreading God’s love—a love that can profoundly change hearts and minds.
According to the 2013 encyclical Lumen Fidei, we are called to “illumine our own lives and the world we live in.” This task begins with nourishing our faith by experiencing Christ’s infinite love in the Eucharist. The Eucharist ignites a zealous fire within us, inspiring others to seek a relationship with Christ. In this sacrament, we are filled with love, enabling us to share the joy of the Lord with those who do not yet know Him.
The number of “nones” is growing daily, making it imperative for a growing force of missionary disciples to evangelize the masses. There are Catholics today who seem to not be well-equipped or confident in their understanding of the faith. Often, they lack the confidence and skills necessary for effective evangelization.
I recall once debating with a religious sister whose apostolate focused on evangelizing lapsed Catholics. She insisted that Jesus had only one nature and demanded proof that Christ has two natures. Additionally, she was unaware that receiving the Sacrament of Confession with a contrite heart results in absolution from the priest, who acts in persona Christi. She seemed puzzled and confused when I explained that, through God’s grace and mercy, our sins are forgiven if we receive the sacrament with the proper disposition.
Evangelization calls us to venture into the deep, proclaiming the Good News and emulating the Good Shepherd, who met the lost with great love. As Catholics, we can follow His example to bring the truth to others with understanding and respect.
We can also draw inspiration from great saints like St. Juan Diego. He was a humble peasant who played a pivotal role in evangelizing an entire hemisphere as a faithful witness to the miraculous apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe in 1531. The Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to him and requested that he convey her message to his bishop, Juan de Zumárraga, that he have a church built in her honor. Despite skepticism at first, the bishop changed his mind about the authenticity of the message upon witnessing the miraculous image of Our Lady imprinted on Juan Diego’s tilma.
Not only did it change the bishop’s mind and heart, but Our Lady’s miracle resulted in the conversion of approximately 9 million Aztecs. Her image resonated with the indigenous people because it was rich in symbolism from their culture, and included Christian iconography, which led to understanding and acceptance of the Catholic faith. Juan Diego’s simple, yet great love for his faith, together with the powerful message of Our Lady, changed the spiritual landscape of Mexico forever—still observed today in the nation’s predominant Catholicism.
Every human heart has a God-shaped hole that only Christ can fill. We need to guide others, especially the “nones,” to know, love, and serve Christ, so they can find true happiness in Him. Life with Christ is a beautiful adventure, and we want those in the “nones” group to experience a personal relationship with Him.
Our Catholic faith is about having a real and true relationship with Christ, and we can only go out into mission territory if our hearts are ablaze with love for Him. By the example of our own lives, we can help others recognize Christ’s love and His desire for relationship with each of us.
Photo by José Martín Ramírez Carrasco on Unsplash
