 I'm Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers from the Archdiocese of Portland in Oregon and I think the key to evangelization is the parable of the sower. You know Jesus talks about there's a God that goes out with a some season he throws the seeds and some land on rocky soil some land on thorny soil some land on sandy soil the weeds come and choke it the birds come and take it and some land on good soil where the seed lands that's not our issue our job is to be faithful and throw the seeds why because when the seed of faith lands on that person's heart it's the Holy Spirit that has to till the soil of that person's heart to give it water and sunlight and fertilizer and allow to see the faith to grow you can't do that only God can do that our job is to be faithful and throw the seeds how do we do that first of all by understanding that evangelization is all about the encounter with Jesus Christ at the end of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass we hear the Deacon say go in peace glorifying the Lord by your life get out of here you just received Jesus in the Eucharist now go out there in the world and be Eucharist to the world let people see and encounter Jesus Christ first and foremost through you because that's when they first meet Jesus everybody thinks I'll introduce him the father I'll introduce him some holy person no Jesus gave you you are baptized you received those gifts of the Holy Spirit and confirmation nourish and strengthened by the Eucharist that's where they encounter Christ the problem is we think that evangelization means I have to have this devastating argument if I give these five proofs of St. Thomas Aquinas if I give him a Scott Han CD if I give him this if I just do these things then they'll be converted wrong answer that all we have to do is plant the season we give an example I was doing theology on tap and the bartender you know I asked a rhetorical question I said how many of you would give your kids drugs and alcohol and everybody laughed except the bartender said I would and I thought he's trying to help me I'm like okay man I have to talk to you after we're done and so we finish and I pack it up the guy goes hey I thought we're gonna talk about this I'm like what I said what who put person at right mind would give the kids drugs and alcohol he says like when I do the shrooms man I said you mean you ingest hallucinogenic mushrooms yeah there's like this entity man there's this spiritualness out there man I want to feel connected to it so I drive through this beautiful place and I go into the to the woods and I sit down I eat the mushrooms and I get high and I feel connected to the universe and I said you know what I could appreciate that so what you're saying is that there's something out there beyond yourself that you want to connect to and the way you do that is you drive to a beautiful place you go and sit down you eat these mushrooms you get high you feel connected with whatever is out there to entity the universe and with everything around you he said yeah man I said you know what let me tell you do this Catholics we also feel as something out there beyond ourselves we call him God and when we want to encounter this God we also go to a beautiful place it's called church and when we're in the church we don't eat mushrooms we receive the Eucharist which is the body and blood soul divinity of the God that we are encountering and when we we don't get high but we're connected with God of the universe and when we're connected with him we're one with him and with all these other people around us he was like yeah man I was like yeah man and then I got out of there you know before you asked anything else but but that's the key meeting people where they are so that the key is once you that person encounters Christ the next thing is okay how do I get this person to want to listen to more of what I have to say it's not about winning an argument how do I get that person to go deeper in their walk with Jesus Christ