I learned two important lessons that night. First, that the Lord loved me and wanted to be with me. Second, to encounter him in a profound way could be as simple as going to Mass.

From that day on I felt compelled to share with my friends and family the experience of being loved by the Lord through the Blessed Sacrament. That incredible encounter through worship led to my desire to evangelize. I needed to share what I had received. Authentic worship leads to inspired evangelization. As the deacon proclaims at the dismissal at the end of each Mass, “Go and announce the Gospel of the Lord!”

This is one of the reasons for the creation of the Office of Worship and Evangelization in the Diocese of Austin, to help bring to the fore the intimate relationship between worship and evangelization.

At the 2024 National Eucharistic Congress, Cardinal Luis Tagle delivered an awe-inspiring homily where he stressed the fruitful experience of the liturgy, which should lead to evangelization. He said, “Dear friends, when the priest or deacon says, ‘The Mass is ended, go in the peace of Christ,’” we must “Go! Go! Go! And what you have heard, touched and tasted, you must share with others. We have received the gift of Jesus. Let us go to proclaim Jesus zealously and joyfully for the life of the world.”

At times we can get stuck playing church instead of living as the church. Playing church often looks like going through the motions without any real notice week to week of what the Lord is doing in our lives. Living as the church allows the Gospel to radiate from our daily lives in the things we say and do — and that is evangelization.

Here are a few ways to live such a way that our authentic worship leads to inspired evangelization.

Pray: Our relationship with Christ is at the true heart of worship. It can be very easy to fall into routine and lose sight of Jesus if we are not frequently connecting with him through prayer. It is hard to see Jesus in the Eucharist on Sunday when we don’t speak to him Monday through Saturday.

Participate: We are called to participate in Mass, which requires us to be active in its parts. I think this just requires a little preparation. We can read or listen to Scriptures ahead of time and give the Holy Spirit a greater opportunity to highlight something important for us in the readings. We can take a few moments before Mass to settle our minds and hearts on the person of Jesus. A slow and quiet prayer helps tune our minds and hearts to the subtle tones of the Holy Spirit. At the end of Mass, a few moments of quiet prayer can help us discern what the Lord was saying to us. This brief prayer time can also bear tremendous fruit in our prayer time during the week as we live out the liturgy in our daily lives.

Share: We must not be afraid to share on Monday what we hear on Sunday! I enjoy talking with my wife and children about what we took away from Mass. We can never underestimate the power that comes with the sacred mysteries in which we participate and the hunger in the hearts of the people around us. Share what you hear!