Are you being called to share your Faith?

While chaperoning my daughter’s fourth-grade field trip at the Heart of Jesus Retreat Center in Santa Ana, I came across a small booklet by Servant of God Sister Ida Peterfy, SDSH, titled Do Whatever He Tells You. Drawn from John 2:5, the title recalls the Blessed Virgin Mary’s instruction to the servants at the Wedding at Cana—words that immediately preceded Christ’s first public miracle, the turning of water into wine. The booklet served as a reminder of what God had been calling me to do, something I had put off for many years: launching The Christian Witness Podcast, the project for which I had created this website several years ago.

Interestingly, I discovered the booklet at the very time I was discerning whether or not to revive the podcast. The idea had been on my mind for weeks leading up to the retreat. During Mass, it seemed as though God was giving me a sign to pick up the project and move forward with it. In his homily, Fr. Aristotle held up an image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (pictured above), remarkably similar to the icon used on my YouTube channel, @JoshRader. What caught my attention even more was that it was a mosaic composed of hundreds of smaller photographs representing the people who had influenced his vocation. You may have noticed a similar mosaic on this website: the face of Christ formed by many individual images, symbolizing the faithful witnesses who together make up the Mystical Body of Christ.

As Fr. Aristotle explained that the mosaic was made up of countless individual lives and testimonies—distinct yet united in revealing what inspired and sustained his vocation—I was reminded of a vision I had for The Christian Witness Podcast. Through the testimonies of many people, others would come to know Jesus Christ and deepen their relationship with Him. The encounter felt like a confirmation that I was indeed being called to pursue the project.

Later, as I began writing this reflection, I decided to perform a reverse image search on the photograph of Fr. Aristotle’s icon that I took after the Mass when I told him of the impact his art had on me. To my surprise, what I found when I looked up the image online seemed like yet another God-incidence. The publication date of the image carried special significance in my own life. First, the date was March 30; the date of my wedding anniversary. Second, the year was 2017, the same year I decided to return to school and pursue my vocation of learning to preach and teach the Gospel. It was also the year my wife entered RCIA, entering into a covenantal relationship with Christ. After she completed RCIA, we renewed our marriage vows together. When moments like these converge, one cannot help but wonder whether they bear the marks of God's providential hand.

This experience inspired me not only to restart The Christian Witness Podcast but also to add on my personal website (www.joshrader.com) a catechesis on the Sacrament of Marriage. This is how the Holy Spirit works, it compounds and that is the effect of bold and courageous witness. Through prayer and reflection, I have come to believe that the primary audience for this podcast may be faithful husbands, fathers, and leaders; men serving first within their homes as the primary teachers of the faith in the Domestic Church. Increasingly, I sense that this mission is at the heart of what The Christian Witness Podcast is about and whom it is intended to serve.

All of these experiences demonstrate the convergence of several moments during a period of discernment, each contributing to my desire to finally do what God had been calling me to do for many years. It is often through the witness of others that we find the courage to embrace God's will. That is why I feel compelled to produce The Christian Witness Podcast: to help build God's Kingdom on earth and to encourage others to rise up and serve as His witnesses.

I invite you to ask yourself how God may be calling you to share your faith and what testimony you are being asked to give. If there is one piece of advice I can offer, it is this: do whatever He tells you.

If you feel called to share what God has placed on your heart, I invite you to reach out through the form below. To hear examples from others, you may browse the testimonies featured on this site. And if you enjoy reflecting on the faith and Sacred Scripture, I invite you to visit my YouTube channel, @JoshRader.