Hello, I’m Franciscan Father Greg Friedman, with the “Sunday Soundbite” for the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

As a youngster in the 1950s, serving Mass in my home parish, I was always excited when a Franciscan priest who grew up in our neighborhood came home for a visit. He’d become a foreign missionary, and I loved to hear his stories of different lands and peoples. He inspired me to consider the priesthood, and a vocation to the Franciscans.

But I never actually became a foreign missionary. My Christian life—like that of most Catholics I know—is usually a lot less glamorous. My “mission field” is the inner-city parish where I’m pastor, and the broadcasting and webcasting world, where I’m part of what Pope John Paul the Second called “the new evangelization.” Your “mission field” may be your home and family, your daily work, or your school.

So today, when we hear the exciting adventures of Paul and Barnabas in the reading from the Acts of the Apostles, we may wonder:  How can we answer the call from Jesus to “go out and preach to all nations”?

One way is to support missionaries we may know personally by our prayers and financial help. We can also match their zeal in our own witness to Christ, and sharing our faith with others where appropriate. Let our attitude be that of the Good Shepherd, whose care for us is proclaimed in today’s Gospel.

I’m Father Greg Friedman with the “Sunday Soundbite” for St. Anthony Messenger Press, on the Web at FranciscanRadio.org.