Today in the book In Caelo et in Terra, we read about St Aidan of Lindisfarne. He successfully evangelized most of northern England! And the way he did it was through kindness. Another missionary had already traveled the same area and had little success - because he was harsh. St Aidan traveled throughout the area and took the king as his interpreter! You can read more about him here.
It's easy to fall into the same mistake that his predecessor made. When you see the world doing evil, you're tempted to yell at them. To get angry. To see them as your enemy. To fight against them with harsh words and outrage.
But let's keep St Aidan in mind. Next time you're on Facebook and someone says something horrible... instead of tearing into them, ask for St Aidan to pray for you... and say something kind. You'll be surprised how much difference it makes.
And that's not hyperbole! There are SO MANY TIMES that I'm arguing with someone on Facebook and I'm trying hard to be nice and kind and polite to them, because even if THEY never come around to my viewpoint, there are dozens, sometimes hundreds of other people who are also reading our conversation and you never know who might take your words to heart. But the shocking thing to me is that after I've posted a few replies, the person I'm arguing with starts LIKING MY COMMENTS! And then they send me a friend request! I'm like... whoa. Did NOT see that coming.
A little kindness goes a very long way.
God, thanks for the example of kindness given to us by this gentle missionary. St Aidan, pray for us.
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