Foreword

      For far too long, we Catholics have been filled with a spirit of apathy and embarrassment about sharing our faith. We keep the faith to ourselves and contain it within the walls of the Church. When we are challenged by our friends and loved ones about why we are Catholic, we cower. When the culture tries to shove subjective truth down our throats, we worry about being politically correct. When unborn children are slaughtered and marriage is redefined, we remain silent or turn the other way. We must pray, of course, but we must also act and speak the Truth in love. We must go out with the Holy Spirit at our side, meet people where they are, and witness to them.

      The saints are the quintessential examples of how to evangelize effectively, and through them Christ reveals who we are called to be. We cannot simply sit back and say, “I’m a good person” because there are no “good” people in heaven—only saints. The saints and their evangelizing witness form a foundation for holiness and make clear what is expected of a follower of Jesus. Their lives remind us that we are called to participate in the kingdom of heaven here on earth as evangelizing witnesses, influencing the culture with truth and love, compassion and mercy, peace and freedom—all qualities that flow from the very heart of God.

      Casting Nets with the Saints is a spiritual nexus between effective evangelization and the lives of the saints. In this truly inspirational book, Chris Stewart leads us on a fascinating journey of encounter with fifty-six men and women who responded generously to the love of God showered on them. They have survived the pains and challenges of this world, they have washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, and now they rejoice and share in the total victory of Christ.

      This extraordinary journey of learning to share the Gospel more effectively teaches us that in order to become saints, we don’t need to be great theologians like St. Augustine or St. John Paul II. We don’t need to be martyrs like St. Victor of Marseilles or Emil Kapaun. We don’t need to be great leaders like St. Benedict and St. Elizabeth of Hungary. We don’t even need to perform great works of charity like St. Teresa of Calcutta or St. Vincent de Paul. In order to become saints, we must allow ourselves to be totally consumed by the fire of God’s absolute love. We become saints by fulfilling Christ’s command to love the Lord our God with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then sharing the faith in love with everyone we meet.

      To be saints means that we must seek union with the Father in love through the deepening and strengthening of our relationship with Jesus in the Holy Spirit. Jesus’s call to sainthood begins with his command to us: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt