“If someone has educated you, they could only have done so by their being, not by their speaking.”
—Pier Paolo Pasolini
This quote struck a chord with me.
In the Gospels—and throughout the Acts of the Apostles—we see countless examples of people being converted. Educated might not be the perfect word, but something in them changes. Their eyes are opened. Their hearts are set on fire.
My wife and I talk about this often. We’ve lived through a time in the Church where the pendulum has swung—perhaps is still swinging—between an emphasis on catechesis through words and a rediscovery of formation through witness.
Teaching our children the faith is good and necessary. Memorizing prayers, understanding doctrine, learning the stories of salvation history—these matter. But too often, we rely almost entirely on speaking. As if more words will produce more faith.
But what happens if our lives don’t echo our words?
If our children don’t see the joy of following Christ…
If they don’t experience the peace that comes from prayer, the strength of virtue, the hope that outlasts suffering…
Then no amount of class time or spiritual homework will convince them.
Scripture gives us plenty of examples of powerful preaching—Christ Himself speaks with authority. But in both the Gospels and Acts, what truly transforms people is not just the words spoken, but the lives lived.
And maybe that’s why, in the earliest days of the Church, Christianity wasn’t called a religion or a belief system. It was called the Way.
Not the Speech.
Not the Class.
The Way.
Because to follow Christ is to walk as He walked—to live in a way so full of grace that others are drawn to it.
So let’s teach, yes. But more than that, let’s be—be Christ’s presence in the world, so that others might come to believe, not just because they heard the truth, but because they saw it lived.