RESTORE
This chapter from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new "Expression" of God’s Love to RESTORE the Truth.
This chapter from the BFG Handbook (Christian Edition of the Tao Te Ching) presents the gospel through a new “Expression” of God’s Love to RESTORE people to the Truth.
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Chapter 36: Order of God
What is shrunken 1
Must have first been expanded
What is weakened
Must have first been strengthened
What is cast down 2
Must have first been exalted
What is received 3
Must have first been given
This is the subtle perception of things 4
The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful 5
Just as fish cannot leave deep waters 4
So too the inner workings of the Heavenly kingdom
Cannot be revealed to the people
What Shrinks Was First Made Full
“What is shrunken
Must have first been expanded
What is weakened
Must have first been strengthened”
Chapter 36 of the Christian edition of the Tao Te Ching reflects the divine paradoxes of the natural order of God as established by God. It highlights how spiritual truths often appear counterintuitive to human understanding. For instance, what seems diminished must first have been expanded, and what appears weakened must have first been strong. This echoes 1 Peter 1:24-25, where earthly glories fade like grass, but the Word of the Lord endures forever. Similarly, those who are humbled will be exalted, and those exalted will be humbled, as Jesus taught in Luke 14:7-11. These truths underscore that God’s ways are higher than human ways, often reversing worldly expectations to reveal His sovereign plan.
Look closely at the order of these lines. Shrinking comes second; growing came first. Before anything in our lives could get smaller, God had to make it full: our strength, our health, our families, our gifts. So when something shrinks, the first truth is not loss but gift. It was given, and the Giver is still here, renewing us from the inside.
“So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day.”
2 Corinthians 4:16NRSVue
The same is true of strength: “What is weakened must have first been strengthened.” St. Paul knew what it was to be weakened: beaten, shipwrecked, worn out. Yet he saw that God puts His treasure in fragile containers on purpose, so that everyone can see where the real power comes from.
“But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.”
2 Corinthians 4:7ESV
This is not a call to pretend that loss does not hurt. Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus. It is a call to see our losses inside a bigger order, where God was giving before anything was taken, and where He is still giving now.
“Illness can lead to anguish, self-absorption, sometimes even despair and revolt against God. It can also make a person more mature, helping him discern in his life what is not essential so that he can turn toward that which is.”Catechism 1501
“…even the most intense prayers do not always obtain the healing of all illnesses. Thus St. Paul must learn from the Lord that ‘my grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness’…”Catechism 1508
The Church does not call suffering good in itself. But in God’s hands even weakness can make us wiser, clearer about what matters and more open to His grace.
Maybe it is your knees on the stairs, or a savings account that keeps getting smaller. Maybe the friend group that once filled your weekends has shrunk to a few texts, or your kids have moved out and the house feels too big. It is easy to see only what is gone. Chapter 36 turns us around: “What is shrunken must have first been expanded.” Every one of those things was first a gift that grew. God gave it, and He has not stopped giving to you.
Try this today: Write down one thing that has shrunk in your life, and next to it, how God first made it grow. Then thank Him for both.
The King Who Was Cast Down
“What is cast down
Must have first been exalted”
Next the chapter turns to honor and humiliation: “What is cast down must have first been exalted.” Jesus watched dinner guests rush for the best seats and warned them that whoever sits at the head of the table may be asked to move down in front of everyone. Better to take the lowest place and be invited up.
“But when you are invited, go and sit down at the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher’; then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you.”
Luke 14:10NRSVue
The deepest meaning of this line is found in Jesus Himself, in the other passage it points to. The Son of God, exalted above all, let Himself be cast down. Soldiers stripped Him, dressed Him in a scarlet robe, crowned Him with thorns and knelt before Him in mockery.
“And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!””
Matthew 27:28-29ESV
Yet the mocking words were true. He was the King, and the Cross became His throne. Because He was cast down for us, the Father raised Him up and gave Him the name above every name. Mary sang of this same order of God long before: “he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate” (Luke 1:52, ESV). Our humiliations, joined to His, are never the end of the story.
“…the true meaning of his kingship is revealed only when he is raised high on the cross.”Catechism 440
“Go down to toil on earth, to serve on earth, to be scorned and crucified on earth. Life goes down to be killed; Bread goes down to suffer hunger; the Way goes down to be exhausted on his journey; the Spring goes down to suffer thirst; and you refuse to suffer?”St. Augustine, quoted in Catechism 556
In St. Augustine’s words, Jesus speaks to Peter on the mountain of the Transfiguration: the glory is real, but the way to it runs down through service and the Cross.
You worked hard on the project, and your manager presented it as their own. A friend joked about you in the group chat, and everyone laughed. Someone newer got the promotion. Being cast down hurts, especially in front of others. Chapter 36 does not tell you it does not matter. It points you to the King who was mocked with a crown of thorns and then raised in glory. You are not alone in your humiliation. He has been there, and He knows the way up.
Try this today: Today, take the lowest seat once on purpose: let someone else have the better spot, the last word or the credit, and offer it to Jesus.
First Given, Then Received
“What is received
Must have first been given”
The principle of giving and receiving also finds profound resonance in Christian teachings. In Luke 12:48, Jesus teaches that to whom much is given, much is required, and Acts 20:35 emphasizes that it is more blessed to give than to receive. The chapter suggests that to truly receive the blessings of the Kingdom of God, one must first adopt a posture of giving and selflessness. This mirrors Christ’s example of giving Himself entirely for the salvation of humanity.
The line also works in the other direction. Nothing we hold was ours first. Before we could receive our life, our faith or a single friend, God had to give it. St. Paul asks a question that empties every boast.
“For who sees anything different in you? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive?”
1 Corinthians 4:7NRSVue
So giving is not losing. It is passing on what came to us as a gift. Jesus sent His disciples out with a simple rule: “Freely you have received; freely give” (Matthew 10:8). The more we notice how much we have been given, the easier it becomes to open our hands, and God is never outdone in generosity.
“give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
Luke 6:38ESV
We live this rhythm at every Mass. We bring bread and wine, gifts we first received from God’s earth, and He gives them back to us as the Body and Blood of His Son.
“On coming into the world, man is not equipped with everything he needs for developing his bodily and spiritual life. He needs others.”Catechism 1936
“Charity in truth places man before the astonishing experience of gift. Gratuitousness is present in our lives in many different forms, which often go unrecognized because of a purely consumerist and utilitarian view of life.”Pope Benedict XVI, Caritas in Veritate 34
Think about your morning. The coffee someone grew and roasted. The paycheck from a job someone gave you a chance at. The faith your grandmother prayed into you. The friend who texted at just the right moment. Most of it we never notice, because we are busy keeping score of what we lack. Chapter 36 says, “What is received must have first been given.” When we start noticing the gifts, our grip loosens, and giving to others stops feeling like a loss.
Try this today: Before bed, name the gifts you received today that you did not earn, and pass one of them on tomorrow in some small way.
The Subtle Perception of Things
“This is the subtle perception of things”
After its pairs of opposites, the chapter pauses: “This is the subtle perception of things.” God’s order is not loud. You will not find it in headlines or trending lists. It takes a quiet, humble heart to see that shrinking follows growing, that the lowly are lifted up, and that every gift comes from a Giver.
“At that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children””
Matthew 11:25ESV
This is the passage the line points to. Jesus does not say the clever are shut out. He says God shows Himself to those who come like children: open, trusting and willing to be taught. Pride makes us think we already understand; humility lets us see. And Jesus is the One who opens our eyes, for “no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him” (Matthew 11:27).
Elijah learned this on the mountain. God was not in the mighty wind, the earthquake or the fire. He came in a gentle whisper. Subtle perception is the gift of noticing that whisper, and it grows in stillness.
““Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations; I am exalted in the earth.””
Psalm 46:10NRSVue
“In the first, Jesus confesses the Father, acknowledges, and blesses him because he has hidden the mysteries of the Kingdom from those who think themselves learned and has revealed them to infants, the poor of the Beatitudes.”Catechism 2603
“Prayer in the events of each day and each moment is one of the secrets of the kingdom revealed to ‘little children,’ to the servants of Christ, to the poor of the Beatitudes.”Catechism 2660
Your phone buzzes every few minutes: notifications, news alerts, a podcast in one ear and a meeting in the other. With so much noise, it is easy to miss the quiet things: the look on your child’s face, the coworker who is not okay, the small sense that you should call someone. Chapter 36 calls this “the subtle perception of things.” God rarely competes with the noise. He waits for us to get quiet enough to notice Him in ordinary moments.
Try this today: Put your phone in another room for a little while today, sit still, and ask God, “What am I missing?”
Gentle Strength
“The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful”
The gentle overcoming the hard and the yielding prevailing over the forceful is a theme that aligns with 2 Corinthians 12:10, where Paul states, “When I am weak, then I am strong.” God uses what seems weak by worldly standards to confound the strong (1 Corinthians 1:27). This principle encourages believers to embrace humility and trust in God’s power, which works through gentleness, rather than striving for dominance through worldly means.
Think of water and stone. Water is soft and gives way to anything in its path, yet over time it carves canyons. Rock is hard, but it cannot hold out forever against something that keeps yielding and keeps coming. Scripture says the same about gentle words.
“With patience a ruler may be persuaded, and a soft tongue will break a bone.”
Proverbs 25:15ESV
Jesus is the perfect picture of this line. He could have called on legions of angels, yet He healed the ear of the man who came to arrest Him. He did not shout or crush the weak. And He invites us to learn this from Him.
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29NRSVue
Yielding is not the same as giving up. Jesus yielded to the Father’s will, never to evil. Christian gentleness is strength under control: firm about the truth, soft with people. That is how hearts are won, and that is how Jesus won ours.
“Whenever we look to Mary, we come to believe once again in the revolutionary nature of love and tenderness. In her we see that humility and tenderness are not virtues of the weak but of the strong who need not treat others poorly in order to feel important themselves.”Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 288
“What is tenderness? It is love that draws near and becomes real.… Tenderness is the path of choice for the strongest, most courageous men and women.”Pope Francis, Fratelli Tutti 194
The argument at home is heating up. Your teenager rolls their eyes, your spouse says the thing that always sets you off, or a stranger online calls you an idiot. Everything in you wants to hit back harder. Chapter 36 says, “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.” A softer voice, a pause, a simple “You might be right about that part” can do what shouting never will. It is not weakness. It takes real strength, and the Holy Spirit gives it.
Try this today: In your next tense conversation, lower your voice on purpose and let one small point go.
Fish in the Deep Waters
“Just as fish cannot leave deep waters
So too the inner workings of the Heavenly kingdom
Cannot be revealed to the people”
The chapter concludes with a reminder that the inner workings of the Heavenly kingdom are often hidden from plain view, just as fish cannot leave deep waters without perishing. This aligns with Matthew 11:25-27, where Jesus praises the Father for hiding these things from the wise and revealing them to little children. It is a call to embrace spiritual simplicity and dependence on God, acknowledging that His kingdom operates in ways beyond human comprehension.
A fish is fully alive in the deep, but pull it out into the open air and it cannot survive. In the same way, God’s kingdom lives and grows in depths we cannot drag into plain sight. We cannot put it on display or track it like a project at work. Jesus said as much when people asked when the kingdom would come.
“Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, “The kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, ‘Look, here it is!’ or ‘There!’ for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you.””
Luke 17:20-21ESV
That does not mean the kingdom is far away or unknowable. It means it works from the inside, like a seed growing underground while the farmer sleeps. We are called to trust the hidden work, to stay faithful in small things, and to live where the fish lives: in the deep water of God’s presence, in prayer, Scripture and the sacraments.
“…The kingdom of God is as if someone would scatter seed on the ground and would sleep and rise night and day, and the seed would sprout and grow, he does not know how.”
Mark 4:26-27NRSVue
“Jesus and the presence of the kingdom in this world are secretly at the heart of the parables. One must enter the kingdom, that is, become a disciple of Christ, in order to ‘know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven’. For those who stay ‘outside’, everything remains enigmatic.”Catechism 546
“The Word of the Lord is compared to a seed which is sown in a field; those who hear the Word with faith and become part of the little flock of Christ, have received the Kingdom itself. Then, by its own power the seed sprouts and grows until harvest time.”Second Vatican Council, Lumen Gentium 5
You have prayed for your brother for a long time and nothing seems to change. You keep showing up to a job where no one notices your honesty. You are raising kids in the faith, and some days it feels like none of it is sinking in. It is easy to decide nothing is happening. Chapter 36 says the inner workings of the kingdom “cannot be revealed to the people,” at least not yet. Like a seed underground, God’s work is often hidden before it is seen. Keep going. He is not finished.
Try this today: Name one prayer that seems unanswered, tell God, “I trust Your hidden work,” and then do one small faithful thing toward it.
Living the Chapter
The whole chapter, put into practice
Ultimately, this chapter challenges believers to trust in God’s natural order, which often subverts human logic, and to live with humility, gentleness, and faith, knowing that these virtues align with the principles of God’s eternal kingdom.
Chapter 36 gives us a new way to read our lives. When something shrinks, we remember it was first made full. When we are cast down, we look to the King who was crowned with thorns and raised in glory. When we receive, we remember it was given, and we give again. We slow down to notice God’s quiet work, we choose gentleness over force, and we stay in the deep waters of His presence.
“Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.”
James 4:10NRSVue
This order of God is not a puzzle to solve. It is a way of following Jesus, who emptied Himself and was lifted up, and who shares His life with everyone who comes to Him like a little child.
“Every joy and suffering, every event and need can become the matter for thanksgiving which, sharing in that of Christ, should fill one’s whole life…”Catechism 2648
“…gratitude and gratuitousness, a recognition that the world is God’s loving gift, and that we are called quietly to imitate his generosity in self-sacrifice and good works…”Pope Francis, Laudato Si’ 220
This week will bring both: something will grow and something will shrink, someone will lift you up and someone will let you down. You will have chances to give and chances to receive. Chapter 36 does not promise that life will go the way you plan. It promises that God’s order runs deeper than what you can see. So live it in small ways: thank Him for what you have, take the lower seat, answer gently, and trust what He is doing beneath the surface.
Try this today: Pick one line from Chapter 36, put it on a sticky note or your lock screen, and let it guide one choice each day this week.
RENEWAL
The Trinitarian M.A.P. is the method for RENEWAL, where God’s Love shapes our MINDSET, Trust in the Son directs our AIM, and Faith in the Holy Spirit guides our PRACTICE.
This chapter offers a new “Method” for the New Evangelization to RENEW our hearts and minds through the Trinitarian M.A.P. Bring this chapter into your day with the BFG Companion App. Pick Chapter 36 and an area of your life, and get Guidance made for you.
Renewal starts in the mind, and Chapter 36 begins where many of us feel smallest: “What is shrunken must have first been expanded. What is weakened must have first been strengthened.” The energy we used to have, the savings, the friendships, the health, the confidence: when something shrinks, it hurts. But the chapter asks us to think again. It could only shrink because God first made it grow. St. Peter says “the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever” (1 Peter 1:24-25). What fades was a gift, and the love that gave it does not fade.
So a renewed mind does not read weakness as the end of the story. St. Paul begged God to take his weakness away, and heard instead: “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Being weakened is not proof that God has left. Often it is the very place where He shows up. We stop measuring God’s love by how strong we feel today, and we trust the love that strengthened us first and will strengthen us again.
Try this: When you notice something shrinking in your life today, name one way God first made it grow, and thank Him for it.
1 Peter 1:24-25NRSVue “For “All flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, and the flower falls, but the word of the Lord endures forever.”…”
2 Corinthians 12:9NRSVue “but he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.” So I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”
More Scripture: Psalm 73:26 · Isaiah 40:31
A renewed mind needs a direction, and Chapter 36 points us to the lowest seat: “What is cast down must have first been exalted.” Jesus watched dinner guests scramble for the best places and told them to take the lowest one instead, “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted” (Luke 14:11, NRSVue). The world aims at the top of the list, the corner office, the most views. Trust in the Son aims somewhere else. We look at Him, and we choose the place where we can serve.
Look at what happened to the King Himself. Soldiers crowned Him with thorns and knelt in mockery: “Hail, king of the Jews!” (Matthew 27:29). The One who is truly exalted let Himself be cast down. Then the chapter adds, “What is received must have first been given.” Everything we have came first from His hands, even our next breath. So we aim our lives the way He aimed His: downward in service, outward in giving, trusting the Father to lift us up.
Try this: At your next meeting, meal or group chat, take the lowest seat on purpose: let someone else go first, speak first or get the credit.
Luke 14:11NRSVue “For all who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
Philippians 2:8-9NRSVue “he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death— even death on a cross. Therefore God exalted him even more highly and gave him the name that is above every other name”
More Scripture: Mark 10:45 · Acts 20:35
Renewal becomes real in how we live, and Chapter 36 names a quiet skill: “This is the subtle perception of things.” The Holy Spirit rarely shouts. Elijah looked for God in the wind, the earthquake and the fire, and found Him in “a gentle whisper” (1 Kings 19:12). The Spirit teaches us to notice what hurried people miss: the friend who went quiet, the nudge to call your mother, the peace that comes after you forgive. Living by the Spirit means slowing down long enough to perceive the small ways God is already moving.
Then the chapter says, “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.” Gentleness is a fruit of the Spirit, and St. Paul tells us to restore a struggling brother or sister “gently” (Galatians 6:1). The Spirit keeps us in God the way water holds a fish: “Just as fish cannot leave deep waters,” we cannot thrive outside of Him. So we stay close in prayer and the sacraments, we answer hard words softly, and we trust that God’s deep, hidden work is stronger than any force.
Try this: The next time a conversation heats up, lower your voice, yield one small point, and silently pray, “Holy Spirit, make me gentle.”
1 Kings 19:12NRSVue “and after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire, and after the fire a sound of sheer silence.”
Galatians 6:1NRSVue “My brothers and sisters, if anyone is detected in a transgression, you who have received the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness. Take care that you yourselves are not tempted.”
More Scripture: Proverbs 15:1 · Acts 17:28
In short: think humbly, aim at what is eternal, live by the Spirit. When life shrinks, let God’s love remind you it was first His gift; aim for the lowest seat like the Son who was cast down; and let the Spirit make you gentle, attentive and at home in His deep waters.
RESPOND
Renewal brings the transformation of our spirit with ardor, empowering us to RESPOND to the call of holiness and make disciples of all nations. This encourages meaningful dialogue to embrace shared truths that transcend cultural and religious boundaries.
Renewal does not end with us. When God fills a heart, He sends it out. Chapter 36 shows the pattern: “What is received must have first been given.” Every grace we carry was first given to us, so we pass it on the way it came, freely and gently. We do not win people by force, because “the gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.” What God has given you is meant to be given again.
In 1983, Saint John Paul II called the Church to an evangelization that is “new in its ardor, new in its methods, new in its expression.” The Gospel never changes. The way we carry it must be alive for our time. Chapter 36 shows why: a world that trusts only force and the top spot needs fresh words for a King who won by being cast down.
Ardor is the fire of a heart that has been loved by God. People feel it before they hear a single word. Chapter 36 says, “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.” The fire of a missionary is not loud; it is a steady, gentle flame that does not go out.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 36 values “the subtle perception of things,” so notice what the person in front of you is really carrying before you choose your words.
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 36 says, “What is received must have first been given.” Our tools only pass on what God has already given; they make room for Him, and He does the work.
Use the words people use today: simple, honest and personal. Share your story, not a lecture. Chapter 36 values “the subtle perception of things,” so notice what the person in front of you is really carrying before you choose your words.
What my life was like before I really met Jesus.
How He met me, and the moment things began to change.
What is different now, and the hope I carry. Like the chapter’s “What is weakened must have first been strengthened,” when did a weak season become the place where God met you?
Meet people where they are: on the phone in their hand. The BFG Handbook and the BFG Companion turn one conversation into a path to Christ and His Church. Chapter 36 says, “What is received must have first been given.” Our tools only pass on what God has already given; they make room for Him, and He does the work.
Every chapter has its own song and is written in a language people of every faith can understand. A doorway for dialogue. Chapter 36, Order of God, helps anyone who feels their life shrinking, who has been passed over or humiliated, or who is tired of having to be hard.
A friend shares a struggle. Together, pick a chapter and an area of life (start with Chapter 36 when someone feels weakened or cast down, or keeps trying to force things to work). In seconds: a reflection, the M.A.P., a saint, a prayer, Scripture, a song and a church nearby. Send it by email, PDF or a share link.
Hard question? Ask it together. Answers are grounded in Catholic teaching, the saints and the BFG Handbook. Talk or type. Try asking together: “Why does God let things in my life shrink or fall apart?”
Pray the Rosary with a guided voice, the daily mysteries and beads that follow along. Pray it with someone, even over the phone. The Sorrowful Mysteries show the King crowned with thorns and mocked, and the Glorious Mysteries show Him raised in glory: Chapter 36’s order of God, prayed bead by bead.
Catholic churches near anyone, with Mass and Confession times, directions, and one tap to add a time to the calendar. Every conversation can end at a church door. There the One who was cast down for us gives Himself as a gift, because “what is received must have first been given.”
Morning, midday and evening prayer reminders, a daily streak and a steady prayer rhythm help a new believer keep going. A gentle daily reminder that keeps you in deep waters, close to God, one quiet prayer at a time.
Free to start, no card needed. Read aloud in 48 languages.
One tool that walks with a person from the first question to the church door.
Jesus sent His apostles first to Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria, then to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8). Start where you are. Chapter 36 says “what is received must have first been given,” so the people God has placed around you are the first ones meant to receive what He gave you.
- Pray the Rosary together on Pray My Rosary.
- Bless your children at bedtime.
- Share a Guidance with a spouse or child who is struggling.
- Find Sunday Mass times together with Church Finder.
- At dinner, ask: “What did someone give you today that you did not earn?” and thank God for it together.
- Text a verse from your Guidance.
- Ask, “How can I pray for you?” and pray right then.
- Invite a friend to Mass, then go for coffee.
- Send the line: “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.”
- Be the calm, kind one.
- Pray on your lunch break with a reminder.
- Start a small chapter group that meets once a week. Begin with Chapter 36, Order of God.
- Respect the rules: invite, never push.
- Listen for the moment: “Things have been hard.”
- Offer: “Can I send you something that helped me?”
- Share the Chapter 36 song.
- Ask good questions and really listen.
- Share your three-part story.
- Open Ask BFG together when a question comes up.
- When a friend has been passed over or humiliated, sit with them, share “What is cast down must have first been exalted,” and remind them of the King who was crowned with thorns.
- Visit the sick, the elderly and the lonely; pray the Rosary with them.
- Serve at a food bank.
- Welcome newcomers at Mass.
- Join your parish evangelization team.
- Ask shops, cafés and offices to display a BFG card with a QR code.
- Offer a short lunch talk on faith at work.
- Business owners: offer the Companion to staff as a free gift, never a requirement.
- Go where people already gather, and be the friendly one who listens.
- Pray quietly for the people around you.
- When a talk turns real, share a Guidance or the chapter song.
- Wear or carry a simple sign of your faith, like a cross or a rosary, that can start a conversation.
- At the gym, when your strength gives out, share Chapter 36: “What is weakened must have first been strengthened,” and God’s strength is never used up.
- Host a Chapter 36 “Order of God” night, a Handbook chapter night, a Rosary night or an “Ask Anything” faith night.
- Show the Companion on a big screen and let people try it.
- We did this at our free conference, The New Evangelization in the Age of AI, at Christ Cathedral.
- Share a Guidance, a chapter song or a Scripture card. Try: “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.”
- One post can reach someone you will never meet.
- Join a parish or diocese mission trip.
- The Companion speaks 48 languages, so you leave behind something that keeps speaking after you go home.
- Every culture knows rise and fall, giving and receiving, a natural bridge to the King who was cast down and raised up.
- Your parish ministries, the Legion of Mary, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, Catholic Charities, prison, hospital and campus ministries, and mission groups.
- Bring the BFG tools to their work.
You will be tempted to force things, to push harder and climb higher. Chapter 36 shows a better way: “The gentle and yielding overcome the hard and forceful.” Go gently. Give what you were given. Take the lower seat. The same Spirit who renewed you now sends you, quietly and gently, into the deep waters where God is already at work.
God whose ways are gentle and deep, Holy Spirit, set my heart on fire. Jesus, send me to the one You love. Father, make me Your witness today. Amen.
NRSVue © 2021 National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scripture quotations marked ESV are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. ESV Text Edition: 2025. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language. Used by permission. All rights reserved.