The way I use the term "apostolate" is any activity (prayer included!) that satisfies our Baptismal REQUIREMENT to "go out and preach the Good News".

With that (very broad) definition, all Baptized are required to do apostolate.

For some reason, however, I do think that in certain circles (and I don't know which ones or why), the term can have very negative connotations.

 Thank you. That article is a good one, and it confirms what a priest told me this week: that the word is really a general description of the role or scope of activity, sort of like the word "ministry" in many Protestant circles, and it is more accurately related to a group than to an individual. Such as the "laity" being distiguished from the clergy.

When used by an individual layperson to imply his thoughts about theology or his position in a parish carry authority, that is a fraudulent use of the term. Some people in my parish are trying to push the priesthood away from the position of spiritual authority in the church by suggesting this fellow has higher authority.

I went to a class that was supposed to be part of our regular Lenten Bible study, but the teacher spoke on and on about how wonderful this guy is, and no mention of Jesus or of the Scripture we were supposed to be studying until I said "uh, excuse me, isn't this the Book of Luke class? Where's Luke?" *LOL*....

I hadn't noticed his references to himself as an "apostolate" until I got curious about some payment buttons he has linked from some Catholic sites and I clicked them. Only the people who have been sucked in far enough to want to give this guy money are seeing him refer to himself this way, and they are not the ones who are likely to know that he is teaching a lot of non-doctrinal stuff.

My priest has counseled forgiveness of this guy and defended him, because he cleverly denies the non-doctrinal message when he is questioned by a priest, and of course the priest never had any reason to push his donation button, so he did not see the reason why some people think this man has "authority" in the church. 

I showed the priest the button and the way it was misleading people to thinking they were still supporting the parish if they gave money. He was surprised to see it and did not counsel any forgiveness this time. I think something is finally going to be done about this young man. I don't want the guy kicked out, but just removed from a position of responsibility until he gets his priorities straight.

We have to be on guard about stuff like this. This particular incident is similar to other cults that can become very dangerous: an attractive and egotistical leader starts pulling people into a circle around himself and then leads them into a separatist group where they lose all their connections to the true church. I noticed that the group who most revere this particular guy included some vulnerable elderly who were converts, and he is exploiting their ignorance of Catholic customs that are not obvious to people who did not grow up inside the Church.

One sure way to sniff out a cult-builder is that when you try to point out the non-doctrinal content of a teaching, instead of discussing doctrine, the followers start yelling at you that you are calling this wonderful person "non-Catholic" and you are blocking his evangelism and they start naming all the other people who love him, making the whole thing a popularity or ego-contest and not a discussion of doctrine at all. Then you notice that you are followed around by people trying to convert you into becoming one of his followers. It can get ugly.

 Makes you think you accidently tuned into a Catholic version of "American Idol" on one of Simon's bad nights! *LOL*

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I am but a small flower among showers of roses

Well, call me the "reluctant apostle", then.... I really hate that these things happen and I'm always the little kid pointing at the king's bare @## and it makes life so hard for me when I just want to relax and enjoy some good fellowship! 

But I am finally learning the value of the longer, narrower path. Some of the "faulty evangelization" was easy for me to tolerate in the past as another way of looking at things until I saw the damage it does, and I had to explain this to myself in order to go to the priest.

This is one of the key things that pop up all the time as a special challenge for Catholics: the "abundance" heresy. Sure, we are called to appreciate and enjoy the good things God gives us in life, but when you tip that idea over into another idea, which is that IF God LOVES you, you will be MATERIALLY blessed, then this becomes a spiritual justification for treating people badly, even doing them real harm, if they fail to measure up to your own expectations of material wealth.

It causes you to doubt your own place in God's plan if you struggle with financial poverty. It causes young people to become so fearful of not having the "latest" styles that they will steal rather than shop in a thrift store.

I have lost a lot of money over the years because my natural optimism was channeled into a kind of gambling addiction that was triggered by this "don't worry, God will supply" attitude. This attitude is ok for getting through a rough patch, but it is not ok as an attempt to live up to the expectations of people who want to see material wealth as "proof" of "citizenship" in the Holy Kingdom. It is an occasion of all kinds of serious sins. These "abundance" preachers don't seem to understand what they are doing.

Jesus said "The poor will always be with you" as a means of teaching us to just accept and, in fact, enjoy poverty, not as an instruction to be always promoting wealth.

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I am but a small flower among showers of roses