Random Access - Our Readers

Don't Be Bashful
Readers share their experiences of random opportunities to share
the Catholic faith with others.

God uses Cash

One morning, I was reading my Bible in my truck before work began. A coworker saw me and began asking questions. He had many questions about the Bible in general, and I explained to him that there were many different Bibles, noting the differences between Catholic and Protestant ones. I told him it would probably depend on where he chose to practice his faith as to which Bible to use. I explained that for the first few centuries, there was not a fully collected Bible and that it was the Catholic Church, with guidance from the Holy Spirit, that assembled the writings into what we now know as the Bible. He then shared that he was born and baptized Catholic, but that over the years, he had fallen away from the Church. His mother was actually now attending a local Baptist church.

A few weeks later, he told me he'd gone to the Baptist church on Easter with his mother and was trying to go every Sunday with her. He also said he was trying to read the Bible. He wanted to know about my faith history and practice, because unlike him, I wasn't raised Catholic. I shared with him that for most of my childhood, I attended a small Protestant church that my father's family had begun in Imperial Valley, California. My mother was born Catholic and went to Mass on Sundays, but we always went to the Protestant church with my paternal grandmother. Eventually, as I became an adult, I started questioning some aspects of the Protestant church, and became interested in learning more about the Catholic Church. Learning that it was founded by Jesus Christ and not just a man or woman was the primary reason for my conversion. I tried to convey to my coworker the long and rich history of the Catholic Church, as compared to the various Protestant faiths.

He then asked me questions concerning the Eucharist, and I explained that Catholics believe the Bread and Wine are not merely symbols, but that they are actually changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus by the priest at Mass. I told him to read John 6.

We also discussed infant baptism versus being baptized only as an adult. I invited him to my daughter's baptism, which just happened to be that weekend, and he came! We belong to the oldest parish in California, the first of Fr. Junipero Serra's missions. It is beautiful, and my friend was impressed. He asked for a schedule of the Masses and wants to go one Sunday. He has also asked me for information regarding religion classes or Bible studies at our parish. I informed him of the RCIA program, which I went through myself.

He seems very open to everything I shared with him and to the possibility of coming back to the Catholic Church. I also recently gave him Scott Hahn's conversion tape. Now, we just have to keep him in our prayers and be there as a support should he have more questions.

Cash Sanchez, Santee, CA

Be big, be bold, be Catholic

When we opened a Catholic gift shop three years ago, we decided that, in response to the Holy Father's call to evangelization, the word "Catholic" would be the largest word on the sign. We reasoned that unless people knew what we were all about, they wouldn't know whether or not they wanted to come in.

The idea really worked. People have seen the word "Catholic" on the sign and have come in, including non-Catholics. Some come in to buy, and some come in with questions.

One gentleman came in who hadn't been to church in 35 years. He had a question about confession. I gave him a little holy card that showed Jesus sitting on a rock with a child kneeling at His knee. Jesus had His arms around him. On the reverse side of the holy card was the Act of Contrition. I told him that this is all that confession is. Nothing more, but nothing less, either. The man just started weeping.

About two weeks later, he came back and said he was back in the Church. And all because he saw the word "Catholic" on our sign.

Toni Vercillo, Tacoma, WA

Meanwhile, at a Catholic shop on the opposite coast . . .

At a bookstore I occasionally work at in Manhattan, I encountered a woman who was approaching retirement age. After talking to her, it became apparent she had trouble with the papacy and Magisterium of the Church. She just didn't quite accept them. I found that puzzling, given her age, but thankfully, she was led into this bookstore.

My fellow staffers and I introduced her to some videos that defended the papacy and Magisterium as institutions established by our Lord in order to save souls and bring souls back to Him.

It was a matter of misinformation on her part, and I think she had also gotten involved with radical feminism. It seems radical feminism bases so much on the emotionalism of issues. They don't think about the intellectual or spiritual aspects of being a woman in the true sense, as Mary was.

She left with the Catechism and the encyclical, The Splendor of Truth, and she came back within a week of that initial meeting, which was a really good sign. She wanted more encyclicals and materials on Vatican II.

She has since kept in touch with us. I like to think that due to the presence of the bookstore and the type of material we gave her, we were able to change her mind on some ideas she had. She hasn't come back to say she's a staunch supporter, but neither is she able to hold to some of her original arguments. I think since we were able to point out the brilliance and depth of the spirituality of Pope John Paul II, she's beginning to see the light.

Diane Conocchioli, Staten Island, NY

Speaking for those who can't

I have a friend of a different Faith who challenges me sometimes. He knows what buttons to push, and what things really get under my skin. One of these is abortion.

Recently, he asked me how I could tell a woman what to do with her body. I countered by reminding him that when someone makes a decision like this, it involves two people, and the child has no choice. Who will defend the unborn?

Since I'm passionate about defending life and the unborn, it got pretty heated. Normally, I don't try to push my views on anyone. I try to live by example. But lately, I've been more compelled to speak up. I've definitely been more brave. If something comes up, I'm not silent, because if you are silent, you're somewhat defending that person's position.

Mark Hart, Albany, NY

Is there an exception for Catholic journalists?

In the MBA program at a major Catholic University, I had a class on multinational finance. We were discussing the payment of workers in third world countries, where their industry is very poorly developed. Large multinational companies go in and set up companies in order to utilize the extremely cheap labor available.

An argument arose as to just what constitutes a "fair wage" to pay workers in these third world countries. And probably half the class thought it was justified to pay workers what you would term "a wage of exploitation." "Exploitative" is being defined here as below subsistence level. The sad thing is this was a Catholic university.

The professor, a few others and I were trying to explain that the Church teaches you cannot pay someone less than what the work they do for you is worth, and at a level that's below subsistence level, even if that's what the market defines.

For instance, in some countries, companies pay terribly cheap wages because jobs are in such demand that people would kill for the job. Well, that doesn't justify exploiting the workers. So I ended up saying a few things to show that type of exploitation was unjustified, and that it was against Catholic social teaching. This was contrary to the typical MBA mentality, which says you are to look only at the bottom line. But the professor put forth that you even hurt the bottom line when you pay workers at an exploitative level. If you do the right thing, it will come back to you.

I don't know how I did in presenting the message, but I did get some feedback from an international student, and he agreed with my point.

Joyce Keen, Chicago, IL

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