Random Access - Our Readers

No Matter Where You Go, There He Is
Readers share their experiences of random opportunities to share the Catholic Faith with others.

All in a day's work
The story I would like to share is unusual in that it is not yet finished. It begins at my office about a year ago. A coworker (let's call her Sarah) that I sat next to began to share her joy over her newfound friend — Jesus. I found this unusual for two reasons: 1) Religion in general and Jesus in particular are not topics of conversation one hears at the office much; and 2) she was Jewish, albeit a cultural Jew.

Sarah may have decided to open up to me due to the fact that I have an 11" x 17" Divine Mercy poster hanging in my cubicle; or maybe it was the Our Lady of Guadalupe poster; or maybe the St. Benedict crucifix; or maybe God simply prompted her to. Whatever the reason, we began to have serious talks about Jesus.

It seemed that Sarah's boyfriend at the time had shared his Protestant faith with her, and she was very much enthralled. The concept of being able to talk to Jesus, ask Him for help and share her joys, frustrations and pains was very appealing. I thought all of this was great . . . except she wasn't getting the whole picture. Her boyfriend attended what I believe to be a feel-good Protestant church (a large community church known for their music), and she was definitely lacking in the doctrinal knowledge area.

Normal apologetics arguments would have been useless in this instance. Handing Sarah a copy of Ludwig Ott's Fundamentals of Catholic Dogma would be pointless. Instead I approached her as if she were a child first starting CCD.

I gave her a simple question-and answer-booklet on Catholic beliefs, along with other basic material. I also explained the history of Christianity and how the Protestant churches broke away from the one true Church that Jesus started. I pointed out important doctrinal differences even between Protestant churches, to emphasize that it does matter which denomination you belong to. There is no such thing as "I'm just a Christian" or "I'm a non-denominational Christian."

The benefit of Sarah's lack of knowledge was that she had no prejudices. She listened and accepted my explanations, although she asked many questions. However, the most important thing I did was take her to St. Michael's Abbey, which is a Norbertine Abbey in our area [home of Fr. Hugh Barbour, O.Praem., contributing editor for Envoy].

Sarah fell in love with the place. She said it was very peaceful. She liked the statues, the artwork, but most of all, she liked Jesus — on the Cross, that is. She had never been exposed to a life-size crucifix. To this day, the sight of Jesus on the Cross in a Catholic Church makes her cry (or maybe it's the unseen Presence of Jesus in the tabernacle). I also took her to Mass at a different church once. I did my best to explain the Mass and the Real Presence, although I think a lot of it went over her head.

Unfortunately, Sarah was unexpectedly terminated from my company seven months ago. I have not seen her since, and have only spoken to her a few times. Although I don't believe she is close to becoming Catholic, I don't know what truths God may have written on her heart.

We did talk about religion during our last conversation. I once again mentioned the Real Presence of Jesus can be found only in a Catholic Church (or Eastern Orthodox, but they don't have the pope). At the end of our conversation, she asked if I thought that some commandments, such as forbidding homosexual acts, were only for biblical times. After all, "this is the '90s." Unfortunately, she received another call that she had to take before I could explain to her that God's truths (ie. laws) are eternal, outside of time, and therefore do not change. Who invented call waiting, anyway?

Stay tuned. Sometimes the evangelization of a person can be a lifetime affair, although I hope not in this case. In the meantime, I now have another female coworker sitting next to me. She is an avowed Protestant who would never confess her sins to some man in a box.

I guess an apologist's work is never done.

Peter Ikalowych, Mission Viejo, CA

Checking into God at the Hotel California (and Minnesota)
This is really a three-part story that happened while I was traveling on business two years ago. I was in California for a 1 1/2 day meeting, then I moved on to Minnesota for another two days.

At the hotel in California, I met a young man. We got to talking, and after a while our conversation turned to religion. He asked about the crucifix I was wearing and why I was wearing it. I explained it to him, then he announced he was an atheist. End of conversation on that subject.

Or so I thought. Later that evening, out of the blue he asked me if I thought he was going to hell. I found it peculiar that an atheist believed in hell. Anyway, I asked God for guidance and told him no. I explained that I knew that he was a wonderful, loving and charitable man, and that God would not let him die without revealing Himself in such a way that he couldn't help but believe. But I also told him he must try to remain open. He smiled at me almost in tears, and said that no Christian had ever said that to him before. They had all told him that he was doomed.

During a break in Minnesota, I was reading a book about a private revelation, and a man walked up and asked if he could bother me with a question. I said sure. He asked if I was a Catholic, and I said I was. He started asking me about the Faith, and eventually revealed that he was a fallen-away Catholic, and was coming back, but was unsure of how to find good Catholic material to really know what he was coming back for. I immediately suggested the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Surprised by Truth and Rome Sweet Home. He had never heard of any of these, and was especially interested to hear that the Church had published a book explaining our beliefs in detail.

Later that evening, I ended up in a discussion with another fallen-away Catholic, and over the course of the evening, he became amazed by the simplicity of our Faith. He agreed to let me send him some more information about the Faith.

On the flight home, I was in awe of God. This was not a trip that I was originally scheduled to go on. Yet, in God's infinite wisdom, He knew I would be able to reach out to three different men about our glorious Faith.

Kathleen Kurty, via e-mail

Buddy, can you spare a prayer?
On my way home from a meeting downtown, I decided to stop at St. Louis Bertrand Church here in Kentucky for a visit. As I headed for the front door of the church, I noticed a beggar also heading for the same door. He had timed it so we would reach the door at the same time. I didn't know his name, but I did know his face, because he was often begging at the same spot. He always asked for money for a new pair of shoes.

As we met at the door, he asked, "Mister, can you spare a few dollars?"

I growled, "And what do you want the money for? Oh never mind, I know what you're going to do with the money. Get away from me!"

I reached for the church door, and I felt the Holy Spirit speak to me in my heart. "You hypocrite! You insult Me on the steps of My church, and now you're going to come inside and pray?"

I was crushed. I turned and went back to the man and gave him some money. I told him I was sorry for the way I talked to him, and asked him to forgive me. I asked him his name, and he said it was Dallas. I said, "How are you doing?"

"Okay," he answered.

I then asked him, "How are you really doing?" When he saw I was genuinely interested, he told me of his many health problems. I then told Dallas, "Jesus loves you." Dallas looked at me in total disbelief. I said, "I mean it, Dallas, Jesus loves you. He loves you just as you are. He knows you may no longer have the ability to change, but He still loves you."

I noticed tears running down his face, so I asked Dallas if he would allow me to pray with him. He didn't say yes, but he didn't say no either, and I thought I saw some sign of encouragement in his expression. Dallas repeated these words after me: "Jesus, I am a sinner. I am sorry for all of my sins. I will try to change. I ask you, Jesus, to come into my life. I will live my life for You." I gave him a big hug and suggested he go over to a nearby tree and just sit there and tell Jesus how much he loved Him. Dallas said he would do it. When I came out of church, he was gone.

Two weeks later, I saw a story in the local paper. "The body of the man found under the 9th street bridge two weeks ago has been identified. Police said it was Dallas . . . who was one of the city's homeless. He had been living under the bridge for several years."

This is not the story of a deacon who was so self-centered that he was too busy to evangelize a street person. It is not the story of a beggar who turned to the Lord hours before his death. It is the story of Our Lord, Who goes into the gutters in the lives of each and every one of us to save us.

Glory to God.

Deacon Bob Burns, Valley Station, KY

Send your stories of encounters with friends, coworkers or family members to: Random Access, Envoy Magazine, P.O. Box 1840, West Chester, PA 19380, or e-mail us at editor@envoymagazine.com.