Random Access - Our Readers

Lending the Divine Physician a Hand...Er, Foot
Readers share their experiences of random opportunities to share the Catholic Faith with others.

Woodstock '94 wasn't a total washout
Odor. That was the distinguishing characteristic of the man I witnessed to during a trip from New Jersey to the University of Colorado on a Greyhound bus.

He, like most of the passengers on the bus, was on his way home from Woodstock '94. It had rained all weekend and my traveling companions emanated a distinct odoriferous mixture of mud, alcohol and tobacco. These were most present in Jason, the man who sat next to me during the 39-hour trip.

Jason sat in his wet sleeping bag, constantly drawing can after can of beer from the bottom. Jason was a product of the worst elements of American culture. He was in his late 20s and hailed from Ontario. We began small talk until time formed a familiarity between us. Our discussion eventually reached the realms of religion. Jason was agnostic. After hearing the story of his "Catholic" father's satanism and his mother's prostitution, I couldn't totally blame him.

Jason caught me off-guard when he told me his occupation. "I sell oil. You know what that is, right?" My puzzled reaction spurred him to continue. The "oil" he was referring to was liquid marijuana. His illicit $1,500 a day income and a big screen TV the size of Texas seemed to be all he required for his happiness. I didn't buy it. I explained that as much as his parents weren't there for him, his Heavenly Father was. I shared my Catholic Faith as we discussed whether Jesus was really present in the Eucharist or not, and whether the Bible was still applicable to modern society. As we neared his stop in Nebraska, I spoke of Christ dying especially for him. Although his words still expressed disbelief, his demeanor softened, and I virtually saw his stubborn heart skip a beat.

I don't know where Jason is today, but the Bible tells us that one man plants, another waters and God gives the increase. Jason was a wanderer and could be in your town by now. I pray that if you see him, you look past who he appears to be, and take time to water the seed within him.

Brian Butler, Metarie, LA

Just twice a year, that's all He asks
Earlier this year, I had the opportunity to share the Faith with an old friend from college. I don't know whether it was successful or not, but issues of faith are often that way in the short term.

This formerly Catholic friend has led a steadily hedonistic lifestyle since our graduation 17 years ago. We see one another for dinner once or twice a year when he's in town from his work overseas. A few years ago, he mentioned he was pro-choice and an agnostic. We discussed the pro-life issue at length two or three times, and found one another to be quite uncompromising.

So you can imagine my surprise and delight when one of the first things he told me during a recent dinner was that he had become pro-life. Very rationally, he explained, he decided that pro-lifers were correct in the assumption that human life was human life at every stage. He thanked me for helping him see this.

Encouraged by this success, I decided to evangelize him for the first time, and in a unique manner. Having learned over the last couple of years of many Eucharistic miracles, miraculous conversions (eg. Alphonse de Ratisbonne due to the Miraculous Medal), Marian apparitions, especially Fatima, and other historical "proofs" of God's existence, I described a number of them to my friend, then made sure that after 30 minutes or so, we moved on to other subjects. By the end of the evening, he didn't suddenly say, "Okay, thanks for being a rational friend, now I believe in God." But I do believe I appealed effectively to his logical nature by showing him that God has provided tangible evidence of His existence through His grace.

So was this an apologetics success? As with my friend's pro-life beliefs, maybe I'll find out in a few years. But for now, I feel as if I've laid some good groundwork to bring back this lapsed Catholic. And I'll feel more comfortable in evangelizing in the future, especially since someone has told me I've already helped them understand an issue.
David Mahoney, Bethesda, MD

The best treatment is often compassion
As a foot doctor, I have the opportunity to speak with my patients about a wide range of topics. I have found that with a few simple statements or questions, those who are willing can easily be steered into a conversation about faith.

Last summer, I had an experience that illustrates this point well. A patient with an ingrown toenail visited my office. I routinely asked her if she had any other health problems. She began crying, saying that I wouldn't believe her, nobody ever believes her. Apparently about five years ago, she began to experience terrible pains in many seemingly unrelated areas of her body. For many months she underwent hospitalizations and a battery of exams and tests. No pathology was found. Eventually, her family doctor, exasperated, told her, "You're nuts! You need a shrink!" She sought the care of other physicians, with similar results.

She related to me that these insults and lack of a definitive diagnosis caused her health and mental status to continue to decline over the ensuing years, to the point that she presently was constantly depressed and in pain. When I see patients in this type of situation, I often suspect an underlying spiritual problem, so I asked her if she believed in God and attended church regularly. She began another long story about her daughter who had divorced and remarried. She related that due to her daughter's divorce and remarriage, her daughter had left her church and gone to a Baptist church. To support her daughter during this difficult time, she had also left her church and joined the Baptist church.

It wasn't difficult to deduce that she and her daughter had previously been Catholic, and with some gentle questioning, the patient confirmed this fact. She also made a feeble attempt to justify her move with some superficial anti-Catholic remarks she had learned in her new church.

However, it also dawned on her, with some subtle prodding, that her health problems first arose shortly after leaving the Catholic Church. I asked her if it was possible that, while not denying the very real nature of her physical afflictions, the root of her problem was a basic fear of death, knowing in her heart that she wasn't where she knew she should be. This seemed a revelation to her, and she began crying anew. She did indeed have a strong fear of death, and ached for the sacraments of reconciliation and Holy Eucharist, for an assurance that she truly was "right" with God and was being fed with His Presence.

I recommended a good priest in her neighborhood and strongly encouraged her to go to confession and return to the Mass and the sacraments that very weekend. I also gave her one of the copies of Surprised By Truth that I keep in my office for just such an opportunity, to dispel the doubts about the Faith that had been instilled in her by her new church. She was very thankful and visibly relieved.

I didn't hear from her for many months until I walked into my treatment room one day to care for a patient. I was preoccupied that day and didn't even recognize her until she handed me my book back. Her whole demeanor had changed; she was happy and enthusiastic. Her "health problems" had completely resolved since she last saw me. She had indeed returned to the Church that very weekend after I treated her.

I hold this event as one of the greatest "treatment" successes of my career as a foot doctor. It only occurred because I took the time to listen to her "health" history, and recognized that not all health problems are physical. Often the Divine Physician is the only One Who can heal us.
Dr. Brian J. Kopp, Johnstown, PA

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