[Brian Lee]

I would create a list and pray over it. As you are praying over each person it may not be clear in that exact moment but throughout the course of your day it may become more obvious.

[Brian Lee]

That is great Zackary! Pray for them by name and trust God will work on their heart in His time.

[Brian Lee]

Hi Jesse,

This is wonderful! So often our faith can seem like a list of pointless rules so affirming God’s love and our call to relationship with Him is so important. There are a few things I would consider as you craft sharing the Kerygma from your heart.

1) Instead of starting with God loves us consider starting with God created us. This is a small change, but it is an important foundation to build upon. For example, every car comes with a manual. The car manufacturers know what the owner of the car needs to do keep the car running well. If they fail to ever get oil changes, get gas (or charge the battery), or get new tires then the car is not going to get very far before it stops running or breaks down. The same is with our faith. God loves us and our faith guides on how we are called to live both on earth and for eternity.

2) Rejecting God has consequences. The consequences are not directed from God’s anger towards us, but are the natural effects of our sin. For instance, if I tell my son not to put his hand on the hot stove, and he chooses to do so anyways, then he will burn his hand. His hand burning was not me as the parent punishing him, but rather the natural consequence of him disobeying me. This is true of the moral life as well. Faith provides a light in the moral life to guide us on how to live within Gods love and protects us from experiencing the consequences of sin. The ultimate consequence of sin is not just limited to this life. It is an eternity without God which is what we call Hell. As you already say so well, we have free will. And we cannot live in both sin and in the light of God’s love. So it is important that we make a choice and ask God for the grace to let go of the things that are preventing us from living in His light.

[Brian Lee]

That is great John. It sounds like you have a great thing going with making prayer an essential part of each day. If you can find a way to make a good examen each day that would be great. St. Ignatius once said that if you could only do one prayer a day that the examen was the most important.

[Brian Lee]

Great job Amber!

[Brian Lee]

What a wonderful witness Ruth!

[Brian Lee]

Awesome John!

[Brian Lee]

I have had to set up similar boundaries with my phone. I have found that by having in charge in a different room to be very helpful to alievate the temptation to open it throughout the evening.

[Brian Lee]

I agree with you Ruth! The days I start with Mass and/or Adoration are always transformative. Normally not in a big way at first, but slowly over time I can tell a difference in myself as a person as a husband, father, friend, son, and co-worker. How beautiful of a witness you were to that young woman!

[Brian Lee]

I can absolutely relate to this post. I am always surprised how despite my own weakness and imperfect presentation how the Gospel message can still lead others to open their hearts and minds to Jesus. Keep praying for your co-worker and even pray for more opportunities to present themselves.

[Brian Lee]

That is great John. I am excited for you to begin evangleizing. I think you will be surprised how well received the Gospel message is within the context of our listen, befriend, proclaim, invite method. Just as a word of encouragement do not put the pressure on yourself that your wording has to be perfect before you begin sharing with others. Sharing the Gospel will become more natural to you the more you do it once you get started.

[Brian Lee]

This reminds me St. Paul who in the book of Romans asked what can separate us from the love of God. He states, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor present things,nor future things, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.” One important thing to notice is that Paul does not write sin. This is because sin is the only thing that can separate us from God’s love. The Christian life (beginning with Baptism and ending in death) has one goal. I is to root out sin so that we can free our heart to love God and neighbor. This is how we become like Christ.

[Brian Lee]

One of the lines that struck me most Ruth was how you mentioned the faith of those you encountered on the streets was strengthened by your presence. It is amazing how isolating an experience our faith has become in our modern day. Our culture today tries to keep the Gospel “contained” and I love how the Lord working through you in this ministry is able to bring it into the light. Its manifests its power and goodness to save and heal souls. Thank you for your witness!

[Brian Lee]

Wonderful Deborah! Never underestimate the power of prayer. If possible I would also recommend sharing some good books with them when it is appropriate. So many conversion stories of saints include picking up a holy book. Books I would recommend:

1) The Bible
2) The Catechism
3) Rome Sweet Home by Scott and Kimberley Hahn
4) Why We’re Catholic – Trent Horn
4) Something Other Than God by Jennifer Fulwiler
5) Crossing The Tiber by Steve Ray
6) Surprised By Truth I, II & III (3 books) by Patrick Madrid

[Brian Lee]

That is wonderful Ruth. The One Good Reason method is powerful and can really open hearts to the truth. I pray that over time it will work on the heart of your husband Bill as he see’s the truth of our faith being lived out through you as a witness.

[Author]

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