[Melissa Manning]

Thanks for asking that question! Before I answer, do you mind if I ask you: What do you think is the main purpose of marriage?
(they might answer something like, “It’s for people who love each other”)
Yes, I agree with you, love is really important in relationships! As Catholics, we have a spiritual view of marriage. God created each human being to get to know Him and love Him so he or she can live with Him forever in Heaven someday. God created the marriage arrangement so children could be brought up in a home where they can be helped to worship God.
The Catholic Church welcomes all people, but the holy sacrament of marriage is reserved for a man and a woman for the purpose of having children that will love God and go to Heaven.

[Melissa Manning]

I have prayed the rosary everyone day without fail for over four years now. I was converted by praying the Rosary and I have always prayed at least one decade in the morning. The last six months, I have been praying fifteen Mysteries every morning. I stepped up my spiritual practices at that time as a response to what I believe is a great increase in demonic activity world-wide.
I stopped eating all foods derived from animals and I have been totally vegan for the last six months. I stopped my glass of red wine in the evenings. I canceled my Dish service and quit watching TV.
Dietary decisions and “mass media fasts” are completely personal, and I am not recommending my regimen for others by describing my experiences here. However, all of these adjustments I have made to my life have benefited me greatly. My energy is very high and I am not troubled with any annoying health issues such as high blood pressure. I was inspired to go vegan because I would no longer have to remember to not eat meat on Fridays!
I spend about two hours in the morning in prayer, and the rest of the day flows out of grace given by Our Lady. I don’t know too much about all the “levels” described in this lesson. All I know is that the Rosary prays me as much as I pray it, It’s the cornerstone of how I practice my faith. I rely very much on Our Blessed Mother’s guidance.
I like the suggestions given in the lesson for intercessory prayer. The “Forty Days for Life” prayer campaign is about to kick-off in the nearest big city, and I will be involved in intercessory prayer outside of a Planned Parenthood abortion mill. I like the idea of joining others in this effort.
I do watch some YouTube, but I am very selective. I love videos or podcasts of Catholics who are faithfully presenting the teachings of the Church. Some of my favorites are Bishop Strickland, Father Ripperger, and Mother Miriam. Yes, I am greedy for the consolation and “spiritual candy” of listening to the uncompromised Word!
If I want a little entertainment, I will watch funny animal videos or a movie about a saint. GARBAGE IN, GARBAGE OUT! Satan is in total control of much of what people watch for hours every day. Unplug from his programming!

[Melissa Manning]

My tact with the kerygma would be heavily based on where the individual’s faith life was at. I am prepared to dismantle the silly claims of evolutionists in a friendly way if that is an objection. If an individual is way out in crazy-land, believing that each person can have their own “truth”, I can knock some air out of that fantasy, too. I believe that one of your presenters commented that evangelism is spiritual warfare. That’s true. The insanity in our culture is inspired by the god of chaos, lies, and death. The Catholic Faith is logical, coherent, and life-giving. To evangelize is to put oneself in the frontlines of the culture war between good and evil, life and death. It’s the most interesting and exciting work there is.
I did find that writing out a basic kerygma is beneficial. It will help keep the conversation anchored and focused.

[Melissa Manning]

I love the “Change my mind” memes! I do plan to use it in the future.
But no, when I said “controversial”, I was referring to rather mild statements such as: “The Ten Commandments are for Christians! Do you know them?”
Although one day, my sign said: “Voting for Someone Who Supports Abortion is a Mortal Sin!” I received lots of thumbs-up for that one from passers-by, although I doubt that most of them knew what a mortal sin was. (This was long before Father Altman was canceled for expressing similar sentiments)

[Melissa Manning]

It’s deeply engrained into our culture. Children are taught the theory of evolution as fact in school. It colors a person’s entire worldview. I come across this kind of thinking when witnessing to college students. Most universities are brainwashing camps that selectively hire atheistic and Communist faculty.
Our Lady of Fatima warned about errors originating in Russia that, if not checked by the Church, would spread throughout the world. Government sponsored atheism, Communism and legalized abortion are some of the main fruits of those errors, which are now accepted everywhere and normalized.
Dr. Jerry Bergman writes:
“Darwinism as a worldview was a critical factor, not only in influencing the development of Nazism, but also in the rise of communism and the communist holocaust that, by one estimate, took the lives of more than 100 million persons. Marx, together with his forebears, associates and successors, was a doctrinaire evolutionist who tried to build his society on evolutionary premises. There is abundant documentation of this assessment and, few would even question it.”

[Melissa Manning]

The doctrine of creation is fundamental in introducing a Christ-centered worldview. If a person believes that everything just evolved from chance occurrences through a flawed theory called “evolution”, then you will likely be talking “past each other” in discussing the Gospel. Hopefully, a basis for real communication has already been laid through informal conversation. An even more basic starting point is to find out if they believe that truth is even knowable.

[Melissa Manning]

I have never heard non-Catholic religions described this way. Could you give an example of what kind of product one of these religions might offer, and what problem they are trying to solve? This comparison of religion to a marketed (and likely advertised) product is very interesting! ?

[Melissa Manning]

I am not new to evangelism. I am recounting this particular conversation because I didn’t plan what came out of my mouth. It was an interesting experience.
I had a little table set up at a Farmer’s Market in Oklahoma, with a controversial topic on my whiteboard, and free Rosaries, as usual. A very nice Catholic woman who I had spoken to another weekend came up to my table and we exchanged pleasantries. I forget how the topic came up, but she said, “Did you know that the Bible and the Koran have the same message? They’re exactly the same!”. Taken by surprise, I said, “What I’ve read of it did not give me that impression, in fact, I did not like it too much.”
“Oh, that’s because it was a bad translation,” she answered. “You have to read it in Arabic.” I then heard myself ask her an odd question:
“Is Mary Allah’s mother?” I asked.
“What?”
“Allah, the god of the Koran. Is Mary Allah’s mother?”
“Well, no!” she said, a little taken aback.
“Is Mary Jesus’ mother?”
“Yes!”
“Is Jesus God?” I asked. There was a long silence. She could see exactly where I was going with this.
Finally she said, “No. He is not.”
I was amazed. This little exercise in logic, completely unplanned on my part, had gone right to the heart of something very unsound in this lady’s faith life. I went on to explain to her that as a Christian, my core belief was that Jesus is God made man. Mary was called Theotokos historically because she is the mother of God. My Catholic friend did not seem to want to discuss the Koran any more. We engaged in a little more chit-chat, and she moved on to the next table to look at the home-grown honey.

[Melissa Manning]

It sounds like maybe you don’t like organized religion. Is that it? Have you always felt this way?

[Melissa Manning]

It sounds like you feel you’re going to Heaven! I’m glad you believe in salvation through Jesus Christ!
Tell me, do you believe that Jesus is God? Great! Well, Jesus, like His Father, is holy. Jesus founded a Church, which is also holy.
The true Church has four marks to help us recognize it:
1). It is One because all members share the same faith and worship
2). It is Holy because Jesus, who is God, founded it
3). It is Catholic or universal, meaning it’s for everyone, no exceptions
4). It is Apostolic, meaning the faith that the Jesus’ apostles taught has been passed down without change
I would like to invite you to the Church that Jesus personally founded!

[Melissa Manning]

Unlike the Sacraments, which have the power to confer grace, there is no inherent power in sacramentals. However, those who make use of sacramentals (such as medals or holy water) obtain the blessings of the Church, the prayers of martyrs and saints who have gone before us. The demonic are repelled by and suffer pain from sacramentals.

[Melissa Manning]

Popes can make serious errors and even say heretical things. They are just men. Infallibility applies only when they are teaching on faith or morals. Infallibility is the assistance of the Holy Ghost in helping the Holy Father to accurately pass on the Magisterium of the Church to the faithful. Like an ordinary man, a Pope has free will, and it’s possible for him to ignore the leading of the Holy Ghost. It’s very important that all Catholics respect the Papacy, but also be personally firmly grounded in the traditional faith given by Jesus through the Apostles, which can never change.

[Melissa Manning]

The Israelites were given the Ten Commandments, but also very detailed instructions on how to make a tabernacle and worship God. God described to them all kinds of beautiful decorations, including two statues of angels facing the Mercy Seat (where God would meet with His people over the Ark of the Covenant). These angels were not idols, and the Israelites did not worship them. These were images that demonstrated praise and reverance for God in His temple. A Church decorated with beautiful images of Our Lord, His Blessed Mother, and the Saints glorifies God.

[Melissa Manning]

That’s a great start! Tell me, who assigns you the penance you need to do?

After King David committed adultery with Bathsheba, he later came to realize his error and was very sorry. God forgave him, but there was still a penalty for his sin. David’s little baby boy did not live.

That’s why Jesus instituted the sacrament of penance to be given by a Priest. In Matthew 18:15-18, Jesus gives his representative, the Priest, the power to hear a confession and forgive sins. The Priest then assigns us penance, usually in the form of prayer. When we cooperate with the healing spiritual remedy that God has given us, not only are we saved from punishment after death, but we are also protected, to some degree, from the consequences of our sins in this life.

Another good scripture is Ezechiel 18:21-23

[Melissa Manning]

Great idea! Your comment about those that do not take the “happy sheet” made me laugh. Yes, it’s important to share the whole gospel. Our Lord preached more about Hell than other topics.

[Author]

Replies