[saintoffigs]

For the last 8 days, I have asked God to renew in me an increase of the Holy Spirit because I seek more courage in standing up not just for myself but also for God and His Church.
In that time frame, I have noticed I’m standing up for myself more, speaking out more, talking back more to those who speak an obvious falsehood against either Christ or His Church. I’ve also taken up the practices found in the Church Militant Field Manual and starting praying for those in Purgatory, the daily practices listed in it, and for those I encounter who speak those previous falsehoods.
I’ve also started doing Lectio Divina and growing in deeper understanding in speaking to God directly.
Since I’m about to start evangelizing, what should I do when someone only acts like they want to listen but it turns out they don’t?

[saintoffigs]

While praying in front of the Blessed Sacrament, I told Jesus about the fears in my life. I just turned 38 and felt like I haven’t accomplished much of anything. Although I do have a job, I was afraid I was about to lose it because of work performance tied to the pandemic. I was and am still afraid I might have a mental disorder that makes me question who I am.
I asked God for what I should do. He told me I should relax and He will always be there to guide me through my trials, like I was fighting trench warfare and he would be in the trenches with me.
He also said I should have more confidence in myself and I should stand up for what I believe in, and He would aid me in handling the consequences.

[saintoffigs]

I did pray to God for a person to have an evangelizing conversation.
About a week ago, I did come across such a conversation.
I asked them about Jesus, and the person told me I can’t talk to them about Jesus.
“Why not?” I asked him. “Because of church state separation,” he said.
“That doesnt apply here since neither one of us is the state,” I said.
He finally wanted to talk and said “I’ve heard of Jesus, but why put my faith in a myth?”
“Christ is not a myth. No creditable historian would say He is.”
“Ok,” he said. “Christ is not a myth, but there’s too many things he has in common with Horus, and we don’t believe in Horus anymore.”
“No creditable Egpytologist agrees with that comparison,” I told him.
He got up to leave and said “you can believe what you want and I’ll believe what I want.”
As he was walking away I asked “then how do we believe much of anything then?”
He walked away without answering.

How could this have gone better?

[saintoffigs]

I came from a Catholic family, but it was never a big deal growing up. I was never taught much of anything about Catholicism except for a few Fridays out of the year where we don’t eat meat. I would go on to have such a rough childhood I convinced myself at first God doesn’t care about me which then turned into God doesn’t exist.
By my later teens and early twenties, I started learning about the rules governing logic and beliefs held in other cultures. I came to realize there is no culture anywhere in the world that basis itself on either secularism or atheism. Around this time, much like all teens and early twenty-somethings, I was called on by teachers and professors to question everything and be skeptical of everything. Funny thing about it in hindsight: I was asked to be skeptical of everything except my own skepticism.
Once I did start questioning my skepticism, I found out everytihing I was told about Catholicism was either wrong or greatly missed the point. Catholics aren’t superstitious, they aren’t naive, and Catholic morality isn’t out of date: secular morality doesnt want to admit being wrong on anything.
Soon after, I went to Mass for the first time and never went back to my old way of life.

[saintoffigs]

I will pray for my mother, two older
sisters, nephew, and brother in law.

[Author]

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