I came upon an excellent new thread posted by 3DOCTORS, just as I was wondering about a few of my protestant friends (some are close friends, some Facebook friends,) and questioning which way is best, the gentle “approachable” Catholic friend or more of a “Church Militant” Catholic.
A combination of the two is best.
Many of my friends, both protestant and Catholic, are also Facebook friends. On my home page, I enjoy posting beautiful artworks of Our Lady, and historical essays, Church facts, Catholic Bible verses and news about Catholic charities around the world. I also, quite often, post helpful videos which explain Catholic traditions and one favorite video which names the founders of various protestant sects versus how our Church was founded by Christ, Who handed the Keys to St. Peter, etc. So far, people seem to enjoy the history of the Church and I’ve yet to find anyone who wants to argue.
You’ve been blessed so far then. Sooner or later someone on FB will spout off about the Catholic faith. That’s just how it goes.
However, the important thing is not to give an angry response, but a factual one, showing the error the other person has presented. Facts are always the best response because they make a better case and cannot be refuted. The rest is up to the Holy Spirit.
One dear friend converted to the Catholic Faith this past year.
Glory be to God!
Do you ever feel torn between being “approachable” and standing your ground? Or have you found a good balance?
I believe we can and should be both. Our response should always be kind and charitable. Anger or rudeness has no place in faith sharing.
That said, I did have a buddy of many years friendship who, after I came home to the Catholic faith, insisted on sending me emails with the worst kinds of a-C polemics and conspiracy theories backed up with links to a-C sites online.
I answered the first 8 or 10 of them with factual refutations before pointing out that I didn’t appreciate this barrage of attacks against the faith and that having spent considerable time proving them wrong, that I would appreciate it if he stopped sending them, pointing out that he wouldn’t have appreciated it if I did him this way.
That didn’t seem to sink in and it continued for several more months with me no longer answering them until finally I had had enough and wrote him that if he had nothing else to offer, after our long years of friendship, then I no longer wanted to hear from him at all.
I haven’t heard from him since. Not a word. It’s sad, but this is precisely the other side of the coin that we are talking about. It’s sad…but there was nothing else for it.
My feeling as a new convert is that I wish more Catholics had cared enough to gently inform me about the Faith. It would have saved me decades of sorrow and searching.
This is a very very good point! I believe that anyone who is receptive is someone placed in our life by the Holy Spirit and that we need to befriend them and share our most holy faith with them.
So I do not want to rush in with a superior attitude when approaching my protestant friends, but neither do I want to act as if I didn’t care or if it doesn’t matter to me how their faith journey ends.
I do care, and it does matter!
What have we to feel or act superior about? It is only by God’s grace and mercy that we have been led to the faith at all, right? And we are by no means perfect are we… So, I think you’re on the right track, and that you’ll do fine. Just prayerfully watch for the openings.
How do you communicate with your non-Catholic friends, relatives, co-workers?
Live our most holy faith first and foremost. Not pretentiously, but simply by matter of fact of “this is who and what I am”. People seeing us doing so is the strongest witness of all. Without that, nothing we can say means anything. With it…
1st Peter 3:15-17 comes into play as it should and our hope and prayer is that they ask us about our hope as St. Peter says.
It also never hurts to carry as supply of good
Catholic Tracts (See also
Top Ten Questions Catholics are Asked) to leave with people as you are led by the Holy Spirit because sometimes it opens a door to serious faith sharing. I’ve encountered fallen away Catholics who have been thinking of coming home as well as others who thank me because they have been considering conversion. I come away from those instances in awe of the Holy Spirit and humbly praising Him.
