Evangelization issues

[ae22]

I was talking with someone I know the other day. He’s a Baptist, and I asked him if he’d consider joining the Catholic Church.

While he did not seem averse to it on principle, he did raise a few issues, and I’m unsure how we, as Catholics, can address them.

-For a lifelong Protestant to walk into a Catholic Church, the liturgy is very confusing. They don’t know when to sit, stand, and kneel, they don’t know any of the congregational responses, and they can’t go up and receive communion, which they may used to be doing (as many Protestant churches practice open communion). He stated this makes him feel like a fish out of water.

-For (most) Protestants, the process of initiation is as simple as “receiving Jesus into your heart”. That’s easy! For Catholics, it entails (usually) going to RCIA or at the very least receiving some sort of instruction (depending whether you have been baptized in another Christian church, etc). This is daunting to some people.

-This particular person is divorced and remarried, which is acceptable in his church. I told him that he could talk to his Parish Priest about it, that every situation is different, and that he could rectify it by agreeing to live as brother and sister with his second wife - and that an annulment is possible depending on the circumstances of his first marriage. That’s a big step, and not one that people who aren’t already Catholic (or who aren’t already at the point where they want to join the Church on theological grounds and are ready to accept her teachings no matter what) are necessarily willing to take.

My question is this: when evangelizing to people, what’s the best way to explain these issues (and other issues) in a way that will get them to consider joining the Church despite their concerns?

 

[decjlc]

Coming from a Protestant background, I can say the first thing isn’t really that difficult. While it’s helpful to learn about the different elements of the liturgy, it’s easy to follow along in the Missal. There are also many different apps that tell you when to sit/stand/kneel and what to say.

I’m a huge nerd, so I’m not much help on the second point. I LOVE to read and study, so the RCIA process made total sense to me. The hardest thing was waiting when I so badly wanted to partake of the Sacraments and be in Communion with the Church. It taught me a lot about temperance and fortitude.

As to the last one, that will be hard. No advice for you there, but unfortunately, so many denominations accept divorce today that Protestants don’t see a problem with it and would not accept living as brother and sister until an annulment could be granted (and who knows if it even would be?). I’ll be interested in reading others’ responses to this one.

 

[edwest2]

I hope you find the following helpful:

catholicscomehome.org/im-not-catholic/

Peace,
Ed

 

[Ben_F]

Prayer and living your faith, along with, loving your friend, in words and deeds goes a long way. Answer questions honestly about your faith and, don´t be afraid to say, I don´t know, but will find out. Then find out. God Bless: Thumbsup:: Thumbsup:: Thumbsup:

 

[blujazz25]

I was talking with someone I know the other day. He’s a Baptist, and I asked him if he’d consider joining the Catholic Church.

While he did not seem averse to it on principle, he did raise a few issues, and I’m unsure how we, as Catholics, can address them.

-For a lifelong Protestant to walk into a Catholic Church, the liturgy is very confusing. They don’t know when to sit, stand, and kneel, they don’t know any of the congregational responses, and they can’t go up and receive communion, which they may used to be doing (as many Protestant churches practice open communion). He stated this makes him feel like a fish out of water.

-For (most) Protestants, the process of initiation is as simple as “receiving Jesus into your heart”. That’s easy! For Catholics, it entails (usually) going to RCIA or at the very least receiving some sort of instruction (depending whether you have been baptized in another Christian church, etc). This is daunting to some people.

-This particular person is divorced and remarried, which is acceptable in his church. I told him that he could talk to his Parish Priest about it, that every situation is different, and that he could rectify it by agreeing to live as brother and sister with his second wife - and that an annulment is possible depending on the circumstances of his first marriage. That’s a big step, and not one that people who aren’t already Catholic (or who aren’t already at the point where they want to join the Church on theological grounds and are ready to accept her teachings no matter what) are necessarily willing to take.

My question is this: when evangelizing to people, what’s the best way to explain these issues (and other issues) in a way that will get them to consider joining the Church despite their concerns?

The first question: There are a lot of Churches now that has missal cards on the pews that shows the responses and cues when to sit, stand or kneel. I found it best to follow the crowd so to speak when I become lost in space. It may be nice to gift him with a missal so he can see what the prayers entail and responses are. Some missals even explain why the liturgies are like that

Second question: If he is really willing in his heart to convert, this process should not be that daunting as it is part of knowing what you are going into. Its a long process but there is a reason for such and reminding him of that reason perhaps can help him be more patient and even more eager to look forward to be part of it. One way of telling them is that the Church wants you to know what you are about to get into and especially what we believe and if you feel that its not for you, then you have the time to step away before getting baptized. Kinda like reading the contract before signing. That is the perfect time for them to ask as much questions that they may have.

Third question: Unfortunately, I am not divorced and remarried to answer this. But based from what I see with the Church, the reason why we have rules and processes to follow is because that invokes discipline. For him to be fully open to the Church’s teachings, then he should know that in turn he must also accept its due processes and laws. As far as I know and I may be wrong, he can be accepted in the Church its just that his marriage will not be convalidated in the Church until annulment of the previous marriage is done.

Both in Protestant and Catholic faith, Baptism and Marriage are the two sacraments that are both official and valid. So if the first one was valid and this present one is valid as well, he needs to be annulled with the first before having this second one blessed in the Catholic faith.

If these are the only hindrances for them, then your work is easy. Because once you justify these, they will thirst for more. God bless and Good luck!