Evangelizing Idea - Atheist / Anti-Catholic Family Member

[saintwannabe]

Hey Everyone,
Sometimes we come across family members, friends who are of an atheist / anti-Catholic persuasion, but who we detect some signs of openness. Such a situation struck me recently, and I started identifying other similar friends in my circle.
It also struck me that these friends can be stuck in a loaded situation, where there may be a critical mass of Catholic family members on the one side, empassionately pushing for their conversion, and on the other side, family members who would disapprove, with this person stuck, with some impediment or another, and not feeling free to explore the Catholic faith.

Strategy:

1. be educated in the one true faith, and ready to defend the hope you have (this is where Catholic Answers comes in very handy)
2. approach this person, or encourage the right person in their circle of influence, to approach the person and offer to be a confidential sounding board.
   a) In other words, they can explore all the questions they’re open minded to asking, but were too afraid to get into these loaded conversations.
   b) make sure they can trust you will tell no one you are having such conversations, as well as the content of the conversations.
3. Ideally you are not too close to the situation and can have an objective discussion with them, minimal on the emotional drama.

I was just imagining how loaded this process normally appears to them; namely exploring the Catholic faith, where you have an impediment, but also expectations looming from swaths of family members.
If they don’t have the Catholic persuasion, but want to explore, just imagine how worried they are to get into a debate and hurt their spouse’s feelings, or equally, to show open mindedness to a close family member, only to get the whole family’s hopes up, and let them down (because they think they’d encounter an intellectual difficulty, or impossible decision point)

Parting challenge:

1. pray about friends or family members who may have had a long “campaign” lovingly carried out by close loved ones, but have an impediment that they’d probably explore, if the process wasn’t so loaded.
2. approach them, or encourage others to do so

God Bless
Joe

 

[Mike_from_NJ]

Hello all,

I enjoyed saintwannabe’s post above about reaching out to non-Catholics in a caring and loving way. I do want to offer a bit from my perspective to maybe help those who wish to take up saintwannabe’s challenge.

First, never let a non-Catholic tell you that you outright should not be evangelizing. Even though I don’t agree with the message me and many others like me appreciate not only your need and desire to evangelize but also your right to do so (barring certain areas like workplaces).

That being said, please take care to understand the right of the family member you are speaking to from disengaging in the conversation. Personally, I wouldn’t evangelize a family member where they can’t leave (say on a road trip). No one likes to feel trapped. Don’t be the reason why the person is skipping attending family thanksgiving.

Don’t exploit the courtesy of the family member you are speaking to. If it’s clear that the person is completely uninterested then let it go and make sure the person knows if he or she has any questions that person can come to you.

Be willing and able to address concerns the person has. Don’t brush them aside because if they are asking you then it’s certainly a stumbling block to any possible conversion.

Non-Catholics will sometimes have misconceptions of the Catholic faith. It’s important to correct them, kindly. At the same time, they may be the one who is correct, so be willing to listen.

In short, play it cool. Spread your message but do so with a kind voice and open ears.

 

[myway]

You are trying to defend the Catholic church from people who are anti catholic. If you decide to pray for your family member you still might have to use good judgment on when to speak up.

Think of yourself as a true Catholic who is trying to help others get to know God. You must want whatever is best for the church. If you convert someone you don’t want them to pretend to be someone they are not.

 

[myway]

You are trying to defend the Catholic church from people who are anti catholic. If you decide to pray for your family member you still might have to use good judgment on when to speak up. Think of yourself as a true Catholic who is trying to help others get to know God. You must want whatever is best for the church. If you convert someone you don’t want them to pretend to be someone they are not.

As with anything it matters why you do things. Don’t try to prove a point just explain what you really believe in.

 

[SpeakKindly]

If they are family, treat them as such during the conversation, your love speaks more genuinely than the words you can speak sometimes. People want to see the truth, not just hear it.