Homeless men and fun-seeking teens, Jesus loves them all and wants them to come to Him. So, thank you again for your prayers and other support for Boise’s Catholic street evangelization effort. Two evangelists were available.
A panhandler, who had stationed himself across the walkway from our regular spot, complained to evangelist Chuck about how loudly he was offering free Rosaries to passersby. The man declined accepting one himself. At one point, a nicely dressed man gave the panhandler a bag of chips, then came over to our table to accept a Rosary and its pamphlet. A non-Catholic Christian and unfamiliar with the Rosary, our visitor was glad to see that the focus of the prayers is on Christ.
A group of 8-10 teens, from around the valley, stopped so each could snag a free Rosary. They were only minimally respectful with them, but may Our Lady bless them and use even this little positive action (of accepting a Rosary) to bring each of them to her Son and all the way to salvation.
Other large groups of teenagers also swarmed the table for a Rosary. Many of them also took the pamphlet describing the devotion. For the most part, they did not know much about Jesus, or about prayer, but we encouraged them to get to know the God who loves them so much that He died for them.
“Walt” stopped by. In contrast to his usual vigor, he sat down and rested during our short (!) conversation. He’d been hospitalized for 3-4 days with a bad infection on his leg and, due to homelessness, found it challenging to keep up the schedule (and food requirements) for the ongoing antibiotics. However, he was heading to the library to work on a creative task for his model car project. I’ve never seen him with such low energy, and I’ve heard the life expectancy for homeless people is short. Please pray for Walt?
The homeless man who talked of suicide a few weeks ago greeted us as he passed by. He was doing better, and told us that he had given his Rosary away to another street person to comfort them. He was accompanied by another housing-challenged man, who tried to sell us a high-end bicycle rim. Because we don’t bring cash with us (Matt 10:9), we were probably saved from receiving stolen goods.
A boy, about 8 years old, wanted a Rosary. Evangelist Chuck said he could have one if it was okay with his folks. He turned to wait for them to arrive. It was okay, so he happily chose one and received its booklet as well.
In the big flurry of activity, the two evangelists gave away a good 30 Rosaries and its pamphlet.
Please pray for these people, and for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared and able to receive the Good News about our Savior Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. Please ask that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.
Using the Rosary to attract their attention, we invite everyone who comes to us, respectfully or not, to draw closer to Our Blessed Lady’s Son, Jesus Christ. So thank you again for your prayers for this apostolate! In turn, may God protect and great bless you and those you love!
Age-old truth is still true. So thank you again for your prayers for Boise’s Catholic street evangelization effort. Two evangelists were available.
Close to a dozen children in their early teens were wearing brightly colored t-shirts from a rock musician and that mocks purity. Please pray for them?
A couple, perhaps in their early 20s, stopped. The woman was upset at the Catholic Church, because her brother had committed suicide and her Catholic parents reacted by angrily writing him off as hopelessly condemned. Evangelist Lucy clarified the Catholic teaching: God grants enough grace to everyone to be saved; so we can hope that her brother was granted a split second before his decision became final to say, “oops,” that is, to repent. The evangelist encouraged the two to pray for that for him, because God could backdate their prayers. They agreed to do so, and each accepted a Rosary. Per evangelist Chuck, the woman’s breath smelled strongly of alcohol.
A woman stopped and asked for a medal with Mary on it. (Our stash of Miraculous Medals was hiding from evangelist Lucy at that moment, so she offered our visitor a St. Benedict medal instead, telling her of its historic origins and protective value. She graciously accepted.) The woman, a non-Catholic “completed Jew”, but now-inactive Christian, is fond of Mary. She first heard of Our Blessed Mother when a Christian childhood friend told her that she looked like Mary. Currently, our visitor was suffering from the break-up of a romantic relationship and surprised herself at how much she was revealing to two sympathetic strangers. Please pray for her? As is common in abuse situations, she still thinks about reconnecting with him. She smelled strongly of incense.
“Gary” stopped, and then recognized evangelist Chuck from their sons’ Boy Scout days many years earlier. A non-believer and interested in politics, Gary declined receiving a Rosary because he was “not religious.” His comments, though, on the Catholic Church and Mary revealed many historical and theological misconceptions, errors, and lack of good instruction. For example, he.was astonished to hear of the perpetual virginity of the Blessed Virgin Mary. He couldn’t wrap his head around people living chastely. Please pray for him and all those called to public office?
A kerygma pamphlet went to a teen, who stopped for a free Rosary but couldn’t quite remember who Jesus is.
Foot traffic was fairly light, due to rainy weather. Still, the two evangelists gave away 15-20 Rosaries, mostly to teens on skateboards, and one copy of our Good News/kerygma pamphlet.
Please pray for these and for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared to perceive their need for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of our effort today.
Jesus Christ is real, and we want our visitors to grow close to him and be saved. So, thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God bless you and all those you love!
“Go with the strength you have” (Judg 6:14).\
PS: For a few more details and a photo or two, please visit our blog page.
To Jesus through Mary. So, thank you again for your prayers for Boise’s Catholic street evangelization effort. Two evangelists were available.
A national health insurance company fenced off the entire center of the business park for their conference. So, we set up just south of their enclosure. And, thanks to the barrier, everyone was funneled right past our table! We received appreciative glances from several of the conference workers, one even expressing his gratitude out loud for our presence.
“Kathleen” stopped to visit for a moment. She had traveled to the conference from a large city of ungodly reputation. She was inactive in her Catholic Faith, since her husband was not Catholic and they married in his non-Catholic Christian church. Although strongly urged to by her husband and the minister, she refuses to join that denomination. Evangelist Lucy encouraged her to find a Catholic parish at home, and get the paperwork started to get her marriage convalidated in the Catholic Church. Please pray for Kathleen?
The two women who received a Rosary from us a couple of weeks ago, the ones perhaps tempted to an unholy lifestyle, stopped by again to thank us for that “life-changing” Rosary. They gave no further details. Please continue to pray for them?
Two other women stopped and visited with evangelist Mike. One of them has a brother in the politically troubled area of an overseas country, where Catholics are persecuted and deadly violence has become frequent, She said that, in that country, people could tell you were Catholic by where you live or what clothes you wear. Here, she said, they can’t tell and don’t really care. Sad, but true.
A young man (woman?), in early to mid-teens, stopped by to acquire a Rosary. He came back several times, first to trade the Rosary for another, then to bring some friends to get a Rosary, and finally to trade his second Rosary back in because “it was broken.” Assuming the chain had simply pulled apart (because the chain Rosaries tend to be quite delicate), we encouraged him to choose one made of string. Afterward, though, we noticed that the broken Rosary’s crucifix had broken off below the INRI. (Odd. How does something like that even happen?) May Our Lady lead these souls to Her Son and salvation!
A group of four non-Catholic Christians stopped. Three out of the four accepted a Rosary, its booklet, and the encouragement to pray it.
A mother with a toddler stopped by. She accepted a Rosary for herself and her child, and received encouragement to pray it as a family, for the protection it provides.
Altogether, we two evangelists gave away 15-20 Rosaries, 2 Miraculous Medals, and 1-2 copies of the kerygma.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared to perceive their need for Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts?
Our Blessed Lady leads people to her Son. So thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and those you love!
Pedestrian or dramatic encounter, we hope every soul finds Jesus Christ and salvation. So thank you for your prayers for Boise’s Catholic street evangelization effort. Two evangelists were available.
Two college-aged men stopped. The one wearing earphones already had a Rosary around his neck, but didn’t know it was a Rosary and couldn’t remember where he got it. The other wore an orange t-shirt. Each selected a Rosary. Then the man in the orange t-shirt wanted to tell us what was “messed up” about the Catholic Church. He proceeded to go through the common objections.
We countered his misconceptions and defended what the Church teaches on each specific issue, but he would just switch to another. Besides the Rosary and brochure, he also accepted our FAQs on Mary and the Saints. Meanwhile, his friend in the earphones seemed uncomfortable with the discussion, frequently affirming our arguments in defense of Mary and the Saints, and tried to get his friend to quiet down.
Then three women (perhaps late teens to early 30s) interrupted our conversation with the two college-aged men. Two of the women wanted a Rosary, accepted its pamphlet, and smiled at our explanation of the devotion. The third woman was hostile, even putting her foot on the table as if to kick it over.
The angry young woman said she grew up in the same-sex lifestyle and as a member of a pseudo-Christian religion, and now hated all religions. When evangelist Chuck said that all religions were not the same, she got louder and said that all the evil in the world came from religion. Chuck asked what made her say that, but she became even louder and shouted obscenities.
She and one of the other women retired to a picnic table nearby to smoke cigarettes and, in a quieter voice, she continued to rage against religion and us, occasionally raising her voice to curse at us. She cursed again as we were leaving at the end of the session, so we called on God to bless her. St. Mary of Egypt, please pray for her?
Through all of that, the college-aged man in the earphones stuck with us, though he seemed upset by the conflict. Evangelist Lucy assured him that God can work with anger, and that indifference is much more difficult to reach with the Gospel. Remembering his sympathy for Catholic doctrine, she asked if he were Catholic. He told us he now attends a local non-Catholic Christian mega church. He did accept a map to area parishes.
Altogether, the two evangelists gave away about 20 Rosaries and its booklet, perhaps 3 copies of the kerygma, and a copy each of “What about Mary?”, “Praying to the Saints”, “Marian Doctrines”, and “Common Objections”, as well as 1-2 maps of area parishes.
Please pray for us again today? Ask that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.
Hot or cold, God can reach people (even if we can’t). So thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and those you love!
“Go with the strength you have“ (Judg 6:14).
P.S. For other encounters and more of the drama of this one, please visit our SPSE Boise team blog page (linked in my profile here, I hope).
Desiring that God work through us, we thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort. One evangelist was available.
A 20-something man, accompanied by two others, stepped away from them and asked in a mocking tone: “Do you really think there’s a devil walking around the earth?” My reply: “We believe there are evil spirits, that they are active on earth, and that the more you sin, the more vulnerable you are to their actions. However, we also believe that Jesus Christ is the Victor and will help anyone who turns to Him.” He thanked me for the gentleness (!) of my reply, saying that some non-Catholic ministers had told him he’d go to hell. He asked for a Divine Mercy card, and accepted a Rosary and its booklet.
“Katherine”, a chronically homeless woman, stopped for her longest visit ever. She and I reminisced about the changes in the business park in the seven years they’ve allowed the apostolate set up here, and how God was blessing it. She also asked some nutrition questions, and where the least expensive coffee is, since she has no means to brew it herself. She considered accepting a copy of the Catholic Bible, but declined doing so at that time. She, too, thanked me for gentleness. May God bless her, heal her, and restore her to society!
Some teenage skateboarders stopped for Rosaries. Asked if they already had one, they said “no.” One then asked, “Do you have any of the metal ones?” Hmm, how did he know we sometimes have metal chain Rosaries? May God bless them and lead them to Him.
A group of 8-10 pre-teen boys were skidding their dirt-bike-style motorized tricycles around the center of the square. A man sometimes seemed to be coaching them. When one of the boys came close enough to ask, “Are you a team?”, he looked bewildered. Perhaps a special treat for a birthday? Sadly, none came for a Rosary.
A Catholic man said he had Rosaries at home. I asked him to pray it once for us.
A group of three women stopped when the Catholic one wanted a Rosary. Asked if the others were Christian, one woman said, “kind of”. She accepted not only a Rosary and its booklet, but a copy of the kerygma. Then she also asked for a copy of the Divine Mercy prayer card/bookmark.
Altogether, the evangelist gave away about 20 Rosaries and its booklet, 2-3 Divine Mercy prayer cards, 1 copy of the one-page presentation of the kerygma.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask that God grant whatever we need so much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s session?
Perhaps some people experience a hint of the love and goodness of God through us! So thank you again for your prayers, sacrifices, and other support for this apostolate! In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and those you love!
“Go with the strength you have“ (Judg 6:14).
P.S. For a photo with the motorized dirt tricycles in the background, please visit our SPSE Boise location blog page.
Jesus softens the hardest heart! So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort! God hears you! An additional shout-out to “Bill” for providing us two more copies of the Catechism, and to the “Legion of Mary” for Rosaries, Rosary pamphlets, and Miraculous Medals! One evangelist was available last week.
Several groups of teens on skateboards stopped for Rosaries. One girl admitted to getting one from us every week. I invited her to take one again today, so she’d have one with her, but to bring back her extras, please?
A group of 6 or more older teens stopped. Most seemed only marginally polite, but one stepped aside and asked what the Rosary was. Admitting he wasn’t Christian, I went to offer him a copy of our one-page kerygma pamphlet, but I hadn’t brought enough of them with me. So I instead gave him a copy of my second choice, our “Salvation” pamphlet.
Then two other members of the same group stepped forward and asked me (either seriously, or as a test) just who Jesus is, while other members of the group stood back and laughed at them. But the two began to seem so genuinely interested that I offered them my last copy of the Catechism, which they immediately began to squabble over about who would get to read it first. They also accepted a map to area parishes and the invitation to check out the (RCIA) classes being offered.
A Catholic man stopped. He has recently been so scandalized by the unjust, self-serving behavior of one of his parish’s employees that he was tempted to give up on the Catholic Faith itself! I asked him to not turn his back on Jesus Christ and the Sacraments because of Judas. I also asked him to start praying, “Father, I forgive him. I ask you to forgive him, too, and save him.” My visitor, who now seemed to have regained some peace over the matter, agreed to begin praying that way.
A woman, perhaps in her 50s, with very short gray hair, passed a couple of times. She’s gone by us before, either frowning deeply or saying something angrily. This time, as she strode past, she replied to the offer of a free Rosary, “You’ve got to be kidding me!” She came back by a bit later. This time she said, again without slowing down, that she was sorry I believed all the nonsense I represented. Please pray for her? At least she’s talking to me now, instead of striding by with just an angry “No!” Plus, her reply showed perhaps an attempt at charity? May God continue to soften her heart and lead her to Himself!
Altogether, I gave away 15-20 Rosaries and booklets, 1-2 copies of the kerygma pamphlet, 2-3 copies of the “Salvation” pamphlet, 1-2 maps to area parishes, and one copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask God to continue to soften hearts and lead everyone to Himself, the Catholic Church, and salvation. Please ask that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s effort?
Jesus draws all to Himself. So thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate! In turn, may God protect and continue to bless you and all those you love!
On the 102nd anniversary of the Miracle of the Sun, and 7th anniversary of my joining Boise’s Catholic street evangelization team, I continued to offer hope in downtown Boise. So thank you again for your prayers! One evangelist was available.
A group of teens, growing in number from 2 to 6-8, waited for me to set up so they could get a(nother) free Rosary. When asked, members of this first group professed to not being Christian, so I gave each one a Good News/kerygma pamphlet, followed by a copy of the “How to Pray the Rosary” guide. Eventually, they each chose a Rosary and took their leave. But one girl returned several times throughout the session, always accompanied by other children her age. She traded her Rosary in several times for a new color.
During one of these encounters, one of the boys also asked for another Rosary. “But you already have one!” I said, remembering him by his clothes (since I’m still pretty much face-blind). “But it broke,” he said. I asked for the pieces back, and he pulled the crucifix out of his pocket, saying it was all he had left. (??) I allowed him to keep the cross and to chose another Rosary. I also cautioned him, and the following groups of teens, that the Rosaries were fairly delicate, and to treat them gently and respectfully, especially if they wanted to receive its blessings.
This being swarmed over and over by acquisitive 6th or 7th graders interrupted other conversations. – And it. Just. Didn’t. Feel. Right. – Please pray for me for the wisdom and gentleness to deal effectively with this, so that each child turns from the path to destruction and toward Jesus Christ and the True Faith? Ay-yi-yi.
During one of the no-middle-schoolers breaks, a couple of down-and-out-looking men accepted Rosaries. One, loudly and with slurred voice, proudly declared his descent from a traditionally Catholic nationality. I encouraged him to get reconnected with the Church.
Two men, one perhaps in his mid-20s and the other perhaps in his 40s, stopped when one of them wanted a free Rosary. Asked if they were familiar with the Rosary, the younger of the two said he could ask his mom, who was raised Catholic but now attends a non-Catholic Christian megachurch that she finds more convenient. I offered him a map of area parishes. He pointed out the Catholic churches he had seen, but declined the map. Then the older man asked about basic Catholic beliefs. But, just as we were getting into the Trinity, we were interrupted again by middle schoolers. The two men left. sigh
Altogether, the one evangelist gave away 15-20 Rosaries and its booklet, and about 8 copies of the kerygma.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared to perceive their need for Jesus Christ and the Catholic Church. Please ask that God grant that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.
Our Lady of Fatima asked us to pray for lost souls. So thank you again for your prayers, encouragement, and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and those you love. Our Lady of Fatima, pray for us!
Hallelujah! God sent us a youth minister! So thank you so much for your prayers for Boise’s Catholic street evangelization effort! Three evangelists were available.
Our own evangelist Chuck, a former youth minister, has lots of experience with junior-high/middle-school kids! He has just been unavailable for the last several weeks, due to a death in his extended family. Having heard of our “kid challenge”, he had been praying about it, especially to St. Philip Neri.
Then the first group of 8-9 students in their early teens came to us, each eager for another Rosary. Evangelist Chuck surprised them, when he gently admonished that the Rosaries were not toys, not jewelry, not decorations, but represented something we took very seriously. He said that if they wanted another Rosary, they should stay and pray it with us so we could show them how it was done. On hearing this, the older teens in the first group left. But three young women stayed and, shivering, prayed through the beginning of the Rosary with us.
A bit later in the session, this whole process was repeated with a second group of 5 teens. This group really came alive and their prayer chorus could be clearly heard across the walkway, 30 to 50 feet away. They were teasing one young man, possibly named “Jim”, who was having some trouble at school. Evangelist Mike encouraged Jim to pray and promised to pray for him. Evangelist Chuck took the opportunity to teach the youth how to use the Rosary prayers to pray for someone in particular. The group enthusiastically took that to heart and turned and prayed a Hail Mary for Jim. We saw him again later. He had given his Rosary to a younger boy who was with him, maybe a little brother?
While the second group was praying with evangelist Chuck, a group of four adults approached evangelist Mike for a Rosary. One man, an inactive Catholic, was rattling off the Rosary prayers in a mocking tone of voice. Evangelist Lucy said, “Please! We’re teaching them the prayers!” Asked what parish he went to, the man replied, “But I just moved here!” When he said what part of town he lived in, evangelist Lucy offered him a map which showed his parish and Mass times. He declined the map, but pulled out his phone and took a picture of the entry for his parish.
Altogether, we gave away 15-20 Rosaries & pamphlet, 3 copies of the kerygma, and 1 bookmark of “Jesus Knocking”.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared to perceive their need for the Rosary and the Holy Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.
God supplies whatever we need! So thank you again for your prayers, encouragement, and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and bless you and all those you love!
“Go with the strength you have“ (Judg 6:14).
P.S. Space was too limited here for the rest of the stories. Please visit our blog page for more about this session.
Still needing the Church, even if they don’t know it yet. And we were able to reach some of them last week. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort. We rely on them!
A down-and-out-looking man, perhaps 30 years old, professed to be a pagan. Evangelist Chuck asked how he came to his current set of beliefs, and he said an internet video expressed everything he wanted to believe. He was running late to work, so evangelist Chuck asked him to stop by again and continue our conversation. May God clear up his muddled beliefs!
Two teens stopped on their way to film a music video in the center of the plaza. The photographer accepted a Rosary and its pamphlet, thanking us for being there and doing what he thought must be a thankless job. He identified as a non-Catholic Christian, but did not respond when evangelist Chuck told him he used to belong to the same denomination. The photographer took a Rosary and its pamphlet. She did not.
Repeat visitor “Walt” stopped by, briefly. We were so glad to see him alive! He told us that, besides fighting the multi-resistant bacterial infection, he has had two strokes. One of them left him temporarily unable to walk, but then he regained that ability (thank God). His memory must have been affected, because he no longer rehearsed events in excruciating detail. Please pray for Walt, who just may be facing his “end game”?
The man passed by again who vigorously proclaims that God is a fiction. Please continue to pray for him?
Two men in their early 20s stopped. One did not take a Rosary because he had taken one before. Evangelist Chuck asked him if he had tried praying it and, after a moment’s hesitation, he said no. Chuck thanked him for his honesty and urged him to take courage and try praying it this week.
“Manny” was our last visitor. He admitted to messing around with occult practices. And has found to his dismay that getting free is not as easy as just going to Confession. Our evangelists were able to give him some pointers on how to begin the process of getting the help he needs to get truly free. Please pray for him? He would like to come back to the Church.
The two evangelists gave away 15 or so Rosaries, at least one copy of the kerygma and one copy of the map to local parishes.
Please pray for us again today? Please ask God to send people to us prepared to perceive their need for Our Savior and His Holy Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.
We still meet needy souls, so thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate and that allow this work to continue. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and those you love!
“Go with the strength you have“ (Judg 6:14).
P.S. Please also pray for “Zach” and “Ray”, RCIA candidates who have recently developed serious resistance to the Faith.
P.P.S. A special thank you to @Katie777 for your beautiful holy-card prayers and regular encouragement!
P.P.P.S. Due to space limitations here, please check out our blog page for more stories from this session.
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