Friend has gone astray....Santeria/paganism

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Erjoe79

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First of all hello to everyone here. It has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything, life has moved at its own relentless pace.

Also I am aware that this topic might be in the wrong section, for that I apologize.

Anyways…I want to talk about a really good friend of mine whom I’ve known for about ten years or so. She was raised catholic and even went through catholic school. However in her adult life she has fully converted into Santeria/paganism.

As I’m writing this post, I’m communicating with her via text message and we’re having a good conversation on the subject.

As I try and get a sense of her thinking regarding the catholic church, what advice can I give her?

I have always respected her religious view and never forced my thoughts and views on her. She’s someone I truly care for and would like to help her as much as possible.

Any ideas, thoughts, questions and comments will be highly appreciated.
 
Pray for her. That’s by far the best thing you can do to help her.

After that I think it comes down to education. Share your beliefs and especially why you believe them in a non-confrontational way.
 
You can never go wrong by quoting Jesus, whose “words are Spirit and Life”:

“I am The Way, The Truth and The Life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

“Unless you eat my Flesh and drink my Blood, you shall not have life within you.”
 
Erjoe79 said:
First of all hello to everyone here. It has been a very long time since I’ve posted anything, life has moved at its own relentless pace.

Also I am aware that this topic might be in the wrong section, for that I apologize.

Anyways…I want to talk about a really good friend of mine whom I’ve known for about ten years or so. She was raised catholic and even went through catholic school. However in her adult life she has fully converted into Santeria/paganism.
Click to expand...
1st thing comes to mind, what happened between her childhood and adulthood? Things don’t just collapse for no reason.
 
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steve_b:
1st thing comes to mind, what happened between her childhood and adulthood? Things don’t just collapse for no reason.

Sometimes they do. In my circle of friends, many who I attended Catholic school with went on to leave the church. Some became atheists, some agnostic, most became non denominational or didn’t practice any faith. There were also three girls who became wiccans. None of these people had any big event that caused them to leave the Church, I guess they were never fully faithful perhaps. Even in my own family, out of the six of us, I am the only Catholic left. My oldest sister is some what Catholic I guess. She attends Mass most of the time, but not much beyond that. She also attends a Hindu temple and raised her sons to be both Catholic and Hindu as well. Lots of people lose faith or never fully grasp it to begin with, just as many people come into the Church as adults.

To the OP, pray for your friend and answer any questions she may have with love, kindness and understanding. If a question comes up that you cannot answer, be honest and research the answer to be discussed later. Try not to be overbearing or you will only create distance, and guard yourself against any attempts to sway your own faith. The Rosary is a powerful tool–use it. And if my understanding of Santeria is correct, please pray to St. Michael as well to help keep the powers behind their beliefs from your own soul. My husband is from a small town in Veracruz, Mexico and it is somewhat popular there in his area. They have both “good witches” and “bad witches” in his town that practice Santeria. I’ll pray for your friend.
 
My advice is to follow the advice of many saints - and love her back into communion with the Church.

Preach without words, and pray very hard for her. Pray the St. Michael’s prayer often.
Ask the Holy Spirit to guide you in all your conversations, and let God do the heavy lifting. Take a gentle hand, and trust in the Lord. Also fast and pray if you can.
Let your joy in the Lord be apparent and visible. Aren’t people always attracted to Joy and Love?

Remember that if she is walking in the way of darkness, you are in a sense, engaging in this, so it’s important to try to be as close to the Lord as possible. When I’m entering in this, I always try to have a very good confession first, and prayer, and remember, always how much God is in the mix. The fight is not yours, it is the Lord’s. Be His loving hands and voice.
 
Read about the green scapular. It’s supposed to help non believers to convert or those who have lost their faith. I don’t know much about it myself but I can relate to you…My son tells me his agnostic…that green scapular will be hidden in his mattress asap. Prayers to you and your friend.
 
TwinboysRachel2 said:
Read about the green scapular. It’s supposed to help non believers to convert or those who have lost their faith. I don’t know much about it myself but I can relate to you…My son tells me his agnostic…that green scapular will be hidden in his mattress asap. Prayers to you and your friend.
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forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=620449
(From an atheist)
How did you come to embrace Catholicism?
Strangely enough, it was the Blessed Virgin Mary. That friend of mine had sneakily
snuck in a scapular under my mattress. I didn’t know until about 1 year into my
conversion. I imagine that she had something to do with it. I think it was the
green scapular.
 
@Fred … Wow…amazing…I just recently learned of the green scapular in our parish bulletin.
A parishioner told me about the conversion of her mother (a lapsed Catholic). Two weeks later she died. The scapular was put under her mattress too. So hopeful when I hear these stories. Thank you.
 
Ask her what she wants out of Santeria, and ask her what she was not receiving from God.

If she is still using the saints I would go over the difference between each saint and the gods she has replaced them with and then lead into the identity of Jesus. Have her hold the saint when you explain it, then have her put it down when she explains what she has replaced it with.
 
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