May God bless you in your efforts with patience, fortitude, and knowledge. May you live to see the seeds you plant become beautiful blossoms.
If you want a well-rounded brush-up course in Catholicism, volunteer to be an RCIA sponsor, then make a habit of regularly attending the RCIA classes with your candidate. You’ll make new friends, learn a lot, find yourself in a forum where you can ask questions, learn answers to questions you didn’t know were questions, and play an active supporting role in evangelizing people interested in the church.
Remember that it’s not just non-Catholics who need evangelizing. A great many of our faithful Catholics stopped learning about the church when they were in the 8th grade (and weren’t paying attention then anyway).
To successfully evangelize you need to do a few things:
- Be a faithful witness in both your actions and your words. Does no good to put a Christain symbol on your car if you’re cursing and flipping people off at intersections.
- Build a relationship first. People need to know you and trust you before they will listen to you. Preach the gospel at all times, but only use words when absolutely necessary. Follow the example of Jesus when He fed the multitudes; people listen better when you take care of their physical needs first.
- Learn about your faith. Attend classes. Read books. Go to the Catholic dot com section of this website and read the tracts which Karl Keating has developed. Pay particular attention to the Apologetics section. Here’s a good tract to get you started: How to Talk with Fundamentalists.
- Get a good Catholic study bible with extensive footnotes. I like the Ignatius Catholic Study Bible; it not only explains the Catholic position and has a great concordance, it also cites the Early Church Fathers and cross-references with the Catechism. Get a copy of the Catechism; it’s the most valuable encyclopedia of Catholicism and of all-around moral answers to today’s society that you will ever read.
- (This is important.) Take the time to understand what the other person believes and why. If you are blind to their objections, how are you going to convince them of anything? Non-Catholics are inherently mistrustful of Catholic bibles; you’ve got to be ready to give them answers from a bible translation they trust, which is usually the KJV or NIV. A valuable tool I use is an NIV Study Bible, which explains the Protestant interpretations and alternative explanations for most key scripure passages. It also has a great concordance. Funny thing: If I trace all the NIV scripture verse cross-references and related passages I almost always wind up uncovering the Catholic viewpoint.
- Your goal is not to convert someone. Your goal is to plow the ground so someone else can plant a seed. Your goal is to plant a seed that someone else will tend. Your goal is to water a seed that someone else planted. You’d like to save the whole world, but you may really be here to only save one person, and it may take your whole life to do it.
- Finally, pray. Never stop praying. Thank God at all times for His blessings. If you don’t feel particularly blessed, stop and make a reality check. Ask God to help you be a faithful witness, and make yourself accountable to God for properly using the generous gifts He bestows upon you.
The Confederate Soldier’s Prayer
I asked God for strength, that I might achieve;
I was made weak, that I might learn humbly to obey.
I asked for health, that I might do greater things;
I was given infirmity, that I might do better things.
I asked for riches, that I might be happy;
I was given poverty, that I might be wise.
I asked for power, that I might have the praise of men;
I was given weakness, that I might feel the need of God.
I asked for all things, that I might enjoy life;
I was given life, that I might enjoy all things.
I got nothing that I asked for, but everything I hoped for.
Almost despite myself, my unspoken prayers were answered.
I am among all men most richly blessed.
