How my mom can deal with born-agains at work

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My mom has acquired a second job to make some extra money. This job is usually in the evenings and on weekends along with her full-time job. She started this job last September. This place is a restaurant, and it’s owned by people we have known for years. Well, my mom has run herself into a religious dilemma. Most of the workers there are born-agains who attend this new church in town. They will typically recite Bible verses randomly and talk about salvation, redemption, etc. They know me pretty well, and they approached my mom the one day and said, “Why does your son believe in what the Catholic Church teaches? Because it’s not biblical.” My mom said that I have always believed the Catholic Church to be the fullness of faith in every manner because it is the original Church of Christ, and if you would crack open a history book, you would know that. They asked her if I learned about “salvation and redemption” at my church. My mom said, “Yes we do.” And then it went from there from what she told me. Basically, they are born-again fundamentalists, which doesn’t mix well with Catholicism. The waitresses started to go to this new church I was talking about, and they got the one owner to start going as well, so she’s on the bandwagon as well, asking my mother why I believe in the Catholic Church so strongly.

My mom came home one day from that job with a bag of stuff. I said, “What’s that?”, and she opened the bag and showed me that the owner gave her all these books written by Joel Olsteen. I told her that she has no business reading those, and she’s better off reading the Scott Hahn and other Catholic-based books that I have because they benefit her spiritual well-being more than Joel Olsteen.

Am I being bitter about this? I mean, why do they have to be so pushy about their religion in the work place? Isn’t there a time and place for everything? I hear that they do this regularly, so it’s sort of bothering me. I want to go and give them some of my Catholic books, so they can see where I’m coming from, but I don’t know if that will just fuel the flames.

Should I coach my mother on what to say to them whenever they bring it up again? I feel like they may be trying to trip her on her words, so I’m a little suspicious.
 
Fight fire with fire. Show up with your mum next time and tell those who harass her in direct terms that she (or you want her) to stay constant to her faith and to God and that you won’t tolerate these “attacks”. You seem brave and frank enough to me to do this.
 
They get like that when they become “born-again.” Little do they know Catholics are born-again all the time in our Church. They’ll mellow out as they go along. My neighbor was a born-again, she used to come over and ask my mom if she could take my siblings and me to her church. So one day my mom told her she’ll let us go to her church if she let her son come to our church. She stopped asking after that. You can try to outwit them, but they’ll most likely just assume you’re wrong simply because you’re Catholic. Just be a good example of a good Catholic.
 
Tell your mother to complain to her boss, yours and her religion is private and has nothing to do with the other restaurant staff, its harrassment
 
Well, I’m going to remember to pray for your Mom (you too) because it sounds as though she has enough on her plate working one full time job and this one too and the last thing she needs is co-workers ganging up on her… Honestly though, the born again’s can be quite comical if you don’t let them get to you. They know little about Catholicism as you said they should crack open a history book about the Church.

I don’t know if I’d march in there and shake things up as it seems your Mom needs this job.
However, the one thing she can ask them is how old is their church? I believe the born again thing started in the late 1970" as opposed to Catholicism’s 33 ad. LOL! See they are funny.

I use to have a born again friend call me all the time with the express purpose of trying to rattle my faith until I told her how old Catholicism is. That sort of shut her up for the past several years. Actually, recently she apologized to me for the things she has said.

Anyway, prayers for you Mom and you.
 
Seira said:
^ Bingo. You may also pray for them as well.
Click to expand...
I just want to reiterate that your mom was hired because she can do the job, her and your religion and private life is PRIVATE, she shouldnt have to talk about it, are they harrassing customers like this too?
 
if it was me I would bust open some apologetics and have some discussions in a respectable and loving manner and give them some books/tracts.

but thats me - and I don’t always make the best choices 😛
 
Outwit them, and expose the weaknesses of their arguments, to the point of sheer recklessness if need be.
 
Firstable as a Baptized Christian he or she has an obligation to evangelize. So your Mom actually has an obligation to share the Catholic Faith with those who are non Catholics. Today I am still hurt for more than twenty years none of the Catholics I met bother to share the Catholic Faith with me, some were very close like my secretary and co workers. If it is not for EWTN I am still a Protestant. Now I understand why after I came in the Church only one Catholic I know seems to have a good grasp on the Church teachings and he is a catechism teacher in a local parish. Of course I confronted him why he did not share the Gospels with me knowing I was not a Catholic,he said Catholics do not do that be because we are not like Protestants. If someone like him who has far superior understanding of Church teachings got it wrong what about average Catholics? In fact with the exception of this neighbor every “Catholic” I know personally is what I call cultural Catholics.

According to a Catholic survey only 5 percent of the American Catholics are convicted Catholics who accept all moral teachings of the Church despite 25 percent go to Mass on Sundays. So if the 10 percent of the 5 percent endure to the end we are talking about 300,000 people have a chance of heaven out of 60 million Catholics in US.

From what I see the reality around me I can not imagine 300k Catholics of our generation would be saved in the end, maybe 3000, including the religious? For example my sister in law remarried civilly everyone in my wife’s family went to the wedding the only reason my wife did not go was she was giving birth in the hospital. So two life long “Catholics” commit mortal sins(they are not retarded and knew it is a sin both Sacrament of the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation is denied ) and my wife’s parents and grandmother actively approved and supported the adultery for many years. The Bible and the Catechism says those who caused the little ones to fall would be better off to be thrown in the water with a millstone on their neck. And the worst part is a long time priest friend of my wife’s family also attended the so called wedding.

So the problem is not the Protestants, it is the Catholics or lack of the real ones.

Ok Joel Osteen is the easiest to shoot down, if you watch TBN you know he does not preach the Gospels but rather prosperity and positive thinking.

If I were you, I would read all their books(that is assuming you have also three must in your hand, the Bible, the Catechism, the Compendium of Catechism) and compare Osteen’s teachings to the Gospels. You would find he does not preach sin(ok many priests are guilty of avoid preaching on hell too) but Christ told us to pick up our cross and follow him. Christ would die for nothing if we are not sinners. His teaching on Salvation(how to be saved is not Biblical, sinners’ prayer saves is not Biblical) is wrong. He sees Baptism as a symbol that does nothing while Catholics and Reformed denominations like Lutheran see it as a Sacrament that supernatural.

Another thing is watch on youtube Journey Home of EWTN , your Mom and you should watch as many interviews as possible because these are the Protestant pastors come to the Church after finding out what they teach is wrong. The host Marcus Grodi is great and he got pastors from all denominations. Get your Mom’s coworkers’ emails and send them the link.
Let us know. What state are you in? Maybe you can find a monestery where you can ask the nuns to pray for your Mom.
 
horselvr said:
Well, I’m going to remember to pray for your Mom (you too) because it sounds as though she has enough on her plate working one full time job and this one too and the last thing she needs is co-workers ganging up on her… Honestly though, the born again’s can be quite comical if you don’t let them get to you. They know little about Catholicism as you said they should crack open a history book about the Church.

I don’t know if I’d march in there and shake things up as it seems your Mom needs this job.
However, the one thing she can ask them is how old is their church? I believe the born again thing started in the late 1970" as opposed to Catholicism’s 33 ad. LOL! See they are funny.

I use to have a born again friend call me all the time with the express purpose of trying to rattle my faith until I told her how old Catholicism is. That sort of shut her up for the past several years. Actually, recently she apologized to me for the things she has said.

Anyway, prayers for you Mom and you.
Click to expand...
Did you try to convert her?
 
horselvr said:
Well, I’m going to remember to pray for your Mom (you too) because it sounds as though she has enough on her plate working one full time job and this one too and the last thing she needs is co-workers ganging up on her… Honestly though, the born again’s can be quite comical if you don’t let them get to you. They know little about Catholicism as you said they should crack open a history book about the Church.

I don’t know if I’d march in there and shake things up as it seems your Mom needs this job.
However, the one thing she can ask them is how old is their church? I believe the born again thing started in the late 1970" as opposed to Catholicism’s 33 ad. LOL! See they are funny.

I use to have a born again friend call me all the time with the express purpose of trying to rattle my faith until I told her how old Catholicism is. That sort of shut her up for the past several years. Actually, recently she apologized to me for the things she has said.

Anyway, prayers for you Mom and you.
Click to expand...
Did you try to convert her?
 
Firstable as a Baptized Christian he or she has an obligation to evangelize. So your Mom actually has an obligation to share the Catholic Faith with those who are non Catholics. Today I am still hurt for more than twenty years none of the Catholics I met bother to share the Catholic Faith with me, some were very close like my secretary and co workers. If it is not for EWTN I am still a Protestant. Now I understand why after I came in the Church only one Catholic I know seems to have a good grasp on the Church teachings and he is a catechism teacher in a local parish. Of course I confronted him why he did not share the Gospels with me knowing I was not a Catholic,he said Catholics do not do that be because we are not like Protestants. If someone like him who has far superior understanding of Church teachings got it wrong what about average Catholics? In fact with the exception of this neighbor every “Catholic” I know personally is what I call cultural Catholics.

According to a Catholic survey only 5 percent of the American Catholics are convicted Catholics who accept all moral teachings of the Church despite 25 percent go to Mass on Sundays. So if the 10 percent of the 5 percent endure to the end we are talking about 300,000 people have a chance of heaven out of 60 million Catholics in US.

From what I see the reality around me I can not imagine 300k Catholics of our generation would be saved in the end, maybe 3000, including the religious? For example my sister in law remarried civilly everyone in my wife’s family went to the wedding the only reason my wife did not go was she was giving birth in the hospital. So two life long “Catholics” commit mortal sins(they are not retarded and knew it is a sin both Sacrament of the Eucharist and Sacrament of Reconciliation is denied ) and my wife’s parents and grandmother actively approved and supported the adultery for many years. The Bible and the Catechism says those who caused the little ones to fall would be better off to be thrown in the water with a millstone on their neck. And the worst part is a long time priest friend of my wife’s family also attended the so called wedding.

So the problem is not the Protestants, it is the Catholics or lack of the real ones.

Ok Joel Osteen is the easiest to shoot down, if you watch TBN you know he does not preach the Gospels but rather prosperity and positive thinking.

If I were you, I would read all their books(that is assuming you have also three must in your hand, the Bible, the Catechism, the Compendium of Catechism) and compare Osteen’s teachings to the Gospels. You would find he does not preach sin(ok many priests are guilty of avoid preaching on hell too) but Christ told us to pick up our cross and follow him. Christ would die for nothing if we are not sinners. His teaching on Salvation(how to be saved is not Biblical, sinners’ prayer saves is not Biblical) is wrong. He sees Baptism as a symbol that does nothing while Catholics and Reformed denominations like Lutheran see it as a Sacrament that supernatural.

Another thing is watch on youtube Journey Home of EWTN , your Mom and you should watch as many interviews as possible because these are the Protestant pastors come to the Church after finding out what they teach is wrong. The host Marcus Grodi is great and he got pastors from all denominations. Get your Mom’s coworkers’ emails and send them the link.
Let us know. What state are you in? Maybe you can find a monestery where you can ask the nuns to pray for your Mom.
 
Given what you have written, here is what I suggest.

Write a short note and make copies for every person involved in this. In the note write something like…
“To my friends in Christ,
I am so glad to know that my mom is working with so many fellow Christians - praise God.
However, I am troubled that she is being bombarded with questions about what I, and Catholics in general, believe. Please understand that she works two jobs and doesn’t really have the energy to pursue this with you good people.
Therefore, I ask that if you have any questions about our beliefs that you ask me directly. I will be happy to discuss any and all matters with you and, so far as I am able, to answer your questions.”

Sign it and deliver this note to each of the people yourself, including the boss, or ask you mom to hand them out next time she is at work.
Then - it would be a good idea for you to show up there the very next day/night that your mom is working. Have a nice meal and, because you are there, everyone has the opportunity to acknowledge the receipt of your note.

Future actions would be based on how well this goes over.

One thing you haven’t shared is whether your mom is Catholic or whether she practices etc. How susceptible might she be to this heterodox “prosperity gospel” ?

Peace
James
 
“I use to have a born again friend call me all the time with the express purpose of trying to rattle my faith until I told her how old Catholicism is. That sort of shut her up for the past several years. Actually, recently she apologized to me for the things she has said.”

I think this paragraph explains what I did which was/is share the Catholic faith with her. For every but, but, she came up with, I came up with more. Great conversations actually and I for the most part consider any Anti-Catholic rhetoric a great opportunity to share my faith and it is also a wonderful learning experience for me. Makes me do my research. :😃

However, I don’t think the OP should pursue evangalizing to his/her Mother’s co-workers/Boss. I have been where this Mother is, working 2 and 3 jobs just to make ends meet. She needs this job and while there is nothing wrong with meeting their Anti-Catholicism with the truth, it needs to be done in a charitable way. This Mom is between a hard spot and a rock. It’s easy for us to say tell them this and that but her job could very well be on the line at this time.

Now once she doesn’t need this job to support herself and her child—they should go there for dinner and continue the conversation about Catholicism and especially ask questions concerning the born again belief. ;).
 
I agreed with another post that OP should deal with them not the Mom. Of course prayers to the Holy Spirit and love for those who seek the truth.
 
Yes, my mom does follow the Catholic religion. They talk about it all the time from what my mother has told me. The one waitress’ husband is the pastor of this church, and I guess they got a whole group of them to start going. Most of them are actually former/lapsed Catholics, so I’m trying to figure a way of how to deal with this. The one woman’s son committed suicide a few years back, and I think maybe she’s “lost” and looking for a way to find God. She was a strict Catholic at one time and then converted to the Greek Orthodox Church whenever she got married to her husband. Maybe she just doesn’t know what to believe.
 
Wow that is the hardest group to deal with, ex-Catholics, pray, pray and pray to the Holy Spirit and Virgin Mary.
 
Easy. Just say to them,

“I’m glad you are so enthusiastic about the story of Jesus as revealed in Scripture. We can all thank the Catholic Church for writing those words and countless priest, bishops, and martyrs for protecting the Word for 1500 years until we had a printing press and Protestants to tell the Catholics what the Word really says.”

As far as being born again and reciting scripture verses? Hey that’s great stuff until they start bashing Catholics – then they become what they despise.

Alan
 
Did you have any experience to proclaim the Gospels to Protestants, especially Ex-Catholics? Their hearts are the most hardened because they think they know everything about the Church. OP really need to read a lot on apologetics.
 
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