V
victrolatim
Guest
I was thinking about this last night during the Easter vigil when the RCIA candidates were being baptized and confirmed. I will try and keep the explanations brief but details are pertinent to the situation.
My friend is in her late 20s and, due to financial reasons, is still living under mom and dad’s roof. She was raised/is evangelical Protestant, attending one of those “non-denominational” megachurches nearby. She holds things very close to her chest and rarely openly talks about things that are bothering her. Recently, she has been noticing one thing after another that her church is teaching that she just doesn’t agree with. When I ask her about such things (teachings about roles of women, family, creation, saints, etc.) I ask her what she believes and what her church is saying. When she explains to me, she’s interested when I tell her what she believes is actually what the Catholic Church teaches and I try to show her the Catechism to back it up when I can. She holds the scriptures very close and I thought that if I show her the scriptural basis for Church teaching it would help. In addition, she is employed as a teacher at a Catholic school. She has told me that she really likes the priest and his sermons. I have occasionally attended the church and the pastor is very firm on explaining misconceptions and church doctrine in his sermons. Since his term began, he has taken the parish from a very confusing “70’s” type mentality to a very warm, solemn atmosphere with no more “wackiness”
Ok, the roadblocks. Despite all of this, my friend is still struggling with a lot of the mainstream Protestant positions. Things like Mary, the notion that “Catholics don’t read the Bible”, the true presence in the Eucharist, confession to a priest etc. . I have suggested that she talk to the priest but she is very apprehensive. Her father is very authoritarian and touts that he was born Catholic but then he “was saved”. If she does not attend the same service as her family on Sunday (choosing a later time due to fatigue), he quizzes her on the sermon to make sure she went. I have sensed for a while that her church has been making her uncomfortable but, as I mentioned, she will bury a lot of things until it is bothering her so much she has to tell someone.
So how do I sort of nudge her towards the Church given the circumstances? I have been making sure that I can gently and logically explain misconceptions when I can but I am careful not to come off as pushy or accusatory. Also, I feel the best evangelization so far is just being myself, attending Mass and living by example. The hardest thing at this point is the family situation.
My friend is in her late 20s and, due to financial reasons, is still living under mom and dad’s roof. She was raised/is evangelical Protestant, attending one of those “non-denominational” megachurches nearby. She holds things very close to her chest and rarely openly talks about things that are bothering her. Recently, she has been noticing one thing after another that her church is teaching that she just doesn’t agree with. When I ask her about such things (teachings about roles of women, family, creation, saints, etc.) I ask her what she believes and what her church is saying. When she explains to me, she’s interested when I tell her what she believes is actually what the Catholic Church teaches and I try to show her the Catechism to back it up when I can. She holds the scriptures very close and I thought that if I show her the scriptural basis for Church teaching it would help. In addition, she is employed as a teacher at a Catholic school. She has told me that she really likes the priest and his sermons. I have occasionally attended the church and the pastor is very firm on explaining misconceptions and church doctrine in his sermons. Since his term began, he has taken the parish from a very confusing “70’s” type mentality to a very warm, solemn atmosphere with no more “wackiness”
Ok, the roadblocks. Despite all of this, my friend is still struggling with a lot of the mainstream Protestant positions. Things like Mary, the notion that “Catholics don’t read the Bible”, the true presence in the Eucharist, confession to a priest etc. . I have suggested that she talk to the priest but she is very apprehensive. Her father is very authoritarian and touts that he was born Catholic but then he “was saved”. If she does not attend the same service as her family on Sunday (choosing a later time due to fatigue), he quizzes her on the sermon to make sure she went. I have sensed for a while that her church has been making her uncomfortable but, as I mentioned, she will bury a lot of things until it is bothering her so much she has to tell someone.
So how do I sort of nudge her towards the Church given the circumstances? I have been making sure that I can gently and logically explain misconceptions when I can but I am careful not to come off as pushy or accusatory. Also, I feel the best evangelization so far is just being myself, attending Mass and living by example. The hardest thing at this point is the family situation.
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