How to reinvigorate a friend back to the Catholic Church

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Hello there, I personally have a problem, well it’s not my personal problem but lets just get to it.
So I have this friend that has always been with me, we met at seventh grade and start to become best buddies over time. He used to have quite the faith on religion but that faith has died out from an unknown reason.
You probably know that high school isn’t always the most enjoyable period of your life, and for some can be depressing. Lots of teenage drama…
Well me and him suffered together because we seems to be the unpopular guy who is always forgotten by the peers. We did both find some friends that are loyal,kind ,and hardworking. (Those people become part of our inner circle too)
But the problem is (this has been going since senior high), this guy has refused to go to church because he has no reason to do so. He doesn’t like to be preached and be told what is right to do.
And here goes the twist, this guy didn’t go full liberal SJW ,he instead chooses to be called a Catholic because he agrees about the values that the Catholic Church holds but even then he proclaims that he is still quite secular, and I have to say he has quite minimalistic knowledge about the teaching of the Church.
So I can quite conclude he agrees with what the church seems to hold from the outside.
The thing is this guy has lost his faith, how do I re-invigorate his faith? Do I just pray to God until He does His “thing” to him? Or do I have to do something else?
Also I’m quite confused whether I’m one of those people who can be the “extension of God’s hand” in this situation. I do hope you can give me a fully logical explanation for this cause, because I’m getting tired of answers that sounds like “just pray ,have faith ,and God will help you!” Because that doesn’t work for this guy, and I personally agrees that kind of answer will make you look like the dumb member of the Church.
Thats all ,thanks!
 
just pray.

j.k.

Hold on a sec, I’m thinking…pardon the gears grinding…well, for starters, do pray for him…but aside from that, be patient. Things happen in God’s time, not our’s…so remember that.

One thing you can do is just be there for him and practice your faith as best you can.

From time to time, maybe ask him some general questions about God and religion, etc, without an ulterior motive to just see what he thinks about this and that. Don’t push him Just listen.

You sound like you might be early 20s / mid 20s maybe. Think about going on some retreat, a good one, and ask him if he wants come with. A lot of college students find something that hits home om a retreat. It’s a bit more difficult when you’re not in college, I think.

This isn’t really my area of expertise, but those are some thoughts.

You only have limited influence. Don’t forget that.
 
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You might have to decide if your friend is more moved by intellect or emotion. Then go from there.

Also, is your friend wealthy? Poverty in some area, financial or otherwise, can help people grow closer to Christ. So for instance, if everything is going his way, he may not feel a need for the Church.

Does he agree with the Church’s teaching on sexuality? If not, there’s your answer. Many people leave the Church because the bar is set higher, and you need to follow a moral code if you’re Catholic. If you’re a member of the United Church, for instance, you can show up or not show up on Sunday, and every sexual avenue is open to you. No demands are placed on you, and naturally people gravitate to the easy way.

You may need to give him far more information about the Church, and the best way is through reading. However, if he doesn’t want to do the reading, you will have to do so, and translate everything into stories. Remember, Jesus taught by parables, and you will have to know many stories to help convince your friend.
 
I know that, actually I havent even reach my 20s. I know I have limited influence, my friend has a free will of his own as I have.
The only thing that worries me is that this guy is quite stubborn and he is not sensitive to signs of God trying to talk to him. I personally don’t know what is going to happen and I do hope that my friend opens his heart to God or at least try to get closer.
I do pray for him everyday before I sleep, the same goes for all my friends who I value, and my family.
Do you think it’s possible God will do something very personal to get his faith back?
Oh yeah we do argue about thing like morality, we tend to agree on most things, (example : how people doesnt have to be very loud and open about their faith to be considered a good Catholic, the most important thing is the practice of the religion such as compassion and forgiveness)
The only thing we cant seems to agree is about going to the church, he thinks its pretty pointless, while I think it’s a need.
 
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God works in so many different ways. He can do anything! I could list a 100 different ways, (but at the moment I’m watching this crazy video about catacombs on this thread below.) But God deals with each person according to their nature, he has 2 x 4’s in his tool box, Paul got thrown off his horse and blinded…God has his ways, don’t worry.
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Things That Go Bump In The Night - Spirituality
Catacombs are seriously creepy I would love to explore them with drones and other robots but to personally go in there without a guide and a million batteries, flashlights and tons of water hell no! That would be a nightmare dying in a maze underground with no food or water or worst light.
Click to expand...
 
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He’s more driven by science and logic. Yes this guy wealthy, but things never goes his way though.
He doesn’t really care about homosexuals, but he do see it as a disorder.
Well I’ve already did that to him, we usually talked about hardcore philosophy and I do sometimes talk about religion in it.
He does honor Pope John Paul II because the guy is very selfless and can forgive the person trying to kill him.
He also favours people from the Jesuit order, since he likes talking to intelectual minded people particularly those who specialize in natural science.
 
Yea perhaps I’m too worried, I think I should give him more time.
But really? Will God even make a revelation to him only to save him from hell?
 
Oh, God loves your friend 1000 x more than you do. (We should probably go back to the original thread now. There’s only dry bones down here. )☠️
 
I bet the little punk pounded on the manhole until the cops came.
 
Yeah, I was talking to this kid, nineteen, and happened to post to this to tell him what I was doing. He clicked on it and kept messaging me here. lol
 
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Cavers must carry 3 or 4 sources of reliable light. There are all sorts of protocols.
 
It was pretty trippy. I would surmise that his girl friend was probably just really .(mad at him) …wait, I can’t use those words on this forum. Never mind.
 
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Sorry, this was my fault that the threads got all mixed up.
 
Well, if he’s a logical guy and agrees with Church teaching or church morality…then he should know that skipping mass is a mortal sin, and that the purpose is not the homily but mainly a celebration of the Eucharist, ie God made present, and he shouldn’t want to miss it ever. Perhaps give him some Aquinas, I think he even spoke as to praying together and what not.
 
I doubt he will read those, since well Aquinas’ work is more than hardcore philosophy. Even I have a hard time trying to understand it.
I do think he knows that skipping mass is a sin, or maybe he doesn’t really know that mass are important. Either way I never preach and tell him “this is right, and this is wrong”. He just doesn’t go to mass because : first, he doesn’t feel like he need it,
Secondly because he can’t find any Catholic Church near him, keep in mind that he’s currently studying in the USA. He’s studying at Columbia, South Carolina.
He said he havent find any Catholic Church there.
The problem is in him, he doesn’t feel the need to learn the teaching of the Church, or going to the mass. He thinks the only nescessary thing that he needs to do is to be a good person. Basically he’s anti-dogmatic.
However , I often share some things like this to him
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...il-much-intelligent-us-says-pope-francis/amp/
After he read that ,I’m going to spark a discussion about the true nature of the devil.
 
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“More than hardcover philosophy” Hah
But, there should be some Catholic Church around.
Tell him to go to masstimes.org and look up where he is to find a mass.
If there truly is no mass within an hour, then he actually is absolved of the Sunday obligation.
 
I told you that even if there is a mass he will not go there.
He doesn’t feel oblidged to do it.
He doesn’t think the rituals are important. Basically his faith also died out. He never go to church, not because there is no church, but because he doesn’t feel like it.
 
Well, it’s not as though we can just give him faith.
He’s gotta answer the door when Jesus knocks.
Continue to pray and speak with him.
 
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