Preaching in Public

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mek42 said:
While I certainly do not want to encourage anyone else to accost me of the street, I do think that the context of not praying in the street was that at the time some Jews were using public displays of prayer as a way to show off their holiness. In effect, the act of prayer was subverted into an act of pride. I believe it was this pride that was being criticized, which does not seem to be where the OP is coming from, though pride may become a temptation for the OP.
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That is precisely what I was getting at. I think I mentioned that it states praying and not preaching. I was just trying to draw a parallel to it. 🙂

All I can say is that I have had experiences with street evangelists. They are a huge turn off. I have been more drawn to the faith of the Catholic Church by the actions and life of Catholics around me. By their calm and loving demeanor and their prayerful life. How those around me dealth with adversity. Truly actions speak louder than words!

Wasn’t it St. Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”? I find that to be extremely powerful. Street evangelists come off to me as being full of pride and that they are perfect.
 
Fiery_Preacher said:
Hello all. I guess I should vent, but its getting a little too late even for my insomnia…

Let me just briefly state, that I’m a practicing Catholic. My Christian faith has grown tremendously in the last 3 years or so. I have discerned, that like it says in the Bible, I have the spiritual gift of preaching. I’ve never used it, at least in public. But, often times things I see in the news, or in the culture, or even after reflecting on things that happen in my own life. I’ll find myself pacing in my room preaching (I try to be quiet so other people don’t hear me).

Anyways, I preach. And I can easily spend 15, 20, 30, 45 minutes like this.

The HHS Mandate is very concerning to me. To me, this is the first time in my life where the government is going to persecute the Catholic Church. Or really religion in general. I know Christians in other countries are being killed, like in Nigeria, Egypt, etc. for their faith. That actually might be important for my decision.

But, in the U.S. isn’t this law monumental? Isn’t it the first time in our lifetimes where the government has passed a law which violates religious freedom?

There is a lot of evil out there. But, to me, this is close to home, and this crosses a line. This is the final straw for me.

If it is God’s Will, when this unjust law goes into effect on Aug. 1st, 2013, I will go into a public square, and I will bring a Bible and Rosary, and I will preach until I feel I have sufficiently aired the grievances of the Church on this. Until I let the world (my nick of the woods) know how much the government is making Christ suffer.

623 Catholic hospitals, tens of thousands of nurses, doctors, staff. Millions of patients cared for. That is religion in the public square. We all know it isn’t street preachers. And there certainly aren’t any CATHOLIC STREET PREACHERS. No, religion in the public square for our Church is running hundreds of hospitals, schools, charities, etc.

Well, the government wants to force us to sin, because the government is evil. The liberals are evil and they call evil good. They say contraception is good. Contraception is evil in every circumstance. These people are evil. They are assaulting the Catholic Church.
  1. If this law goes into effect in 43 days, and
  2. If I discern it is the Will of God.
Then, I will go out and preach in the public square. And, after August 1st, I will preach at least 1 hour every day. And I will continue to preach as long as I feel it is God’s Will.

Why? What is it that I want to achieve? I want to glorify God.

The Holy Spirit may water seeds that I scatter. I’ll be preaching the Gospel, I’ll be preaching everything I know about the Catholic faith, I’ll preach truth, grace, love. In the words of Pope Francis, I will preach Christ crucified. And I will do so with my words, but also with my actions. I will love every person that mocks me. I want to respond to every person that ridicules me just as I would respond to every Christian who encourages me.

I will count ridicule, suffering, mocking, etc. all as blessings. I will count everything for the Glory of God. I will preach for His ears. I won’t be a people pleaser. I will make sure my actions please God.

Glorifying God is my sole objective. If I do that, that is the definition of success: did I glorify God?​

That’s my rant, and my post.
I don’t have any direct questions for you, but I will value the (name removed by moderator)ut you give me.
Ultimately this will come down to between me and God, but for right now, I will seek (name removed by moderator)ut.
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You are doing the right thing. Just make sure that you are gentle but firm and have the facts should anyone question you. As long as you view your fellow man as not your enemy but as someone who should hear the truth, then you will be acting according to right reason and God’s desire for men to hear the truth, not only about spiritual things but about the evil in the world. Recognizing that we are all sinners, a firm and humble witness is the goal. Pray to God for strength and further guidance. Even if only a few hear, you have done well.

Peace,
Ed
 
Convert2013 said:
That is precisely what I was getting at. I think I mentioned that it states praying and not preaching. I was just trying to draw a parallel to it. 🙂

All I can say is that I have had experiences with street evangelists. They are a huge turn off. I have been more drawn to the faith of the Catholic Church by the actions and life of Catholics around me. By their calm and loving demeanor and their prayerful life. How those around me dealth with adversity. Truly actions speak louder than words!

Wasn’t it St. Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”? I find that to be extremely powerful. Street evangelists come off to me as being full of pride and that they are perfect.
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That is a common misconception. If we preach the Word of God and warn the people of the world about the evil in it, we are the salt of the earth. Unless we ask for money, unless we ask for praise, unless we are running for some political office, we are modeling the kind of behavior that God wants us to model. If Jesus is on our lips, instead of me, me, me, then how can we take credit for what He called some of us to do? No man is perfect, no not one. That definitely includes me. But inaction is not an option for those who are called.

Peace,
Ed
 
Convert2013 said:
That is precisely what I was getting at. I think I mentioned that it states praying and not preaching. I was just trying to draw a parallel to it. 🙂

All I can say is that I have had experiences with street evangelists. They are a huge turn off. I have been more drawn to the faith of the Catholic Church by the actions and life of Catholics around me. By their calm and loving demeanor and their prayerful life. How those around me dealth with adversity. Truly actions speak louder than words!

Wasn’t it St. Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”? I find that to be extremely powerful. Street evangelists come off to me as being full of pride and that they are perfect.
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We used to have a screaming evangelist in my native city. He was downtown every day, yelling at us as we went to work, went to lunch, and went home from work. As far as I know, he never gained one soul for Christ, although from time to time he did attract hecklers. Everyone either tried to cross the street to get away from his frothing screeches, laughed at him, rolled their eyes, or just walked as quickly past him as possible.

There is a reason that Catholics aren’t “preachers,” we have priests for that role. I think the OP may have been influenced by his non-Catholic Christian friends. I have never in my life heard any Catholic claim to have “the gift of preaching.” If you have a vocation, that’s not “preaching,” that’s a vocation to the priesthood, or ministry.
 
edwest2 said:
That is a common misconception. If we preach the Word of God and warn the people of the world about the evil in it, we are the salt of the earth. Unless we ask for money, unless we ask for praise, unless we are running for some political office, we are modeling the kind of behavior that God wants us to model. If Jesus is on our lips, instead of me, me, me, then how can we take credit for what He called some of us to do? No man is perfect, no not one. That definitely includes me. But inaction is not an option for those who are called.

Peace,
Ed
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No disrespect, but what I was referring to when I said experiences was just that …experiences NOT misconceptions from afar. If the OP wants to go out and preach that is their business. But there will be a large majority of people who will be turned off by it and others who know their own faith very well, who are ready and willing to get into a theological debate. The OP should be ready for that as those individuals can easily discredit someone who is not a true apologist.

Btw, none of the street preachers I’ve encountered were Catholic and yet I’ve embraced this faith whole heartedly as I know it to be The Truth. 😉 Maybe a louder voice would be to simply pray the Rosary in front of an abortion clinic or if vocal is the true calling, then maybe the OP could look into becoming a Deacon, etc. I don’t want to discourage by any means, but kindly suggest caution. 🤷
 
Could the OP be called to seek public office to attempt change from within? How should the OP discern their gift is for preaching vs. general public oratory?
 
mek42 said:
Could the OP be called to seek public office to attempt change from within? How should the OP discern their gift is for preaching vs. general public oratory?
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you’ve got to pay your political dues to your party if you want to get into public life and that is a lot of work. public oratory is no big deal, anyone can do that.
 
Why not run as an individual, not pandering to a party? Folks are pretty disgusted by both sides of the aisle now. Frankly, I have thought that you religious folks are most hurt by the current two party system, as it seems to force a mutually exclusive choice between social justice and influencing the nation’s morality.
 
Fairwinds said:
you’ve got to pay your political dues to your party if you want to get into public life and that is a lot of work. public oratory is no big deal, anyone can do that.
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Yeah, as a lawyer, you would know that. 😉
 
TheRealJuliane said:
Yeah, as a lawyer, you would know that. 😉
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oratory skills are easily learned. I learned from coaching hockey (locker room talks, tirades), polished with Patton, Glengarry Glen Ross, * Animal House*, watching bible thumpers and reading Churchill, MLK and Lincoln.

public speaking totally depends on the audience. when I hear hysterical or even fiery street preachifyin’, I assume its mostly an exercise in narcissism.
 
Fairwinds said:
because unless you’re wealthy enough to finance your own election, it doesn’t work that way.
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Maybe not national level, but local or state should be possible. Even if not successful, folks might be more receptive to an impassioned candidate than some guy on the street.
 
Fairwinds said:
oratory skills are easily learned. I learned from coaching hockey (locker room talks, tirades), polished with Patton, Glengarry Glen Ross, * Animal House*, watching bible thumpers and reading Churchill, MLK and Lincoln.

public speaking totally depends on the audience. when I hear hysterical or even fiery street preachifyin’, I assume its mostly an exercise in narcissism.
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or frank mental illness. Both bipolar and schizophrenia can lead to delusions of grandeur, where the person believes that he/she has a message for the world.
 
mek42 said:
Maybe not national level, but local or state should be possible. Even if not successful, folks might be more receptive to an impassioned candidate than some guy on the street.
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it really isn’t possible, even at the local level. the former treasurer of the state of california (Jess Unruh) said that money is the mother’s milk of politics. at every level there are special interests with a stake in every election.

candidates either are typically impassioned. that’s a given.
 
Fiery_Preacher said:
…
Then, I will go out and preach in the public square. And, after August 1st, I will preach at least 1 hour every day. And I will continue to preach as long as I feel it is God’s Will. …
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about a month to go. I’m looking forward to daily reports.
 
Convert2013 said:
Wasn’t it St. Francis of Assisi who said “Preach the Gospel at all times and when necessary use words”? I find that to be extremely powerful. Street evangelists come off to me as being full of pride and that they are perfect.
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No, actually St. Francis did not say that. A lot of people on CAF could tell you that. That quote is unattributed. And, none of the biographies of St. Francis that were written about him shortly after his death include that quote.

However, St. Francis was called a “fiery little preacher” by at least one of his biographers. And, he is noted to have preached in the public square of 5 villages in one day. I think I’ll bold that. I’m sick of people not knowing anything about my patron saint. St. Francis preached in 5 villages in the same day. He was an itinerant preacher.
 
TheRealJuliane said:
There is a reason that Catholics aren’t “preachers,” we have priests for that role. I think the OP may have been influenced by his non-Catholic Christian friends. I have never in my life heard any Catholic claim to have “the gift of preaching.” If you have a vocation, that’s not “preaching,” that’s a vocation to the priesthood, or ministry.
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“In one homily Paul made 3,000 converts. Today, we give 3,000 homilies, and don’t make a single convert” - Fr. Bill Casey. Of the Fathers of Mercy, who are known as good preachers. Or you could say “homilists” if you were so inclined…

Really? Not a single Catholic has the gift of preaching? That’s surprising to me. Do you know what the first duty of a Catholic priest is? The first duty of the vocation of priesthood is preaching.

There are Catholics who have the gift of preaching. Ok, you can disparage “the OP” all you want. People have many gifts of the spirit.

And for once in my life, I’d like Catholics to actually live their lives according to the oft-sung hymn “There are many parts, we are all one body”. That hymn is hypocrisy if we don’t actually live that out. THERE ARE MANY PARTS. One part of the body is people who serve the homeless, others are called to teach and preach. Many parts, one body.

Listen. to. the. words. and. live. them. out.
 
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