Sharing Gospal

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As a new convert(still in the process) I find it difficult to explain how one finds salvation in the catholic church.As an evangelical It was more like accept the true jesus as your savior and all your worries will be over.As of now I seem to come across as loving my church and not jesus.
 
tealblue said:
As a new convert(still in the process) I find it difficult to explain how one finds salvation in the catholic church.As an evangelical It was more like accept the true jesus as your savior and all your worries will be over.As of now I seem to come across as loving my church and not jesus.
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The Church is the Body of Christ. Read what St. Paul writes. If you love the Church you love Jesus for He is the head of the Church which is His Body. Yes, at times it may seem that we as Catholics focus a lot of our attention on the Church, but as you begin to see the relationship of Christ and His Church you will come to understand that following the Church is how we live out our relationship with Christ. Loving the Church is loving Christ. Of course we are still called to develop a personal relationship with Jesus but we cannot separate that from our relationship with the Church…and don’t think of the Church as simply the institution, it goes much deeper than that.
 
Dear tealblue, First, I want to say, welcome home to the Catholic Church. The One, Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. It would be so wonderful if all we had to do is to say, “I accept Jesus as my lord and my savior.” Let me show you the fallacy in this. I was a chaplain at a jail in a large city, and spent time teaching prisoners, many of whom knew nothing about God. I held regular classes for them and it gave them a chance to get out of their cells. I guess you could say I had a captive audience. There were chaplains of many different denominations. One morning one of the prisoners came up to me all excited and said, “Chaplain, I am so happy. I accepted Jesus as my lord and savior.”. I responded “that;s great.” He then said, I am going to be released a week from now and now I don’t have to worry about sinning any more. I can drink, take drugs, sleep with women and don’t have to worry about it as I am saved". Needless to say I had a lot of explaining to do and in effect hopefully burst his bubble. I even had a friend whom I carpooled with tell me (he was an extreme fundamentalist) “it is impossible to go to hell once you accept Jesus as your lord and savior. I don’t care If I commit murder, I am still going to heaven, because I’m saved.” I think simple reflection on this will tell you whats wrong. These are just some of the extreme examples.

As a convert, focus your love on the Eucharist as we are a Eucharistic people. That and that alone is the very source and summit of all that is Catholic. One Eucharist gives more merit and grace than all of the combined sacrifices of the old testament. You have a wonderful rewarding journey ahead of you. But focus on the Eucharist. You will be in my prayers for your journey of faith. God Bless you
Deacocn Ed B
 
By the way thanks for the response. I was more looking for how do Catholics evangelize in general? Or do we? Quite often someone will ask me about accepting the lord as my savior. I haven’t quite came up with a response yet. I think I’m pretty well versed in doctrine but trying to give a short answer that doesn’t come off as a complicated process is tough.
 
Now that I think about it maybe I’m thinking way too much like an evangelical where your trying to persuade somebody to make a single life decision.
 
The Catholic approach to evangelization is more about attracting and inviting rather than forcing a decision. If someone asks us about our Faith based on the witness of our lives, or if we find ourself in conversation with where the Holy Spirit gives us the opportunity to talk about Jesus and his Church, we follow his lead. Answer the person’s questions and ask a few of your own, just so you are not misjudging where he is coming from. Use that encounter as an opportunity to invite them to Mass or other Catholic event.

Of course Catholics engage in apologetics, catechesis, and even door to door outreach as well. These all have their place. But the normal manner is the gentle and Spirit led manner of Jesus: “Come and see.” (John 1:39)

Here are a couple of resources for you:

papalencyclicals.net/Paul06/p6evan.htm
usccb.org/evangelization/goandmake/eng.shtml
search.barnesandnoble.com/Search-and-Rescue/Patrick-Madrid/e/9781928832270
amazon.com/Good-News-Bad-Evangelization-Conversion/dp/1586171259/ref=pd_bbs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1204558320&sr=1-1
amazon.com/How-Not-Share-Your-Faith/dp/1888992301

Hope that helps! 🙂
 
Dear Tealblue,
Sometimes it is difficult to talk to someone who asks, “Are you saved?”, because they are coming from a closed mindset and their entire theology is based on a single biblical verse, to which one word was added during the protestant reformation. I am talking about the verse in Romans which deals with justification. 1st, justification and salvation are not synonymous. Justification means I am able to be saved, Salvation means I am saved. The word I refer to is their belief in justification by faith alone The word alone is not found in any Catholic Bible, only in the one used by Protestants. If all we had to do was to profess Jesus as our lord and savior to be saved, why then would St Paul in his Epistle to the Philippians say in Chapter 2:12, "So then my dearly beloved, obedient as always to my urging, work with anxious concern to achieve your salvation…" This alone tells us that more is needed than acknowledging Jesus… It involves an entire change in life style to live out the Gospel in our daily lives. Just this alone tells us that salvation is a process, not an event.
Try using this on those who approach you and say, Are, you saved? Answer, “According to St. Paul whom you rely on, I am working out my salvation with anxious concern.” Some translations say, “…with fear and trembling.” Most have no come back to this, especially when you quote chapter and verse. Hope this helps. With continued prayers.
Deacon Ed B
 
To Tealblue - In answer to your question, do we evangelize. Yes we do. We do so by our actions, our words, practicing our beliefs, and being able to respond when challenged on our beliefs. Of all of these, the best way is by letting the way we live reflect our belief system. In other words, “walk your talk”. This is always the best way. Many of the saints throughout history have said that example alone is the best way to evangelize. This again goes to the question, how do you live what you say you believe. Let it reflect Christ within you; in your words, in your actions and how you treat others.
Deacon Ed B
 
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