Should I care about sharing the faith?

[cantore64]

I listen to Catholic Answers Live via podcast every day while I’m at work. I always find it slightly weird when non-Catholics (and sometimes fellow Catholics) call in to ask about a particular teaching of the Church and then, once it’s explained to them, reply that they just can’t accept this or that, or that something doesn’t work for them. I feel very uncharitable by saying this, but my first inclination is to say “so, who cares if you accept the Church’s teachings or not? If you refuse the accept the truth, the Church isn’t going to crumble or kowtow to your beliefs.” Like I said, I know this sounds harsh, but I guess I can’t help wondering whether our society has progressed (regressed?) to the point where people just expect the Church to change its ways, teachings, disciplines, etc to suit the desires of those outside of it, rather than those who aren’t Catholic modifying THEIR beliefs and understanding to be fully part of the Church. My question is, I suppose, how can I be more charitable and less judgmental of those who (at least at present) are unaccepting of the teachings of the Magisterium? I know from personal experience that some of the Church’s moral teachings can be hard to swallow, but I ultimately found that when I was in disagreement with Catholic teaching earlier in my life, it was I who needed to change, not the Church. Does that make sense?

 

[pianistclare]

Americans tend to think that if they get enough people to disagree, things can and will be changed to suit popular opinion.
Sad, really.

 

[Ignatius]

I listen to Catholic Answers Live via podcast every day while I’m at work. I always find it slightly weird when non-Catholics (and sometimes fellow Catholics) call in to ask about a particular teaching of the Church and then, once it’s explained to them, reply that they just can’t accept this or that, or that something doesn’t work for them. I feel very uncharitable by saying this, but my first inclination is to . . . . but I guess I can’t help wondering whether our society has progressed (regressed?) to the point where people just expect the Church to change its ways, teachings, disciplines, etc to suit the desires of those outside of it, ?

The most uncharitable thing to do is let someone continue in error, like driving down a road that’s going to go over a cliff. The real charitable thing to do is to warn them of their error.

 

[sisterpatril]

Hello!

“Should I care about sharing the faith?”

I can’t tell you how many times I have asked myself that question! And then I add the “Why”.,…“Why should I care about sharing the faith?” Because, generally, people do not want to talk about God…and as soon as you bring God up, they change the subject because, of course, they are good people and everybody is going to heaven, so no need to worry about God. He loves us all…now, forget that talk about God; let’s go turn on the tv and watch this week’s episode of “Sex Box”!!!

I have also found that most Protestants don’t “know their Bible” any more than Catholics do, even though the hosts on some of the Catholic programs seem to think they do. The Protestants that I talk to know their “stories” that they learned while growing up, but they cannot tell you how the Old Testament story types fit into Jesus’ fulfillments. If they truly did know their Bible and salvation history, they’d be Catholic!!!

So I get kind of mad at my friends for being so indifferent about God. I’ve tried to talk to them about God, but they shut me down. They really believe they are “good”, so they don’t have to worry about God now or worry about going to hell.

Should I continue to try to warn that the moment of death is the most important moment of their life…and there is no repentance after death…even though they could care less about what I am trying to tell them?

 

[Selah_KY]

I know from personal experience that some of the Church’s moral teachings can be hard to swallow, but I ultimately found that when I was in disagreement with Catholic teaching earlier in my life, it was I who needed to change, not the Church. Does that make sense?

Perfect sense. I try to remember that everyone’s journey is going to be different, and even that caller who says “I can’t accept that” could very well mull it over for weeks (or even YEARS) and then suddenly… eyes opened, and he/she can accept that. But we have to keep giving the Truth every time they ask! So I say, yes, care about sharing the faith, and keep sharing the faith.

Americans tend to think that if they get enough people to disagree, things can and will be changed to suit popular opinion.
Sad, really.

Exactly!

Or, in politics, keep repeating a lie enough times and the people will start believing it’s true.

Should I continue to try to warn that the moment of death is the most important moment of their life…and there is no repentance after death…even though they could care less about what I am trying to tell them?

One of the takeaways I’ve gotten from Catholic Answers Live over and over again, is that we need to pray more and nag less, and continue to witness by living out our lives as faithful Catholics. I truly believe that the best way to “teach” others about the faith is to live it! (I readily admit that I am a total idealist!)

 

[cantore64]

Perfect sense. I try to remember that everyone’s journey is going to be different, and even that caller who says “I can’t accept that” could very well mull it over for weeks (or even YEARS) and then suddenly… eyes opened, and he/she can accept that. But we have to keep giving the Truth every time they ask! So I say, yes, care about sharing the faith, and keep sharing the faith.

Exactly!

Or, in politics, keep repeating a lie enough times and the people will start believing it’s true.

One of the takeaways I’ve gotten from Catholic Answers Live over and over again, is that we need to pray more and nag less, and continue to witness by living out our lives as faithful Catholics. I truly believe that the best way to “teach” others about the faith is to live it! (I readily admit that I am a total idealist!)

I completely agree. My wife is of a different faith background than I, and we frequently butt heads over Catholic teaching and doctrine. I know that I’ll probably never sway her by argument alone, but much more so by how I live out my faith (which, incidentally, is MUCH harder). Anyway, the other thing I’ve experienced on Catholic Answers Live is what I’d call a closedmindedness or a stubborn resistance to the truth. I remember reading in Pope John Paul II’s encyclical Veritatis Splendor that God cannot force us to believe in him, but that if we discover on our own that there is truth in what his Church teaches us, if it begins to resonate within us and seem reasonable, we have a duty not to ignore that pull and to learn more about it. And yet, I’m sometimes startled by people who call in to CAL and almost immediately after voicing an objection to something taught by the Church, will say “I don’t want you to quote Scripture or the Catechism or some Pope.” OK, I’m thinking, you don’t agree with what the Catholic Church says on some important topic, but you then place roadblocks in the way of anyone trying to teach you so that there’s no way you’ll consider changing your mind. Is that kind of intellectually dishonest? If one says “I refuse to believe X, and I further forbid you from using any source to disprove me that might actually be effective” aren’t you just demonstrating that you’d rather persist in your ignorance? And isn’t that just another form of pride? Or am I hugely overstating the situation and/or being overly judgmental of the Church’s critics?

 

[bobballen_18]

To answer the question - absolutely, Catholics should care about sharing the faith! Everyone has their own charism/particular strengths, so there are plenty of ways to share the faith, but what was the reason the Church was founded? To spread the Gospel and to ensure the Church could not teach error in the process of spreading it!

 

[Selah_KY]

" OK, I’m thinking, you don’t agree with what the Catholic Church says on some important topic, but you then place roadblocks in the way of anyone trying to teach you so that there’s no way you’ll consider changing your mind. Is that kind of intellectually dishonest? If one says “I refuse to believe X, and I further forbid you from using any source to disprove me that might actually be effective” aren’t you just demonstrating that you’d rather persist in your ignorance? And isn’t that just another form of pride? Or am I hugely overstating the situation and/or being overly judgmental of the Church’s critics?

What you are stating is true, but that doesn’t relinquish our responsibility to evangelize. Think to how the men on that show respond to callers like that. I have never heard them mock a caller or tell them how illogical they are, they just do their best to answer the questions gracefully within the given parameters. Just how they are able to do that is a witness!

And we’d be nuts to think it will be easy or to try to do all this on our own! Nothing is stopping us for praying for those who are that combative to have their eyes and hearts opened. I think about St. Ambrose’s advice to St. Monica almost daily… while the advice was meant for a mother regarding her son, the advice holds for anyone we care about (and even those who are only acquaintances). I wish I could remember exactly how it goes, but it’s the one where he told her to stop talking to Augustine about God and start talking to God more about Augustine. And I heard that for the first time on CAL!

 

[7_Sorrows]

Yes we should care about sharing our faith - as long as we are knowledgable about it.

I worry about people who are curious about Catholicism and talk to people who were raised Catholic, but no longer are practicing Catholics so maybe they never really understood their faith and don’t know how to teach others

 

[kkollwitz]

Think of the parable of the sower, and also the mustard seed. Share faith; if necessary, leave the persuading to the Holy Spirit so he can keep his job.

 

[GAHere]

Sharing the faith doesn’t necessarily mean with words or by distributing materials and such. In his two years as pope thus far, Pope Francis has made a dent in getting through our collective Catholic heads that evangelizing begins with our own interior faith.

The All Hearts Afire Parish Program by the Marian Fathers of the Immaculate Conception has opened my mind and my heart to begin to understand what Pope Francis is teaching us. Instead of asking, “What can I do to help so-and-so come to know God”, the question has become “What can I do to empty myself more so that God can more fully enter into my heart such that his love and mercy flows through me to reach so-and-so.”

Pope Francis shows us the power of being a vessel for God’s love and mercy. I want to be that vessel.

So, yeah, you should care about sharing the faith, but it begins with your own transformation. God bless.