Wanting to spread Catholicism

[John89]

hi everyone,

I always think to myself, hey i always see jehovah witnesses and mormons evangelizing and going door to door, but never Catholics…
well i want to change this, i want to order copies of the pillar of fire, pillar of truth pamplets and start going door to door and talking about the Catholic church…

do any of you recommend any book or audio tapes that can educate me more with our faith so i can really have a good conversation with people?

and also how do you guys recommend i start the conversation off? and what should major points be that i should bring up?

thank you very much, God bless

 

[Eucharisted]

You would like the Legion of Mary. They go door to door, talking about the Faith.

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

Frank Sheed. He was a Catholic street preacher. Anyways his book Theology and Sanity was written in response to all the different questions he was asked while on the streets… Great read.


http://www.ignatiusinsight.com/authors/franksheed.asp

God bless

 

[dcdurel]

The Legion of Mary is good.
We spread Catholicism by our actions. But words ARE also necessary.

Catholics don’t evangelize much because Catholics don’t have a clear understanding of the basics.
Definition of the Gospel.
Jesus came to proclaim the Good News (Gospel) of salvation.
First, the Gospel Jesus and the apostles taught is the whole Catholic faith. The four written Gospels are narratives of the life of Jesus and are only part of the Gospel (part of the Catholic faith). **Thus to proclaim the Gospel, to evangelize, means to proclaim the whole Catholic faith. **

Jesus came to proclaim the Good News (Gospel) of salvation.

Thus, we need to know the primary meaning of salvation.

First study Pope Paul VI “Evangelization in the Modern World”
which is his encyclical on evangelization.

In this encyclical find where he gives the Church’s definition on Salvation.
Part of this definition is that salvation is this great gift of God which is liberation from everything that oppresses man, especially liberation from sin and the devil. This salvation or liberation starts in this life and is fulfilled in the next life.

For now, just learn the two basic parts of evangelization.
The first part is the initial proclamation, when they learn who Jesus is and why He became man.
The second part is when someone wants to follow Jesus and share in His life, then they are catechized and are taught the full faith.

Jesus came to liberate us from the slavery of sin, so that we can live in union with Him by loving God and our neighbor and thus live in truth and happiness.

This is the definition you need to understand and study. Everything the Church does flows from this. There are other aspects of salvation, such as becoming a member of the Church, that Jesus opened the gates of heaven, that Jesus atoned for our sins, etc.
But, the primary definition, that Jesus came to liberate us from our inclination to sin and evil is the primary definition the Church teaches. ** Do not let others teach that the primary** definition of salvation means “going to heaven”, or final salvation. This is the Protestant view that many Catholics have mistakenly accepted. Salvation starts in this life. It is not limited to the next life. Salvation cames from the word save. To save means to free or to rescue. Jesus came to free us or rescue us from the slavery of sin (inclination to sin).

Only the Popes and those bishops they authorize have the authority authentically to interpret the word of God, and they teach that the primary reason Jesus became man, suffered and died was to free us from the slavery of sin, starting here and now, so we can share in His life by loving Him and thus obtain happiness starting in this life, and ending in the next life in heaven.

All the sacraments, the mass, the commandments, all private prayers such as the rosary, and all redemptive suffering, etc. all are ordered to obtaining grace for us and others to free us from our inclination to evil and sin so as to enable us to love God the way we should and thus live in union with Jesus starting here and now.

Pope John Paul II in his first two encyclicals gives more aspects of evangelization. Again he focuses on the central point that Jesus came for our liberation from the slavery of sin. The General Directory for Catechesis summarizes it again and explains how evangelization is divided into the initial proclamation about Jesus, then catechesis.

Study very beginning, the first few paragraphs of each section of the Catechism.
The Prolog
Part 1. Handing on the Faith
Part 2. Celebration of the Christian Mystery
Part 3. Life in Christ
Part 4. Christian Prayer.

They repeat the basics again in the** first paragraphs **of each of these sections. Just remember the correct definition of salvation that the Church teaches.

Eucharisted gave a link to his blog where he speaks of his conversion experience where Jesus talks about consoling Him.

***MISERENTISSIMUS REDEMPTOR ***is an encyclical that can explain more about what Jesus was speaking of.
There are also other encyclicals on this subject. Learn what the Popes teach first.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

hi everyone,

I always think to myself, hey i always see jehovah witnesses and mormons evangelizing and going door to door, but never Catholics…
well i want to change this, i want to order copies of the pillar of fire, pillar of truth pamplets and start going door to door and talking about the Catholic church…

do any of you recommend any book or audio tapes that can educate me more with our faith so i can really have a good conversation with people?

and also how do you guys recommend i start the conversation off? and what should major points be that i should bring up?

thank you very much, God bless

Just remember that the Catholic faith is invitational not confrontational. With Advent beginning you could give away little Advent pamphlets or sheets and then invite them to Christmas Midnight or morning Mass. Many Protestant Communities do not have services on Christmas when it is not on a Sunday.

 

[Joe_5859]

Just remember that the Catholic faith is invitational not confrontational. With Advent beginning you could give away little Advent pamphlets or sheets and then invite them to Christmas Midnight or morning Mass. Many Protestant Communities do not have services on Christmas when it is not on a Sunday.

Excellent advice.

I would add that it would be good to take this idea to your pastor and your parish. Better to have several people talking through possible strategies before launching out on your own.

It’s always good to have a purpose to be knocking on their door beyond “I want to convert you.” This is where working with your parish is key. You can schedule an event, whether it be Mass, or a Q & A session with the pastor, or a food drive for the poor, etc. Then, when you go door-to-door, you can invite the person to a specific event, rather than a general invitation to stop by the Church some time.

Another thing to consider is to start with those registered parishioners who do not come to Mass regularly. I know of one parish where the pastor decided he wanted to give a gift to each family in the parish. In order to save on postage costs, he had people pick up their gifts in the vestibule after Mass. He gave them several Sundays, and at the end was left with the gifts for those families who hadn’t been to Mass in at least a month. So then he took the gifts door-to-door to those who hadn’t picked them up. It was like evangelization by happy accident. It wasn’t his intent, but he ended up with a list of those “fallen away” Catholics in his parish. As a result of his stopping by with these gifts, many came back to the Church. He didn’t debate with them. He simply issued a very personal invitation.

That said, if you’re looking for some good apologetics resources, I can’t recommend highly enough the San Juan Catholic Seminars Beginning Apologetics Booklet Series. They are readable, concise, and persuasive. I would also recommend Patrick Madrid’s Search & Rescue: How to Bring Your Family and Friends into - or Back into - the Catholic Church.

 

[Church_Militant]

I have to disagree with those who say that Catholics are not evangelistic. It is my experience and opinion that we Catholics are probably as much into faith sharing as most n-Cs are but are more subtle and less antagonistic about it.

Bro Rich is right when he points out that the Catholic faith is invitational and not confrontational. Generally, in my experience, it only really becomes confrontational when we encounter n-Cs/a-Cs who take that sort of style as their evangelistic effort. Their efforts are usually not very successful.

During the Christmas season one excellent way to share your faith is to only send out religious Christmas cards. None of the B flat “Seasons Greetings”/“Happy Holidays” jive. Use only cards that have good religious art about the message of the angels and or to the Blessed Virgin and scripture.

Beyond that there is a host of ways one can share the faith. CA has excellent stuff like Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth, How to Become a Catholic, and there are great Catholic Tracts, from Grotto Press.

Good preparation for evangelism is also important by becoming familiar with your pastor and RCIA team and your DRE.

That should help a bunch. Then PRAY! Especially the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for the salvation of souls. The Holy Spirit will do the rest.

 

[rwoehmke]

John89, I see that you are 19years old, probably single and wonder with your urge to spread the Faith, if perhaps you actually have a vocation to the priesthood. Maybe a missionary order.

 

[John89]

John89, I see that you are 19years old, probably single and wonder with your urge to spread the Faith, if perhaps you actually have a vocation to the priesthood. Maybe a missionary order.

I have actually thought about the priesthood many times, but i also love acting very much and am pursuing a career in it, im hoping that if i become an actor i can spread the faith through all the media attention lol
but i always want to learn about the faith, my thirst for knowledge on it is never quenched… i guess i would like to be an actor/apologist

 

[rwoehmke]

I have actually thought about the priesthood many times, but i also love acting very much and am pursuing a career in it, im hoping that if i become an actor i can spread the faith through all the media attention lol
but i always want to learn about the faith, my thirst for knowledge on it is never quenched… i guess i would like to be an actor/apologist

I know another young man who attends Viterbo College who has similar goals. I think that he would be a wonderful priest, but then that is up to him to discern.