Why such evangelical agresiveness?

[Subscriber]

I am a traditional Roman Catholic. My question is why many evangelical Christians seem aggressive in their overall demeanor?
For instance, my mother became a Charismatic Catholic and she and her friends try to push people pretty hard to attend their church and say “Thank you Jesus!!” over every little thing. I don’t want to hurt her feelings but I’m sick of it.

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

Such behavior becomes a kind of sub-culture thing with its’ own lingo. They don’t have classes; they have “teachings.” When they pray spontaneously, they seem to be compelled to begin with “We just” as in," We just praise you, Lord." Some personalities take to this quite readily. I have been involved with the Catholic charismatic movement in the past, but I could never get into swaying and raising my arms or using the lingo. I am not into clapping with prayer–and never will be. For my personality it is too much in my face. (I won’t buy anything from a pushy salesperson–even when the item is on sale.) I don’t use the Holy Name of Jesus lightly and feel uncomfortable when people do. For me it’s a matter of respect. Usually, I say “Lord” when addressing Him. But I grew up in the more formal 50s. (And I’m glad I did.)

That being said, we don’t want to push our personality related styles on them. There is room in the Church for all of us. We all are obliged to honor each other in the faith we share as Catholics even though we may express it in different ways. Your mother needs to be reminded, though, that Our Blessed Lord never pressured anyone to follow Him; He simply spoke the truth in love.

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.