Conversations in the World: My Version of Catholicism

Advent greetings! It has been a while since submitting a blog post. One of my resolutions for 2017 is to be more consistent and post at least once per month. I pray I am successful. Anyway, in this post I'd like to give a reflection of a recent conversation I had in the world. What I mean by having a conversation in the world is discussing different Church teachings or stances on various topics with someone who is either not Catholic or is a separated Catholic in a non-religious setting. Based on my experience most of these conversations happen over a good glass of beer at a local bar. In this conversation the topic was conversion and witness.

We were discussing the coercive nature that some religious people evangelize, including Catholics. He mentioned how people have been pushy or even shut him out. I immediately acknowledged that coercion does exist, but that it is not the proper way to evangelize and began to discuss what proper evangelizing is and what the Church teaches in regard to conversion. God does not coerce and this is evident in Christ's ministry. Christ was not a warrior that sought to gather foot soldiers and ransack Jerusalem. The proper way to evangelize is to be like Christ; a faithful witness to the truth seeking the good of others. Christ, the Son acting in union with the Father and the Holy Spirit, gave people a choice. It is important to note that Christ didn't mince words. He gave people a solid choice to make, but he let them make the choice upholding their free will. It is important to remember that the Holy Spirit does the converting when a person's heart is open to respond to the Spirit. All we can do and should do is proclaim the teachings of the Church and be a witness to the teachings. We must recognize our sinfulness and need for the Church.

It was a very civil discussion with someone who believes in a world beyond this one, but who is not religious. He appreciated my tone and said he likes my version of Catholicism. I must note that I responded by thanking him and added that my version is not my version. I simply seek to follow Christ as I work toward holiness in serving God and His creation. I love these types of conversations. Don't be afraid of engaging in conversations similar to these. You may not know all the answers, I certainly don't, but that's why we have smart phones. If you get stumped, simply look up the answer on a good Catholic app or website. If the person you are conversing with is a good person, they will appreciate your diligence. The moment was certainly a moment of consolation in my discernment of the priesthood.