When someone is sharing their problems with you, do you ever find yourself thinking, “I don’t know what to say to improve this situation?” Do you sometimes feel put on the spot?
Kathy W. was listening as a friend shared with her the health scare she was going through. “I said a few things to her, what anyone would say in that situation. I said I’d pray for her, that God would be with her, that sort of thing. But later while I was cooking supper the Lord put it in my heart to text my friend and share my own experience of Jesus’ love for me when I was going through similar situations. And then I told her simply, ‘When I have gone through difficult situations, I find the most consolation in confession, the Mass, and Eucharistic adoration.’ I left it at that and prayed. My friend followed through with this invitation from Jesus and came back to the practice of her faith.”
Have you ever felt like you should reach out to someone who had fallen away from the practice of their faith but just didn’t know how? Maybe you felt awkward? That it was none of your business? Worried about saying the right thing?
It occurred to Maddie M. to ask a colleague at work if she was doing anything over Easter. When her friend explained that she wasn’t Christian and so wouldn’t be doing anything, Maddie simply said, “My husband and I are going to Mass and then out to dinner on Easter. You’re welcome to join us for one or the other or both.” To her surprise, the friend accompanied them to Easter Mass and then to dinner. She began classes that fall and was baptized the following Easter.
Recently a gentleman shared with me the story of his wife’s return to the Faith. They were touring Spain and had stayed overnight near an old church. Early in the morning his wife went out for a walk and wandered into the church. An hour or so later she returned to the hotel and told him, “I didn’t see her. I didn’t have a vision. But I heard her voice. She told me, ‘Your mom is okay. You need to get confirmed.’” After relaying this to me, the man continued, “We knew it was Mary.” When the couple returned to the States, his wife prepared to receive the sacrament of Confirmation. Now both of them have invested time and talent in parish ministries.
This type of love, this one-on-one attention, this one-by-one seeking out of the lost sheep, began many years ago with two disciples hastening out of Jerusalem after Jesus’ crucifixion, setting out for Emmaus, nursing their disappointments, lost in confusion. In his Gospel Luke tells us that Jesus sought and found them, in all their bereavement with turmoil swirling in their minds and hearts. Catching up with them on the road, he asked, “What are you talking about?” He listened to their story and then explained the ways his passion and resurrection had been foretold. After they invited him to stay with them, he broke bread with them [Eucharist] and invited them to be nourished by the gift of his Body and Blood.
After the Eucharistic Congress, this is the choice of love we are each called to make: to share with one other person the love we’ve been given. To make this difference in one person’s life. To be part of Jesus’ building of the Kingdom by helping one more heart find the Shepherd who’s searching for them.
I still remember one day, maybe forty years ago, when a young woman walked into the book center we used to operate on Chestnut Street in Philadelphia. One of my sisters struck up a conversation with her. A few minutes later, Sister picked up the phone, called the rectory of St. Peter’s down the street, and stated that a young woman would be coming over to speak with a priest. It was a simple connection, one we often make, and we didn’t know if we’d ever hear the end of the story. A year later, however, we received an invitation to that woman’s Baptism. After the ceremony she told us how grateful she was for that phone call Sister had made. “As I walked along the sidewalk that day,” she told us, “I had already made the decision that I would end it all. For no reason, though, I looked up and saw you sisters in the book center, so I decided to give it one more chance…. I am so grateful I did.”
A friend told me that because his roommate at college was no religion in particular, he made it a point each Sunday morning to throw out the invitation: “Hey, I’m going to Mass. Do you want to come along?” And every Sunday the roommate would answer, “No, thanks.” Until one day he responded, without really knowing why, “Sure, I’ll come.” After that breakthrough his roomate went to Mass with him again and again, until he made the decision to be baptized and enter the Catholic Church.
Three tips for walking with someone back to Jesus in the Church:
- Keep it simple and relational. Offer an invitation to one thing you can do with that person. It can even be to have supper with you. Or to accompany you to a parish event. Or to meet you at the chapel for adoration. Or to join a book club with you. Or you might simply become a bridge to connect them to someone else.
- Leave it up to them. Each person has his or her own timing. God is at work in their hearts, and he knows what he is doing. You’re not responsible for success, just for extending an invitation. The response might come years later.
- Don’t be discouraged if they turn you down. It doesn’t mean you can’t extend the offer again at another time. You never know which time will be the one when they will take you up on your offer.
Do you have any stories of bringing someone closer to Jesus? Share them in the comments below.
