Lockport, IL

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This story comes to us from team leader Nick with our team in Joliet, IL:

Later, we encountered a biker with his girlfriend. He was wearing many chains and crucifixes, one of which was combined with a St. Benedict medal. He said he wanted to get some Miraculous Medals because he’s a ghost hunter. One of our evangelists pressed him a bit on that, and he shared a few stories of what he’s encountered. He said some people quote the Bible and say that the soul sleeps until the end of the world, and he says that can’t be true because he’s seen so many ghosts. I told him that he had the right sense, because we are immediately judged by God at our deaths, and it’s our body that reunites with the soul at the end of the world, and I told him some Christians interpret Scripture incorrectly to get the false doctrine of “soul sleep”. Sadly, he didn’t seem to believe in the true power of Jesus’ name, nor consider himself “a believer”. I told him that the “ghosts” of people he was communicating with could very well be demons and not human beings, as Jesus in Scripture calls Satan “the father of lies”. He admitted that this might be true. He conversed a bit more with another of our evangelists, but sadly walked away without truly thinking about a conversion. Please pray for this man as he’s likely dealing with literal demons in his spiritually dangerous “ghost hunting” work.

A woman, Kristie, came up with her son who was about 10 years old. They both wanted rosaries, and I asked if they knew how to pray it. Her son tried putting it around his neck, but I said it’s not a necklace but an aid in prayer. I explained again, while handing her a pamphlet that it’s a walk through scripture. She then said that she just prays directly to Jesus, and that she is a “pastor” at a local non-denominational church, and would be leading the “worship service” the next day on the main stage at Canal Days. She said she had struggled with addiction for years, as had her husband, but she has been clean for almost 10 years now, as has her husband, and she owes it all to Jesus. Therefore, she said she wants to pray directly to Jesus since she is a Christian. I told her I’m a Christian, too… a Catholic Christian! I told her that just like she would ask me to pray for her, we ask Jesus’ Mother to pray for us, and the other saints as well. I started quoting from John’s Gospel on how Jesus dealt with the Sadducees and how God is the God of the living not the dead… but I messed up the verse, and felt a bit self conscious that I might’ve confused her! Still, despite that, she wanted to keep talking, and I asked her if she ever thought about the Catholic Church, and she said she hadn’t as she just wants to focus on Jesus. She said Muslims have their traditions (“was she comparing Catholics to Muslims?”, I thought) and other Christians have theirs, but I told her that Jesus wants all Christians to be united, and quoted John 17 to her on the unity of the Church, and that there could only be one path, one tradition. She asked what else we had and I gave her two medals, and she said she’d like to learn more and we exchanged our contact info with each other. I gave her a “Why Be Catholic” pamphlet and she said she would read it and would contact me with more questions. We took her prayer requests and parted amicably. Please pray for her conversion to the one true Church!

Praised be Jesus Christ!