The picture here is from the Enterprise, AL, team. This team recently had the joy of working with a return visitor. The woman had previously accepted a Rosary from the team after they answered a question about the Catholic Faith. Today, she seemed happy to see them again and brought them more of her questions.
One of her most pressing ones was about confession. “Why don’t you just go straight to God?”
“We do!” the team replied. They took her to the Bible. “Let’s review John 20:20–23”, which includes Jesus’ words to His apostles: “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” Then the evangelists asked the woman, “How could the apostles possibly forgive or retain sins if no one confesses to them?”
The team then reviewed Matthew 9:1–8 with her, where Jesus heals the paralytic AFTER He declares the man’s sins forgiven, and in which He explicitly declares that the healing was precisely to let them know that He has the authority on earth to forgive sins. The evangelists then especially emphasized verse 8, in which GOD was GLORIFIED, “who had given such authority to human beings”.
By using Scripture, the evangelists helped the woman understand that 1) God has indeed given the apostles and their successors the authority to act as His instruments to either forgive or retain sins, and 2) that their doing so glorifies God.
The woman seemed excited to find out about this. These concepts all seemed to be new to her.
The woman then asked other great questions, all of which the team was able to answer using the Holy Scriptures. Before she left, she asked the team to pray for her and the team asked the same from her. The team thanks the Holy Spirit for His help in answering the woman’s questions and objections. Would you, too, please send up a prayer for the woman and for Team Enterprise?
Would you also please pray for God to send each of our teams more evangelists? We need help. YOU, too, can be a part of this! What is Our Lord asking you? Hit the streets with us? Start your own team? Be a supporting member? Offer prayer or sacrifice? Don’t miss out!
Thanks be to GOD, that I read Bible and Scriptures, as I was able to defend our Catholic faith by the very same question by our brother Protestants. It was put to me in a way that no one gave Apostles and Priests the authority to forgive sins, and, so I courageously quoted Matthew 9:1–8. I hope he kept his promise that said he would at least go sit by Jesus at the Tabernacle.
Thank you. I enjoyed your article very much. Blessings of the Advent Season. Christine
Thanks for your work there! Please also pray for me as I start a team here in Johnstown PA. I just asked one great Catholic after Mass this morning, he sounded sincerely interested. His wife and daughters are also very strong in the faith as well. Maybe God will bring them to our work to bring souls to, and back to the Church?!
May we be able to serve all souls and let them know God loves them! Lord Jesus come to us so we can welcome you in our souls and in the souls of all!
Thank You for your wonderful work. Wish I were much, much younger and could join your ministry. I will keep you & the members of your ministry in my prayers. God Bless!!
Greetings in the name of Jesus! I am very interested in learning more about your organization. I know the Lord has called me into the healing and deliverance ministry, I am just waiting in prayer for the right door to open.
God bless you,
Sister Tameron H.
it’s tough work converting people away from Fundamentalist mentality simply because they are not encouraged to think on their own two feet. So it’s good you use the Bible as a mutual reference point. But the Church is also where the words of the Bible take on flesh, and are lived by people in community (vague community it is admitted that parish life is pretty woeful because of no fresh dynamic pastoring – in fact it is so lame that I almost have no real place to invite anyone to come see Catholicism in action.)