Austin, TX. On-the-spot conversions do not happen every time one of our teams hit the streets, but they do happen. When they happen, that is, when a sinner repents and gives (or re-gives) his life to Christ, we can be certain that the Holy Spirit has come in power, having prepared minds and hearts ahead of time, and that, as Our Lord says in the Gospel, the Angels are rejoicing in heaven at the event.
One of these on-the-spot conversions happened recently with the Austin, Texas team. Steve and Bernice met Joey, a baptized but non-practicing Catholic. He attended Holy Mass occasionally, but did not take the faith seriously. After some brief discussion, he wanted to know what real reason there was for him to take the faith more seriously. Steve responded by giving his personal testimony of converting from a life of sin to a life of Christian discipleship. The reason he converted? It was about salvation. Steve knew that God was offering him salvation from death and hell, the consequences of sin. At this, Joey started crying. He knew that God was offering salvation to him, too. And at length, he said that he wanted to give his life to Christ.
They quickly looked up confession times on a smart phone, and drove him to confession at a nearby Catholic parish – why waste time? Later on, he reported back to them via text message that he was forever grateful to have made an “awesome” confession and that he is starting a new life as a disciple of Jesus Christ. It doesn’t get any better than that, does it?
Praised be Jesus Christ! Nothing is more important than the salvation of souls. “What good is it to gain the whole world, and forfeit one’s soul?” Fundamentally, this is why we evangelize. In bringing the truth of Christ to others, we initiate them into a more abundant life on earth through the Holy Spirit; but more importantly, we bring hope of eternal life through the same Spirit. Will you also become an evangelist?