Detroit, MI

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This report comes from team leader Mark with Eastern Market SPSE team in Detroit, MI:

Beth and I returned to Eastern Market for the first time this year. It was a sunny but windy day with a fair amount of foot traffic.

One man approached our table for a Rosary and pamphlet. He didn’t stay long to talk but immediately after he walked away, he ran into four friends. All four of those friends were eager to receive sacramentals and pray with us. I immediately recognized one of the men because I had a memorable encounter with him and his family last year. They all patiently listened to my explanation of the meditations of the Rosary and the grace of the sacraments in the Catholic Church. We gathered in a circle and prayed for each of the men, that God would provide for all of their needs, protect their families and, most importantly, that they would grow in grace and come to know Jesus Christ more and more.

Olivia, a young woman probably in her mid-twenties, stopped to look at our Rosaries. She had seen rosaries many times before but didn’t know much about them. I explained the Rosary as a meditation on the Gospels and a way to better understand the life of Christ. Olivia said that she goes to a Protestant church but her boyfriend is Catholic. I gave her my “one good reason” why I’m Catholic — that the Catholic Church claims apostolic succession and its the True Church established by Jesus Christ. All Protestant churches were established 1,500 years later or more. Moreover, many Christians have serious disagreements on how to interpret the Bible and fundamental beliefs. By what authority can we interpret Scripture and how do we know what books should be in the Bible? Olivia accepted my arguments without hesitation. She took a couple of Rosaries, holy cards, and a “Why Be Catholic?” pamphlet. I asked where she lived and she said southwest Detroit so I recommended a couple of good parishes in her neighborhood. I encouraged her to have a serious conversation with her boyfriend and her boyfriend’s pastor.

Beth offered a Rosary to a fifty-something man, later identified as Ron. He declined and said that he owns several rosaries and used to pray the devotion everyday but stopped a few years ago and he no longer goes to church consistently. He said that he was discouraged because three of his four adult children have left the Faith and no longer go to church at all. I encouraged Ron to be thankful for his one son who is still devout but then challenged him to take greater responsibility in his role as father, that’s hard for him to complain when he doesn’t practice what he preaches. He accepted that responsibility and said that he needs to do better. I encouraged him to renew his devotion to the Holy Rosary for his children and to return to the sacraments. Beth led a prayer for Ron and his children and he thanked us for reaching out to him.