Greenville, SC
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The following report comes to us from team leader Caleb with our team in Greenville, South Carolina:
We had a wonderful day evangelizing at the Barnyard last Saturday. Zach joined us for the first time and did well. Ernesto was there too. Great story – a few weeks back, Fr. Tomlinson shared that a woman approached him and reported that after a short chat with us at the Barnyard, her husband, who’d been away for sometime, started attending Mass! We plant seeds and rarely witness the final outcome, but this is a good report and we thank God for helping this man return home!
A young man, Braxton, returned to us. We’d met him briefly in March when Fr. Davison came out with us. Then he asked a simple question: “What’s the difference between being Catholic and Christian (Protestant)?” Fr. Davison gave him a simple, powerfully true, answer: “We follow the Pope. Apostolic succession.” At that time, he didn’t linger long and moved on. This time he came back, asking the same question, but decided to stick around longer. I gave him a summary of apostolic succession, with Peter having the primacy, the importance of the ministry of the Pope and the unity of the Church. Christ never intended division and denominations. I shared my testimony and that I was a Christian before becoming Catholic, but feel I become more of a Christian by becoming Catholic. I also shared with him another big difference – the seven sacraments. I went over every one, giving a brief explanation. He listened intently. He then asked me about the Miraculous Medal. I explained the history and the importance of Mary and her intercession, also that many miracles have been associated with the medal. He took one and a crucifix for his father. He reminded me he has a Catholic friend and lives in Spartanburg – he’s considering becoming Catholic.
A young couple with a child stopped by. The husband, Charles, began talking to Zach and Ernesto. His wife, Lashanda, stood by me and just gazed at all the literature. She told us they overheard our conversation, as Zach was asking about my experience as a missionary. They asked about the main lesson I’d learned and I shared that it was learning how to follow God’s will. She asked how she could find out what His expectations were for her. I told her to begin with Scripture. In the Old Testament, we have the Ten Commandments. In the New, we have Christ’s teaching. Someone could stop at the externals, but Christ goes deeper. God says don’t commit adultery and someone might say, I haven’t slept around but they are looking at others with lust in their hearts and Christ equates that with adultery. God says don’t kill and someone might say, I’ve never killed anyone, but they hate their brother and they are unwilling to forgive them. Christ brings it to the heart and wants us to realize it begins within, and then moves to our actions. Ultimately the expectation is to love God and each other, even ourselves. I then told her that we don’t just read the Bible and interpret it ourselves. God trusted the Scriptures to the Church and she handed them on to us, therefore we accept the Church’s interpretation. The Church teaches God’s expectations. I then shared with her the reality that even good Christians have a hard time fulfilling the expectations. There’s an inherited struggle with evil in all of us. We know the expectations. You don’t have to be a Christian to know it’s wrong to steal, lie, murder or commit adultery – and yet something inside incites us to do these things. That’s why we need God’s help and mercy constantly. She listened intently the entire time. I told her we follow more than a book, we follow a Person – Jesus – the Word of God. He shows us how to live the life God wants us to live.
Her three year old son, Bralias, asked what a rosary was and if he could have one. I gave him one and told him we use it to pray the Gospel. His mom then asked me if the Bible was just a metaphor. I told her that the Church interprets the Bible in two major senses according to the Catechism – literal and spiritual. God can use both at the same time. He inspired the writers and used them in their cultural contexts and circumstances, so with the literal we look at what the author intended. Did he intend to write a metaphor, poem, or a historical story? And then even literal events have spiritual and deeper meaning, because God’s directing them. For instance, we believe in a literal ark of the Covenant, a box made of wood that the Israelites held in the greatest honor that contained the Ten Commandments, which we believe were written on literal stone tablets, the manna from heaven, which we believe was real substantial food for the Israelites while they wandered in the desert, and the rod of Aaron the high priest, which we believe was really made of wood and really budded. But these things, though literal, also point to something deeper, as they were types of what was to come. Christ, who established the New Covenant, is more than the Law, he’s the Law giver. He’s more than the perishable manna that the Israelites ate, He’s the true bread from heaven. He’s the true High Priest who died on the wood of the cross for the sins of the world. And we believe Mary, the mother of Christ, was set apart and made holy because in her womb she carried Christ, the Word, the Bread of Heaven, and our High Priest, therefore we call her the ark of the New Covenant, and that’s why we honor her, just like the Israelites honored the ark of the Covenant. She was overwhelmed and for a second I worried it might’ve been too much. However, after a pause she asked if she could take something from the literature rack. She took every pamphlet, about 24 in all!. Afterwards, we all prayed together.
Praised be Jesus Christ!