Mokena, IL
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This story comes to us from evangelist Benjamin with our team in Joliet, IL:
Our team went out for an Italian festival hosted in part by a local parish, and we ran into many lapsed and practicing Catholics alike. Our Station Leaders Michael and John led the way, and our evangelists, Suzy and Ben were able to join them as well. A big thanks to John for organizing everything and getting the team together for a great Saturday afternoon of preaching the Good News of our Lord Jesus!
We met a man who professed to be Catholic and approached our booth asking for prayers for his son. Out of nowhere, he shared with us his belief that, although he’s a “practicing Catholic,” he nonetheless thinks the Church is completely wrong about all matters of sexual morality. This was clearly a very personal matter to him and his marriage, as he got incredibly passionate and even somewhat hostile while defending his belief that sexual activity can be permitted outside of sacramental marriage. He even tried to justify his beliefs by appealing to the teachings of “the Bible” over and against the teachings of “the Church.” I calmly and compassionately listened to him, having no judgment in my heart as he divulged some quite intimate details about himself and his marriage. I then spoke the truth in love, informing him that any enjoyment of sexual pleasure outside the context of the marriage is gravely sinful, that he needs to repent if he wishes to see God in eternity, that God’s grace is sufficient to resist temptation, and that the Church, as the Bride of Christ, does have the authority to speak in the name of her Bridegroom. Although he sharply disagreed with me even at the end of our conversation, the more we talked the more I believe he could see the sincerity and lack of judgment in my words. If he remembers anything, my prayer is that he remembers that someone who disagrees with him about this had enough love for him to speak the truth.
I was handing out prayer cards and medals, and a young woman approached me who was dressed in such a way that suggested she wasn’t a practicing Christian. Our interaction was very short, but very moving. She looked at what I was handing out and asked, “Is this for me?” Although she was directly speaking about the medals/prayer cards, I could tell by the look on her face that she was really inquiring about the love of God. So I replied, “Of course! God’s love is for everyone!” And she just looked at me, smiled, and said in a truly genuine tone, “Thank you.” She took whatever it was I was handing out, and then she walked off. It was a very short interaction, but a powerful display of the Holy Spirit beginning to operate on someone’s heart.
Praised be Jesus Christ!