Cambridge, MA
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This following story comes to us from team leader Marissa with our team in Cambridge, MA:
Today, Jacob and I evangelized in Harvard Square. We were one of four religious groups out sharing our faith…the most I’ve ever seen at once! We saw the JWs and the LDS missionaries, but there was also another pretty large group scattered across the Square. They were preaching the Gospel through microphones, which people generally find off putting. But hey, they’re preaching the same Gospel, so that’s cool, right?
They didn’t quite feel the same way about us. We approached a man with their group to find out they were non-denominational. They weren’t from the area and were doing a tour of Ivy League schools. I was hoping we’d bond over our shared Christianity, but one of the first questions he (very charitably) asked us was how “deep” into Catholicism we are. I answered that we’re “pretty darn deep.” He then shared some of the reasons he’s not Catholic…one of which was that Catholics worship the saints. I asked him whether he asks his friends on earth to pray for him, to which he replied yes. We explained how we believe that the saints in Heaven are members of the Body of Christ too, just as the earthly friends we ask to pray for us are too. Jacob whipped out his pocket Bible and was citing verses for this topic and others we later discussed. We also spoke for a while about faith and works, which I always find is a moot conversation. Personally, I think that Protestants and Catholics basically say the same thing. They just like to say that good works are evidence of the faith necessary for salvation, while we say that works are one of the ingredients necessary for our salvation. Either way, good works need to occur.
He also had a mistaken understanding of the Catholic Church’s view of salvation, which we corrected. A Catholic had once told him that everyone outside the Church is damned, but we explained that while the Catechism teaches there is no salvation outside the Church, the Church extends beyond the formal institution–that people of good will outside the institution can still be saved mystically via the Church that Christ established. Our friend had a mistaken view of how Catholics view grace. He thought that we view the Sacraments as means of doling out grace, and that you need to accrue enough grace to carry with you at the pearly gates to prove you’re good enough to get in. Jacob used a really good metaphor to explain how we think about the Sacraments. He said that before Baptism, we’re like coal, but Baptism makes us into a diamond. Then, as we subsequently sin, the diamond gets damaged, and Confession repairs the diamond, making it new again. Our friend was wary of the Sacrament of Confession. I asked him whether he confesses in his tradition. He does. He pointed out that the Bible says to “confess our sins to one another,” to which I said that a priest is a fellow Christian. I saw the wheels turning in his mind about that. He felt that confessing to an authority figure was different. We also spoke about the Eucharist. Jacob whipped out John 6 in his pocket Bible. I explained the Aristotelian metaphysics that help us to wrap our minds around the idea of the Real Presence in the first place.
Did we convince him? No. Did he convince us? Also no. But it was a beautiful exchange between people who were able to respectfully disagree in a country where people are all too often unable to do so. Our new friend told us we are the nicest Catholics he’s ever met. On one hand, it is disappointing that he hasn’t had charitable interactions with Catholics in the past, and I expressed my apologies to him over this fact. But on the other hand, I was really grateful to the Holy Spirit that charity had won the day in our case. In debate-type situations, it can be very easy to let pride get the upper hand, but by God’s grace I feel we were able to make love our aim.
Praised be Jesus Christ!