Downers Grove, IL
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This story is a continuation of yesterday’s story and comes to us from station leader Rachel with our team in Joliet, IL:
On Sunday, a young girl stopped by with her mom. Unprompted, she asked, “Mom, why didn’t we go to Mass today?” Mom said they’d be going later. Pray for all of these children whose hearts are so open to their creator, even if they hardly know him intellectually.
I talked on Friday to a young man named Gregory, who’s sure he wants to be Catholic and prepare for baptism. I gave him a flier for our adult initiation process and will follow up with him. I also talked on Sunday with a young man named Ben, who’s new to the area and hasn’t connected with any Christian community yet. He also wants to be baptized and said he knew he had to work on putting off the old self and putting on the new (Ephesians 4:22-24). He had attended an evangelical service that morning and wanted to know what was different about the Catholic Church. I talked about the fullness of union with Christ the Bridegroom, and I gave him an adult initiation flier and invited him to check out 5 pm Sunday Mass just a few blocks up the road.
We had a few tough encounters early on. One older woman was very drawn to the rosaries we offered. She’d been a parishioner at a local Catholic parish, but they didn’t want her when she “came out.” She’s part of a mainline Protestant community now, but said she missed the Rosary and other aspects of the Catholic faith very much. It’s so hard to know how to respond to someone who is really hurting. I told her all it takes is one good confession to come back. She just shook her head sorrowfully, but took a rosary. May our Mother Mary help show her the way to healing found in Christ the Bridegroom.
Another woman wasn’t happy that our Bibles didn’t include the apocryphal Book of Enoch. She said we needed that information regarding fallen angels and evil spirits. She also referred to the Rosary as idol-worship and said the Bible has all we need. I explained that many people throughout history weren’t able to read or access a Bible. Even today, many people struggle with reading due to ADHD or other learning difficulties, and in some parts of the world people can be killed for having a Bible. I explained that we encourage Scripture reading for those who are able to, but the Catholic Church is inclusive of people who can’t read or access the Bible but still need to know about Jesus. She seemed to at least consider some of what I said.
Pray for all of these precious souls. Praised be Jesus Christ!