God’s love is for each person, and we try to express it. So, thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

A single black Rosary was found within a bag of donated Rosaries of mixed colors (May God again bless all of our Rosary makers!). I laid the black Rosary out on the table as I was setting up, and it was claimed before I had gotten the table half filled. It was a man who claimed it, but I’m afraid I don’t remember anything else about the encounter. May the Lord bless that man and reveal Himself through the Mysteries.

I also found a Rosary made entirely of clear beads. I put it, too, on the table during our initial set up. A few employees of the business park were passing by. Surprisingly, one of them said that, yes, he would like a Rosary. He was already familiar with the Rosary devotion and had “worn out” his previous one. He was stumped, though, when it came to choosing a color. He asked me for a suggestion, and I said, “How about ‘invisible’?” indicating the all-clear-beaded Rosary. He went for it. Lord, grant our visitor clear insight into Your will in his life.

A family, too, came by as I was getting our table set up. It consisted of a mom and three children (maybe 8, 12, and 16 years old). The children were translating for the mom, so I also offered them the Rosary booklet in Spanish. Besides a Rosary apiece, they accepted two Rosary pamphlets in Spanish and one in English. Lord, bless that family and strengthen their bonds of unity.

A Catholic man, visiting from out of state and accompanied by his wife and young-adult son, stopped. They didn’t want a Rosary since they “had lots at home”. The father had a question, though. He asked about what roles, in this diocese, a deacon performs at Mass. Evidently, these things differ by diocese, because it is different here than in his hometown. His son is moving to Boise to work for a medical testing facility, which recruits people as test subjects for this and that. The dad then asked us if there is a group “for young adults and beer”. We pointed the son to the local university’s Newman center. (Too late, we remembered that there does exist here an area-wide theology discussion group that meets in pubs and caters to young-adult Catholics. However, if the son connects with the university’s Catholic student center, he’s sure to hear of it.) Lord, bless every member of that family and keep them faithful to You.

The anti-Catholic man, originally from a traditionally Catholic country, stopped again. We last saw him a couple of weeks ago, when he requested a Rosary (which request e. Lucy felt she needed to refuse). This time, the man ranted mostly at e. Nancy. Lord, soften his heart toward his fellow Christians and help him hear the truth. Here is what e. Nancy reported of that conversation:

A man approached and was very upset by our display. He is from [another country] and his whole family is Catholic. He believes that religion, and all organized religion, is superstitious, full of child abusers, and promotes war. His face looked like he was experiencing a lot of pain thinking about this. He pointed to the Rosaries and said, “It’s all superstition.” He said he only needs Jesus; Jesus is the only one we need. I agreed, saying, “Jesus is the only mediator, the only way.” This seemed to confuse him a little: the fact that I agreed with him. I did offer him only the pamphlet and showed him the pictures of the scenes of Jesus’s life. He was too upset to focus on the pamphlet, and started saying that apparently someone’s Catholic mother-in-law in his family tried to have her daughter killed [as if that was the Church’s fault]. I listened some, then I shook his hand and said, “Thank you for talking with us. May God bless you.” He was polite even though he was angry. He went away not angry at us, but still angry with the Church.

Two homeless-looking men came to the table. One chose a Rosary and then pointed out the inebriated condition of his companion, voicing his worry that he’d want to drive. After he had chosen a Rosary and was chatting with e. Nancy and e. Clare, the second man came for a Rosary. After he had picked one out, e. Lucy asked if he’d like prayer for anything (hoping he’d ask for sobriety). “My mom”, he replied, “she’s ‘all over the place.’” It turns out that they live in the same town in a neighboring state, and he sees her every day. The evangelist prayed for our visitor’s mom’s peace and health, as well as for our visitor. Lord, please have mercy on them both.

“Amanda”, a non-Christian flight attendant, smiled and said “no thank you” to our offer of a free Rosary. Then she returned, saying she wanted a Rosary after all. She practices a religion that honors many gods. And, since her mother has an altar with religious items from every spiritual practice including a Rosary, our visitor wanted a Rosary for herself. E. Nancy explained how to pray it. They then went on to talk about walking, since Amanda enjoys doing that in the different cities she sees. So, we told her about the 20-mile-long walking path along the Boise River that she can explore on her next trip here. Lord, Amanda perceives something to honor in the Rosary. Please draw her to get to know You, the one true God.

A family stopped, who were dropping their daughter off for her senior year at the local university, majoring in psychology. I’m afraid I don’t remember more of the conversation. Lord, keep the daughter safe and faithful to You. And grant her parents a safe trip home.

One couple stopped. The man wearing a cowboy hat said “no, thank you” to our offer. The lady, though, wanted a Rosary and accepted the booklet. Lord, strengthen the woman’s Faith.

A very thin person, named “Tory” (I think), dressed in a somewhat Goth style, stopped and wanted a Rosary. E. Nancy thinks that perhaps he chose a white one with black cross. He was very polite and seemed interested in e. Lucy’s explanation of the devotion. Lord, draw Tory to actually use his new Rosary for prayer.

A woman accompanied by 3 university students stopped; one was her daughter. The mom is visiting and had gone to Mass at a parish across town. E. Lucy explained about the university’s Catholic Student Center. The mom was nice, got a Rosary and booklet, and was very interested; but the kids, not so much. Lord, hear that mother’s prayer for her daughter’s faith and lead them both safely to Heaven.

A group of young people stopped. One said she was Catholic, that her family was very Catholic, and that her Mom had given her a Rosary from the Vatican but it had broken. She never prayed it, but she kept it with her because it’s important to her. She got one of ours and e. Lucy explained how to pray it. E. Nancy offered to repair our visitor’s Rosary if we can connect. She introduced herself to us, but we don’t remember her name. Lord, You know her name. Please bless her and save her.

A group of 4 young-adult men stopped. One said he was Catholic and wanted a Rosary and its booklet. He also wanted one of each of the 3 holy cards we had on the table, and was very appreciative. Another of the 4 said he was not Catholic but was very interested in getting a Rosary and the booklet. The other 2 didn’t come to the table, but just said “no, thank you”. Lord, bless the two men who received a Rosary and draw them into a deep and living relationship with You. Through them, please bless their friends.

Two older couples walked by, when the second couple was almost past us, the man called out “Twelve years of Jesuit education. I had it up to here” and raised his hand high over his head. Lord, grant him the grace of forgiveness and draw him back to the Sacraments.

There were 2 groups that called out “we know Jesus” when asked if they would like a Rosary. It may have been the same group walking back by, I am not sure.

A man stopped and said he was “an Easter-Christmas Catholic”. His name was Ross, but we can’t remember if he got a Rosary or any more about his situation. As we were leaving, though, we saw e. Clare and Lance praying with him. Lord, have mercy!

The day was moderately hot, but a breeze blowing through the fountain was a real blessing. Altogether, the four of us gave away another 20-25 Rosaries and its pamphlet, a St Francis prayer card, a Holy Family prayer card, and a Divine Mercy prayer card.

Please pray for us again today? Ask God to send people to us with hearts prepared to perceive their need for Our Savior Jesus Christ and His Holy Catholic Church, and that much good fruit for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.

God’s love never changes. So, thank you again for your prayers and other support for this apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and all those you love!

“Go with the strength you have” (Judg 6:14).