Hi ya'll,

Happy Holy Saturday! It was on this glorious day, in which we recall the stillness between the death and resurrection of Christ, but also the day Christ descended into hell to set the captives free so they might enter their long awaited Sabbath rest, that we were blessed to go once again to the Barnyard Flea Market in Greer to share the Good News and invite people to join the Catholic Church. Mason and I were double blessed to have Fr. Tim Davison join us for a couple hours.

Here is a brief report of some of our encounters:

We met two middle aged women, Susie and Melissa, both good friends. Susie was interested in grabbing some items from our table. She said she was planning on attending Mass tomorrow and goes often to St. Mary Magdalene. She related that her friend Melissa is not Catholic but they were just talking about it before they met us. We had some short friendly conversation and she was interested in coming over to Prince of Peace to attend a Mass there. She also told us that what is spurning her to engage her faith more is her strained relationship with her son and his wife. Her son, who's name is Brennan, and his wife have been struggling with their faith. We prayed briefly for them.

Fr. Davison met with a young man who asked him to give a brief explanation of the difference between Catholicism and Protestantism. The young man said his friends are Catholic and have invited him to Mass. He is a Christian and goes to a non-denominational church. Father gave him a brief explanation that it was the Church that Christ founded and handed down through the Apostles and we gave him the booklet "Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth", a Catholic Answers booklet that gives a brief catechesis on the foundational doctrines of the Catholic Faith. Father also gave him some simple instructions on how to find a parish priest to get into a class that would teach about how to become Catholic and practice the faith.

I met Trudy who wanted to share with me her recent difficulty with back pain related to osteoporosis and several broken bones. I prayed for her briefly. She then asked about taking a Miraculous Medal. I asked if she knew what it was and she did not so I gave her one and explained why we venerate Mary using the typology of the Ark of the Covenant and Eve and why we can ask for her prayers, including a brief explanation of the doctrines of the intercession of the saints, the common priesthood of the faithful, and the communion of saints. She then told me that she has a very strained relationship with her son. She said that when he was just about 18 years old he met a woman, 10 years older than him, from New Zealand. They had met online and she was very forward, coming to America to get him and after only two weeks they were married. He has since moved to New Zealand. However, Trudy said soon after she got a call from him that whatever group they were part of wanted him to kill someone. She said he was very distressed and all she could do was advise him to call the police. She didn't hear from him for sometime, but when she did hear back from him she found out that his wife and him were part of a cult that worshiped Satan. She had attempted to send him a Christmas card and he called her saying that if she ever mentioned God or Jesus ever he would never talk to her again. She didn't stop, but at some point he even told her he hoped she would die. They don't have children as apparently his wife told her she hates children. The wife claims to have preternatural powers of levitation and bites the heads off of rats. Trudy said she prays for her son, Tobi, and his wife Donna all the time. I told her I believed it was God's providence that she came by and that I was able to share with her about the intercession of Mary and the saints. I encouraged her to ask Mary, St. Joseph, and St. Michael the Archangel to also intercede for her son and his wife who are clearly in the grip of the devil. She took a second Miraculous Medal so she could give it to her other son whom she said can't hear and doesn't talk. Fr. Davison then came over and was able to bless the medals. Finally she told me she was going to come back the next time we were there to talk some more.

So that's my version of the story. I hope you enjoyed it, but please take some time to pray for those we met and their loved ones! And pray for us too!

Peace,

Caleb