We encountered a young man named Marcel who said he was raised Christian and just starting to get back into his faith. We gave him a rosary and a pamphlet on how to pray it, and I invited him to come join my men's Bible study. He gave me his phone number so I can reach out to him with further details about that. The interaction was rather brief because he was watching his little daughter and the parade, but I could see an earnestness in his eyes and tone that told me that we were there for a reason.

There was another young man we met named Dominic who told us that he was also just starting to get back into his faith. He hasn't returned to church yet, but he just recently bought a Bible and started reading it for the first time in years! I asked him if he had looked into Catholicism at all and he said he was really new to all of this so not really. Unfortunately I forgot to invite him to the Bible study, but I asked if I could pray with him, so I prayed for him right there that the Lord would continue to bless his journey towards the fullness of truth in the Church. Like the previous young man, I saw a genuine desire for the truth in him, and I think he likely viewed it as providential that we were there to encourage his journey. The fact that Catholics were the ones who found him that day, not someone else, is what I hope will encourage him to pursue the Catholic faith and praying the rosary, which we also gave him instructions on how to pray.

Towards the end of the parade, we came across three young men and asked them if they wanted rosaries and if there was anything we could pray for them for. They all were happy to accept rosaries and instructions on how to pray them, and they asked that we pray for the business they had recently started together. We did that and got to talking about where they're at in their faith journey. They all expressed that they too were relatively new to the faith and had an openness to Catholicism...

I told them about my Bible study and they all expressed interest in coming by! They gave me a business card with all of their numbers on it for me to follow up with more information.

We also had various interactions with people who were Catholic, but not super interested in talking to us. But a number of them, surprised that we even asked to pray for them right then and there, agreed to let us pray. And I could tell that they were genuinely touched that there were people out there who just wanted to love and pray for them. Although they weren't interested in further conversations about the faith, I hope that our reflection of the love of Christ touched their hearts. One man in particular even said that he hadn't been to Church in a while, but that he was happy we were there to pray for him and he seemed to talk it as a sign that he should go back to church! We encouraged him to do this and to pray the rosary, and he was grateful.

I also made sure to pray for the intercession of St. Patrick over everyone we prayed for, to remind them that St. Patrick isn't just a symbol of Ireland, but a saint in heaven who loves and prays for us!