Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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Jesus, Still Relevant and Needed - 2022-07-17

July 24, 2022

Nonbelievers equate the Catholic Church with Christianity, our separated brethren are suspicious, and Catholics feel encouraged. So thankyou again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

After several days in a row of triple-digit weather, a very welcome cloud cover appeared and stayed overhead for most of the session, cooling things down noticeably. The sky cleared again about “closing time.” Because of this Heaven-sent, merciful intervention in the weather, quite a few people were outside and encountered us. Thank you, God!

A tall 40-ish man stopped. He was wearing a khaki collared shirt, carrying a backpack, and gave his name as “Ron”. He was new in town and complained about the incivility of the homeless shelters here. He told us he had been raised in a non-Catholic Christian liturgical denomination and had suffered abuse there. The experience had damaged his faith, he said, but he still tried to read the Bible and pray. I can’t remember if he accepted a Rosary. He said he had been trained as an assassin. Lord, save him!

A family who did not speak English came to the table. E. Chuck tried to converse with the mother, but wasn’t able to communicate well enough to give her directions she desired to shopping places. The father and two pre-teen boys seemed to understand English well enough to converse with e. Lucy, who gave them the Rosary booklet in their own language and encouraged them to pray it together as a family. Pray for safe travels for them.

A heavily tattooed couple stopped. While e. Chuck was explaining the Rosary to the woman, the man asked e. Lucy to give him advice (but not saying about what he wanted advice). Although the man had been introduced to the Rosary devotion as a child, the evangelist explained to him how to form an intention, and then use the Rosary prayers to grow deeper in his understanding of Christ. She let him know that God often answered petitions when couched that way. He thanked her.

A couple passed by, the man snapping pictures of the business complex with his phone. When he finished, he turned toward us, calling out, “We’re non-denominational.” When e. Lucy replied that the Rosary was for all Christians, he stepped a bit closer and starting quoting Bible verses that he thought justified his (false) once-saved-always-saved-and-no-effort-ever-needed philosophy of Christian discipleship. Of course, he didn’t stop to listen to any counter-arguments. Pray that his heart will be open to dialogue when next he passes.

“Sarah” set up shop again a few feet down from us. After placing her lawn chair and display blanket, she passed us on her way to get soaked in the fountain before sitting to await customers. She seemed surprised when e. Lucy hailed her by name, and spoke again of the “parade” she had joined one time around the cathedral, which the evangelist recalled is across the street from her home. She was, though, fairly inarticulate. Lord, lead her home to You!

John, the parking lot attendant, again came early and stayed the whole session, swapping secular stories with e. Chuck. Lord, open his understanding and bring him into the Church that You founded.

Another non-English-speaking family stopped for a Rosary. The woman requested the booklet in her native language. The man preferred the English-language version because, although he already prayed the Rosary regularly, he wanted to learn it in English.

A Catholic family stopped so the boy, who was dripping wet from playing in the fountain, could get a Rosary. The father didn’t seem to be familiar with the Rosary, yet listened as we explained and extolled the prayer. Then he told us that his son attends a local Catholic school and so knows all the prayers. We encouraged the father to pray with his son. Please pray this family is united by the love of the Lord.

Just as the evangelists were preparing to take down the table, a group of teenage boys approached, wanting “necklaces”. One of the group responded to our table sign, which asks, “Does God exist?” He said he thought there was a God. We assured him that was the most important thought of his life. As we tried to explain the true purpose of the Rosary, most of the boys joked or hung back, but a couple of them did hear us out. Each of teens selected a Rosary for himself. Pray, Mother Mary, that they accept the grace to walk in the way everlasting.

Altogether, the evangelists gave away 20-25 Rosaries, black and pink being the most popular colors chosen.

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.

A wide variety of people respond to us, 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).