Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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Will I Go to Hell? - 2022-07-24

July 31, 2022

Conversion is possible, but it takes God’s grace. So thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

A homeless woman, who was missing most of her lower teeth and carrying cardboard sign and bedroll, stopped for a Rosary. Then she asked for a large-print Bible. E. Lucy showed her the one she had, which was full-sized and quite heavy. Our visitor hesitated, so then we showed her our two pared-down ones. She chose the Gospel According to St Luke. She also accepted a map to area parishes after hearing that she’d be welcome at any Mass. Pray for peace and protection for her.

Another woman, possibly also homeless and with lots of tattoos and an odd shoulder twitch, came to the table. E. Lucy walked around the table to talk to her but doesn’t remember the encounter.

A Catholic couple, visiting from out of state and already having “plenty of Rosaries”, paused to chat. The woman was a traveling nurse, evidently filling in emergency shifts as needed. E. Lucy, finding they hadn’t been to Mass yet, told them about the next available Mass downtown, but they were heading back to their hometown before then. Pray for their safe travels.

A woman, with a foreign accent and pushing a toddler in a stroller, stopped because she thought we were offering non-Christian mediation beads. E. Lucy explained that the Rosary was a Christian meditation, described it briefly, and gave her the pamphlet to go with the Rosary she had chosen. She may also have accepted a copy of the kerygma. Perhaps, though, our visitor was just being polite.

The father in a family of four responded to our offer by saying his son (maybe 8 years old) would want one. The father and son came to the table as the others walked on. The father said he had grown up “socially Christian” but was “merely spiritual” now, and thought that all religious roads lead to heaven. E. Chuck offered that Christianity is unique, that spirituality and other religions present God as someone/something to pursue while Christianity shows us a loving God who pursues us, lived among us, was killed, and rose again so that we can be saved. Both father and son chose a Rosary apiece, and we encouraged them to pray and meditate on the Mysteries together. Pray that their hazy spirituality becomes a solid Faith in Christ.

A man on a bicycle rode by, declaring he was an atheist, but did not pause to talk further. Pray that the hearts of this man and all unbelievers are softened and their ears opened so they can hear and respond to Our Lord’s knocking.

Three high-school-aged women, who had overheard us offer of free Rosaries to other people, came to us from across the plaza. The enthusiastic “leader” of the trio turned out to be Catholic, so we encouraged her to teach her friends how to pray the Rosary. Pray that these Rosaries open the door for this young Catholic to witness to her friends.

A group of very young teens came to the table to select Rosaries. Mostly, they seemed to be simply looking for a necklace. One snarky young man wanted to know if Jesus could win in a fight with a certain cartoon anti-hero. Still, e. Lucy got a couple of them to accept a copy of the Good News/kerygma pamphlet. One girl then asked, “Will I go to hell because I’m gay?” E. Lucy explained that it wasn’t a sin to experience same-sex attraction, but to act out on it would be sinful. When the rest of the teens left, the girl hung back to ask for more detail. Heartbreakingly, she described activity without any sense of commitment whatsoever. E. Lucy explained that God considers sex sacred, that one of its purposes is to produce more human beings, that same-sex activity was by its nature sterile. The evangelist went on to say that God didn’t forbid such activity in order to hurt her, but because He had a better plan for her and wanted her to be truly happy. Our visitor didn’t seem offended when she took her leave. May God continue to call her out of sin into the path to Eternal Life.

Altogether, the evangelists gave away 10-15 Rosaries and the pamphlet on how to pray it, as well as maybe 3 copies of the kerygma, 1 Gospel According to St Luke, and at least 1 map to area parishes.

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 will come of today’s efforts.

Truth carries its own authority, and some people can hear it. 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!