Boise

Country: United States
State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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God Wins! - 2024-07-07

July 14, 2024

The Victor is Christ! So, thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

As we were setting up the table, a tall man with a slight southern accent approached us. He said, “You probably don’t remember me, but I’ve picked up a couple of Rosaries from you over the years and have them hanging in my house.” He went on to tell us he was raised [as a non-Catholic Christian] but his younger sister had converted to Catholicism. When she recently visited him, she was excited to see the Rosaries on his wall. We asked him if he was praying the Rosary, but he became sheepish. To impress his little sister, he said, he let her think he was praying the Rosary, but in fact he never had. Pray that the influence of his sister will lead him into a deeper union with Christ through the Rosary.

Also early in the session, we watched two city policemen as one rode his bicycle through the fountain in the middle of the business park. Then they came past us, and e. Chuck lamented about their having to wear such dark-colored uniforms. They agreed and wished us well. May God bless and protect them.

“Logan” the non-Catholic Christian street evangelist, came by twice. His approach had changed since last time. Instead of handing out a church business card, he was giving out tracts containing 1-line clean jokes. The kerygma was buried near the end of the tract, as a fine-print “editorial”. Logan then suddenly excused himself to leave and take care of his blood sugar. He came back somewhat later, still looking somewhat pale. While he was visiting us, a disheveled looking man was going back and forth past us on the far side of the walkway, being careful not to make eye contact. I think it was the same man I’ve seen in the area several times over the last few years. Today, his movements seemed quite disorganized. He made his way to the fountain and splashed water on himself. Then he lay down under a tree and may have fallen asleep for a few minutes. Logan said he wasn’t going to approach him, since he’s seen men in similar shape suddenly turn violent, but that he would ask his church to pray for him. Meanwhile, I’m concerned about Logan, especially since his story and his approach seem so markedly different from just two weeks ago. Lord, please have mercy on both of these men. Lead them both to You. And, if it be Thy will, please heal them; save them.

A family of five went by, the parents shaking their head “no, thank you” to our offer of a free Rosary. Then, the two girls (perhaps 5 and 8 years old) came running back to the table. “Only if it’s okay with your folks,” we said. The mom nodded and headed to our table, too. The girls each chose a Rosary and accepted the pamphlet on how to pray it.

We saw “Marty” briefly, who said he was doing well. Then “Blake” went by. You may remember him as “Stephen’s coworker”, who works as a waiter and had described himself as an inactive Catholic. This time, he held up his black Rosary, to show us he still had it. Then he came to the table to tell us he was beginning to go to Mass again. [Thank you, God!!!] He picked up a “Divine Mercy” and a “Mary, Untier of Knots” prayer card before heading off to work. Praise God for small steps toward a big faith. Keep praying for Blake, may his love for Christ continue to grow.

An elderly woman stopped for a Rosary, once she understood that they were free. She chose one. Then she chose another. “I need seven of these,” she said. “For what?” we asked. Well, she is going to a convention and needed to bring presents for seven other people. E Chuck explained that we were giving them away so people could use them for prayer, and encouraged her to learn to pray the one she had already chosen. She graciously returned the second one she had picked up.

“The merchant” waved as he went by, but didn’t come to the table.

A man stopped who didn’t know anything about the Rosary, but shrugged off the explanation because, though he was raised in a non-Catholic Christian tradition, he was “now more spiritual than religious”. Yet, he still selected a Rosary. We replied that the most spiritual thing we can do is to respond to Christ’s love by loving Him back with everything we’ve got, and that Christ gave us many practical ways of loving Him, which include the Rosary, the Church, etc. His response was noncommittal as he moved on. Pray he will stop holding God at arm’s length with a vague spirituality and will fully embrace the God who fully embraced him on the Cross.

A mom with two children was ready to pass the table by, but the children wanted Rosaries. The mother let them pick one out, but declined one herself. She claimed to know what the Rosary was. but listened as we described the prayer to the kids. Then, she did choose one. Pray that this family will be strengthened in faith by praying the Rosary together.

A father let his son choose a Rosary and said he knew what it was because his mother was Catholic. He did not elaborate on what he believed. He was interested in the mechanics of and reasons for praying the Rosary and asked clarifying questions about the prayer. He picked out a Rosary that matched the one his son had chosen. We suggested they learn to pray it together. May memories of the Faith of his mother lead this man and his son to a deeper faith in Jesus and devotion to His mother.

A young-adult couple stopped. They knew nothing about Rosary, but the man was wearing a cross necklace. They were open to learning about the devotion. May God help them grow ever closer to Him!

Two Catholic young adult men in tropical shirts stopped to thank us for being there. After they had chosen Rosaries and received the Rosary pamphlet with its artwork depicting the Mysteries, one of them asked if we had ever seen the originals. He then said he had just returned from traveling, and had seen the original Last Supper painting, which was large and impressive.

A girl zoomed past us on an electric scooter, followed by her father. The dad stopped at our table and called the girl to come back and get a Rosary, which she did.

Although the temperature poised to climb back into triple digits, it remained pleasant where we set up, due to a constant breeze that flowed past the fountain. Foot traffic remained light, but we still gave away 12-15 Rosaries and its pamphlet on how to pray it, as well as 1-2 Divine Mercy prayer cards and an Our Lady, Untier of Knots prayer card.

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

Victories may seem quiet, but Heaven rejoices! Ss, 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).