Boise

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State or province: Idaho

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Lucy Stamm
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Questions, Real or No - 2024-10-27

November 3, 2024

Our table is an informal Catholic information booth. So, thank you again for your prayers for the Boise Catholic street evangelization effort.

Early in the session, a man named “Paul”, wearing a shirt with JESUS emblazoned across the front, came to the table. He said he was “an evangelist and had a question about the Rosary”. He quickly became confrontational, accusing Catholics of idolatry, talking over our answers or ignoring our replies when we actually finished a sentence. He was there, he said, “to give us a righteous rebuke” and continued to warn us of our idolatry. A girl on a bike came to the table for a Rosary and Paul shouted at her, “Don’t take one of those, they are evil!” The evangelists tried to reassure the little girl, but she was so taken aback by his anger that she said in exasperation, “I just wanted to ask a question” and rode away. E. Lucy encouraged e. Chuck to take Paul a few steps away from the table, so they moved farther away and remained in conversation for the rest of the hour. The distance gave e. Lucy a chance to ask the Holy Spirit to calm Paul’s heart and open his ears. Then other visitors immediately arrived, and she remained at the table giving away Rosaries. Meanwhile, God graciously answered her prayer and Paul soon became less agitated and began listening more than talking. (And, by the way, the girl on the bike came back and got her Rosary. God is so good!) Though his objections ranged and rambled, Paul came to admit that he agreed with a lot of what the Catholic Church said, that he enjoyed Trent Horn videos, that he had Catholic friends he had discussions with all the time, and that he had even wondered about joining one of the ancient non-Catholic national churches. However, he laughed off the idea of the True Presence. E. Chuck walked this “Bible alone” believer through the verses that demand this belief. When Paul resisted, the evangelist pointed out that Jesus received the same resistance in John 6 but we want to be like the 12 apostles and NOT walk away. We parted with smiles, handshakes, and blessings. Pray for Paul, that these small seeds of truth will take deep root in his soul and he will seek the fullness of the Faith in the Catholic Church.

While e. Chuck was arguing with Paul, another man came to the table and said he had a question. Our visitor is in OCIA, but they hadn’t yet taught them about the Rosary and he was curious. So, e. Lucy quickly described the devotion. She then recommended he look for Bishop Robert Barron’s videos that explain each of the Mysteries. Our visitor was happy to do so since he’d already discovered Bishop Barron and found him helpful. May God bless this man on his journey into the Catholic Church, and may Our Blessed Mother obtain many blessing for him as he spends time praying the Rosary!

Soon after that, a boy of about ten came alone to the table. E. Lucy explained the Rosary to him and he chose one for himself. Somewhat later, the girl who had been scared away earlier returned, followed by this same boy. When the girl was asked if she were Christian, she replied, “My father is.” So, the evangelist gave her a copy of the Good News/kerygma pamphlet, as well as explained the Rosary as a way to get to know Jesus. She happily accepted the pamphlet and chose a Rosary. May God lead both children to Himself and salvation!

Late in the session, a homeless-looking man asked for a Rosary. He was not Christian. He told of how he’d left a symbol, that looked sort of like the capital letter M, by a church when they were dedicating a statue of St Teresa of Calcutta. He said the priest, who was leading the dedication ceremony, sprinkled holy water on the symbol that our visitor had placed there and then splashed holy water on our visitor. His expression said that he thought he had been insulted. So, e. Lucy explained that, on special occasions, priests sprinkle the people with holy water. It’s a blessing, and when we feel the drops we make the Sign of the Cross. That seemed to calm that memory for him. He chose a Rosary, and asked for copies of the two holy cards we had on the table. He still kept talking about his “M” symbol, even showing that it made a W when turned upside down. However, e. Lucy thought of the symbol on the back of the Miraculous Medal, and she gave him one. (Although the medal was on a cord, he notably didn’t place it around his neck.) May God heal our visitor from his contact with alien spiritualities, and lead him home to His Savior Jesus Christ.

“Jennifer”, a homeless-looking woman, came to get a Rosary. She had gotten one from us before, she said. It had been on very one-year anniversary of her mother’s passing. She got teary-eyed as she said what a blessing that had been, and thanked us again for being there. She also accepted a copy of each of our prayer cards. May God bless, console, and heal Jennifer!

Altogether, the team gave away maybe 15 Rosaries and its pamphlet, 1-2 Divine Mercy prayer cards, 1-2 Our Lady Untier of Knots prayer cards, 1 Good News/kerygma pamphlet, and 1 Miraculous Medal with its explanation 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 for His Kingdom comes of today’s efforts.

The Holy Spirit is still at work, and so are we. So, thank you again for your prayers and other support for the apostolate. In turn, may God protect and greatly bless you and all those you love!

“They are happy, whose strength is in You, in whose hearts are the roads to Zion” (Ps 84:6).