A snowy day in Cambridge
January 18, 2025
One week ago, the Cambridge team had its January outing. We had seven (!?) evangelists come out that day, which I think might be a record (or a tie with a record; I don’t recall). We had two first-timers with us, as well two second-timers, plus three veterans including me. It was a beautiful snowy day in Harvard Square. We talked to many people, but four encounters continue to stand out to me one week later. Please pray for these folks!
First, we spoke with a couple who didn’t indicate any religious background, but who seemed interested in receiving free rosaries and chatting. When we asked how we could pray for them, they requested that we pray for them to have a child. They also revealed that they had suffered a miscarriage a short time ago. When people share something so personal like that with us, it always hits me in a deep place; they are likely open to sharing with us as strangers because of what we represent, or rather, Who we represent. And that’s a deep privilege. We prayed for their consolation, for them to conceive and carry to term, as well as for the soul of their little one who had passed away. Please join us in praying for this couple.
The next encounter I want to highlight was with a young adult who was very personable and excited to chat with us. He grew up in a Mexican family but was never baptized. When we learned this, apparently our eyes bugged out, which he found quite entertaining. He asked about our stories, how we came to take Catholicism seriously. I was able to share my testimony. At SPSE, we practice our testimonies during the Intro to Evangelization course, but this was the first time I had a good opportunity to use it! This man revealed to us that he believes in God and prays every day but expressed reluctance in taking it further than that. To which I was able to say, “Same, back before my conversion.” To which he playfully said, “So you’re telling me there’s still a chance for me?” One of my fellow evangelists commented that there was something that made him stop to talk to us and that that was God working. Please pray for him! (He’s also looking for a new, better-paying job, preferably outside the country, if you want to add that to your intentions.)
Another conversation we had was with a middle-aged woman who had grown up Muslim in Iran, though she no longer considers herself religious. She had read a book called Zealot, which she told us is about a Muslim who converts to Christianity. So we talked a bit about that. We also got into a discussion about whether Jesus is God or not, which brought us to C.S. Lewis’s “Lord, Liar, or Lunatic” argument, which seemed to resonate with her. When we asked this woman for her prayer intentions, she said something quite beautiful. She said she wants a place that feels like home, that she has found herself living in many different places and just wants to feel rooted. We prayed with her for that. We ask that you’ll also pray for her!
Finally, we had a brief conversation with a couple of MIT undergrads - an electrical engineer and a computer scientist (the latter of which is my field, so we were able to connect over that). The two students accepted rosaries and pamphlets on how to pray the rosary. We asked whether they had any sort of religious background. Neither did, but one of them said that he is open. We told them about the FOCUS chapter at MIT. I wish I’d asked the open one whether he had any questions we could try to help with…but the conversation just sort of wrapped up. God will take care of the rest! Please pray for these two!
An especially providential encounter
October 21, 2024
A little over a week ago, our team had our October outing. The theme of the day was encountering Catholics of all kinds -- practicing, lapsed, and reverting. I'd like to share one story from the last category that was particularly inspiring. I was not involved directly in this encounter, so I'm retelling the story from what one of our evangelists, Dan, told me.
One of our evangelists, Will, was standing by a BlueBikes station. A man rode up on a BlueBike and docked it. I'm not sure how the conversation began between Will and the man, but apparently he was very receptive and excited to have run into a Catholic evangelist. It turned out that the man has been in the process of reverting back to the Catholic faith of his youth. The previous day, he had bought a Bible. This day, he was at home reading it when he felt God asking him to go Harvard Square. So he rented a BlueBike, and the rest is history! He felt God had called him into Harvard Square to facilitate this encounter. At some point, Dan entered the conversation and offered to show him the nearby parish, St. Paul's. The man was excited, as he's ready to take the step of getting involved with a parish. While at the parish, Dan offered him a parish registration card, which the man filled out! What an awesome, providential encounter! Praise God! Please pray for this latest parishioner of St. Paul's!
Some heavy prayer requests...and tongues!?
May 20, 2024
Today, on this feast of Pentecost, a few of us went to the Harvard T station to hand out rosaries. It was overall a fairly heavy day in terms of what people needed prayer for; by that, I mean, we met several people going through very difficult things. The heaviest (and most humbling) of all encounters we had was with a homeless man who had just been discharged from the hospital. He has cancer and a few other serious health problems. If you’re reading this, please join us in praying for this man - for his soul and also for a miraculous healing.
The encounter that keeps returning to my mind was with a mother and her two little girls, probably ages seven and four, if I had to guess. One of our evangelists had given the three of them rosaries. Some time later, the mother returned with the rosaries and told us she could not accept them because if she brought them home, her husband would not approve. We asked if she had any intentions she would like us to pray for. She declined and walked away, but her two girls stuck around, just staring up at us, wide-eyed. The older one said, “I’ll take prayer.” Given it was clear the mother wanted an end to the interactions (since she had walked away), we asked the little girl her name and told her we’d pray for her, but then we promptly gestured towards her mother. The younger girl understood and ran off to her mom. The older one looked back at her mom, then at us, and told us she wanted prayers for her grandmother, who was dying. Then she ran off.
I was very struck. When I was eight, my own grandmother was terminally ill and dying. When she eventually died, I remember going to my teacher at school the next morning, quickly telling her that my grandmother had died, turning around, and running off without showing my emotion. It reminded me very much of what the little girl did today. I know firsthand the emotion that may have been behind her words. It’s funny how God arranges things to affect both the person we encounter as well as the evangelist. It’s been strangely cathartic–maybe even healing–for me to pray for her and her grandmother. If you’re reading this, please join me in praying for this little girl, her grandmother, her sister, her mother, and her father – especially for her father’s conversion.
I’ll end this post on a lighter note. We encountered four or five Spanish-speaking women who couldn’t speak much English but who were glad to receive rosaries. After the first or second woman with whom we couldn’t communicate well, we were lamenting amongst ourselves that all three of us had taken French instead of Spanish in school. Then right after that, we spoke with a young man who said his English wasn’t great. We asked what his most comfortable language was - French of all languages! I was able to dust off some rusty French, earning me a few fistbumps from the man. I didn’t catch everything he said, but I learned that he’s Catholic, and he inquired as to where the nearest Catholic church is, what the Mass times are, and how long it takes to get there. One of our fellow evangelists who could not make it today pointed out that we had spoken in tongues this Pentecost!
A rainy - but fruitful - day in Cambridge
March 23, 2024
A friend considering joining us for a SPSE outing recently asked me how I deal with the tension of not knowing everything myself and yet still having the confidence to go out evangelizing. It’s a very good question. While I was going through the SPSE trainings, before we had actually had an outing, I remember one particular moment where I was just feeling so incredibly inadequate and unworthy of the mission before me.
What I’ve come to learn from our first few outings, however, is that it’s totally not about me. It’s all the Holy Spirit’s work. That is the answer I gave my friend: that my own personal inadequacies aren’t going to stop the Holy Spirit. In fact, Christ’s power is made perfect in weakness (2 Cor 12:9).
I came to learn this lesson yet again today. Things were off to an inauspicious start. I found myself in a rather grumpy and stressed mood today, a fact which I confided in one of my co-evangelists on the walk over to Harvard Square. Further, it was raining cats and dogs, so we would have to evangelize from the T station. We weren’t sure how many people would be out and about given the weather. Due to various (completely valid!) circumstances, the team would be smaller than originally anticipated as well. All in all, I was wondering whether today had been the wrong day to pick to go out.
But fortunately God is not subject to limitations! He can still work in me and in my co-evangelists regardless of how we’re feeling at any given moment! And that’s the great beauty of it - all we have to do is show up and He takes it from there. (And in fact, even the act of showing up is only possible by His grace!)
Here are a few stories from today’s outing!
We spoke with one woman who was on her way to take an assessment associated with a job application. We learned that this woman grew up Catholic, having come from a predominantly Catholic country. These days, she practices a mix of Catholicism, Judaism, Buddhism, and Spiritualism. In order to not give away too much personal information, I will just say that, serendipitously, I knew of a Catholic ministry in the area that seemed like an extremely good fit for her, based on other information she shared. I got her email address and will be putting her in touch with this ministry. Towards the end of the conversation, she said she got good vibes from us, which put her in a good mood for her interview. We prayed aloud for her regarding her interview. At the end, she wanted hugs, which we gladly gave!
Soon after, we spoke with another woman who had recently gotten into a graduate program in the Boston area. When we approached her, she was remarkably receptive. A fellow evangelist who was looking on said that the rapport was so strong so fast that he thought we already knew her! In the course of our conversation, we learned that she grew up Catholic and that her family is quite devout. She said it in a way that distanced herself a bit from their devoutness, so we inferred that she didn’t identify as strongly with the faith as her family did. She seemed very receptive to it, though. In another serendipitous turn of events, I knew of a ministry that would be a good match for her based on other things she said, so I got her contact information and will be connecting her to that.
The final story I’d like to share is one that I was not directly involved with, so I don’t have all the details. But here’s what I do know. Two of my fellow evangelists spoke at length (perhaps a half hour) with a very inquisitive and receptive college student. She was waiting for her friend, who was running late, to arrive at the station. (I’m just imagining God slowing down the buses in order to provide the time for this encounter. 😂) This woman had a lot of questions and was intently listening to the answers. I got a small taste of this when a fellow evangelist referred out to me a question about why “You are dust and to dust you shall return” is said when applying ashes to foreheads on Ash Wednesday. My fellow evangelist ended up getting her number and texted her some online resources for learning more about the faith.
Despite the rain–and despite any unideal circumstances–God blessed us with a fruitful outing today. A fellow evangelist remarked afterwards that our encounters gave her a sense of reinvigoration. I very much feel the same way! Please pray for all we encountered today, that they will continue to grow closer to the Lord!
The Core Team's first SPSE Cambridge outing!
February 26, 2024
Yesterday we had our first outing as the Cambridge team of St. Paul Street Evangelization! I think I speak for the whole team when I say that it exceeded our expectations. I felt that we were part of something much bigger than ourselves yesterday - and glory to God for that!
First, let’s start with the basics. Seven of us hit the streets - three women and four men. Most of us had spent the past several months gathering together at my place every few weeks to watch the SPSE Basic Evangelization Training videos. (After the core team gets a couple outings under our belts, we will invite the rest of you to join us! We just want to make sure we know what’s going on before we bring more people aboard!)
We began our time together praying aloud before Jesus in the tabernacle of the local parish. I should note - in case any budding evangelist who is afraid of praying out loud is reading - I began this prayer, and that is something I never in a million years would have seen myself doing. I’ve always been very afraid of praying out loud in a freeform fashion in front of others, and I see the newfound ability to do so as a grace of getting involved with this ministry. It’s something I’ve been pushing myself to do more and more in the past few months in preparation for hitting the streets, and I’ve been finding it far less scary than I had originally imagined! If I can do it, you can too!
Anyway, back to the story! It was a brilliantly sunny day (but definitely cold!). We went to Harvard Square, a bustling hub in Cambridge, bringing with us a double-sided chalkboard A-frame sign. On one side we wrote, “Need a prayer?” and on the other side we wrote, “Exploring faith?” We had free rosaries, miraculous medals, and “How to Pray the Rosary” pamphlets, all from the SPSE store. Others on the team also brought along Divine Mercy images and Bibles.
When we first stationed ourselves out there with our sign prominently displayed, I was quite unsure what to expect. Earlier in the day, prior to our outing, I was really wondering, “What if no one will talk to us?” and reminding myself that even if we were only to touch one soul, the whole venture would still be worth it.
Initially we were waiting for people to come to us, but it became evident quite quickly (probably within the first ten minutes) that we would have to extend more of an invitation by saying, “Would you like a free rosary?” The vast majority of people turned us down, which was not unexpected.
I’ll share some of the highlights of our encounters, without revealing the names of those we spoke with or any personal details about them. (Boston-Cambridge can feel strikingly small sometimes, so I wouldn’t want to reveal anything identifying!)
The first conversation I personally had was with a very good-spirited man who identified himself as a “Jewish believer [in Christ]” (he didn’t say “Messianic Jew,” but it sounded a bit like that to me, in my non-nuanced understanding). He attends a non-denominational church and was very well-studied (he knew the Bible extremely well!). It was a very pleasant and ecumenical conversation. I learned from him some things I did not know about connections between the Old and New Testaments - as a Jewish believer, he was very knowledgeable on this! We gave him a rosary and a pamphlet on how to pray the rosary. One of my fellow evangelists explained how we pray for Mary’s intercession, not to her as a deity. Our new friend was very receptive to the idea of the intercession of the saints. At the end, I prayed aloud for him, which felt surprisingly natural. I’m really grateful to this new friend of ours that he was the first person I encountered - his joviality and receptivity made me optimistic for future encounters on the street! It also felt affirming, as someone still fairly new to praying out loud, how he murmured things like “mm-hmm” as I was praying. (I understand this is fairly standard practice in Protestant circles to say things like, “Amen” or “mm-hmm” to denote agreement as others are praying.)
Roughly at the same time I was having this encounter, three other evangelists were having a different encounter with a woman. It was recounted to me as follows. The evangelists asked her whether she needed prayer for anything. She thought for a moment, and as she was sharing her prayer intention, the tears began to stream down her face. She had a good long hug with one of our female evangelists as she cried. The evangelists prayed with her. I don’t know any details of this woman’s situation, as the evangelists decided to keep that private (a very mature judgment call, I believe). The woman had grown up Catholic and expressed that she feels connected to God reading Scripture, at which point, one of our evangelists offered her a new Bible, which she accepted. (She was also given a miraculous medal and rosary over the course of the conversation.) The female evangelist who gave the hug ended up getting the woman’s number. She also invited her to visit the nearby parish, where the two were able to pray and continue the conversation. On their way to the parish, as the woman passed by my half of the group, she said something to us like, “Thank you so much for what you’re doing here.” It was so sincere; there was a depth to the way she said it that made me think something big had happened for her that day. Thanks be to God! Please pray for her if you’re reading this! [PS - Shoutout to the aforementioned female evangelist for helping me edit this paragraph!]
After a little over an hour in the cold, we decided it was time to move into the T station, where it’d be warmer. (Boston-Cambridge calls its metro system “the T.”) We had a couple rather entertaining, lighthearted encounters there, as well as some deeper ones.
The first lighthearted encounter came with a man to whom we gave a rosary. He already knew how to pray it. He had a good sense of humor. The T was free yesterday, so as a stream of people came down the steps and escalators, he helped us out by announcing, “Free rosaries, free T!”
Another entertaining encounter came when a woman, whom I’d seen pass by on the street up above, passed us by yet again underground and doubled back, asking one of our evangelists what group we were with. He replied that we’re Catholic. She said she’d never seen Catholics doing this before, and continued on her way.
We had a more serious encounter in the T station as well. We spoke to a man who expressed to us that he was not sure he was on the right path. We prayed with him, for him to know that God is with him right now, guiding him on his way. We prayed that he would know God’s love and mercy. Something cool that happened was that as we started praying, he reached out to hold our hands. After we finished praying, we gave him a miraculous medal, in addition to the rosary and pamphlet we’d already given him. I kind of wish I’d presented the kerygma to him - it felt apt at a certain point, but I didn’t do it. I can’t beat myself up about it too much, though! Next time! Jesus and Mary will work it out for him, I’m sure!
After about a half hour in the T station, we concluded our time evangelizing, and some of us went out to eat together and debrief on our experiences.
This first outing was an incredibly invigorating experience. I can’t wait to go out again! Something I found striking was how beautifully our team came together as the Body of Christ, each using his/her unique charisms, talents, and dispositions to make for a fruitful outing. We could not have done individually what we were able to do collectively. And we could not have done anything at all without the Holy Spirit. It was all very humbling in the best way possible. While the call to evangelize sounds daunting at first, it’s a lot less stressful when you remember that the Holy Spirit is doing all the work!