Watertown

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State or province: New York

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Scott Lowry
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Summary for Outing Sunday 21 April 2024

April 24, 2024

Summary for Outing Sunday 21 April 2024

It was a cold and windy day for Spider’s 2nd Annual Anti-Bullying Softball Tournament in Watertown, NY. It was on the third and last day of the event at Kostyk Field across the street from the Jefferson County Fairground and a day after NFL Buffalo Bills retired linebacker Darrel Talley showed up to sign autographs, raffle off a signed football, and to raise money for charity in support of the event. My friend Matthew (nicknamed Spider) is the event organizer, and I knew him from a job I had recently worked at. Spider is a faithful Catholic (who is depicted in this photo - on the right wearing the Buffalo Bills insignia) and officially a Bills megafan. He is also accredited for tagging Kansas City Chiefs Quarterback Patrick Mahomes with a snowball on national television the day the Bills were defeated in the 2024 playoffs. He is also passionate about anti-bullying. A long time ago, one of his relatives committed suicide because of bullies, so he dedicates this event every year to honor his memory. Please keep the soul of Daniel Briggs in your prayers.

My partner Dave, who is a Third Order Carmelite, came out with me to this event and had some fruitful discussions with some people. Although not as many people came on the third day, as the second day of the event had camera crews and a celebrity (we could not setup on the second day because it just so happened to be the day I took my first promise at St. Rose of Lima church in Syracuse, NY to follow the rule of Saint Dominic for three years), by the grace of the Living God, we hopefully reached someone.

We set up our table right behind the batting cage near the bleachers and got to enjoy multiple softball games between competing teams in the tournament in between our evangelization encounters.

Evangelization Encounters -

EE#1.) Phil approached our table. He is a security guard pulling security for the event and is depicted in the provided photo on the left next to Spider. He explained to us how security was required by the city to host this event because of an incident last year when rival team members in the tournament attacked each other with bats. Phil talked to us about many topics; politics, the state of division in this country, new age trends that the youth are picking up on that is opposed to Church teaching, and some more personal trials and tribulations Phil has experienced in the past within his family and regarding his faith. Phil says he believes in Christ, and that “anybody who forgets God will be in trouble in the world today.” Phil explained to me that he is Catholic and served as an altar boy when he was a child. He also has a son named Anthony who served in the military, but now works with him in security pulling jobs at concerts, bars, and high risk events. He also has an armed guard license which is very difficult to get in the state of New York. He told us about his experience in this field and how challenging it can be with some of the people he comes across who put him to the test, especially people who are intoxicated. For an older gentleman, Phil handles himself well and is tough as nails!

When I began questioning Phil about the details of his faith, he revealed to me that he has not returned to Church in many years. When asked why, he explained to us that he no longer follows Pope Francis because of the things he is saying and supporting, along with his silence on the abuse and corruption within the Church hierarchy. Dave established a good point in response to Phil’s objection about the Seat of Peter, when he explained to Phil in summary that there is a difference between the “man” of the Pope and the “office” of the Pope. I also explained to Phil that just because we may not like our President or one of our leaders in government, we would not turn on our nation would we? Phil slightly agreed with some of these points and took it into consideration. I also explained to Phil how satan wears many masks, and for those who harm children (regardless of who they are), they are from satan and not from God. Furthermore, I emphasized that there are many Holy Priests and clergy in the world who do much good for others that he probably never hears about. I also reminded him that these trials of the faith we are going through in the modern age is like a test and that we are constantly being tested to see where our heart belongs.

Before the conversation ended, I brought up to Phil a few of his responsibilities as a Catholic, such as weekend mass, confession and communion once a year. Phil responded by saying “nobody should tell anybody how to live or what to do.” Although I could have taken this a step further by explaining how Christ and the Apostles came into the world to show us how to live, as they clearly and justly told us what to do in order to be saved, I decided not to go any further with this for a number of reasons. The main reason was out of gentleness (something I am working on), because this may have been the first time in many years he considered returning to Church, and I did not want to put too much on him at once so as to turn him off to the idea.

Before we went our separate ways, we gave Phil a tract on “Reasons to Return to the Catholic Church,” and a blessed Saint Anthony necklace because he used to goto St. Anthony’s Church. He also named his son Anthony, so it made the most sense. Please pray that Phil returns to the faith of his childhood.

EE#2.) After one of the games, a tired player named Nairobi and his friend approached our table on the way out. They were interested in some of the rosaries and miraculous medals. Nairobi’s friend took a few miraculous medals for himself and his girlfriend. Please pray for them to be strong in their faith.

EE#3.) Alexis and her toddler daughter came up to our table looking at the many rosaries, literature, and medals. Alexis has her daughter going through religious education and was reminding her of some things she learned in class. Alexis took a rosary for her daughter and instructions on how to pray the rosary, along with a few books I wrote on new age discourses for unbelievers and my commentary on St. Thomas Aquinas’ Summa Theologiae. Please pray for the successful religious education of Alexis’ daughter.

EE#4.) A group of small children without parents came running up to our table and were interested in the prayer cards, angel coins, miraculous medals, and different colored rosaries. They took a bunch for themselves. One of the boys began untangling them for us and was very effective at this task. As he was doing it, the kids explained to us that they were grabbing these items for themselves and their parents who do not approach the table. After this, Dave asked where his dad was, prompting the boy to explain to us that his dad is not around anymore and that his mother and step-father are now separated as well. Please pray for these Holy children and for this boy’s family to be reunited in Christ Jesus. Clearly, children are the most effective evangelists, and we see them doing this with their own families all throughout the world!

The crowds started to lessen, and after about four hours me and Dave called it a day. Please pray for those we encountered. Thank you!

https://www.wwnytv.com/2024/04/16/fundraising-softball-tourney-this-weekend/?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR01Y6LNABb_-z-5OaIHB0sDp2odCv3JO_1m4VZHLalntR76fa4pGyft2hA_aem_AWd3gxT8AfAakGjQEjoC-uuFyLMKCTaSm1RXpuA7PiBRg9DnbuXwSThZn3c8bMirD3LrXe06thvCvVb-nB05Eh6Z