April 25, 2017 message to Marija "Dear children! Love, pray and witness my presence to all those who are far away. By your witness and example, you can draw closer the hearts that are far from God and His grace. I am with you and intercede for each of you so that, with love and resoluteness, you may witness and encourage all those who are far from my Immaculate Heart. Thank you for having responded to my call."
I am just curious. Do any of you witness to those around you and if so how? I know people in work know I go to mass every day and by their standards judge me as very religious. But I can't say I talk to them all that much to them about religious matters. It is not that I would be afraid to do so , it is just I don't think they would be receptive, in fact many of them would be quite to very hostile. With my own family and friends I am a lot more open in fact I am pretty well none stop spiritual with them. I honestly regret not being more open but I just always thought it was a case of horses for courses. I do so admire people like the Legion of Mary for actively spreading the Good News. Do any of you actively witness? I must admit that is one thing that troubles me about Judgement Day that I may be called to account for this. I must pray about it. You know a couple of months ago I read about street kids in El Salvador. I always planned to retire to Spain and so am learning Spanish. It occurred to me that instead of retiring to Spain I might go there and even if I could only help one child it would be good. But then I prayed about it and felt God telling me that He did not want this, He wanted me to stick with the forum. It is hard sometimes to know what to do...
I think that it is by our lives we witness - notice witness comes after love and pray -- so Padraig you are witnessing. It is by living a joyful (balanced) spiritual life that we give witness. People are not mugs - they know what makes us tick. Witnessing is not preaching. But if the opportunity comes to speak to someone about Christ then that truly is a grace.
I find it truly surprising how hostile people can often be to religion. But none is ever hostile to joy. Life is so short though. I worry for their souls.
While on the Abortion protest,I came to realise how much hate there is to real Witness. And what is worse is that it runs through all ranks of society.Even lapsed Catholics who know Abortion is wrong. To witness as a Catholic and uphold the Commandments is now extremism. The world is not interested in witnessing.
It is an amazing mystery to me Mac how some poor souls choose to go to hell. For they do choose to go there since no on ends up in hell by accident. Such a mystery Oh my Jesus, forgive us our sins, Save all souls, Particularly those most in need of thy mercy.
I too worry that I do not give adequate witness. I witness to my family and extended family by talking to them about my pilgrimages and all I get from them. In my parish we set up a prayer group 2 years ago. Its really been a struggle to keep it going. We now have 5 or 6 members who come and I feel at times a certain sorn for our effort. I wouldent stick it out if it were not for my husband who says they are not going to succeed in putting us down. By nature I am quite and timid. I wish I were a lion not a rabbit. Saying that I would think most people think I am a bit of a religious extremist.
I think each person has a personality that either makes it easy or hard to carry on a conversation, especially within the faith. One part of me loves silence and time for myself, especially visiting the blessed sacrament during my lunch time. Its hard to find that silent time at home, but home is where my witness begins, especially with an early morning rosary with my wife and another rosary with the whole family (or whoever is at our house in the evening, even my sons or daughters girl friends or boy friends who may not be Catholic ) or in a car traveling to sporting events etc.. At work, the fella's in my shop know I take my faith seriously and some who are not Catholic seem to want to know more about it. Even with contractors, often time I will lead into things going on in the country or world and gauge whether they have concerns. If they do, I can bring up challenges in the Christian faith that are under attack and gauge whether they have an interest and depending on if I sense the Holy Spirit gives me an opening, I will bring up Fatima or an number of other events going on and that have occurred within the faith. A few seem to want this and ask me to send them information to them and if I sense they don't, I don't carry on. I have to say, when I find an open ear and open heart, this brings great joy and I can't stop thanking God for this great joy.
I take the cowardly way out when it comes to 'witnessing'. I leave a card with a picture of Jesus on one side and some spiritual advice on the other at Cash Machines when I use them. If I leave a card and then spend ten minutes shopping and go back and check, 90% of the time, the card has been taken. Who takes them and why? I don't know but they do. I am sure that very few people would ever take such a card if offered to them by hand in the street (embarrassment, fear of being publically evangelised etc.). There seems to be a secret hunger for something spiritual that people are afraid to admit or share. I have often thought about creating a website and linking the address to the cards or finding a suitable site to use to provide basic Catholic information to those who are secretly spiritually hungry. I must get on with it and some point. I do this because I watched a video made by a Franciscan brother who had been a drug addict and who found a leaflet about the Divine Mercy in a phone box. He liked the picture, as did his fellow squatters, and he decided to find out more about Him. He went to a Catholic bookstore whose address was on the leaflet and bought the Gospel of St. John and, when he had read it, he came to love Jesus. He returned to the shop and a total stranger asked him if he would like to go to Fatima free as a friend of his was too ill to go and he felt that he should invite someone to take his place. On the pilgrimage he 'discovered' Our Lady and 'fell for' Her too. So - one leaflet, two conversions (one of his fellow squatters became a Catholic too!).
This made me smile. I was thinking of have some bright red cards laminated with ten reasons why it is wrong to talk in Church and drop them in certain spots. I am turning into a real grump.
Wow Steve. Brilliant! What a great way to sneak in the Gospel. I am going to try it. I am going to explore ways to do it. Inspired. Truly. Good on you! And God bless.
Oh Padraig yes. My chief gripe and temptation against charity. Talk talk talk. Laugh laugh laugh and Jesus our Lord and Savior waits right in front of them in the tabernacle. If you make those cards share them here. We can be old grumps together.
Two nuns, believe it or not are my top targets. We were certainly taught in school how wrong talking in Church was....about 50 million years ago
Another one that gets me is those that come into Mass, kneel down for a minute then sit back and read the church bulletin, as if they are clueless who they just genuflecting too. What else can one do but pray for them? Then after mass, some of the older ladies, instead of greeting Father with a hand shake in the back of church, give him a kiss on his cigarette smelling lips . Oh well, who are we to judge.
Today at work I was cleaning shelves as part of our hospital quarterly cleaning policy, some other women told me that I should just check it off as done without doing it, because that's what they do. I explained to do that I would be lying to the hospital and if I start lying in small matters it would open a bigger can of wrongs. This has been the types of approach I used for witnessing my faith to others. It seems to work. Sometimes it evokes questions and sometimes nastiness. . But that's ok because they know where I stand.
Good for you. I have tried to live that way. I remembering going back to a store when my kids were small to return money when I had been given too much change. My kids were amazed but I told them to keep the money would be dishonest and explained how hard it would be on the clerk etc. you gotta live it. I like the saying that character is how you act when no one is watching.
I do try to bring up the topic of the Catholic faith whenever the opportunity arises.This includes times when I have been asked about the ash on my forehead, about why I was not joining them for lunch (when I was fasting), why I needed to look for meat-free meals (abstinence on Fridays), why I arrive so early at work ( because morning mass finishes at 7am), etc. I make the sign of the cross and say Grace before meals. Lately I've been engaged in frequent open 'discussions/arguments' in a common space at work, with a Protestant who is ex-Catholic. Everyone in the room can hear us, although they are mostly silent. Whenever I wish someone Happy Birthday on chat groups, I always end with 'May God Bless you'. In situations where I have to make a difficult decision, I mention that I need to discern God's will for me. These are small ways, but practically all my colleagues know I'm Catholic. I've also bought daily scripture reflections books and given them to a few colleagues who seem open to hearing about the Catholic faith.
I have now stuffed my handbag with beautiful leaflets and cards of Jesus and Our Lady. I am going to do what you have stated and started. I think its a wonderful idea! Thank you SteveD. God Bless you and your family
I try to witness with my life and my words. But at times this has caused much anguish. I remember one time a colleague came up beside me and threw a nursing magazine in front of me as I was writing my nursing notes before handover. She said....explain how this is good! that this person should be allowed to live! The picture on the front of the magazine was of a disabled young man in a wheel chair who oblivously had cerebral palsy as well as other disabilities. I was shocked at this brazen confrontation but I collected myself enough and said....this young man gives Joy to his family, we will never know the great Joy given by each soul to those that love them. Well! did hell fire ensue! She stated she had nursed for 40 years and she had seen so many poor parents of disabled that were at their wits end! she also stated that all disabled should be put to death at birth, she then discribed how! and then she reiterated that for the likes of me and all that I stood for was not only rubbish but the cause of many people suffering! she became infuriated saying there is no joy with a child like that! In fact it was so bad that the other nurses and the NUM said I was to write a letter to the head of the hospital the DON director of nursing. I did write that letter. The nurse involved was eventually sacked for another reason! These incidents are what make me afraid to witness more often. Because really I had not ever said that much in defence of the faith and so this incident and others have me really scratching my head for answers!
