WINNING SOULS FOR CHRIST:
How many people (Catholics and non-Catholics) did we bring closer to our faith in 2013? During the past years? During our lifetime? Many of us, Catholics, think that this missionary job belongs to priests and nuns. This, however, is not true.
We have seen and experienced the overly aggressive Protestants trying to win souls to their faith. They have infiltrated Catholic schools and brought thousands of Catholics to their churches. We feel saddened that our daughter does not attend Sunday Mass anymore but enjoys going to some Protestant fellowship, or that a friend threw or burned all the images of Mary and the saints in his home. They may have become better persons; for all religions contain some truth. But we are Catholics. We have been baptized and confirmed. We possess the whole truth of faith: the sacraments, the Scriptures, the Sacred Tradition, and the Magisterium . We have the surest means to be saved and to go to heaven; so what is stopping us from spreading our faith?
We may have contributed generously to mission collections, and we may be praying everyday for the missions. These are good and essential acts. Yet they are just a part of our missionary vocation. Some reasons why we are not sharing our faith with others may be due to a mistaken feeling of inferiority. We are afraid that we do not know our religion enough to discuss it with a non-practicing Catholic or a non-Catholic. In this case, we should do something – such as read the “Catechism of the Catholic Church,” attend catechism classes in order to dispel our ignorance. Our reluctance to share our faith may also stem from human respect. We fear being laughed at or criticized when we mention religion to others.
Two friends from the University of the Philippines were determined to convert one another to their faith. One was a Catholic and one was a Protestant. We would bet that our separated sister won the battle as they have more aggressive tactics to convert people; but with God’s grace, our Catholic sister converted her Protestant friend, who is now actively involved in Catholic apostolic works.
With our ingenuity, we will find many ways to bring non-practicing Catholics or non-Catholics closer to God. We should not be afraid. We will be sharing with them God’s own truth, not our own theory or opinion. We just have to remember that God will be more interested than us in the conversion. And at every step of the way, He will bombard them with abundant graces to bring them closer to Him.
In 2014, let us try our best to win at least one soul for Christ. We can imagine what the kingdom of God will be like if each one of us were to bring just one person closer to God each year.
(Reference: Seventeen Steps to Heaven by Leo Trese)
Santuario de San Antonio Parish 