Hello! My name is Carlos Bersabe, and I’m happy to present lesson three of module two of the online basic evangelization training. The module is “One Good Reason” and the lesson is “One Good Reason for Non-Christian Believers in God.”
In this series of videos, you’ll notice that I like telling stories. During my time in the military, I’ve found that the best stories always start with the phrase, “And there I was…”
And so, there I was, at an undisclosed location in the Middle East, inside the “chow hall” to eat dinner, and while sitting down, I made the Sign of the Cross and said the blessing before my meal. Suddenly, a young Airman taps me on the shoulder and whispers to me, “Sir, are you allowed to do that?”
“Do what?” I replied.
“Well, pray in public. I mean we’re in uniform and the whole ‘separation of Church and State’ thing, you know?”
After a very lengthy conversation over dinner regarding his question, I invited him to accompany me to the base chapel. It was there that we both discovered that we had something in common: we both believed in something greater than ourselves. The big difference was that I believed in Christ, and he wasn’t yet sure what to believe. In the desert and in harm’s way, that wasn’t a good place to be. He felt lonely despite being surrounded by a sea of people.
The rest of the story, and the best reason that I’ve found when witnessing to people who believe but aren’t Christian can be summed up by the great questions in life, like, “What’s the meaning of life? Who am I? Where have I come from and where am I going? Why is there evil? What comes after death?” All peoples of all times have attempted to answer these questions, and Pope Saint John Paul II wrote in his Encyclical Fides et Ratio that, “They are questions which have their common source in the quest for meaning which has always compelled the human heart.”
The “one good reason,” then, … is that the human heart yearns for Truth. As Catholics, we know that the “Truth will set you free”, and that the Truth isn’t something but Someone, namely God Himself. And the freedom that we’re talking about is the freedom to be in a relationship with God and with each other, through God.
This is where we come in. As Catholics, we’re sent on rescue missions. Sometimes, the mission entails talking with folks who might have very different beliefs from us, like Jews, Muslims, Buddhists, and including people who believe in religions that might appear Christian like Mormons or Jehovah’s Witnesses. There are also a growing number of folks who identify as Pagan, and there are others like the young Airman that I mentioned earlier who describe themselves as being “spiritual but not religious.” I’ve found that these folks aren’t hungering for quick, cerebral question-and-answer sessions but for something deeper.
All this can seem intimidating, but you don’t have to be an expert in world religions. You just have to be a good listener. Ask people what they believe and why. Take a genuine interest in getting to know where they are in their journey of faith. This can take time. Often, I find that it takes several conversations. And sometimes, you won’t get to finish the conversation. Don’t be discouraged. We have to remember to be patient and pray.
Your patience and openness will typically provide you with opportunities to witness without coming across as aggressive to people. These virtues can also open doors to correcting any misinformation regarding what Catholics believe. Never be afraid to ask what someone thinks that the Catholic Church teaches, because the root of many conflicts comes from misunderstandings. Ultimately, this will be your opportunity to show how the Catholic faith isn’t just one of many options to pursuing the Truth, but the one and only home for the fullness of Truth.
Because you listened attentively to them, they’ll most likely ask to hear your story. Be prepared to share the reason for your hope and how the Truth has set you free. What makes your faith so important that you feel compelled to evangelize? How has it helped you in everyday life? As you tell your story, try to connect the dots to what they said or questions they asked while they told you their story. This will emphasize that your attempt to accompany them isn’t some robotic, rehearsed act like some tired Catholic pick-up line.
As you journey through the following parts of this lesson, you’ll notice that I focus on those aspects of human existence which unite us, specifically family and community. Only the Catholic Church can most fully express the truth and freedom to which we are called, through communion with God and one another. In the following videos, you will be equipped with some basic conversational tools to help you plant the seed of faith in others who haven’t yet fully known the Catholic experience of the One and Triune God and His Church, but nonetheless have a deep yearning for God and the Truth. The truth is that we have a purpose in this life and in the next, greater than some simple bliss — it is a true, eternal, glorious communion of love.
Throughout this lesson, I challenge you to be part of someone’s faith journey, their life’s story and in turn have them be a part of yours, so that one day you can both share in saying, “And there we were.”