On our 4th outing, it was me, Tom, and Andrew. I think previously I promised to start having photos, however, after discussing it with all who were involved, we decided against it, for a number of reasons. We do not want to make this seem trivial or like a game to those who see us, or some kind of scavenger hunt. We also do not want to promote ourselves personally, which is why I have decided not to list anyone’s last name on here unless it becomes necessary for some reason.
Our trip this night was particularly power packed with the authority of the Church. We received a commissioning by Father Lewis, a well known priest in our diocese, and Auxiliary Bishop Deshotel. They both prayed over us before we left for the DART. It was awesome!
This time out I experienced my first utter rejection. As soon as we got up to the platform, I found a young Asian woman who was holding a bicycle, waiting to get on the red line. This was an immediate conversation starter since it was in the 30’s that night and way too cold for anyone but the toughest of the tough to be biking. I started talking to her and found out she was a Buddhist, but wasn’t sure if she really believed any of it. Her whole family was Buddhist, and their tradition was to let the children choose whether to be a part of it once they were of age. She had not made her decision yet and said she did not plan on making one. I asked her what she knew of Buddhism, and she knew really nothing at all. I told her what I knew of Buddhism (impersonal, no God, seeking to escape suffering through some higher awareness) and how Christ showed us through His humanity that He is a personal God who loves us unto death. I said that maybe she couldn’t make a decision because nothing in her family’s faith had captured her heart. But the craziest thing happened. She did not care one bit! Not only that, but she did not really know anything at all about Jesus (very strange for an American) and said that there was no difference between being a Buddhist and a Christian. As I tried to explain the very clear difference, she started to look really uncomfortable and kind of stopped paying attention and then told me that there was no point in choosing a religion since religion only starts wars. I explained that Jesus told us to love our enemies and that for the Church war is seen as an incredibly undesirable last resort. But she had checked out, and so I said goodbye to her and moved on.
As I was speaking to that woman, Tom and Andrew spoke with Roy (notice how they remember names and I cannot). Roy was a fallen away Catholic (we find tons of these as you’ll see) who still very joy filled and had a lot of hope within him. He had a lot of concerns about the way our culture in America was heading, and especially how it might affect his kids, who were grown up now. He asked for their prayers, and they gladly obliged.
While Tom finished talking with Roy, Andrew began talking to Sherman, who was also a fallen away Catholic and very much shut down spiritually. Sherman’s father was a deacon in the Church, and Sherman left the Church and was now a Baptist. Apparently he had not lost all taste for spiritual things. He brought up fasting to Andrew and asked if Andrew fasted, saying that he had fasted for a week without any food at all. Impressive!
When Tom finished speaking with Roy, he then spoke to a man in a wheelchair, which did not prove to be fruitful. Despite Tom’s efforts to move the conversation to faith in Christ, the man kept directing it elsewhere and essentially talking about nothing. So unfortunately Tom did not get to say anything of value before our stop came. Tom offered to pray for him and then got off the train.
As we got off the train to get on the other side of the platform to head home, we came across a line of benches against the wall with people sitting on them in various groups. As Tom and Andrew walked away to find someone to talk to, I saw a man sitting on a bench right next to me listening to music. I sat on the bench right next to him and engaged him in conversation. I asked him if he had plans to go to church in the morning, to which he said no. I asked him if he ever goes, and he said that he used to go to a Baptist church all the time but stopped going regularly. When I asked why he said “The people.” He started saying how hypocritical the people were, talking a big game in church but living sinfully as soon as they left. I agreed that it was a sad thing and that Jesus warned us against hypocrisy, and asked him what his faith entailed now. He said that he believed in God and believed Jesus died for and that he knows that God doesn’t want him to be perfect.
I jumped right on that. I said “Actually Jesus says in the Gospel ‘be perfect as your Heavenly Father is perfect.’” This surprised him a bit and after a few seconds of silence, I explained that seeking perfection means to seek to be free from sin and become more like God through an increase in faith, hope, and love. It doesn’t mean to try to be an angel when we are just humans, hating our every fault, because God loves our humanity. I talked about how we cannot achieve this perfection on our own efforts but by relying on God and His grace and mercy, to which he agreed. Our conversation progressed and we began talking about why he identified himself as a Baptist. When I asked him what the differences between all the denominations of Christianity were, he said that he did not believe there was any important difference, just that each group “got into the word a little differently.” I asked him if he thought God wanted there to be such disunity among Christians. He responded that he didn’t know, but that he didn’t feel that it mattered. I asked him if he believed Jesus was truly God, and he said yes. So I said “Jesus, before he was crucified, said in His prayer to the Father that he desired that we would all be one, as Him and the Father are one. So then God’s desire is that there would be unity among Christians. Do you think that a perfect God would set up an imperfect, chaotic Church where everyone does as they feel?”
He was a bit taken aback, and said he had never considered that. So I took him back in time a little bit. I asked him if he believed that Jesus gave authority to His apostles, who were real men, flesh and blood, that He did not give to anyone else, and he said yes. I asked if he believed that that authority could possibly still exist today. He said that it was possible. Then I started to discuss the Bible with him, asking him if he believed it was the word of God, and he said yes. So I explained to him how the Gospels were written decades after the death of Christ, and so the churches relied solely on the authority of the Apostles and their letters and preaching. I talked about how the canon of scripture wasn’t decided for another 300 years, and it was the Church who decided what makes up the Bible today. He responded that he had never really thought about that. Through the rest of our conversation I led him to my final point, that the Catholic Church was and still is the true Church that Christ founded. He smiled and said “So I’m guessing you’re Catholic huh?” I said yes, and he responded “I get what you’re saying, but what’s to tell me that this isn’t just your own personal bias?” I said “Everything I’ve told you is historical fact, look it up yourself if you want when you get home. I haven’t even gotten into my own beliefs yet.” He was satisfied with the response, and we talked a bit longer. I was able to discuss the Eucharist with him, and he had never heard of the doctrine of the Real Presence. We talked a little about it then his stop came he asked me to get off at his stop and talk to him about it more, but I couldn’t since I was with other people. I gave him one of our pamphlets and said goodbye.
Andrew during this time was talking to a young man and his girlfriend. The man talked about his love for his girlfriend and so Andrew discussed Theology of the Body, eventually ending by talking about his relationship with God. About this time a bunch of Dallas Stars fans got on the train right after their game finished.
Tom and Andrew then talked with Ray, who was a fallen away Catholic from Minnesota who worked in Defense. He brought up that he was mad at congress about the defense budget. This was an immediate common ground for Andrew since he is a self proclaimed “military brat”. After discussing the military for a little bit, Andrew brought up that he was also Catholic, and Ray responded that he doesn’t go to church anymore. Tom shared his conversion story and then gave him a John Paul II prayer card, which proved to be incredibly providential. When Ray saw the John Paul II prayer card he immediately brought up that he went to World Youth Day in 1993 and saw John Paul II in person. Andrew realized that he was also at World Youth Day in 1993. It was not a coincidence that Andrew pulled out that prayer card. This led to some fruitful conversation on faith and after encouraging Ray, Tom and Andrew got off the train.
Around 11:30 pm, we got off the train to head back to our car and head home. As we were heading for the stairs there was a woman standing right in our way, looking distraught. Tom joked around with her then he asked if she was doing alright. She said no, in a very sad voice. He asked her what was wrong, and she said that her aunt was dying of brain cancer and only had 2 days to live. He asked if she wanted us to pray for her and her aunt, and she said yes. So we began to pray with her and she immediately made the sign of the cross. We prayed with her and she thanked us, and we asked if she was Catholic. She said that she was and that she used to go to St. Joseph (which is where we had just come from!) but had fallen away. We invited her to come to our Monday night meetings and she seemed very excited. As Tom and Andrew headed to the car, I really felt in my heart that she needed a bit more, so I hung back with her for just a minute to dig a little deeper. I asked why she doesn’t go to Mass anymore, and she said that it was because her job involved weekend work and she always found a reason not to go. I really encouraged her to return to Mass and to Christ in the Eucharist, and to meet with a priest so she could rid herself of the burden she was obviously carrying. She agreed and hugged me goodbye.
We all drove away, rejoicing and in amazement at the mercy of God.
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