Note: In this new feature, writer Whitney Hopler profiles women who write about faith. If you are the author of a new book (published within the past six months) and would like to be considered for an interview, please email Melanie.
By Whitney Hopler
Why do Catholics find it so difficult to share their faith with others – and how can they do so more
successfully? Author Karen Edmisten tackles the topic of Catholic evangelization in her thought-provoking book You Can Share the Faith: Reaching Out One Person at a Time (Our Sunday Visitor, 2016).
Edmisten (a former atheist who is now a passionate Catholic) shares compelling stories from her own faith journey in the book. Some Catholics she encountered gave her impressions that turned her off; others helped her grow spiritually. Edmisten writes about how every believer can successfully share the Catholic faith through honest, respectful, and loving relationships. As she writes in the book, “… there’s no presumption in being an evangelist. It is a way of life.”
Prayer is the best way to start the process, Edmisten says: “I think, first of all, we pray: we pray to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength, and then we pray to love our neighbor as ourselves. If we’re praying that way, we can hope that the Lord will lead and we will follow when it comes to discussing him with others.”
Love, which is the essence of God, is what will truly motivate people to grow closer to God. “Witnessing that is devoid of love is usually empty and ineffective,” she says, “because it inevitably becomes about the desire merely to prove, ‘I’m right.’ What matters is not winning an argument. What matters is the desire to share the beauty of the gift — faith and a relationship with Jesus Christ — that I’ve received, by the grace of God.”
The Catholic Church has a reputation in popular culture as a place with strict rules and stern judgment that make people feel guilty, not loved. Yet, as Edmisten points out, Jesus calls people to pursue a love affair with him. Catholics can help seekers navigate that tension by showing them the parental love behind the church’s rules, says Edmisten: “Jesus is the bridegroom, the church is his bride, and we, the children of the church, turn to our mother for wisdom and guidance. Just as a parent sets boundaries and provides guidance out of love, so does the church. The ‘rules and regulations’ … are the blueprint for happiness, both here on earth and in eternity — rules our mother gave us because she loves us.”
Sometimes Catholics may encounter hostility toward the Church. People may be angry or wounded about the Vatican’s financial mismanagement or the many sexual abuse cases highlighted in last year’s Academy Award-winning movie Spotlight. “I think it’s important to acknowledge that such problems are real,” Edmisten says, “and they anger and grieve Catholics just as much as they do other people. Acknowledging common ground — honestly calling sin and corruption what they are — can lead to further discussion. … Once people understand that the church is both divine (given to us by God, with doctrines guarded by the Holy Spirit) and human (administered on earth by fallen human beings who make mistakes and sin in ways small and large), we can start to separate fact from fiction about the true essence of the church vs. human blundering.”
Catholics can help others understand Church teachings, advises Edmisten, by living “your Catholic faith as best and as fully as you can, and pray that your joy and delight in it is apparent to others. At first, in a friendship, such intimate topics as birth control might not come up. But, as friendships deepen, so do discussions. Being willing to befriend all kinds of people — out of genuine love for them — and being willing to discuss and answer questions about difficult topics, can lead to discussions we’ve never dreamed of. Prayer and patience are so important.”
As Edmisten describes in her book, conversion comes in stages. People don’t tend to have much patience, though, especially while waiting to see changes happen in the lives of those closest to them. “Don’t give up!” Edmisten encourages Catholics. “… It’s truly never too late for anyone. So, don’t give up, but perhaps try a different tack. The new tack might involve just backing off and being quiet. That doesn’t mean we stop praying for those we love. Keep praying, but trust that perhaps what those people need is just some breathing room. Maybe they simply need to observe how happy your faith makes you, how it gets you outside yourself, how it has changed you. They may need time to process and think. They might need time to start praying themselves. Remain a calm, happy, and loving presence in their lives. Be patient. While you’re busy saying nothing, your life and your love for Jesus just might speak volumes.”
Whitney Hopler produces the About.com angels and miracles site and wrote the young adult novel Dream Factory, which is set during Hollywood’s golden age.
