A Burden For Souls?

Catholics are not given to grabbing people by the collar, and asking, “Are you saved?” A Catholic is taught — and rightly so — to worry first about whether he himself is saved. To run around sticking one’s nose in other people’s business is to risk the sins of presumption and spiritual pride — presuming that “I’m saved, brother, and you’re not,” and taking prideful satisfaction in that perception.

But let’s say that we are working out our own salvation with properly Pauline fear and trembling. Let’s also say that we don’t presume to usurp God’s role as Judge. We’re even “nonjudgmental.” But in being nonjudgmental, is there not a risk of becoming dead to spiritual realities, of becoming undiscerning?

We Christians are called to discern the spirits — and it isn’t all that hard. Who has gazed at pictures of the savagery and brutality in, say, Bosnia — or a half dozen other battle zones at any given time — without realizing that he’s been looking into the face of evil?

But that’s boilerplate discernment — it’s culturally safe to be “judgmental” about other people’s wars. Let’s therefore bring the matter closer to home. Have you ever known a neighbor, relative, or work mate who is rather unmistakably ruining his life, sliding down the slope, heading straight for the Pit? Maybe it’s a teenager who’s already an alcoholic. Maybe it’s an adulterous acquaintance who will soon wreck a marriage and family. Perhaps it’s a colleague with a gambling addiction. Maybe it’s an old friend who is drug-addicted, can’t hold down a job, and is poised for a career in crime, and then jail. If you’ve known such a person, hasn’t your heart ached?

Oh sure, one can “tactfully” talk to the troubled soul about “counseling” or “therapy. ” A few well-chosen words. Boilerplate stuff again. But is it really that easy to fulfill one’s duty and quell one’s heart?

How often does it occur to us Catholics that what our friend probably needs more than anything else is Christ? Are we spiritually sensitive enough to realize that our friend needs, not just advice from some “professional,” but a complete change of life, needs to be, literally, converted.

It probably does occur to us, at least once in a while. But lay Catholics haven’t been taught very well about how to bring people to Christ. Maybe, if we’re brave, we’ll refer the friend to our priest. But what if our friend doesn’t want to go to a total stranger? Especially “a priest.” And if our friend does go, will the priest present him with the Gospel, or just play amateur therapist?

What if we said to our friend, “Why don’t you come with me to church next Sunday?” To evangelicals or fundamentalists, that would be an obvious thing to do. Their sermons are often geared to sin, Hell, repentance, and conversion (excessively so, from a Catholic point of view). If we Catholics invited a troubled soul to church, what would happen? There would be the routine Scripture readings, and homily, and then the Eucharist, but our friend, because he’s probably not a Catholic, wouldn’t be allowed to receive Christ in the Bread and Wine — and he probably wouldn’t be ready to spiritually, even if he were allowed to canonically. He wouldn’t really know Whom he was receiving. Or perhaps our friend is a lapsed Catholic; he may not be spiritually ready to return to the Sacrament.

Anyhow, our friend goes with us to church, maybe meets a few nice people at coffee hour (if there is one), and that’s about it. The call to conversion has not been heard. So, there will likely be no response.

But, you say, what about RCIA (the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults)? That’s for people who are already well on their way into the Church. What we’re talking about here are people who haven’t gotten that far, who are seized by a moral problem which they may not quite yet realize is a problem.

Or what about Masses during Lent? Yes, there we find conversion themes, but the purpose is largely for the already-converted to convert themselves a little bit more, often by giving things up or doing extra good deeds. But that’s probably too advanced for our troubled friend — that’s not exactly where he’s at.

So, what if once or twice a year Catholics had a “Proclamation Sunday” or a “Kerygma Sunday” or a “Salvation Sunday,” call it what you will: some fitting and frank Scripture readings about the wages of sin, the risk of damnation, and the urgency of repentance and conversion — the Bible is full of such passages — followed by a homily imploring the wayward to turn their lives around and commit themselves to Christ and His Church. After the homily, those who respond affirmatively could go with the homilist to the rectory for prayer, instruction, and plans for follow-up, while the rest of the congregation would proceed with the Eucharist as usual.

Lest this sound too, well, too much, too embarrassing a prospect for us cool Catholics, remember that Pope John Paul II has called for a “new evangelization.” He’s been a model evangelist, but he can’t do the job alone. Besides, it’s a job for which we, the laity, are rather uniquely positioned (laity routinely meet people who need Christ), but to do the job we must be given the right tools.

And if we don’t do the job? What then? (1) Catholics will be evangelized by nonbelievers, who aren’t ashamed to recommend the ways of the world. And many Catholics have been swayed: Catholic attitudes on abortion, sexual morality, family, and social justice aren’t all that different these days from those of non-Catholics. We Catholics are being pushed back to our 10-yard line. But in faith as in football, the best defense is a great offense. Meanwhile, (2) if nonbelievers are evangelized by the Gospel at all, they will be evangelized by fundamentalists and evangelicals. If we Catholics don’t do the job of bringing souls to Christ, the Holy Spirit will raise up other Christians to do it — and He already has.

It’s easy to berate fundamentalists. This journal does so from time to time. But when they’re doing something right, they deserve credit. And in the spirit of authentic ecumenism, perhaps we need to admit that we Catholics could learn a thing or two from them.

Consider Latin America, where fundamentalists and evangelicals are coming on strong. If you know about Protestant evangelization there, you know the pattern: A typical target of evangelization would be a guy who drinks too much, gambles too much, cheats on his wife, beats her on occasion, works haphazardly, and makes his way by taking and giving bribes. Oh, and the man is a baptized and confirmed Catholic. Are Catholics Christians? Yes. But is this particular Catholic a Christian? The fundamentalists are not entirely out of line in asking the question. Only God knows the answer for sure. But all of us are in need of a closer walk with Christ, and fundamentalists are not to be faulted for in effect seeking opportunities to bring people into a more vivid relationship with Christ.

So, the Latin American fellow hears an evangelist preach a hellfire-and-brimstone sermon. His heart is “convicted.” He responds to the call to conversion. He prays the “sinner’s prayer” and turns over his life to Christ. He’s had a dramatic encounter with the Savior.

He’s told he’s saved by faith alone — but of course even the fundamentalists know deep down it isn’t that simple: He must change his life. His faith must bear fruit. So he quits drinking and gambling and philandering, and stops beating his wife. The money not squandered on bad habits is saved. He does honest work, works harder and longer, and saves the extra money earned. In a dozen years he and his family have enough money to move into a decent neighborhood and buy a nice house. Understandably, the man feels he’s been blessed, and that Christ has indeed changed his life in more ways than one. And he’s mighty grateful someone had a burden for his soul, his life, and he too has become zealous in winning others to Christ. No wonder Protestants have made such great headway in Latin America!

“They’ve turned this man,” you say, “into a joyless, uptight, upwardly-mobile puritan.” Maybe so. Can Catholics do a better job of evangelization? In theory, sure, but the results have been lacking of late, because the effort has been minimal.

Now consider the U.S.: We know there’s been a cultural revolution here. Drugs, pornography, promiscuity, broken homes, deadbeat dads, bewildered kids, perversions galore, abortion, crime in the streets and at the malls: We know the statistics. Things are no better here than in Latin America. But the point is that real people are hurting, people we may know personally, and their souls are likely in jeopardy. How much do we Catholics care? And if we care, what are we doing about it? Yes, evangelization is hard work — and not everyone has the time or energy or temperament to do it. And there are many ways to evangelize. Living a good life and setting a good example is one way. But it’s only one way, and it has its limits. Many people won’t make the connection between your good example and the faith which motivates you unless you explain the connection. As St. Francis said of evangelizing, “If necessary, use words.”

In an old edition of My Imitation of Christ (published in 1954 and still available from the Confraternity of the Precious Blood), there’s a picture of a businessman in his office poring over his ledger and counting his money. In the trash can are pieces of paper saying “heart,” “contribution,” and “charity.” Outside the office’s glass door we see Jesus knocking, but the entrepreneur ignores Him. Meanwhile, inside the office the Devil is creeping up on the entrepreneur from behind and is just about to pounce on him. No, the picture isn’t high art, but it makes its point very effectively. It is there to illustrate these words from the text: “for a small gain men labor and toil, but the loss of the soul is little thought of….”

The loss of the soul. What could be more horrible? Not far from the offices of the New Oxford Review is a Catholic school. In the fifth grade classroom last school year was a giant banner stretching clear across the front of the room which proclaimed, “Knowing Christ Is Wonderful!”

If that isn’t true, Christianity is a fraud. But if it is true, then wanting to share the experience of Christ is entirely natural and is one of the highest forms of charity imaginable. The Holy See has called for a new evangelization. Some American Catholics are laboring in the vineyard, but not many. When will many more Catholics — bishops, priests, and laity — get serious about evangelization?