Steve on Catholic Answers Live today: Steve Ray's Six Rules for Dealing with Non-Catholic Family and Friends
by Steve Ray on July 8, 2013
Today we will discuss the question I get most often: What should I do about my family and friends who have left the Church?
What about a husband or wife discovering the Truth of the Catholic Church and the spouse is opposing them?
There are so many questions in this area that rip families apart and build barriers. What can we do? Is there a silver bullet argument we can give?
Patrick Coffin special host for this pilgrimage. Join us for his Magic Shows in Jerusalem!
Join us for this informative and exciting hour of Catholic Answers Live on-line here or I will give links tomorrow for podcasts or listening on the web.
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Join Patrick Coffin in the Holy Land from Aug. 31-Sept. 9, 2013. We still have seats left — visit our pilgrimage site at www.FootprintsOfGod.com for this and other exciting Catholic pilgrimages.
Patrick is an accomplished magician and will be performing his specially prepared magic show in Jerusalem. Don’t miss this trip!! He will also give daily reflections along the way.
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Steve Ray’s Six Rules:
1) Don’t argue; it will only push them further away
2) Love them more than ever, especially one spouse to another (love is the one argument they can’t resist)
3) Pray daily, persistently and make sacrifices
4) Show the joy of the Lord in your life; make them want what you have
5) Study apologetics and learn the Bible to prepare for answers when they eventually have questions
6) Ask God to bring someone else into their life to influence them since they won’t listen to you (though you often think you are the only ones God can use)
My adult children left the Church after seeing their father turn to false gods and their mother being a Catholic Church going secular lifestyle. I reflected both the culture and the Catholic Church. I’m comforted by St. Monica praying all those years for her son St. Augustine. I watch my children “fall” while in their own denominations and realize that looking beyond these “falls”, as they mature and grow, are necessary to find the straight and narrow path of the Catholic Church. My reaction must be Christlike.
This is totally true.We cannot argue people who where outside the Orthodox and Catholic Church since the 16th century for they become more offensive.
The worst thing for me, is that when acting with love toward them, and cannot avoid the feeling that I am causing them the impression that I am OK with their vision of a co-existence situation, in which we accept both ways as distinct but valid. I feel the necesity of showing them that, though I respect it, I am not happy with their decision of staying outside Christ’s Church. But at the same time, I feel bad when I am conscious not to have been as lovely toward them as I should. It’s a hard situation. I expect the Grace of God to show me the right way to handle it, and the inner force needed to follow it.
7). Be patient with them and with yourself and practice love as Christ showed us.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corithians 13;4-8