Saturday, February 2, 2013

The Catholic Defender: The Caller

Today began as most ordinary days that when I have the chance to take off from work.

I sleep in a little longer because I stayed up late the night before either working on Deepertruth, or watching a good movie.

The phone rang and I answered it wondering who might be calling me this early on a Saturday morning.

I answered the phone:

Hello, how may I help you?
The response: Is Mrs. Hartley available?

I responded that she was not present. She is not home at this time.
I was asked, are you the husband of Mrs. Hartley?

I responded "Yes", most certainly, how may I help you.
The Caller asked me for my Wife's last four of her Social Security Number. I was able to give it.

With all the traveling that my Wife was doing trying to work as a traveling Nurse, we were late for a payment. In talking with the Caller, I was quickly able to make the appropriate response taking care of the problem.

Because the Caller was so helpful and courteous, I came right out with it: "Your Catholic are you not"?
The Caller paused for a second and admitted, "Yes" he was.

I asked him why he had not been practicing his faith as he should?
His response was that he tried to get to Mass as often as he could.

I asked him when he last went to confession?
He admitted that he had not gone to confession since he was a sophomore in high school, he was now 31 years old.

I told him that in the past couple of weeks I met a woman who had made her first confession in 55 years. She was a survivor of the Nazi occupation of Poland and escaped to the United States through the efforts of Pope John Paul II who at the time was studying to become a priest. Through the years, in American Culture, she had lost her Catholic identity only to finally re-discover it.

I then told the Caller the importance of going to confession and getting his life totally in line with Christ's Church. I told him the scripture, James 5:19-20: "My brothers, if anyone among you should stray from the truth and someone bring him back, he should know that whoever brings back a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins."

The Caller became very interested in what I was telling him and asked for our information. I went back to the Apostles, their successors right down to today.

I told him that I was known as the "Catholic Defender" and he could find me simply by Google. That he could find www.deepertruthblog and listen to our radio programs and read our articles.

The Caller became very interested and promised to me that he would follow through and re-discover the roots of his faith. We must of talked on the phone for more than 20 minutes as we talked about the Catholic Faith. I also encouraged him to ask about Cursillo in his Parish and Diocese. That would be a great shot in the arm!

The Caller reminds me that you may not always know when the Lord might send someone to you to help them in their footsteps. The Lord's mission could come to you through a million different ways, just like this morning's Caller! How easy it could have been to either let it ring or even hang the phone up.

HEB opened a new mega-store in Copperas Cove that just opened up this weekend. There were thousands of people and so I went there to get some odds and ins getting ready for the Superbowl Sunday. Even Deepertruth needs to be ready for the Superbowl! While looking through the cheese and meats section, a staffer was planted near by so I struck up a conversation with her. She was from another area HEB who was helping out with this opening weekend. She was a strong believer in the "Non-denomination" groups, but by the time I left the scene, she had a much better understanding of the Catholic Faith! How wonderful it is to give witness for the Faith of the Apostles.

There is much hunger out there and the Lord is calling us to be His hands, His feet, and His voice. At the end of the day, it has been a good Deepertruth day as hopefully, the seeds of faith were sown and the Lord most glorified.

Jesus said, "For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice" (John 18:37). "Jesus also said , "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me" (John 14:8).

Jesus speaks through His Church. St Paul wrote, "But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth" (1 Timothy 3:15). May the Lord bless us this Easter Vigil with many conversions and reversions! Amen!


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