Food for thought

Our parish recently began offering free soup luncheons on the second Saturday of each month.  We have done two so far, and both were well attended.  The evangelization committee uses the opportunity to set up a table with free Catholic materials, books, and audio CDs from Lighthouse Catholic media. 

I was assigned to greet our guests last Saturday.  Most of them were elderly folks (probably about my age!).  Some had visible disabilities or mental issues.  Most were not members of our parish.  All seemed to enjoy the experience and camaraderie.

A bearded gentleman sitting alone at one table caught my attention.  The man wore a Viet Nam veteran cap, and being Veteran’s Day weekend, I sat down with him to thank him for his service. Next to his plate was a CD he had selected from our table by a well-known Catholic apologist, Steve Ray.  I thought this might be an opportunity to do a little evangelizing.  I got myself a bowl of soup and sat down at his table.  I am not sure why I assumed he wasn’t Catholic, but I was wrong.

His name was Larry and shortly into our conversation, he began talking about his Catholic faith and how reading the church fathers has been so instrumental in bringing converts into the Church.  I pointed to the CD and said that was true of the author.  He said, “Yes, I know.  I have met Steve and we have gone to the same parish in Michigan.”  Wow, I thought!  What are the odds someone of about twenty people who wandered into our little parish soup luncheon would be an acquaintance of a well-known Cathoiic author whose material we were giving away?

Pretty soon, the man’s wife came in and sat with us.  Like her husband, she was a veteran of the Air Force.  Turns out they were in town for a baby shower, and he was just looking for a place to kill some time while his wife was at the party.  The three of us had a great conversation about our common interest in Catholic apologetics.  Larry mentioned that Steve could sometimes be seen with tears in his eyes after receiving the Eucharist as Mass.  How wonderful it must be to have such an emotional connection with Our Lord.

This somewhat accidental encounter left me marveling at how we cross paths with strangers everyday without taking the time to engage them.  This life that God gives us most assuredly guarantees that every person we meet has an interesting story to share.  Maybe this is why I have not been a more effective evangelist.  The one time I make an effort to initiate a conversation, the person I approach is already a better Catholic than I am.  I wonder how often God has put someone in my presence who needs a kind word, and I failed to provide.