A few years ago, a young man said to me, ‘Isn’t it a bit arrogant of you Catholics to think that you’re right and everyone else is wrong?’ He wasn’t trying to be nasty, he was quite genuine. I said to him that I didn’t see it as a matter of us being right and others being wrong. I said that we believe that God made himself known to the human race first through the Jewish people, but ultimately through the person of Jesus. Jesus taught us about the Father and how God calls us to live a particular way, to love God and those around us, to have respect for all people. He taught us that he is the Son of God and that all who want to come to the Father must go through him. There is only one way to the Father, which is through him. Anyone who follows this particular way of life as God has revealed it through Jesus, is a Christian and we believe as Catholics that we are following what he taught in the fullest way. It is not necessarily a question of others being wrong, but it does mean that for us this is the way we believe is the right one to follow.
You might remember the Harvard professor Roy Shoeman, who had been raised in a Jewish family, but lost his faith. One day when he was walking out in nature, God pulled back the veil between heaven and earth and allowed him to see everything. God showed him his whole life and how God had been there with him all along, helping him, especially through the most difficult times of his life. Roy said to him, ‘Please let me know who you are so that I can follow you. If you are Mohammed, I will be a Muslim, or if Buddha I will be a Buddhist, so long as I don’t have to become Christian.’ He felt that if he became a Christian he would be betraying his Jewish heritage. What is interesting is that God did not tell him what way he had to follow, but let him search and find out for himself. Eventually he ended up becoming a Catholic.
We also believe that the teachings of the Apostles are very important, because Jesus gave the Apostles his authority to teach and that is why we try and live by the teachings of the Church, because we believe they are the teachings of the Apostles which come from God. We may struggle with them at times, but because we believe they are God’s teaching, we don’t replace them with any other ‘human’ wisdom.
It is also very important for us to have respect for people of other faiths, other Christians and non-Christians as well, even if we totally disagree with them, and this is what the Lord helped St. Peter to understand. He writes,
"Always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience so that those who slander your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their accusations" (1 Pet 3:15-16).
Those who don’t believe as we do, are just as much part of God’s family. Jesus frequently spoke to and helped people who would have been considered pagans to the Jews. In this Gospel he heals the daughter of a woman, who was a pagan. Perhaps it was to teach the Apostles and us, that God doesn’t discriminate.
What converts people is witness of life, not preaching, not telling others what to do. We will only convince other people of the ‘rightness,’ or goodness of our faith, by the way we live it and by the way we love them. Love is the only thing that really convinces people. Frank Duff, who started the Legion of Mary, which is now world-wide, said, ‘Win an argument, lose a soul.’
It is interesting that the Missionaries of Charity—the order started by Mother Theresa—never try to convert the people they help. In India much of their work is bringing very poor people in off the streets, people who are dying and allowing them to die with dignity. Most of these people would be Hindu and Muslim, not Christian, but they don’t try to convert them. They just love them, show them that they are wanted and that they are important and they do more to preach the Gospel this way, than by anything you could ever say. This teaches people about God more than anything else.
I can stand up here and argue for hours about all the reasons why others are wrong, or how we are right, but that doesn’t necessarily convince anyone. If I do not love the people I meet and try to respect those around me, then I am wasting my time preaching, because people will only be convinced by the way I live, first.
I heard a story about a priest who went to stay with his niece and her husband. This couple had no time for the Church and in fact were into the occult and various practices which were quite anti-Christian and of course they were nervous about how it would go. But when the priest came he just stayed for the few days and showed them great respect and love and never said a word to them about the various things they were into. When he left they were so moved by the fact that he never said anything to them, never criticized them, but just loved them, that they actually began to rethink their approach to the Church. Love is the only true witness to God.
People often ask me what is the best way to help their children who no longer practice their faith. The best way is to live it as well as you can yourself. You don’t have to say anything and it is usually better you don’t. How we live our faith is what will speak to others more than anything else.
In the Gospel, Jesus seems to ignore the woman who is asking for his help, which seems uncharacteristic of Jesus. But what the text says is that ‘He answered her not a word.’ He did answer her, but his answer was not with words. In doing this he was drawing out her faith as he knew she had great faith, which she then showed.
God’s answer to our prayers often seems to be silence, which can be very frustrating. But imagine if God instantly answered every request we made. It would be easy to become lazy in our faith. God would just be something to fix problems. By making us persevere in asking for our needs, like this woman, God is helping us to grow. Just like when we are growing up, parents don’t usually give everything a child wants instantly, or they would never appreciate anything. If you have to wait and work for something, you appreciate it much more. In not seeming to answer our prayers, God is calling us to persevere in faith and that is one of the ways that we grow.
Always have your answer ready for people who ask you the reason for the hope that you have. But give it with courtesy and respect and with a clear conscience so that those who slander your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their accusations (1 Pet 3:15-16).
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