Evangelization!

The primary mission of the Catholic Church is to be evangelistic; to evangelize. I would have to say that this is almost easy to do as a missionary in another country. Whether it be on the beach, or the water taxi or in the classroom, someone usually asks why I’m in San Pedro. When they hear I am not vacationing, but working in Belize as a full-time missionary for the Catholic Church, many questions usually arise about Church teaching and morals and we end up talking for quite a while. For example, last week I got on the water taxi to come back to San Pedro, and it was about a two-hour ride. I sat next to a man who was holding a little baby. It turns out that he was on his way home to San Pedro after a three week stay in Belize because his 9 month old baby had pneumonia and almost died. I noticed two little girls sitting next to him who were smiling at me and giggling. I asked them if they went to the primary school on San Pedro and as they nodded I recalled being in their classroom last week. We also lead music for Mass with them every other week. Next to the girls was their mom, who I assumed was this man’s wife. I told this man what a joy it is to teach the children and how excited they were for the Mass they were helping with. He started to say that He doesn’t go to Church and hasn’t been in about 10 years, but he needs to go back. We talked about the importance of going to Mass to give God thanks and praise, especially for healing his son from pneumonia! I told him how beautiful his girls are and how important it is for them to see their father going to Church and praying. They need that good example to follow. He nodded and smiled. As we continued to talk, he told me that two of the children are his and one is not, that he is living with this woman, but they are not married. I asked him what was keeping him from marrying her, and he said he’s just not sure yet, he wants to make sure that she’s the right one. I asked him why he had kids with this woman if he was not planning to spend the rest of his life with her. He had no answer. I could tell that he really loves these children, and as frustrating as this situation is, it is the norm for many Belizean families. It is typical to see a family of six or eight kids with one mom and three dads.

This man, after a few minutes asked me if I had children. I proceeded to tell him that I do not have children and do not plan on having a family until I get married. We talked about the importance of kids having a mom and dad who are in love with each other and able to love their kids well. I also mentioned how important it is to me to marry someone who is following the Lord and trying to grow in holiness and faithfulness to Christ. As John Paul II has said, when the two become one, a goal in loving one another should be in order get one another to heaven. By loving God first and asking the Lord to love through us, we grow in holiness. We talked more about the good examples children need in their mom and dad, so they can be formed well. He went on to ask me if I have slept with anyone, and I told him, no, that my virginity is something I am saving for my future spouse alone, and that this is something I will give in the context of marriage after God blesses that marriage through the sacrament of matrimony. His mouth dropped! He looked at me very seriously and said “what do you mean, you never had sex?” And I repeated, that the gift of my virginity is something I am saving for my future spouse alone within the context of marriage. My sexuality is a beautiful gift that is meant for my future spouse and only for that one spouse. After a long pause he said, “Courtney, people like you do not exist”. I smiled and said, “Well, there are three other girls right over there in the same boat that feel this way, and I come from a school where many people live this way.” I proceeded to tell him what Catholics believe about marriage, the conjugal act and the family. I was thankful that last fall in Austria, I took a class on Christian Marriage!

I was able to share with him what a gift our human sexuality is, and how beautiful it can be! To be able to give oneself fully to another through the sexual act is beautiful when it is done out of love alone for that person, and not just seeking pleasure. It is the giving of your whole self to someone, meant for that one person you are meant to become one with and spend the rest of your life with. There is such a bond that is formed, a joining, that is only meant to be with one person. God created Adam and Eve and said ’Be fertile and multiply’…he gave them to each other, blessed their relationship and then allowed them to have children. There was no Adam and Eve and Shirley, and Jane and there were only children in the picture AFTER the Lord blessed it. It was just Adam and Eve and when they were joined, they were not meant to separate. I mentioned how the purpose of sex is a gift and is meant to be a sign of love, but in society today we see it abused and used in such selfish ways, finding pleasure selfishly, rather than giving oneself to another as a gift and sign of love! It forms a union that is only meant to happen in the context of marriage blessed by God, for the two to become one. As we talked about the bond that comes through giving of oneself sexually this man nodded his head in agreement. He admitted that this bond becomes weaker and weaker the more you sleep with other women. It becomes less and less meaningful, the more you do it with different people. He was amazed that my sexuality was a gift I was saving for my future spouse alone. What a beautiful gift to give your future spouse; the gift of your virginity as a sign of your love. Marriage has two main purposes the Church teaches: the procreation of children and the loving of the beloved as an end in themselves. The idea of birth control and contraception goes against this, if the purpose of marriage is procreation as well! To give of oneself in this way is saying “I love you so much that I want to give myself to you, and I love you so much that I want to have children with you that are like you”. Is this not beautiful? I really believe this man got off the water taxi thinking a lot more about his actions and what he was saying by living with this woman and having children when he wasn’t sure if he was going to marry her.

We pray all the time for purity on this island and for a greater awareness of chastity. It is amazing to see the doors God can open through conversation, just by letting our lives be a witness and create questions. This man was very open and responsive, and agreed with a lot of what I said. I told him I will be looking for him at Mass on Sunday and will give a constant invitation whenever I see him! God is Good!