Talk to someone

01The chain

Andrew goes to find his brother

They spend the rest of the day with him; it was “about the tenth hour.”⁵

One of the two was Andrew.⁶ First thing he does is run to find his brother Simon: “We have found the Messiah!”⁷ Then “he brought him to Jesus.”⁸

And Simon becomes Peter: not a bad referral.⁸

Next day, same thing. Philip tells his buddy Nathanael, who rolls his eyes: “Can any thing of good come from Nazareth?” Philip doesn’t argue. He says: “Come and see.”

That’s not a coincidence. That’s how faith works.

02The pattern

Faith is handed on by people

The Catechism says it plainly: every believer “has received faith from others and should hand it on to others.”¹

St. Paul asks: “how will they hear without a preacher?”⁹ You can’t preach the Gospel to yourself; somebody has to tell you.¹⁰

Somebody told Andrew. Andrew told Simon. Philip told Nathanael. And somebody, somewhere, told you something, or you wouldn’t be reading this.

So who’s your Andrew? And what on earth do you say?

03The practical part

Who you can talk to

Start with a parish priest. Seriously, it’s their job and most of them love it. Call or email the parish office and ask for a short conversation. You don’t need to be Catholic. You don’t need to have decided anything.

Bring a Catholic friend, or just talk to one over coffee. And if one parish doesn’t answer, try another. Offices get busy.

And if that first conversation goes well? Here’s what can happen next. Only if you want it.

04What comes next

A journey, at your pace

From the time of the apostles, becoming a Christian has been a journey in stages, which “can be covered rapidly or slowly.”²

For adults it’s called the catechumenate, and the point is to help your faith grow up, alongside a real parish community.^12,13 And here’s how the Church talks about people in it: “With love and solicitude mother Church already embraces them as her own.”¹⁴

And you don’t have to have it all figured out: the faith you need at the start “is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop.”¹⁵

Two young guys asked Jesus where He was staying. He didn’t give them an address. He gave them three words. Same three words are for you.