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S i d e b a r
If The Holy Spirit is Left Out. .
By Leonard Bachicha
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One Sunday afternoon, the people seemed unfriendly. As we went down the street, we were either treated harshly or dismissed with curt, often insulting remarks. We were told, for example, "We're not Catholic; we're Christians." Others simply did not want to talk at all and answered our three questions with sharp, one-word replies.
The most distressing experience was at the house of a member of our own parish whom I have often seen at church. He came to the door, and I was in the process of introducing myself when he broke in and exclaimed, "I do this at our church; I don't want it door to door!" Then he slammed the door. I suppose this was his way of saying the conversation was over.
My wife Patricia and I teamed up to finish that street. I was depressed, and my heart really wasn't in it. But as always she was cheerful and upbeat, and the people seemed to respond to her demeanor. Little did I know she was praying to the Holy Spirit-something I had neglected to do. My mood lifted.
Later, I went to the church to pick up our eldest daughter, Jessica, at the youth group. Jessica wanted to go door to door with her mom. I gladly volunteered to stay with our two younger children, Benito and Marissa.
Jessica and Patricia decided that, as one was talking [to those being visited], the other would pray to the Holy Spirit. That afternoon, through their persistence and the aid of the Holy Spirit, three new families were added to the St. Thomas Aquinas registry.
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