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How to Witness to a Dying Non-Catholic

Question:

How do you start a conversation about salvation with someone who is dying and is not Catholic?

Answer:

Does this person believe in God at all? Is he a fellow Christian? These are important preliminary questions. If he doesn’t believe in God at all, invite him to pray with you or by himself, if he prefers, because as Pascal’s Wager conveys, he has nothing to lose in believing in God and everything to gain, especially on his deathbed.

If the nonbeliever is open, tell him that you would be happy to pray with him. Offer to explain about how Jesus is the Savior of mankind and founded his Catholic Church as his instrument of love (see Matt. 16:18-19; 20:18-20; John 20:21-23). He might not be ready to formally accept Jesus and the Church, but he might well be open to praying to God and asking the Lord to forgive him of all of his sins and to have mercy on him despite his years of unbelief.

If the person is a believer, but not a Christian, encourage him to reconcile with God for any wrongdoing and to ask God to have mercy on him for any way he has been mistaken in his belief about him. Again, the person might not be ready to become Catholic, but he might well be willing to pray such a humble and heartfelt prayer, and we trust that God will listen to him in his mercy, for he desires the salvation of all humanity (John 3:16-17; 1 Tim. 2:4; 2 Pet. 3:9).

If he is Christian but not Catholic, I would encourage him to make his peace with God, repenting for all of the sins of his lifetime and to ask him to pray the aforementioned prayer—that God would mercifully forgive any error in his belief. In the process, you can tell him how Jesus founded the Church as his instrument of salvation. Given that he is a fellow Christian, you might consider giving him a copy or printout of the Catholic Answers booklet Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth. You might also consider offering the same to a non-Christian believer or unbeliever, if he’s open.

Finally, you could ask him if he would like to have a priest pray with him and let him know that the priest can offer general prayers with and for him. If he’s at a hospital, nursing home, or hospice care center, it’s quite possible a priest visits regularly, and you could coordinate with administrators at the respective health care facility. If he’s not at such a facility or if a priest doesn’t visit his health care facility regularly, you yourself can serve as the coordinator.

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