Am I sinning by not trying to convert my relatives?

[Virgil the Roman]

Show by your deeds that you're a devout and charitably loving-Catholic christian and with polite pious discourse about the faith, when the occaison presents itself in non-burdensome manner.

[Moni]

"Preach the Gospel and when necessary use words." -St. Francis of Assissi.

This is one of the most abused quotes going. People use it as a license to not tell others about Christ.

I've heard that said before. What does it even mean?

[StrictCatholicGirl]

"Preach the Gospel and when necessary use words." -St. Francis of Assissi.

This is one of the most abused quotes going. People use it as a license to not tell others about Christ.

I've heard that said before. What does it even mean?

It means we preach the Gospel (and thus convert people) more by our actions than by our words. It doesn't mean we shouldn't use words, it just means that our words should be backed up by charity and the principles of the sermon on the mount. This is especially true when the people we are trying to convert are not receptive to words. The above quote should be taken in the context in which St. Francis gave it. He and his friars walked through the village one day without speaking; they tended to the poor as they always did while wearing their traditional brown robes. Their mere presence brought Christ to the people - much like Mother Teresa and her Sisters did in Calcutta.

- Lisa

[anthony]

I tell my parent's they're fbloody idiots and going to hell all the time.

[SanctiDominici]

Im definitely the black sheep in my family and always trying to convert. But I dont beat anyone to death with it. I drop hints and such here and there so im getting some info in without irritating anyone. I also am very in tune with the holy spirit. I know exactly when is a good time and when is a bad time. I also trust that the holy spirit will tell me what to say and its never failed yet.

I wouldnt say its a sin but i definitely would "gently" bring up the subject with various family members. You can almost tell right off the bat who you annoy the second you open your mouth, the ones who are just being polite and listening, and the ones whose attention you managed to grasp and realy desire to know more.

We are all "fishers of men." Most of us can say we are as faithful as we are because some one else decided to open there mouth and teach us.So we should do the same. Just pray the holy spirit will tell you when someone will be receptive and what to say.

I always remember the bible verse" do not throw your pearls to pigs" In other words, if you know a particular person will rip your faith to shreds, dust your shoulders off and walk away. They havent received the gift yet to hear the truth.

[iggy61]

I tried that once, my cousin turned into a Protestant of some sort. I tried to go over there and use my Swifty apologetic to convince her. She needed to come back to the church and all that did was throw a big mention our relationship. But that was then and this was now and now I would never try to push somebody into the faith. I know I don't like it when somebody comes up and tries to proselytize me. And as Catholics were not supposed to. It's attraction not promotion the way I understand it.