Friend Living With Boyfriend..

[thessalonian]

Doesn't anyone believe in the works of mercy anymore?  Admonish the sinner.  If she is your friend, your true friend you should not be afraid to speak to her about what affects her eternity.   Yes of course be gentle about it.   Has she invited you over?  I think that is the opportunity to speak to her.....   I know this is difficult but if you love her as a friend.......She might get mad but over time it will work on her conscience.  This country is where it is at because noone speaks out anymore.

Edited February 6, 2013 by thessalonian

[Lil Red]

Doesn't anyone believe in the works of mercy anymore?  Admonish the sinner.  If she is your friend, your true friend you should not be afraid to speak to her about what affects her eternity.   Yes of course be gentle about it.   Has she invited you over?  I think that is the opportunity to speak to her.....   I know this is difficult but if you love her as a friend.......She might get mad but over time it will work on her conscience. 

or it will totally backfire.

 

 

[Winchester]

Seriously, people. Twelve year old girls and boys read these threads. Think about the audience, not about how funny you think your wits are.

 

Good point. Let's move this to the raising small children board to keep out the fetuses.

[Basilisa Marie]

Doesn't anyone believe in the works of mercy anymore?  Admonish the sinner.  If she is your friend, your true friend you should not be afraid to speak to her about what affects her eternity.   Yes of course be gentle about it.   Has she invited you over?  I think that is the opportunity to speak to her.....   I know this is difficult but if you love her as a friend.......She might get mad but over time it will work on her conscience.  This country is where it is at because noone speaks out anymore.

 

No, that's not true.  Everyone knows that the Catholic Church is against premarital sex, birth control, homosexual activity, etc. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that.  If her friend knows that she's a practicing Catholic, and doesn't approve of sex before marriage, then there's nothing more she can tell her.  It's not a simple matter of just telling someone.  It's getting people to believe you.  

 

People already know that Catholics think they're wrong and destined for hell. We need more people showing others that Catholics are kind and loving people, because THAT is something that is hard to believe nowadays.

[MissScripture]

If I were to say anything I would explain the WHY, not just saying that the church is against it. Too many times people know what the church says, but have no inkling of the WHY, which is the important part. And if I were to say anything, I would only do so after a lot of prayer for the Holy Spirit to guide my words, and after making sure my own motives were pure, so I would not do more damage than good. It's a delicate topic, and would be something that would be best addressed with great care, both for the sake of the friendship and the sake of the friend's soul. 

[Norseman82]

or it will totally backfire.

 

Ezekiel 3:18-19 covers that.

[Maximilianus]

No, that's not true.  Everyone knows that the Catholic Church is against premarital sex, birth control, homosexual activity, etc. You'd have to be living under a rock to not know that.  

 

Perhaps, but a as a Catholic since the cradle, from a Catholic culture, I had no idea of the gravity of sins, so even though I had an idea that pre-marital sex was frowned on, I had no idea of it's gravity. I had no idea contraception was a grave evil, so you can't assume everybody knows. Not everyone gets grade A catechesis.

 

I sure wish I would have had someone admonish me when I was a lot younger. I did have one priest admonish my lack of attending Mass, and even though I shrugged off what he said it has stuck with me as a positive.

 

 

In this link Fr. Andrew Apostoli, C.F.R. doe a good job explaining that admonishing doesn't have to shunning and stoning, but done out of love

http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/library/view.cfm?recnum=8158

 

That being said, I realize that doing this particular work of mercy is probably the hardest one to do, at least for me.

 

Edited February 7, 2013 by Maximilianus

[dominicansoul]

I teach cathechism.  You can't imagine how shocked my students are when we go through the 10 commandments and they hear that fornication is a mortal sin.  They think its okay.  (These are Catholic highschool students.  Sadly, many of them are having sex, so this comes as a HUGE shock to them.)   You would be surprised how many students actually change their behavior after discovering how sinful it is.  Thanks be to God, my students are the ones I see in lines for confession during the semester I teach them.  Rather than be offended by what I've taught them, they are actually relieved and thankful, because no one had told them anything up to that time. 

 

I've taught for years.  the majority of my kids don't know their own faith, much less what is wrong and what is right anymore.  

 

I applaud you for wanting to reach out to help your friend.  My nephew has been living in sin with his girlfriend for years.  They have children.  I love him as if he's my own flesh and blood son.  He knows right from wrong.  When I see him, I remind him of the state he is living in.  HE knows its because I love him and don't want to see him in this dangerous situation.  ITs dangerous to his soul, and I fear of what will happen to him if he were to die in that state.  I don't nag him, I rely very much on the Holy Spirit to give me the words to tell him what he needs to hear.  There comes a time when I don't tell him anything because he knows.  Then I just pray for him.  I still welcome him into my home, I love his children and his girlfriend very much. 

 

Pray to the HOly Spirit.  YOu may be the only person in your friends life who has the courage to tell her what she needs to hear.  (Sometimes we are the ONLY person who will bring Jesus to someone.  If we don't do it, who will?)