Toleration and Zeal

[corban711]

fulton sheen once said "where there is no zeal, there is no love". zeal is absolutely necessary and if we love Christ and the Church, zeal flows quite naturally. i have been given many gifts and Our Lord fills me with such joy through the heart of His mother....how could I not want that for everybody??? of course i do. i sometimes feel in adoration that Christ allows me to share in a small way His thirst for souls. this is a wonderful gift. but, that does not mean that i bash everyone over the head with truth. mother teresa did not need to "preach" (here, i mean with words...telling people to convert) to the people she served....yet she brought 10's of thousands of souls to Christ through her beautiful example and charity. she met each one where they were at and gave to each person the love of Christ in their current state. she did not say to the dying person...you are about to go to hell...she showed them love in action, joy, and told them that Jesus loved them.

in Christianity for Modern Pagans, Peter Kreeft teaches from Pascal's pensees. in the section on Method...Pascal says first you show them that something is not contrary to the truth. then you make the wish it were true. then, you show them that it is. these are important. in my experience...i turned many people away in my hopes to convert them, by going straight to that last step....showing them it is true. their heart needs to be in a place where they can accept it. that is part of the importance of befriending someone first and loving them. if they see your love for them and that friendship...they are much more likely to hear what you are telling them and believe it.

in my opinion, zeal demands that you meet them where they are at in order to bring about the greater good.