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November 12 | Faith through Friendship
A.D. 1580–1623
Are there people in your life who have left their faith behind?
From the very beginning, Catholics have had the painful experience of watching the people around them leave the Church. Whether it's your spouse, your siblings, your children, grandchildren, or friends, we are all faced with an incredibly difficult question: How do we invite them back to a life with God?
Josaphat Kuncewicz faced this same difficult question. He was a monk who lived in Ukraine at a time when the Church was completely divided between East and West. Many people around him stood against Catholicism, but Josaphat didn’t let that stop him. Through prayer, conversation, preaching, and living out his faith, he started to make a change, one person at a time. In fact, he was able to bring so many people back to the Catholic faith that he was nicknamed “the Soul-Snatcher.”
Now you might be thinking: Okay, it was easy enough for an ancient Catholic monk to reach people’s hearts. But how can I actually help the people in my life see the genius of Catholicism today?
Start with friendship. Sometimes when we want to have a big conversation with someone, we have it in a disordered way. Think of it like this: If you just met someone off the street, you wouldn't say, “Can you tell me your deepest darkest secret?” You have to warm up to that.
If you want to have a conversation with someone about the faith, any aspect of the faith, ask yourself: What are the five conversations that should come before that conversation? Because ultimately, faith is bred through friendship and trust.
Friendship is the most natural and effective way to share the faith with others. If we are friends and I say something that you disagree with, you are not likely to dismiss it without consideration. Inviting people to explore their questions of faith in a new way is asking them to rethink the way they live their lives—often in major ways. It is the respect that is born through friendship that allows people to let their guard down and consider a new way.
Christian friendship is not just about common interests; it is about helping each other become the-best-version-of-ourselves. A friendship that places the other person’s best interests above our own selfish desires or agenda is quite rare in this world. But it is this type of friendship that becomes the vehicle for the faith to spread.
So, if you want to talk to someone about the faith, become friends with that person and ask the Holy Spirit to show you when is the right time to have that conversation with that person.
WHO IS ONE PERSON I WANT TO INVITE BACK TO THE FAITH? HOW CAN I BUILD UP MY FRIENDSHIP WITH THEM?
I don’t need to be an incredible evangelist. I simply need to be a great friend.
This reflection is brought to you from book title.
Feast Day: November 12
Feast Day Shared By: Saint Diego
Patron Saint of: Ukraine
Symbols: An Axe
Canonized: June 29, 1867
Canonized By: Pope Pius IX