A Catholic and a Jew entered a bar...

This post is no joke, but this kind of cliche sometimes pops into my head when I think of how my friend E and I communicate.

(For those of you who don’t know him, E is a dear friend of mine—I call him my mirror image. We are the same in many ways but in reverse. He’s the male, very religiously Jewish version of me. We are both tough customers when it comes to our respective faiths)

We got into it the other day and as with most things E and I argue about, we were actually arguing the same side, but using different semantics because we’re coming from 2 different places, religiously speaking. That’s something we really have to keep in mind, but I rarely do. I get frustrated sometimes because I feel like he is questioning me when he’s really just asking me a question.

Those are 2 different things entirely, so I need to work on that.

We hold one another to a very high standard. E challenges me to be a better Catholic, and not just a better Catholic, but just better. I challenge him to be better, not just a better Jew, but a better man in today's world. I know some people would disagree and tell me that I should instead be praying for his conversion. Do I wish E knew Jesus the way I know Jesus? Of course I do, but alas, he does not. That does not change the fact that E is trying to live his life for God in the way that he believes to be the truth. That does not change that fact that he is striving for holiness. He may stumble and fall along the way, but so do I (believe me!)

I have the utmost respect for that. It makes me want to pose this question: Should one have more respect for a person who lives out the teachings of his or her faith (that is different from yours) to the fullest or should you have more respect for someone who classifes themselves as being the same religion you are, but they aren't living that faith out? I think about this sometimes because for 28 years I was a lukewarm Catholic just perusing the buffet line, picking and choosing the teachings I was going to follow based on what "fit" into my life and ignoring the rest.

Now, truthfully, no one has really challenged me on the fact that I do not pray for E’s conversion. If they did, I would tell them the story about Pope John Paul II. I told E this story the day he asked me if I am praying for his conversion.

As the story is told (and I paraphrase), JPII grew up in Poland playing soccer with and being friends with a number of Jews, one of which was his best friend. They remained friends throughout their lives. As their lives went on, JPII obviously became a priest and progressed forward through the years to eventually being named Pope. Someone once interviewed JPII and his best friend was mentioned and it was brought up that he was Jewish. The person interviewing JPII asked him if he prayed for his friend’s conversion. JPII responded “No, I pray that he is the best Jew he can be.” If it’s good enough for John Paul the Great, it’s good enough for me.

Today, please let's pray for those who have to work outside in the dangerous and oppressive heat we are experiencing in the northeast, namely, Stephanie's brother-in-law Joey who is working in contracting/construction in temperatures in excess of 200 degrees. Along with Joey, let's lift up the elderly, children, and those without air conditioning or other ways to get relief from this heat. Lord, hear our prayer.