Ah, we are both Catholic. My point was that in the absence of a desire to hear of Our Lord, too much talk of hellfire and damnation does more harm than good. Jesus told Peter and Andrew, IINM, to come and see. So many are turned off by shall we say, unsolicited witnessing. I prefer to tell and show what Christ has done in my life. If they wish to know what it's all about, it is my honor to tell them. Above all I remember that I do not convert, only God does that.
When it comes to my Jewish brothers and sisters, I especially remember that they are ultrasensitive about Christians trying to convert them without their approval. This may be theologically wrong, but it helps me to look at it as, when Jesus returns for the second coming, He will be arriving for the First Coming as far as they're concerned.
Bless you for your faith.
If I'm not mistaken, in Revelation, St. John mentioned that one of the signs of the end of days would be the Jewish faith being brought into our own.
I mentioned this already today, but I'm always reminded of my mother's words about the Jews being God's Chosen people, and therefore worthy of respect.
I'm curious as to whether you're a literalist when it comes to reading the bible... you present good, reasonable statements. For my own part, I can't believe that God would close the gates to the Jews from the time of Jesus' death onwards... He didn't condemn Thomas for not believing in Jesus' resurrection until Thomas could feel Jesus' wounds. Thomas just got a lecture about faith, and of course, we got to hearn about the value of believing without proof. I'm slow to do my own interpretation about scripture, but, well, my belief in God's mercy, even in His anger, is strong.