Catholics are known for their compassion as are the Pentecostals for their passion for God. I see both as complementary in God's economy. Both were enlightened and initiated by the Word of God. The compassionate and passionate work, aided by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, to uplift the underprivileged of the society and to transform the lives of many in distress. Contribution in the educational sector and in nation building by the Catholic Church is phenomenal during the past five centuries. Moreover, they have to be appreciated for preserving Christianity in India during all these centuries. In the same way, though it is a movement that is just a century old, the Pentecostals played a spectacular role in transforming thousands of lives from darkness to spiritual light. Although both proclaim the same Jesus and are motivated to serve the nation, one cannot deny the fact that both groups are a little intolerant and suspicious about the other. In recent years, the distance between them have reduced, thanks to the opposition and persecution that they faced in India. But major differences still remain.

It seems extremely difficult for the "main line" denominational churches to recognize and accept the Pentecostals or evangelicals. Although the Pentecostals are now outnumbering all other denominations, many in the "main line" churches are disturbed by the very presence of a Pentecostal leader. The overreaction from both sides has created a void in between.

I cannot forget the incident that changed my mind set about Catholics. About seven years ago one of my relatives met with a motor accident at Muzaffar Nagar, UP and was admitted to a hospital. Three of us went to Muzaffar Nagar in order to bring the wrecked vehicle to Delhi for making an insurance claim. Some corrupt police officers didn't let us succeed in getting the vehicle back to Delhi. Our only hope was an acquaintance, a brother who runs a school in city. His contacts and knowledge were not sufficient to help us to get the work done. It was 9 pm. We were all tired of driving the previous night and of running around the whole day. It was quite difficult to get all the documents ready for the release of the vehicle from police custody without the help of an influential person in the city. Interestingly, we arranged all the necessary and required documents.

That was the time a brother mentioned about the principal of the Catholic Higher Secondary school of the city. Though it was too late for a visitor in the convent in our desperation we didn’t want to miss any opportunity. The watchman turned down our request to meet the principal and tried to send us back as it was too late. Nevertheless, he was ready to pass on our visiting cards to the nun. Contrary to our expectations, we were welcomed inside. The nun smiled and said, “We don’t allow any visitor after 8:30 pm. But you are servants of God …. She seated us in the visitor’s room and comforted us with good refreshment. To our surprise another woman entered with greetings. That was none other than their lawyer who was going to help us. I was overwhelmed by the way she extended her helping hand to us. As we were discussing the case I asked myself, "Would I help a person of any other denomination at this hour?”

Together we stand. Marshalling the Pentecostal's compassion for the perishing souls with the compassion and infrastructure of the Catholic Church in order to serve the people of our nation can be a very fruitful way of glorifying our Saviour in this great land.