One More Soul: A Handshake, a Conference, and a Life Changed
How a simple invitation turned an atheist’s long journey into faith, peace, and hope
CALGARY, Alberta — It started with a handshake.
Not a debate. Not an argument. Just an invitation.
On a recent episode of Heroic Hotline, host Sean sat down with longtime friend and ministry leader Richard Budu to follow up on a conversation about what they call “handshake outreach” — the simple, human act of inviting a man into something meaningful.
What followed was a story neither of them planned to tell, but one that captured exactly what that outreach can look like when it’s patient, relational, and rooted in trust.
A Tap on the Shoulder
Richard spoke about a friend he had known for years — a self-described atheist.
“He would say he was an atheist,” Richard said, “but he’d also tell these childhood stories.”
The stories always returned to one memory in particular: his grandfather, a Russian Orthodox priest, with long vestments and a long gray beard.
“He’d talk about it like it was nonsense,” Richard said. “But there was something endearing about the way he told it.”
The friend also spoke of a fleeting moment with Jesus as a young man — an experience that came and went — and later joining a church baseball team.
“He was there for the baseball,” Sean joked.
Once the season ended, so did church.
Richard didn’t push. He didn’t argue theology. He simply listened.
And then came the tap.
“I just thought, maybe if he walked into a Catholic church again,” Richard said, “he might feel that love he sensed when he was a kid.”
So he bought him a ticket.
An Invitation to Come and See
The invitation was to the God Squad Men’s Conference.
“Come,” Richard told him. “What’s the worst that can happen? You get a free lunch.”
The conference that year carried a weighty theme: Memento Mori — remember your death.
Speakers included Father Raymond de Souza and entity[”people”,”Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers”,”catholic deacon speaker”], whose invitation to “come home to the Church” left a visible impression.
“For him,” Richard said, “it was a mountaintop experience.”
Sean compared it to driving toward the Rocky Mountains through fog.
“All of a sudden,” he said, “the fog breaks and there they are.”
Walking With Him After the High
Richard knew the experience couldn’t stand alone.
“You don’t leave a man floundering after that,” he said. “You journey with him.”
So the next invitation came — an Alpha program at their parish. Dinner included. No pressure.
“I wasn’t ready for the Holy Spirit weekend,” Sean joked. “I just ordered the sandwiches.”
Still, something had shifted.
The man wasn’t ready to be prayed over. He wasn’t ready for RCIA. But he was hungry.
“I want more,” he told Richard.
He began attending RCIA — just to explore. Then Mass. Then blessings during Communion.
“A year earlier he said, ‘No, it wouldn’t feel right,’” Richard said. “Now he was going up.”
Eventually, he said the words Richard had been waiting for.
“I want to receive.”
‘One of the Others’
At 70 years old, after a long RCIA process that included canonical complications, the man was baptized at the Easter Vigil on April 19, 2025.
“He used to call himself ‘one of the others,’” Richard said, referencing the laborers in the vineyard who arrive late but receive the same wage.
“He felt guilty about that,” Richard said. “Until he began to understand God’s unfathomable mercy.”
Sean was there that night.
“He was a pretty happy guy,” he said.
Six Months in the Church Militant
That joy was soon tested.
In August, the man was diagnosed with aggressive cancer. By October 18, he had passed away.
“He was part of the Church militant for six months,” Richard said.
His wife later told Richard that without faith, he would have been an angry patient — frustrated with doctors, with her, with the world.
“Instead,” Richard said, “he had peace. All the time.”
A supernatural peace.
“The only kind that can be inspired by faith.”
Remember Your Death
Richard connected the story to an account from the French Revolution — religious sisters who went to their deaths with peace and forgiveness.
“Only a faith inspired by courage could allow them to die that way,” he said.
The same courage, he believed, marked his friend’s final months.
“We’re not going to get a catechism test,” Sean said. “We’re going to be judged on how we responded to God’s love.”
“Memento mori,” Richard added. “Remember your death.”
One More Soul
The message Richard left with listeners was simple.
“I always pray for one more soul,” he said. “Just one more than yesterday.”
Sean echoed the challenge.
“Who’s the man in your life you need to tap on the shoulder?” he asked. “Buy him a coffee. Invite him. Walk with him.”
“It’s not rocket science,” Richard said. “People are loved into the Church far more often than they’re convinced into it.”
The episode closed as it began — quietly.
“Blessed be God,” Richard said. “Blessed be His holy and honorable name.”
Amen.