To Speak without Fear
My high school years were an incredibly important time in my young faith formation. During this time, I had my first encounter with a Catholicism that was more than a once-a-day class or a once-a-week experience at my local parish. In a previous article, I shared how attending the adult summer conferences at Franciscan University of Steubenville were so instrumental in coming to understand my faith - particularly the scriptures - in a way that put flesh on the catechetical bones that my previous formation had provided to that point. This was an exciting time for me. For the first time in my young life, my faith had power. Everything that I learned that had once felt so dry and boring, now resonated with reality in a way that I could understand myself, others, and even God in a new and personal way.
As seems customary for a young zealous faith, I started to take a deep dive into the world of apologetics - learning to defend the faith against all of the “isms” found in Fides et Ratio, perhaps well-meaning but ultimately misguided arguments made by non-Catholic Christians, and even exploring the historical inaccuracies of The DaVinci Code that was so popular at the time.
I had my first taste of Truth and I wanted more. I listened to countless hours of debates with Patrick Madrid and played Peter Kreeft’s lectures on repeat. I assembled binders full of refutations to common accusations against the Church and would regularly scroll through the forums of Catholic Answers in order to understand the history and theology - that for the first time - made me excited to know and share my faith.
I cannot adequately express how thankful I am for all of the work that so many men and women have put into this field. While I may have had limited experience in actually defending my faith in high school, what I learned from these resources was extremely formative in college, grad school, and even in seminary as I was faced with certain courses that seemed determined to “demystify” the scriptures in every possible way. The books, lectures, and conference talks helped form me in a way that I had a framework that allowed me not only to understand what we believe better, but also more clearly articulate it.
When we see people that seem to have the entire bible memorized or are able to articulate every detail of the faith with incredible clarity, we can start to grow discouraged and believe that we can only talk about the faith if we can do so with the same level of energy, intellect, and boldness that our favorite priest or conference speaker has. When we are faced with a family member who starts to question what we believe, we can grow paralyzed - everything that we have lived and known and believed suddenly disappears and we feel so ill-equipped to talk about something that has been so central to our lives. This paralysis soon turns to frustration as we begin to feel misunderstood or simply incapable of expressing the richness of what we know to be true.
For those, like myself, that struggle with memorization or, if when confronted with an opposing worldview, the anxiety leads to a sort of temporary amnesia, I would like to offer a different - and hopefully - more accessible approach.
To be clear, St. Peter’s encouragement to early Christians, “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you,” is just as necessary for us today. When we hear this passage, our first reaction may be to prepare our minds to the point that if anyone asks us for a reason for our hope, we will be prepared to defend it. This is certainly true. Having a reasonable faith that can be clearly articulated is incredibly important; however, we can’t let our inexperience, inarticulate tendencies, or pride get in the way of actually proclaiming Christ in these moments.
I would like to offer a three-part foundation from which we can avoid freezing or forgetting everything that we once held dear.
Be humble
If someone is approaching you and raising some sort of a challenge to what you believe, it can be a great temptation to interrupt, talk over, or grow impatient with the person speaking to us. Our own pride can get in the way of proclaiming Christ. This pride isn’t limited to thinking that we have all of the answers - it also can show itself when we fear being wrong or if we think that we have to use every weapon in our minds to prove someone wrong.
Humility needs to be at the foundation of these conversations. This means that we not only have the humility to admit when we do not know something, but it also means that our conversations are rooted in a way that allows us to create space to actually hear the other person. When someone starts to raise a challenge to the faith, our immediate reaction may be to defend what we believe or do. If we ground ourselves in humility, this allows our hearts to be open in a way that truly allows us to hear the concerns and needs of the other person.
I think that the first time I noticed a need and desire to change how I spoke about the faith came one day in grad school when I was speaking to a friend about the Catholic understanding of marriage. This person had very little experience with Christianity and was approaching the conversation with mostly a secular mindset. I started with more of a rational defense of the beauty and dignity of marriage, but the more we spoke, I realized that this wasn’t even necessary. My friend came from an incredibly broken home and was carrying a lot of baggage that led her to believe that marriage was really only a vehicle for causing pain. The more I made space for her to speak of her pain, the more readily she made space for me to reveal not only the goodness of marriage for the couple and their family, but also how marriages have the capacity to reveal God to the world.
At this point, I realized that I was making a transition from solely focusing on proving others wrong through the use of apologetic arguments and resources to actually evangelizing or proclaiming the Gospel into a dark situation, very much in need of clarity, healing, and the light of Truth. Honestly, I think I was and am a terrible “apologist” if that term means only having a lot of things memorized; but for the first time, I realized that what happened to me in high school could happen through me for others. I could speak that same power of the Gospel. I could help put flesh on the dry bones of misconceptions about God, the faith, and even the dignity of someone’s own life - but I could only do so if I loved the person in front of me.
Speak on what you know
When someone challenges our faith, our fear of saying the wrong thing or looking inept may lead us to not speaking at all. If we are able to utilize our knowledge of scripture, history, or theology to defend the faith - great. Do it. Sadly, I think many, comparing themselves to professional apologists and conference speakers, come to believe that if they can’t speak as well as someone who has written multiple books that they shouldn’t say anything at all. When we don’t speak, the devil wins. When we are afraid, the devil wins. We may be the only person who could speak truth into someone’s life - we cannot let fear dictate our actions.
If you find that you are being challenged or asked to explain something, stick to what you know. If you don’t have a PhD in theology, that is fine! Stick to what you know. And what do you know? The personal love that God has for you. You know your experience of prayer and how it has supported you and led you through so many situations. You know the beauty of receiving the Eucharist or the healing power of Confession. Do not underestimate your own personal experience. You can direct the person you are speaking to to many other resources later, but in the moment, it can be incredibly powerful to hear a personal testimony of how your life has been changed, directed, and been given meaning through the very personal love of God.
Be bold.
As I said, you may be the only person someone may encounter that could speak about God’s love in a way that is accessible and moving in their lives. Far too often, we have come to believe that another person simply knows the love that God has for them or that they are receiving affirmation from another person in their life. We do not have to have all of the answers, but we have to have boldness in reverencing the dignity of each person we encounter by speaking God’s love into their life. If a person is struggling, bring the light of Christ into that darkness. If the person asks for prayer, pray with them in that moment - out loud.
If we will not proclaim God’s love, then who will?
If we will not testify to how God’s love has been living and effective in our lives, then who will?
Time after time, we see Jesus speaking of his Father (John 14:6, Matthew 11:25-27, John 17, John 5:37, John 8:28, John 10:30, to name a few). He desperately wants his followers to know his Father and be united with him. Jesus taught us to call God, “Our Father.” This is not some sort of sentimental idea - no - this is a mission. Through our baptisms, we carry on the same mission of Christ; that is, to make known our heavenly Father through Jesus Christ with the Holy Spirit. Our boldness ought to be modeled after Christ who so loved his Father that he was unafraid of speaking of his relationship with him, even to the point of death.
But he remained silent and made no answer. Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?” And Jesus said, “I am, and you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven.” And the high priest tore his garments and said, “What further witnesses do we need? You have heard his blasphemy. What is your decision?” And they all condemned him as deserving death. And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, “Prophesy!” And the guards received him with blows. (Mark 14:61–65)
Be humble. Speak what you know. Be bold.