An Era of Apologetics

I don't think there has ever been a time that people have been defending the Catholic, or even the Christian faith than the time that we are living in today. With over a dozen Catholic apologist and authors this really is the era of apologetics.

This is a great thing, and it is something that both Catholics and non Catholics should take advantage of to learn about our Catholic faith. I wish I could have learned about all of this a long time ago. In that case I would have come closer to my faith sooner.

There are a lot of really good apologist, as well as websites and publications coming out defending the Catholic faith. The question is which ones stand out the most? There are just so many, most of them good and some even really good. Just below I made a list of some of my favorite apologists, as well as websites that I think are really good for any one Catholic and Non Catholic who wants to learn more about the faith.

Apologists

Scott Hahn - Many call him the main apologist, the reason being that he was one of the ones who really helped people understand the Catholic faith. He has written wonderful books about the Catholic Church, such as Rome Sweet Home, and The Lamb's Supper. He has published a great website for explaining Catholic beliefs, and finally has even helped publish a great study bible The Ignatius Study Bible. Scott Hahn was not always Catholic. He was a Presbyterian Minister who at one time even boasted of having had converted some people from the Catholic faith. It wasn't until he was convinced at the error in things like contraception, as well as other theological beliefs that he saw the truth in the Catholic church. I am admired by the fact that he chose to follow the truth.

John Martignoni- This is another of my favorite apologist. If it weren't for him I would not know what I know about the bible. He is really good at explaining Catholic teaching as scriptural. This is a must if you are to debate with many protestants and evangelicals. If you take time and listen to him, you would be much more able at defending your Catholic faith.

Websites

Catholic Answers- You can't go wrong with this website. This website is what helped me come back to the Catholic faith after I was in depression and confusion. They just have a lot of useful resources that will help make you want to be a Catholic. They have Catholic Answers Live which is a great radio station to listen to. They also have a really good forum that comes really helpful when you want a quick answer about a question you have about the Catholic Church. It is also good just for making new friends and sharing your faith.

EWTN- This is another great website and a classic. You can watch reruns of many great Catholics like Fulton Sheen, and Mother Angelica. They too have a great radio station as well as T.V. programs that are there to help the average person.

BrandonVogt- Finally the last and one of my favorite websites besides Catholic Answers Live and EWTN. This website is a blog by Brandon Vogt who is a Catholic convert. He converted from being an Evangelical Christian. He started not knowing much about God and throughout the time became really close to God and eventually entered the Catholic church. His website is really great for anyone who wishes to learn about the faith. Brandon shares a lot of the same saints and heroes that I have. These include Saint Therese of Lisieux, Mother Teresa, Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, and C.S Lewis.

I hope that we all make use of all these things and people that God has inspired to lead people to his church and the truth. May we use all these things to lead others as well to Him.

God does everything for a reason

 

Yesterday I went to confession and was looking forward to it. I left my house to my parish church to attend the confessional. There was a bit more people than usual, as it is the season of Advent. Many people attend confession this time of the year, as to get ready for the Christmas season.

There was a person in front of me and he was the last person before the priest had to leave. I was a little down and even felt a little selfish that I didn’t get to confess. I know I should not have felt like this, but rather I should have felt the opposite. I should have felt happy for the guy in front of me that he got to confess. I asked God for forgiveness for feeling like this and headed home.

A little after I got home I saw my sister who entered my room. Something told me to tell her that I didn’t make it to confession. I told her that I was just going to go next Saturday. My sister told my that she would accompany me to next Saturday to confess. A big delight entered me. The reason was that my sister had been delaying confession for about 4 years. At that moment I knew that God does everything for a reason. I realized that if I made it to confession that Saturday then this opportunity would have never come up, and most likely my sister would not have told me that she wanted to go to confession.

It’s funny to think about the way that God does things. Everything really does happen for a reason. I remember a priest once telling me that the reason that God allows evil and suffering to happen is because good comes out of it. Sure I didn’t make it to confession this Saturday; which is a bad, but this gave me the opportunity for my sister who had not gone in so many years to go back. There are many other times where God allows things that are bad at that moment to happen, but in the end good comes out of it.

There are other examples of when God allows evil to happen, that good comes out. One simple example would be the economical collapse of 08. Many people got laid off and lost their jobs. This devestated many families. Yet I like to see the good that came out of it. Didn't the recession bring families closer together. It sure brought mine. My mom, my sister, and I were forced to move in with other my uncle's side of the family. Many other memembers in my family, as well as friends had to do this as well. This I believe was a good thing as it brought unity amongst the family.

A more bigger example of this has to be the crucifixion of Christ himself. Why would God allow this? Wasn't it his own son? Well sure God could have easily prevented this evil from happening. If God did do this, then we would have had Christ for a longer time, and an evil would have been stopped. Yet the greatest act of love would have been prevented. This act of love is the sacrifice of God himself for humanity.

Why did God make me?

  

One of the many questions asked by people is why did God make me? People want to understand the reason for life, the reason for us being here. It's not until we learn that we were created in God's image that we may know and love him that we start to understand the purpose for our creation.

Yet many people don't know how we are supposed to know God. For many people today God is someone who doesn't seems to play a role in one's life. To many people he is simply the "Unknown God". But rather we get to know God through his son Jesus. We see the work and life of Jesus and through him we know God. It is by the love we see in the cross, as Jesus says "Greater man no man has than to give your life for your friends"

 By coming to know Jesus and living how Jesus lived we get to know God, and we get to know the purpose for our creation. We can see that Jesus was born in a manger, someone who rejected worldly comfort, and recognition, as Jesus said that we are not to be of this world but of the world to come. Jesus came not to be served, but to serve and give his life for his brethren. In the last supper Jesus told his disciples to do the same. Jesus told his disciples as he was preaching "What you do to the least of this my brethren you do to me". By serving and knowing Christ we are called to be another Christ, meaning that we are to act as Jesus Christ and serve as Jesus served. We are called to be the salt of the world, giving purpose for all of life. It is through love, charity, and kindness that we follow Jesus.

This is why by living as Jesus lived, and by living by what he told us is when we start to know why God created us. It is so that we may know and love God, and it is through his son Jesus that this becomes possible. through his son Jesus we know who God is, as Jesus said that he is the answer and only through Jesus do you know God.