As soon as you're Confirmed, though...you're a member. You're in the Army. You're a Marine. You're in the Navy, and you're doing flyovers in the Air Force. Or maybe you're National Guard, filling all roles, or perhaps the Coast Guard, focusing not on combat, but on rescue and reparation. (I think I'm a Coastie...)
Congratuations, Catholic...you're a Militant now. And it's true.
But have you accepted your role, and do you have ANY IDEA what it means? Do you understand your commission? Do you realize that this is war?
We are all given different charisms; each according to God's terms. It is HE who calls us to service. It is He who assigns, it is He who commandeers our battles. And it is He who suffers the most (unlike the military found in humanity).
Are you aware that we are all OBLIGATED to defend our faith? It is a requirement of BAPTISM, further emphasized by CONFIRMATION.
But fear not..."defending" your faith means a lot of things.
Some interpret it to mean that we must fight tooth and nail against dissenters by declaring heresies, and in general hurl insults at people who simply don't understand our beliefs. Others think that it means harsh debate that denigrates into name-calling. Neither of the above models "defends" anything other than Pride.
Seek the fruits...follow the truth. What is true defense?
There are some who are gifted debaters. The Early Church was FULL of such souls; St. Justin Martyr was one of them. He wrote the first Apology (defense), Apologia, explaining what it meant to partake in the flesh of Christ (among other things). St. John Chrysostom, St. Cyprian, St. Cyril....all were wonderful debators. And in their debate, they did not denegrate the other who opposed them; rather, they upheld the One who sustained them.
The great art of debate has been lost in our culture, and we should not understand the term according to what plays out before us on the national stage, edited by the media.
Even today, there are those who are gifted in debate in defense of our faith. They key to defense in this regard is charity (divine love), for we are all called to defend our faith in LOVE.
Not out of animosity. Not out of anger. Not out of self-serving righteousness. Not out of the "I'm-right-and-you're-a-twit" Syndrome. Pride has no place in the defense of the Faith, in defense of Christ.
Yet some are called to a certain form of debate, for they have, for the most part, often found the balance: Apologists. Not all "apologists" provide a good example, however, those who are the most effective are coherent, intelligent, well grounded, well formed, and even-tempered. Religion is a topic that often gets heated very quickly; those who are truly called to defend the Faith in this way are those who can deflect the arrows of a hot-tempered opponent or cohort, and thus maintain a calm spirit in the face of inflammatory attacks. In short, they hold fast to reason and their own passions.
WHAT NOT TO DO
I used to frequent a Catholic website with a forum for Apologetics, and in fact, I learned a great deal there. However, once I found my place in the Church, the forum become tiresome because simple, innnocent questions often were denigrated into flame wars...even among the friendly! I still remember asking a question in a "Miscellaneous" forum, and the self-appointed "apologists" who jumped all over what I'd said, making accusations, leaping to amazingly weird conclusions, claiming all sorts of knowledge which had not been alluded to or needed. I ended up defending a friend implied but not named in my original question, as all sorts of weird heresies were attributed to him.
Those people may style themselves as apologists...they were, in fact, twits in the faith. (Sorry, that's just how it is.) So prideful they couldn't bother to read the actual question and answer it. It was more important to some to appear to know all, to quote all documents to refute questions that had not been asked.
I really no longer frequent that forum...it's too draining to defend and define, word by word, the simplest of questions when the original post has been deconstructed repeatedly by these strange people.
TRUE DEFENSE
The best defense is a good offense.
We've all heard it. We know...but to the above-described set, their missives on blogs and in forums is the offense: Put it out there, just DARE someone to refute it! And many don't even realize that the stuff they put out there is in error. Or just angry ranting. (I have engaged in this very thing myself.)
Anger doesn't beget conversions, people. You might be doing well in riling up the already-angry crowd, but really, how is our Lord going to see that as you go to your Judgment?
We all have to remember...even though we CAN rile people up, should we? What is the ultimate consequence? If we are angry, should we beget anger? What is the good in that?
Let us remember that Christ was reviled, and we should all have cause to be completely, fully outraged. Yet he accepted His cross and invited us to do the same. Anger has no place when we consider the cross of Christ in the defense of the Faith. The two simply contradict one another.
Yes, there ARE times for righteous anger...but that needs to be carefully discerned and not used in the service of Pride.
CONVERSION
Those of you who have left the Church and returned...what was it that evangelized you? Those of you who have come into the Church...what was it that called you Home?
Was it harsh debate, name-calling, or so-called righteous anger?
Or was it a personal connection, a friend willing to listen, someone willing to answer your questions, with honesty but without judgment directed at you?
The defense of the Faith to which we are all called does not ASK for Charity; it DEMANDS it. It DEMANDS that we put aside our own issues in order to serve what is needed in the other. It does not demand compromise; it only demands a willingness to listen, a willigness to explain, to teach, to find what is common...to synthesize, and encourage another to come to their OWN conclusion. For the only conclusion is Truth...but truth is found through reason, not force.
Yup. True evangelization appeals to reason. We must allow those who come to us to be themselves, to believe what they believe, and through honest dialogue, help direct them to what is good. We do not change what we believe or sugar-coat, however, we cannot preach fire-and-brimstone to someone sincerely seeking redemption; they are not necessarily ready for that message. That is a message for the converted...at least in our society. Yet there are those who would be terrified of that, and frightened away forever. There are others who do need that message in order to come back to the faith...and it leads to a fuller understanding. Each soul has different needs, but NONE needs vitriol.
We must discern...which message, for which person?
On a blog, we don't know. We are all given different gifts, and sometimes the harsh messages are necessary, for they are truthful. Yet we must take care for our delivery.
SO WHAT IS A TRUE DEFENSE?
Love. Real, honest love. Charity. It is a weapon that cannot be defeated.
We must SHINE. We aren't Saints; we can't even pretend to be so. Yet even through that oily sheen of sin that clings to us, staining us, others can see our attempts, our desires to be holy, our hope in Jesus Christ. And that attracts them.
The best defense is a good witness; the best defense is an honest witness; the best defense is a witness willing to suffer. Because it's often the witnesses who take the fall. It was true in the time of Christ, and it is true in our current times.
We are called to defend our Faith and give reason for our hope; it is synonymous to say we are called to love Christ and exemplify Christ to the world.
We don't all have to be geniuses, or eloquent debators, or angelic doctors; we only have to live our faith. That's it. Because a life well lived is the best reference; our relationship with Jesus means more than all the books of the Bible memorized and catalogued. Do you realize why Catholic Churches have stained glass, etched stones, and statues? Because not everyone could read; not everyone was educated. Cathedrals contain our faith summarized in pictures. It educates the poor. And it glorifies God; every color, every panel, every inch of decoration points to the Lord and gives definition to our Faith. It is Scripture and Tradition in pictures.
All we have to do is love God, let Him shine through us, consciously...and He will do the rest.
Are you ready? Are you willing to accept this mission? You have already been called...now it's time to serve.
