I do not think that there has been a bigger buzzword in the Catholic Church in my life time than the word “Evangelization.” It is a term that I have seen thrown around by almost every part of the Church. It is also a term that I have come to fear because often when people who use that term seem to have a hard time in discussing the faith without getting malicious. There have been too many times in which I have been discussing an aspect of our Catholic faith only to be labeled a heretic because the other person could not convince me of their point of view or their method of doing something. It was therefore with great interest that I purchased Mark Brumley’s book: How Not To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization.

In preparing to read the above mentioned book, I did a little research into the author. I wanted to know who Mike Brumely was and what would make him an expert in the field of Evangelization. The following is his bio from the Catholic Answer website ( www.catholic.com):

Mark Brumley is president of Ignatius Press, one of the nation's largest Catholic publishers and distributors of videos and music. A former staff apologist with Catholic Answers, he is author of How Not to Share our Faith, co-author of A Study Guide for Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week, and a contributor to The Five Issues That Matter Most. He is also the executive producer of several documentaries, including The Story of the Nativity, Lost Gospels or False Gospels, and Did Jesus Really Rise from the Dead?. He is the former director of Communications and of the Office for Social Ministries of the Diocese of San Diego.

As we look at the Seven Deadly sins of Evangelization, we will use Mark Brumley’s book as a guide. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my thoughts will be in the normal font.

1. Apologetically Gluttony
We might call the First Deadly Sin of Catholic Apologetics the Sin of Biting Off More than You Can Chew. Not ordinary gluttony; this is a failure to respect the limits of what apologetics can accomplish. We might also have named this Deadly Sin of Apologetical Gluttony… Unfortunately, some apologists try to prove the unprovable. They forget that apologetics is a branch of sacred theology, which rests on the supernatural mysteries of divine revelation, the word of God, and upon faith. Human reason cannot, on its own power, come to know supernatural mysteries; they are above the “natural light of reason.” They require revelation on God’s part and faith on ours (cf. The Catechism of the Catholic Church 50, 142, 143) if we are going to affirm them.

When defending or spreading our faith, it is most important that we do not bite off more than we can chew. As Catholics we believe that God is so magnificent and amazing that God cannot be define or put into a box. There are certain things that must be experienced and taken on faith like the Sacraments.

On the Catholic view, faith is gratuitous and supernatural; as the work and gift of God, it rests ultimately on his authority, not our arguments… We cannot resist faith, but we cannot produce it through human effort. Not even the best apologetics argument ever devise can do that.

As Catholics we know that no one will ever come up with the perfect argument that will convince everyone to become Catholic. God chooses to respect our free will in this way. There will always be those who will not accept the gift of faith no matter how it is presented to them. Not even Jesus could make a believer out of Judas.

All we can do is prepare people for the gift of faith and the best way to do that is not to overwhelm them with arguments but with love. No one loves (or listens to) a know it all. Our example will always be the best way to evangelize. St. Francis of Assisi supposedly said “Preach the Gospel always and if necessary use words.”