The Church’s teaching on sexuality, I believe is so controversial in the world today for two reasons. The first is that whenever we talk about sexuality we are talking about something that touches us at the core of our being – at our foundation. The second reason is that the Church’s teaching is so simple that it almost has to be lived to discover its true beauty. Recently, I read an article by a Catholic woman explaining why she believes the Church’s teachings to be true. The article was titled “Pregnancy is a Gift Not a Flaw” by Haley Steward. Quotes from her article are in bold and my commentary will be in regular font.

One of the ways in which the Mass ends is with the celebrant encouraging the congregation ?To go announce the Gospel of the Lord? and the people respond ?Thanks be to God? for the chance to do so. This month we have been looking at seven ways in which we are not supposed to go forth because instead of proclaiming the Gospel of the Lord, we lead people (and even sometimes ourselves) away from the Good News of Jesus Christ by our words and actions Let us return then the Seven Deadly Sins of Evangelization and Apologetics according to Catholic evangelist and apologist Mark Brumley. We will once again use his book: How Not To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my reflections will be found in the normal font.

As we continue to look at the idea of how to be a good evangelizer by looking at the approaches we should avoid, let us look at sins four and five of Mark Brumley’s Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics and Evangelization as he outlines them in his book: How Not To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my reflections will be found in the normal font.

Before he ascended into heaven Jesus tells His disciples: “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (Mathew 28: 18:20). I believe everyone eventually discovers that there is a right way to evangelize and there is a wrong way to do so and so therefore for this month, I would like to spend sometimes ponderings Mark Brumley’s Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics and Evangelization as he outlines them in his book: How Not To Share Your Faith: The Seven Deadly Sins of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization. Quotes from his book will be in bold and my reflections will be found in the normal font.

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.