By Gina Marie

At a parish function last week, I got into a conversation with a young man we’ll call Frank. With many Catholics, lack of formation is not evident until you get into a conversation with them about a contentious topic. In our conversation, Frank stated that it was wrong for bishops to withhold communion from politicians who supported abortion. He was under the very misguided impression that political figures have the same authority as bishops. This, of course, is not the case.

I clearly spelled out the errors in his thinking, from the fundamental truths regarding the beginnings of human life, to the role of the bishop as successor to the Apostles with regards to his entire flock, including elected officials.
When I finished, he said, “you have some strong opinions about these things.”
“These are not my opinions,” I replied, “but Church teaching.”

This difficult conversation with Frank was not the first, and it won’t be the last. I have been in discussions about every topic under the sun: the papacy, abortion, socialism, women clergy, freemasonry, new age philosophy, eastern religions, human sexuality, forgiveness…the list goes on and on. It’s always more difficult when the discussion is with another Catholic. Like Frank, many Catholics do not know their faith very well. I suspect it’s because they don’t hear the truth in its fullness spoken enough.

They aren’t well versed in Scripture, the Catechism, or the teachings of the saints.
There is a saying that many Catholics are quite fond of. It’s attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, but that attribution has been refuted over the years numerous times, as St. Francis was a rather prolific preacher. It goes something like, “preach the gospel at all times; use words if necessary.”
Not only was this not a teaching of St. Francis, but it never was a teaching of the Church. In fact, the Catechism of the Catholic Church states otherwise, repeatedly.

Here is one example, paragraph 1816: “The disciple of Christ must not only keep the faith and live it, but also profess it, confidently bear witness to it, and spread it.”

Here is another, paragraph 2472: “The duty of Christians to take part in the life of the Church impels them to act as witnesses of the Gospel and of the obligations that flow from it. This witness is a transmission of the faith in words and deeds.”

Profess it. Words and deeds. Words are clearly necessary, no ifs about it.
Without using words, error cannot be dispelled. We can’t just watch someone live their life and understand the tenets of our faith when it comes to the more difficult teachings. Our faith demands more than just pleasantries and agreeability.
“’All however must be prepared to confess Christ before men and to follow Him along the way of the Cross, amidst the persecutions which the Church never lacks.’ Service of and witness to the faith are necessary for salvation: “So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven; but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.’ (CCC 1816)”
My conversation with Frank did not end badly, but other conversations have. I’ve lost more than a few friends over the years for witnessing to the truth. A woman who once called me her godmother decided I was anathema because I did not agree with her sudden decision to enter a homosexual relationship. I’ve lost other friends because I spoke up about supporting pro-abortion politicians as cooperating with evil. I continue to
lose friends because I speak up about abortion, socialism, homosexuality, and other topics that too many Catholics support.

These losses, however unfortunate, are to be expected. Jesus said, “If the world hate you, know ye, that it hath hated me before you (Jn 15:18).” Taking up these unpopular views is exactly what Jesus told us we must do: to deny ourselves, take up our crosses and follow Him. "For he that will save his life, shall lose it: and he that shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it. For what doth it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and suffer the loss of his own soul? (Mt. 16:25-26)” I would rather lose a friend
who was, in the end, no friend, than lose Jesus, the best friend I could ever have, in this world and the next, because I was not prepared to use the very necessary words required to proclaim the gospel.