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To give my history and quest for Catholic Apologetics is to sketch the history of my Catholic intellectual growth. In December, 1979, Bishop Sheen died, a man so holy and gifted that almost immediately there was a movement to promote his sainthood. Little did I know that a year and a half later I would be taught by this holy priest. My grandfather, whom I visited regularly when he was up in years, found a book packed away in his garage. While dusting it off he said this was the one hero in his life. The book was entitled, "Lift Up Your Hearts" by Bishop Sheen. I not only read it, I devoured it! This was exactly what I was looking for. The Catholic Faith was presented clearly and it was contrasted with modern social sciences. The superiority of the Faith over the sciences was affirmed yet Bishop Sheen used what was true in the sciences to point to the Faith. The key point here is the clear presentation of the Catholic Faith.
Since the Second Vatican Council, through no fault of its own, confusion entered the Church in many ways and one was the way the teachings of the church were presented in written form. Whether you read a catechism or a periodical, the faith seemed to be presented in a different way than the way I learned in my Baltimore Catechism. The old way was definitely Thomistic or Scholastic and the new way seemed based on the underpinnings of the Enlightenment period. From the time I completed Catholic School in the early '70's, I tried to find the clear presentation of the faith but it was almost nonexistent due to the push to "Modernize" the Church. Just as important as the lack of books publishing the scholastic approach to the faith, I didn't even know how to ask for what I didn't know! This is why it is absolutely necessary to have lay men and women ready to share their faith as it is to have lay men and women ready to learn more about their faith. The thinking back then was to let the priests answer all the questions and let the priests and nuns do all the missionary work. The lay men and women's primary vocation was to their families, therefore, they should be concerned with teaching them the faith.
For lay men and women who are living in the holy state of Matrimony, their families are their primary vocation, however, we don't have a Catholic Confessional State or even a Christian State that promotes the Faith. On top of that, we don't have enough clergy to promote the faith so who's going to do it? The Holy Father, Pope John Paul II has promoted the idea of evangelization by lay men and women. This, of course, is promoted within the bounds set by our primary vocations. If there had been lay men and women ready to share their faith, locally and within reach, they possibly would have found me first and provided sources of the orthodox Catholic Faith. My suffering would have been much less. As it turned out, the Lord, in his providence gave me the very best to study during this period with few lay orthodox apostolates. Some people, I'm sure, left the church because there was no one sharing the orthodox Catholic Faith with them when they needed it.
I collected many Bishop Sheen books over the next year (16 books) and wanted more! I wanted to know what Bishop Sheen studied and I discovered it in one of his books after months of prayer and searching. He received his "Agrege' en Philosopie" from Louvain University. This is where Thomistic Studies were promoted in the spirit of Pope Leo's encyclical entitled the "Restoration of Christian Philosophy According to the Mind of St. Thomas Aquinas, The Angelic Doctor".(Aeterni Patris) This university started in 1425 and St. Robert Cardinal Bellarmine taught there in 1569. My wife Pam and I have had the privilege of visiting it in recent years. This led me into the study of the Great St. Thomas Aquinas. I bought a copy of the Summa Theologica in 1982 and devoured it over the next 5 years. Until 1986, there was still no visible group or person promoting Catholic Apologetics in this area. The push in the church was still "Ecumenism" so apologetics was basically "Out". The proper Ecumenical Movement is always "In", that is, we share our faith with protestants and ask them to come into the true church, the Catholic Church. How can apologetics be "Out" when many of the Early Church Fathers were apologists?
Finally, in 1986, Karl Keating, a layman, burst on the scene with his Catholic Answers Apostolate. My brother Marshall (who attends Sacred Heart Parish) first showed a copy of Karl Keating's Catholic Answers Newsletter to me. This was exactly what I was looking for! A clear presentation of the orthodox Catholic Faith in a way that could be shared with protestants! Wow! There was no compromising of our doctrines and no apologizing for being Catholic. Karl had a great sense of humor too. He helped me tremendously just by his presence, that is, his support. I had always felt I was alone in my quest for the faith and, at this point, I no longer felt that way. (I would be remiss if I didn't mention that my priest, Father Denis O'Regan, encouraged me all the time.) Karl's apostolate brought in many protestants including Scott Hahn, Gerry Matatics, Tim Staples, Scott Butler, Patrick Madrid, etc. Karl's apostolate helped all these new leaders in evangelization and apologetics in our church.
I had the privilege of meeting Mr. Karl Keating here in Jacksonville, Florida in 1988. Karl Keating brought several distinguished guests with him such as Father Vincent Micheli, Father Enrique Rueda, Father Ben Luther, and Dr. Deal Hudson. Here's the icing on the cake. While listening to WQOP Radio (1600am) shortly after it went on the air, I heard Tim Staples for the first time. Wow! This led me to purchase all his tapes and become familiar with St. Joseph Communications & Radio. Tim is my favorite apologist. EWTN also has had a major role in promoting these apostolates and, more important, building up my faith. God bless Mother Angelica! Also, very important was the growth in orthodox Catholic Book Publishing Apostolates such as Tan Books, Ignatius Press, & Catholic Treasures.These book publishers began their apostolates by printing old books with a solid scholastic approach and sound doctrine and then began addressing the modern problems in the church. This helped Catholics to understand our faith and understand what was going on in the church now.
At the same time, many more orthodox Catholic Apostolates have produced periodicals building up the church. Many of these apostolates also provided CD's and tapes on traditional Catholic Music filling our senses with the timeless beauty of Gregorian Chant and Sacred Polyphony. Most people don't realize that these apostolates were unheard of around this area until the late 1980's and early 1990's. I should mention that the Holy Father's authorization of the New Catechism also has had and continues to have a large impact on the church since the Council. I was attracted to the traditional faith yet it was not being promoted. After I discovered these apostolates, I remember thinking that the Lord gave me patience and a deep attraction and love for the traditional church to wait for the beautiful faith to come back. I would read a modern catechism or a periodical and immediately put it down. I would say to myself that this doesn't attract me or speak to me. I know now that this was the Gift of Discernment. The Holy Father says we are seeing the beginning of a "New Springtime" in the church primarily brought about, in a large part, through the love and sufferings of the lay faithful. May the Lord continue to bless these traditional lay apostolates and may we all praise and thank the Lord for them!
Pope St. Pius X Ora Pro Nobis.
Pope St. Pius V Ora Pro Nobis.
Pope Pius IX Ora Pro Nobis.
St. Robert Bellarmine Ora Pro Nobis.
St. Thomas Aquinas Ora Pro Nobis.
Mary, Queen of the Saints Ora Pro Nobis.
by Hollis A. Fowler III