Have any of these things ever happened to you? A friend asks, "Why are you a Catholic?" or "Are you saved?" Someone in a social setting learns you are Catholic and begins to make you uncomfortable with statements about the priestly abuse scandal, the antiquated sexist hierarchy, or weeping statues. How do you respond?
Perhaps you are attending Sunday Mass but are feeling you are not fed or that it is boring. Where do you turn? Maybe your children or grandchildren ask you questions about heaven, the Mass, and other
religions. What is the best way to answer them?
John Paul II said, "Everyone needs to draw near to Christ, not to study Him in an academic manner nor to look at him simply as spectators, but to have an encounter with Him in the circumstances of their own lives: in their families; in their work; and in their aspirations, doubts, and weaknesses." [Encounter with the Living Jesus, address to American Bishops, 1996]
Saint Peter's Adult Faith Formation team suggests the following resources as a starting point to continued learning.
Catholic Answers Catholic Encyclopedia EWTN Catholic Biblical Apologetics
St. Paul Center for Biblical Theology
For Your Marriage, an Initiative of the United States Catholic Conference of Bishops http://www.foryourmarriage.org
Pastoral Solutions Institute
Saint Joseph Communication Magnificat Our Sunday Visitor St. Anthony Messenger Tan Books
Catholic Online Catholic Exchange Catholic Board
Archdiocese of Washington Catholic Information Center Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception Franciscan Monastery US Catholic Conference of Bishops