Catholic apologist Patrick Madrid to speak April 18 at Blessed Sacrament Parish

Friday, Mar. 20, 2015

 SALT LAKE CITY — Patrick Madrid, radio talk show host and best-selling author, will present a “Day of Evangelization” at Blessed Sacrament Parish April 18. 

His topics will be: Why do Catholics leave the Church? Why do they return? What can lay Catholics do about it? and Why Be Catholic? 

Madrid will talk about what it was like to grow up in a Catholic family, and how his beliefs were challenged as he got older, he said.

“I experienced challenges about the Church and the sacraments and found out over time that not everyone believed the same things that my parents taught me,” Madrid said in a telephone interview. “I describe how I came to a very deep conviction that these things that the Church teaches are true, even though I had to go through, at times, really challenging questions that were asked to me from others to get to those answers.”

Madrid also will cover “in great detail” some of the Biblical reasons Catholics can be very confident that they belong to the Church that Christ established, he said. “I go out of my way to emphasize that by making this claim, which the Church itself also claimed in Vatican II in Lumen Gentium paragraph 14, that it is the Church established by Jesus Christ. I point out that this is not in any way something disrespectful of other people or looks down on anyone else from another religion, but simply upholds this teaching of the Catholic Church, and I invite other people to have the fullness of the truth in the Catholic Church.”

Nevertheless, the talk will be ecumenical and inclusive, he said, adding that he encourages non-Catholics to attend and ask questions. 

“I want to underscore that the idea behind the talk is to give an overview of the main things that somebody could consider if  they were investigating the Catholic Church, or for those who have left the Church and were considering coming back,” he said.

Madrid will talk about Search and Rescue, a book he wrote for Catholics who wish to help loved ones and friends consider coming back to the Church. 

“I have written a couple of books that have certain techniques and strategies that work very well in helping somebody take another look at the Catholic Church,” he said. “It will include ways to engage in conversation with people who are not Catholic without letting it degenerate into an argument; how to stay calm.” 

Throughout Madrid’s talk he will tell humorous and poignant personal stories and give anecdotes about the Catholic religion, “all designed to help people understand that this aspect of the Catholic faith should be three-dimensional. My goal is to show people how they personally encounter Jesus Christ in his Church in the sacraments and the Bible, and then show them how to present these truths to somebody so they can encounter Jesus; once they understand who Jesus is and why he established the Church, the dogmas and doctrines will make more sense,” he said. 

Madrid will provide time throughout the day for questions and answers, he said.  

Last year, Tim Staples from “Catholic Answers” spoke at Blessed Sacrament Parish. The radio apologists and evangelists are invited because they are “spot on in their approach to helping people learn their faith to draw family members or young people back into the Church who have fallen away or are leaving the Church,” said Sharon Jackson, the parish pastoral associate. “We feel that if more people know more about their faith and feel comfortable talking about it, it will give them hope.”

 

WHAT: A Day of Evangelization with Patrick Madrid 

WHERE: Blessed Sacrament Parish, 9757 South 1700 East, Sandy

WHEN: April 18, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m

COST: $30 for VIP reserved seating and lunch; $20 for reserved seating, no lunch. General admission, no charge, no lunch; goodwill donation encouraged.

For tickets or information, call the Blessed Sacrament Parish office, 801-571-2071, or email sjackson@blessedsacschool.org.