Following the Family Rosary Across America and Mass on Friday morning of the National Eucharistic Congress, those at the Congress had the privilege of hearing a brief talk from Patrick Madrid about defending the Faith from those who will tell you that what you believe is wrong.
Patrick began his talk with a story about just such an instance. Years ago, after a speaking engagement in which Patrick spoke about Catholic Apologetics to his audience, he was approached by two Protestants, one an ex-Catholic, who asked him if he could sit down with them to talk. Patrick agreed and he soon learned that they wished to explain to him why he was wrong on his scriptural interpretation when it came to the Holy Eucharist.
Patrick respectfully disagreed, countering with the fact that it was they who were misinterpreting scripture. After some back and forth, Patrick took out a pen and wrote six words on a napkin: “I never said you stole money.” He asked the two men if they understood what he meant by that. They agreed that they did.
“Are you sure?”
“Yes.”
Well, how could they? It was a sentence written on a piece of paper. Did he mean:
- I never said you stole money.
- I never said you stole money.
- I never said you stole money.
- I never said you stole money.
- I never said you stole money.
Finally, the two men understood what Patrick was getting at: Scriptural interpretation requires guidance, nuance, and context.
About six months later, Patrick was at another speaking engagement. Afterward, he was approached by the ex-Catholic turned Protestant from that night. He asked Patrick if he remembered him, and Patrick said, “Sure, I remember you.”
He asked Patrick if he could shake his hand. That little demonstration of writing those six words on that napkin had stirred something inside of him. He had done some thinking and self-reflecting, and ended up returning to the Faith.
“This gentleman did come home to the Catholic Church, and the reason I wanted to share this little technique is [that] it’s something you yourself can do. It’s not at all difficult. It’s simple. It doesn’t require lots of sophisticated knowledge, and that’s really what we are here to do: Leave this place refreshed and fed and energized, and to be able to go back home and talk to our friends and family.”
