Evangelization is a calling rife with danger. We are called to evangelize. Like with many good things, it is susceptible to corruption, the most dangerous form being pride. Many Catholics, me included, feel particularly zealous about sharing God’s truth with others. Ensuring that we do so with charity is immensely important. If we teach without it, we risk harming both our own spiritual growth and those we are teaching.
St. Peter famously warns us against this:
In your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame (1 Pet. 3:15-16).
The hope that the truth gives us, as Peter acknowledges, is not irrational: we should know the rational reasons for our hope. Yet Peter immediately qualifies his statement: we must defend and share our faith with reverence and gentleness. In other words, our knowledge must never become pride. If it does, we risk both the hearer’s receptivity and our own spiritual fruits. Our evangelization efforts must stem from charity—our love of the Highest Good, God—and by extension, our love for our neighbor.
St. Thomas Aquinas tells us why this is so. Charity is the form of all virtues (utrum caritas sit forma virtutum) because it properly orders them toward God (ST II-II, q. 23, a. 8, co.). Evangelization, therefore, must be ordered toward our ultimate end: happiness through knowing and loving God. Our helping others to pursue that end themselves will flow naturally from our proper alignment. The goal of apologetics is never to simply assert our intellectual dominance, but to show others God’s love. We should seek a rational knowledge of God because it disposes us to love him more deeply, while remembering that this knowledge is a gift.
This is the way Christ himself taught. When he spoke with the Samaritan woman at the well, he didn’t approach her with contempt or arrogance. He lovingly listened to her, gently correcting her and inviting her to follow him (John 4:1-42). Likewise, Christ treated Nicodemus charitably. When a member of the Sanhedrin came to Jesus seeking understanding, Christ answered compassionately, without mocking his confusion, patiently helping him understand the truths he revealed (John 3:1-21).
We are called to do the same: evangelize by imitating Christ’s charity. He did not avoid speaking difficult truths; he allowed his perfect charity to guide him in speaking them. If we can do this, we will become better evangelists, as our love will shine from beneath our words.
This is easier written than done. After all, many of us fought our way into being a faithful Catholic, cradle or convert. We learned the arguments, the myriad theological and philosophical truths, tested them against other traditions, and saw Catholicism come out as the most reasonable option. This assurance is beautiful. We want to share the truth with everyone we can.
Yet in our zeal, we can forget that it wasn’t arguments or philosophy alone that convinced us of the truth, but God’s infinite grace working through them. Our efforts, though important, would have been fruitless had God not given us the grace to understand. This is the same for others. The responsibility of teaching may be on us, but ultimate conversion is not. As Paul says, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth” (1 Cor. 3:6). If the person freely resists the Holy Spirit, it doesn’t matter how convincing the evidence is; we can only do what we can.
This is illustrated well by Christ in the Parable of the Sower:
A sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they had not much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, but when the sun rose they were scorched; and since they had no root they withered away. Other seeds fell upon thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. Other seeds fell on good soil and brought forth grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. He who has ears, let him hear (Matt. 13:3-9).
Not all have ears to hear. Prying someone’s head open and forcing arguments into his eardrums will not move the seeds off the path and into the soil. We must trust in the Lord’s time. Some may need more time, and others will never listen. If we forget this, we can turn apologetics into an intellectual competition where, like all competitions, our main goal becomes winning rather than planting.
When we become more focused on proving ourselves right and someone else wrong than on enlightening others with the love of Christ, we fall into the trap that Peter warns us about. Our pride will outshine our love. Even when debating, where there is a winner, a virtuous defender of Catholicism will still orient his arguments toward charity, not belittling his opponent.
This does not mean that we should avoid debates or never push through objections. If we avoid difficult discussions, we might leave those who may need to hear them empty. Indeed, learning and discussing philosophy, theology, and apologetics will help us do what Peter commands. However, we must always operate from charity, not intellectual superiority, remembering that it is up to the person to accept the truth that the Holy Spirit manifests.