Skip to main contentAccessibility feedback
Dear catholic.com visitors: This website from Catholic Answers, with all its many resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. A fully independent, lay-run, 501(c)(3) ministry that receives no funding from the institutional Church, we rely entirely on the generosity of everyday people like you to keep this website going with trustworthy, fresh, and relevant content. If everyone visiting this month gave just $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.
Dear catholic.com visitors: This Catholic Answers website, with all its free resources, is the world’s largest source of explanations for Catholic beliefs and practices. We receive no funding from the institutional Church and rely entirely on your generosity to sustain this website with trustworthy, accessible content. If every visitor this month donated $1, catholic.com would be fully funded for an entire year. If you’ve never made a gift, now is the time. Your donation will be matched dollar for dollar this week only. Thanks and God bless.

How do I become an apologist?

Question:

Although I have no formal theological education, I have a strong desire to learn how to engage in apologetics. Where do I start?

Answer:

I recommend you read the “Apologist’s Bookshelf” and “Starting Out as an Apologist” tracts (available at www.catholic.com), subscribe to orthodox Catholic periodicals (e.g., This Rock), and do as much study as you can.

Apologetics is a unique sort of discipline, and proficiency only comes after substantial experience in live situations, one-on-one discussions, and so forth. I encourage you to study hard and put that study to good use in your parish. What better place to hone your apologetic skills than in your own parish (e.g., RCIA, CCD), which is, according to Catechesi Tradendae, “the pre-eminent place for catechesis.” Think about the great good you can accomplish in the apostolic work of drawing others into a deeper relationship with Christ and his Church.

In Christifideles Laici, John Paul II speaks to the importance of the parish in faith formation:

Situated and at work within the particular Church or diocese is the parish, which has the essential task of a more personal and immediate formation of the lay faithful. In fact, because it is in the position to reach more easily individual persons and singular groups, the parish is called to instruct its members in hearing God’s Word, in liturgical and personal dialogue with God, in the life of fraternal charity, and in allowing a more direct and concrete perception of the sense of ecclesial communion and responsibility in the Church’s mission. (61)

Did you like this content? Please help keep us ad-free

More from Catholic.com

Enjoying this content?  Please support our mission!Donate