“Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations”(Mat. 28:19)  This command of the Lord was given to all who believe in his name and requires that all of us in some manner seek to spread the good news of the Gospel.  For many members of the Church this evangelization most often occurs in casual conversations with others.  When discussing the Catholic faith (or religion in general for that matter) one will be presented with a variety of objections.  Of all the objections that are often given to the Catholic faith, the vast majority of these are either moral objections or stem from moral problems.  In short, a person is unable to accept certain truths of the faith, because accepting the truth in question would require them to alter some manner of living to which they have grown accustomed.  Often such objections come with an implicit denial that such a morality is lived or can be lived by anyone.  For example:

                Oh come on, you don’t really do that do you?

                Hey man, I’m Italian and even we don’t do that anymore!

                That’s unnatural and unhealthy!  I don’t believe anyone really does that.

One of the first things that should be kept in mind when we encounter such challenges is that we must never say anything that encourages a person to sin.  Our Lord Himself warns us in this matter “Whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angles.”(Mark 8:38).  This can be quite a challenge when discussing the faith with our friends.  For starters, the objections are actually intended to lead you into affirming that their behavior is actually permissible, or among the smaller sins that “God doesn’t really get to worked up about.”  The desire to be liked and accepted is a powerful motivation, and often we can be strongly tempted to comprise the truth rather than be label as a “Jesus freak” or a “Bible beater”. 

The larger issue at hand is the implication that Jesus is a liar since He does not keep His promises.  The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a radical message, and He requires His followers to live a heroic life of virtue.  Such a life of virtue is humanly impossible without divine assistance.  The new Compendium Catechism of the Catholic Church states that keeping God’s law is possible “…because Christ without whom we can do nothing enables us to keep it with the gifts of his Spirit and his grace. (441).  To say that we cannot obey God’s Law implies that Jesus does not help or will not help us and thus God unjustly asks the impossible.  While we should always be mindful not be a jerk about correcting others, there are charitable ways of pointing out this error.

All things are possible with God, and it is by His grace that hearts are changed and the Gospel can be lived.  Sometimes the moral demands of the Gospel can be discouraging, but God does not ask such things of us without providing the help we need to live up to the task.  Conversion is often a process (both for ourselves and others) which can require time and patience.  Yet hearts can be changed, difficult truths can be embraced and discovered to set the soul free.  We should look to the saints (especially Holy Mary), for our heroic examples, and turn to God for strength and light.  And if it happens to be you or I that struggles to accept something that God has revealed then let us pray, consult a faithful priest for advice and always trust that God will provide the grace to embrace, “The Way, the Truth, and the Life” if only we are open to receive Him.