My Greatest Sorrow
Patrick Madrid
Catholic Evangelist, EWTN Host
Founder of Envoy Magazine
For twenty years, I've traveled the globe preaching the Catholic Faith, in person, on the radio, and on television (including my shows on Mother Angelica's EWTN). I've engaged in debates and I've written articles and books explaining why all men and women should be Catholic.
I've been in countless discussions with non-Catholics and former Catholics, trying to convince them to come home
to the Catholic Church. You'd think that by now I would have managed to bring
all my friends and family members into -- or back into -- the Catholic Church. Not so! And that's one of my greatest sorrows: | Although I can draw to Christ the souls of strangers, I find myself unable even to get a hearing from some of those I love most. | In my travels, I've met thousands of Catholics in my situation. Indeed, it's likely you're numbered among
us: heartbroken because someone dear to you has left
the Church or refuses to consider entering it -- a son,
a daughter, a coworker, or a close friend. If so, then I have a book that's right for you . . . and for those you love who are outside the Church. | Catholic apologist Scott Hahn says that this book "provides the spiritual elements that must be there if you're ever to win converts to the Faith." | In it, I share what I've learned from my own mistakes and successes, and from those with whom I've spent long hours discussing this difficult problem: how can those of us who dearly love Christ and His Church bring into the Church those we love most of all? What about your sister-in-law Jennifer who left the
Church last year in anger over a sermon she thought
was too harsh? Or Bob from the front office who brings
up religion but whom you seem only to drive more deeply into Fundamentalism? Or perhaps even your husband or wife, to whom you can't be as close as you want because
of a difference of religion. | These people have been put into your life by God's mysterious Providence. He wants you to undertake a spiritual search-and-rescue mission -- to help Him save these friends and family members whose souls are in danger because they've drifted away from the Catholic Faith. | I've written a modest book to help you do just this. In its pages, you'll discover two thousand years of the Church's wisdom and experience that will help you do
three things better: * Explain your Catholic Faith more intelligently * Defend it more charitably, and * Share it more effectively, so that through your prayers, your words, and your example, you'll draw your family and friends closer to Jesus in His Catholic Church. Fr. Andrew Apostoli, a fellow Franciscan and close colleague of Fr. Benedict Groeschel, says of these pages: "Even St. Monica would have benefited from reading this book in her effort to
bring her son, St. Augustine, into the Catholic Church!" | Whether you're a housewife, a dentist, a student, a retiree, a factory worker, a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker, you can bring your loved ones into -- or back into -- a close relationship with Christ and His Church. In this book, I show you how. Patrick Madrid "How do you bring a friend or relative back into the Church? First, you pray. Then, you follow Patrick Madrid's advice in Search and Rescue."
Edward Cardinal Egan
Archbishop of New York "This can renew your life,and the lives of others."
Christoph Cardinal Schönborn
Catechism of the Catholic Church
"This is necessary spiritual reading."
Francis Cardinal George
Archbishop of Chicago | | SCOTT HAHN: "There are plenty of answer books out there already, and I'm grateful for them.
But they're not enough!
"In Search and Rescue, Patrick Madrid provides
the spiritual elements that must be there
if you're ever to win converts to the Faith." * "Patrick Madrid shows you how to walk in the footsteps of St. Francis de Sales and bring your friends and family into the Church using the simple gifts of friendship, prayer, patient persistence, and informed dialogue."
Steve Wood
Family Life Center | "Spiritually wise, morally honest, and psychologically sensitive. No tricks here, just sound, Catholic, traditional common sense. Don't evangelize without it!"
Peter Kreeft
Fundamentals of the Faith "A welcome addition to the resources in evangelization and apologetics essential in this new millennium."
Fr. Peter Stravinskas
The Catholic Response | "Madrid's rich experience shines through in this gem
of a book. Worth buying for those new to apologetics and the 'old hands' as well."
David B. Currie
Born Fundamentalist,
Born Again Catholic "An excellent source to help concerned Catholics reach their loved ones. I highly recommend this book."
Steven K. Ray
Upon This Rock | | | Search and Rescue
How to Bring Your Family and
Friends into -- or Back into --
the Catholic Church
by Patrick Madrid
288 pgs pbk
$14.95
Sophia Institute Press
Box 5284
Manchester, NH 03108 Order toll-free:
1-800-888-9344
www.sophiainstitute.com | *Patrick's letter (above) is adapted from his Introduction to Search and Rescue. |
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