Starting your own CPATS group
- Try
identifying like-minded Catholics, where ever
they live and whatever distance away they may be,
who are loyal to the Catholic Church and the Church's
magisterium. These may be people you pass by in the
shopping malls without ever knowing the unique love
and loyalty you both have for the Church.
- Break
these "stranger" barriers
by getting together to talk about the faith over
a lunch or dinner and build Catholic brotherhood but
.....
Make
sure all your new "Catholic" friends are indeed Catholic and
not wolves in sheep's clothing. Once a "Catholic" friend
dissents or starts to dissent from the teaching
authority of Christ, our Holy Father, Benedict
XVI and the Catholic Church, look for another
friend. A sad fact is that today, there are more
and more far right wing groups that say they
are "catholic" but don't believe in
the documents of Vatican II and the CCC. They
won't say it to you, but they really believe
the Chair of Peter is empty. Develop all your
friendships, but explain to him or her that coming
to these meetings may be fruitless, because there
is an underlying assumption that the members
that get together are loyal to the Holy See.
The Holy Father protects and guards the faith
entrusted to him by Christ, Our Lord. On
issues of faith and morals, he protects
and guards Christ's Church
My
experience with the far right "catholics" you
may run into is that they will not only try to
convince you they are "catholic" BUT
ACTUALLY TRY TO CONVINCE THEMSELVES. You have
to be discerning on when "developing certain friendships",
may just be a waste of time.
- Try to develop
a set of solid apologetic and evangelical reading
books as well as solid prayer material that all
of you can share and grow in the faith with. (Ask
your pastor for suggestions if appropriate.)
- One
possible reply: "But no one lives near
me."
If
no one lives near you, try to establish solid connections
possibly by looking at my Catholic apologetic web
links or the links of CPATS members on the AAC
member web page. Try to get on mailing lists and ask people
if they know of anyone in your area with similar
interests
CPATS Groups near you.
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