Your child or grandchild has fallen away from the faith, what should you do? Today, Dave “The Man” VanVickle and I are joined by Brandon Vogt from Word on Fire to discuss his approach rescuing fallen away family members. He discusses the cultural roadblocks in evangelization we face today, and gives us practical ways to engage in conversations with our loved ones who have turned away from Christ.
Snippet from the Show
“You cannot diminish the power of a parents persistent prayer.”
Shownotes
Practical Takeaways
- Equip yourself, love and know your faith. Read good Catholic books and learn more about the faith yourself. Get your soul in the right place.
- Pray and fast for your loved ones.
- Build a relationship of trust and love. Your loved ones need to know that you will their good and that you love them unconditionally.
- Ask questions more than you make statements. By asking questions, you can identify where your loved ones stand on certain topics.Listen to them first and get to try to understand their experiences.
- If your loved ones have left the Church because of a bad experience with the Church, respond with compassion and empathy.Help them see that the Church Is bigger than a negative isolated incident. Apologize on behalf of the Church, and help them to see that their experience is not representative of the whole Church. Remind them that the human side of the church is always in need of reform.
- Ask people what they think the Church teaches about sexual morality. Clarify the Church’s teaching on the difficult topics such as same-sex attraction, and transgenderism.
- Point loved ones towards the renewal in intellectualism so they can understand the richness of the Catholic faith.
Resources
- Email us at eksb@ascensionpress.com
- Text “EKSB” to 33-777 to subscribe and be added to Gomer and Dave’s email list
- Visit Dave’s website www.thecatholictruthaboutangelsanddemons.com and www.artofevangelization.com
- Visit Mike’s website at www.layevangelist.com
- Ascension is pleased to offer our new and improved online bible study programs and sacramental preparation programs digitally to help you minister with flexibility. Go to ascensionpress.com to view all our offerings.
Meet Your Hosts
Michael “Gomer” Gormley
Michael spent 17 years in full-time parish ministry and is now the Mission Evangelist for That Man Is You!, a men’s apostolate for Paradisus Dei. Michael is a frequent speaker at conferences, retreats, and parish missions all over the US and Canada.
He is the founder and creative director of LayEvangelist.com, and hosts two popular Catholic podcasts: Catching Foxes and Every Knee Shall Bow.
He is married to his college sweetheart, Shannon, and has four beautiful and hilarious children: Kateri, Cecilia, Noah, and Thomas.
Dave VanVickle
Dave VanVickle fell in love with the Lord at the age of fourteen and has since dedicated his life to bringing others into a radical relationship with Christ.
He is a speaker and retreat leader who focuses on proclaiming the universal call to holiness, authentic Catholic spirituality, spiritual warfare and deliverance. Additionally, Dave has over ten years of experience assisting Priests with their ministries of exorcism and deliverance.
Dave married his late wife Amber in 2010. He now resides in Pittsburgh with his five children: Sam, Max, Judah, Josie and Louisa.
