| Gordon: |
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When
and why did you join
Our Lady of Mt. Carmel and what aspects of the parish
do you find most inspirational? |
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Tim:
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There
are four main things I look for in a parish and Our Lady of
Mt. Carmel has all four of them flourishing. First, I look
for solid priests. Fr. Anthony Siroki, our pastor, is a very
holy priest. He cultivates the interior life first and
foremost, and it shows in the way he lives his life for the
flock he shepherds. Second, he is both brilliant and
orthodox. His homilies are catechetical, apologetic,
informative, and inspirational every single week.
Remarkable! He makes me want to take notes. Third, the
liturgy is faithful to the rubrics of the Church, and
reverent. And fourth, there is a true family spirit that
gives birth to a palpable joy at OLMC that is contagious!
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Gordon:
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Before we discuss you leadership in
apologetics evangelism, and communications, there may be
some of our readers who may not know what apologetics is and
why apologetics is a critical component of our faith.
Please share with our reader an overview of apologetics. |
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Tim:
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Apologetics
is the science of defending the truth of our Catholic Faith.
It employs philosophy, theology, history, science, and more
in order to fulfill the Christian calling communicated by
our first pope, St. Peter, in I Cor. 3:15: “Always be
prepared to make a defense to anyone who calls you to
account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with
gentleness and reverence.” |
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| Gordon: |
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Who
are some of your favorite apologist saints and what impact
did they have on Catholicism? |
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Tim:
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Among my
favorites are the three patron saints of apologetics: St.
Thomas Aquinas, St. Justin Martyr, and St. Catherine of
Alexandria. St. Thomas Aquinas may well be the most
important philosopher/theologian/apologist the Church has
ever produced. He embodies what every apologist strives for.
He used all of the physical sciences, along with the highest
sciences of philosophy and theology in order to communicate
the Faith in an understandable way to the world. Along with
St. Augustine, his impact on theology and philosophy of the
Church is unparalleled. St. Justin is often called “the
first apologist” because he was the first to present
systematic defenses of the faith of the Church to
unbelievers. His two greatest works are truly remarkable.
His “First Apology” was written to the Roman Emperor
Antoninus Pius in the mid-second century and is an effective
work to this day in presenting the Faith to unbelievers. And
his “Dialogue with Trypho” is an exhaustive apology written
to “Trypho the Jew” and is to this day a remarkable defense
of the Faith for our Jewish friends. St. Catherine of
Alexandria was the daughter of Constus, the governor of
Alexandria during the reign of emperor Maximian (AD
286-305). She was a remarkable scholar from a very young age
and ended up studying her way into converting to the Faith
at just 14 years of age. Because she was from such an
important family, she has access to the emperor and used
that access to rebuke him for his cruel treatment of
Christians. She engaged any and all in intellectual argument
and led hundreds to the Catholic Faith before being martyred
at the age of 18. It is said that she converted hundreds to
the Faith by her martyrdom and is a reminder to apologists
that a life lived for the Faith is the most important
element in the life of an apologist. |
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| Gordon: |
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When
and did why did you join
Catholic Answers and what are your primary
responsibilities as Director of Apologetics and
Evangelization? |
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Tim:
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I approached
Karl Keating back in 2004 and asked if he needed any help at
Catholic Answers during a Catholic Answers cruise I had been
invited on as one of the speakers. When he offered me a job
I was ecstatic. Catholic Answers is the standard bearer when
it comes to our profession. As Director of Apologetics and
Evangelization I am asked to speak at conferences, write
books for Catholic Answers, write articles for Catholic
Answers Magazine and our blog, and answer questions, both
written and on our radio /television shows, as well as
produce audio and video series on various apologetic topics
just as all of our apologists. But I also have the added
responsibility to ensure on-going formation for the
apologists in my department, ensure that what goes out from
our apologists is orthodox Catholic teaching, and attend to
the various administrative duties of a director. I also hire
and fire, if necessary, the apologists in my department.
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| Gordon: |
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You
have fascinating story on your conversion
to Catholicism What impact
did your conversion have on your family |
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| Tim: |
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At first, my
impact was quite traumatic. They did not like the idea of me
becoming Catholic. And that is an understatement. But by
God’s grace, my three brothers, mother, father, three
brothers, and even two sisters-in-law all became Catholic.
And one of my brothers is now a Catholic priest. These
conversions are a testimony to the grace of God. Even
though, at times, I was not the best example of the
apologetics envisaged by our first pope that I mentioned
above from I Peter 3:15 (at least, not the “with meekness
and respect” part!), God brought good out of my, let us say,
less-than goodness! |
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| Gordon: |
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Please share with our readers an overview of
Tim Stapless.com. |
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Tim:
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Timstaples.com is my personal website/blog. On it, I have
scores of free articles and information about apologetics
and theology, but I also get to have some fun with it and
present some things that are non-apologetic. I have articles
on all sorts of topics, such as, sports, history, politics,
I put up some of my favorite funny videos, favorite
magicians, favorite golf trick shots, and a whole lot more.
In fact, I am now working on a three-part series of posts
that will present my top thirty favorite movies of all time.
It started as my “top ten” favorites, but I just could not
limit it to 10. It has now stretched to my “top thirty!” |
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| Gordon: |
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In
closing, what in your opinion are the three greatest
challenges to contemporary Catholicism? |
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| Tim: |
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First,
living in what has become a neo-pagan society, Catholics
must take the challenge of Pope Francis, in Evangelii
Gaudium, 132, to present a “creative apologetics” that
can present the Faith to a contemporary culture that has
lost its way. We have to attempt to find new ways to
communicate to a culture that generally does not even know
the very basics we Catholics too often take for granted.
Second, I think we have to engage in what Pope St. John Paul
the Great referred to as “the new evangelization.” What’s
“new” about it is that it must begin in the pew and in the
re-evangelization of a once-Christian West that is no longer
Christian. Many who attend Mass from time to time, or even
every Sunday, are not believers in the essentials of our
Catholic Faith. They need to be evangelized. And as
for the un-churched culture at large, evangelism and
the apologetics we need as the tools of evangelism,
seem to be the keys to this “new evangelization” to which we
are all called as Catholic Christians. Third, and most
importantly, we must live what we preach. The priest
scandals that have truly rocked the United States and beyond
can hardly be overstated when it comes to the damage they
have caused. In a sense, we have to earn the right,
once again, to be heard in a society that has gone a long
way toward marginalizing the Catholic Church and her
message. It is going to take time, but I believe there is no
substitution for a life lived for Christ in peace and
palpable joy in the midst of a confused culture that does
not know which way to turn. Kimberly Hahn has said many
times that we are going to “change the world, one diaper at
a time.” And that is true. But I would also say that
statement contains part of the ultimate answer for our
culture. We must “change the world one family at a time.”
It will be in the context of families living the Faith in
joy that the evangelism St. John Paul called us to will be
actualized. |
