Be Strong

"Wrong is wrong even if everyone is doing it, and right is right even if no one is doing it," St. Augustine

When I was at the plant, there were many chances to prove my faith. In one area, there were at least 8 guys who would attack me and the Catholic Faith every day. Most "catholics" would not know how to respond, other to say, "That's what the Church says", and that settles it. I tried not to be that way. I am the type of person that wants to know the hows and whys of what the Church has said. Maybe I'm just stubborn that way. (Hush to all of you who know me) Once I learned the Truths, it was actually easier to deal with these folks. They didn't know how to respond when you got outside of their basic knowledge, which wasn't much. They know no history, just thinking that church went underground for 1500 years, and then emerged when the "reformers" arose. I prefer to call them "deformers".
There was one day I remember when I gave these "8" a challenge. I proposed to them that if they could prove to me that the Church said or did anything that the Apostles didn't say or do, I have an obligation to change faiths, which I do. Man, it was like a feeding frenzy, much like when throwing chum to attract sharks. When I returned to my station, a fellow Catholic(at least in name) said, "What the hell did you do to those guys?" I just told him that I gave them a challenge. These guys discussed within themselves for about 20 minutes and then broke up. I guess they couldn't come up with a viable answer. This made my studying much more satisfying than anything I can think of. This is what we are all supposed to be doing. Am I right?
When they would present these tracts by Chick Publications, which are so horrible against the Faith, that if you don't know the Faith, you could lose what little you have left. Anyway, there were many quotes in these tracts, supposedly from Catholic books, stating this or that. What they didn't know is that I have these same books at home. I would take them in and show them the chapter and page. Most of the time, what was in my books was condemning whatever statements or phrases they were saying the Catholic Church was saying. It almost left them speechless, but they would come up with something else to attack. One guy told me that he had never heard Catholic teaching said this way. I responded that most Catholics don't know their faith like they should. Studying the Faith really make you stronger.
I am not a theologian by any means, but knowing apologetics is what I am strong in. I am NOT going to back down, and they better have some facts when coming up to me criticizing my faith. I might not blow them out of the water, but I will make them think.

Following is a prayer for protection from a Spanish Collect in the 7th century:

O Lord, who hast made Thy dwelling among us in Thy sacred Sacraments, as it were upon the holy mountains, we beseech Thee to build up the Faith in us, to confirm us in hope, to perfect us in loyalty, that Thy indwelling may enlighten all our being, Thy strength render us unshakable, Thy protection keep us unharmed.