1 Peter 3:15

Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence.

There has been something of a revival in apologetics and evangelization among Catholics in the last few years.  That is a wonderful thing and we pray God will bless the work of all Catholics as they bear witness to the truth of the beauty of Christ Jesus in our Catholic faith.  But it is important for Catholics to recognize that the task of evangelization and apologetics is nothing other than the task of “speaking the truth in love” as Paul tells us in Ephesians 4:15.  It is sometimes tempting to forget this and fall into the delusion that hearts and minds will be won simply by overpowering someone with Biblical, historical, and theological knowledge.  But knowledge, good as it is, cannot transform hearts without love.  And love cannot be communicated to another person without our constant reliance on the gift of the Holy Spirit, without whom we cannot love one little bit.  So speak the truth by all means, but always do it “with gentleness and reverence”:  reverence for the truth and reverence for the person to whom you speak.  Next to the Blessed Sacrament, that person is the holiest object you will ever lay eyes on.