Madrid shared an experience he once had with a man on an airplane flight. A Muslim, the man spoke for almost an hour about his faith, and Madrid listened with genuine interest, even though he did not agree with much of what the Muslim man was saying.
“I showed him the courtesy of listening that I learned from the saints, and it paid off,” Madrid said. “When it was my turn to speak, he listened to me.”
A polite discussion of Islam versus Catholicism ended in an exchange of business cards. The two men swapped emails for a short time, the Muslim man sending Madrid a video on Islam and Madrid referring the Muslim to an apologetics website.
Although Madrid does not know what happened to the man, he does know that seeds were planted that day.
“Miracles of conversion are able to take place because we open our mouths,” Madrid said.
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“If Catholics give in to the temptation of being relaxed and laid back, not saying anything when opportunities arise, there is no telling what occasion for grace may pass by us,” he continued.
Before addressing fallen-away or non-Catholics, Madrid suggested that Catholics study the faith so that they know it well enough to articulate it in an adult way.
He highlighted the fact that the level of knowledge of the faith of average Catholic is that of an eighth grader and theorizes that “by the time a young Catholic receives the Sacrament of Confirmation, their study of the Catholic faith has concluded. There is usually no more formal study of Scripture or of church teachings.”