In the increasingly hostile climate that surrounds the Catholic Church today, we are faced with two ways to respond. And more and more Catholics are deciding that running away is not their style. Fueled by the attacks on the Church, they instead are leaning in and working to better understand and defend their faith.

I recently met a woman in her 70's who has come back to the Church after decades away. She indicated that the shift in her life was due to the constant attacks on the Church. She said, "I kept reading about the assault on our religious liberties and it prompted me to ask myself, 'Why did I ever leave the Church in the first place?'" She has initiated efforts to learn her faith and is working with her parish priest to get Fr. Robert Barron's Catholicism series launched in her parish. Like many others, she feels ill-equipped to argue for her faith — but she is not letting that hold her back.

Thankfully, we live in an era of fantastic organizations like EWTN and Catholic Answers that work day and night to form the faithful and equip them to survive — and even thrive — in hostile times. And God has brought to the front lines a number of extraordinary apologists who have unique talents to offer our world in this fight. Enter John Martignoni. I don’t know who coined the term “Blue-Collar Apologetics” to describe John’s approach, but it fits.
John’s particular gift is in breaking down complex ideas and making them very simple. In essence, anyone with a high-school education (or even less) can defend their faith using John’s approach. This is not to say that John is in any way simplistic. He just has a particular knack for using Scripture and common sense to boil down arguments to their most basic elements — and presents them in memorable ways that anyone can learn and put into practice.

John can be heard on the air every week on EWTN Radio's Open Line call in show. You can also get his free audio materials — on CD or mp3 download —  at his website: www.BibleChristianSociety.com.

Fighting for the Truth takes preparation. Are you willing to do what it takes to defend your faith in tough times? Check out John’s work for some outstanding tools to help you. Lent is on the way — what a great time to begin.