Special 6-hour Q & A with Gerry Matatics: Buffalo NY area, Oct 24
Dear Friends:
I'm writing in haste to invite you to a special, one-time event that is taking place in the greater Buffalo NY area next Saturday, October 24, 2015, from 12 noon to 6 pm. I’m sorry that I could not give you more notice but the event was only finally put together late last night.
Friends who live in Lockport, New York (30 minutes north of Buffalo) have asked me to drive the 9 hours round-trip from my home in Scranton PA to their home next Saturday to make myself available to answer questions from a gathering of their family, friends, and any other interested persons, from 12 noon to 6 pm.
The question and answer session will be wide-open, dealing with any and all questions people might have for me as a professional Catholic apologist, theologian, and Scripture scholar.
They can be questions on apologetics, such as:
1. How can we know, and prove, that there is a God?
2. How can we prove that Christianity — as opposed to, say, Talmudic Judaism or Islam — is the one true theistic religion?
3. How can we prove that Catholicism is the one true, authentic form of the Christian religion?
They can be questions on Catholic doctrine, such as what we should believe about baptism of blood and desire, or about the End Times.
They can be questions on Scripture, discussing any book or passage in the Bible.
They can be questions on Church history, discussing any significant event or person about which you might be curious.
They can be questions on the current crisis in Catholicism, such as, “What should we think of the Second Vatican Council and its reforms, such as the New Mass? What should we think of the pontificates of John XXIII through Francis? What should we think of traditionalist resistance groups such as the SSPX, SSPV, CMRI, etc? With whom should a faithful Catholic be aligned in our day?”
They can be questions on canon law and other fields of Catholic thought.
I agreed to come and do this on the one condition that I could invite others to this event, so I mailed out nearly a hundred invitations to people on my mailing list who live in the greater Buffalo area and within an hour’s drive of Lockport.
I'm also posting the invitation here on my website so that it can be viewed by those not on my mailing list. And there's no geographical restriction on attendees: though I don't expect many people living more than an hour away from Lockport will be interested in attending, you are welcome to come regardless of where you live. It is not unheard of for highly motivated truth-seekers to drive over an hour to attend such an event.
I'll never forget one enthusiastic man who came to hear me on my first lecture tour of Australia, back in 1993, who thought this might be his only chance to hear me in person. (Unbeknownst to him, or to me, at the time, I've since returned five times to Australia for subsequent coast-to-coast lecture tours, and four times to New Zealand.) He therefore drove 12 hours one way from the boondocks to hear an early evening talk I gave in Sydney. When we spoke briefly afterwards during a break he said he thoroughly enjoyed it but couldn't stay for the second talk because he had to jump in the car and drive another 12 hours back home so that he could be at work on time in the morning!
To protect the privacy of my hosts in Lockport, I agreed that I would give out their exact street address only to those who contact me because they wish to attend. If you'd like to join us for this exclusive event, email me immediately at gerrymatatics@gerrymatatics.org or call me at (570) 969-1724, and I will give you the exact street address to drive to next Saturday.
You needn’t come for the entire six hours: you can arrive whenever you like and leave whenever you like. If you aren’t there when we begin at 12 noon, of course, you run the risk that you might ask a question that’s already been answered earlier in the session; I won’t be repeating answers for those who come later.
You also needn't agree with me on everything in order to be welcome, and to benefit from the discussion — or to benefit me! Atheists, Protestants, defenders of Vatican II, supporters of traditionalist entities like the SSPX or the CMRI, or those who disagree with me on other matters: feel free to come and try to prove me wrong. I love argument and debate, and I am always willing to hear facts I may not have been aware of, and a logical demonstration that I'm in error, and am happy to change my mind as a result: after all, that's how I converted to Catholicism from being an ardently anti-Catholic Protestant minister in the first place!
There is no charge for attending, though anyone wishing to make a voluntary donation, of whatever size you can afford, to help cover my travel expenses is most welcome to do so. There will also be relevant CDs and books for sale, so bring your checkbook, Discover, MasterCard or Visa, or cash.
I look forward to hearing from you if you wish to join us. Don’t delay: my hosts need to know — as much in advance as possible — how many to expect, and you need to find out from me where exactly to go!
In the meantime, may the one true triune God bless you and all your loved ones with all the graces necessary to truly know, love, and serve Him in this world so that you might be happy with Him forever in the next.
Yours in Christ our King
and in His one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church,
outside of which there is no salvation,
Gerry Matatics