Social media is full of opportunities for Catholics to evangelize. If it leads to debate, it can get tiresome or hostile, but some spirited Catholics have made it into a holy hobby. Two of my favorites on Twitter/X bring daily inspiration; one, daily shares good Catholic news, and the other is an apologist using Scripture against anti-Catholic attacks.

 

Brian Burgess

“I’m so glad he’s challenging this,” I often think when reading a post from Brian Burgess. Brilliant responses to cringeworthy attacks are his specialty.

“Your claim that it’s ok to talk to the spirits of those who were saved is contrary to all of Scripture. Nowhere in Scripture do people commune with the spirits of the saved,” one detractor posted. 

“Did someone remove the Transfiguration or Apocalypse of Saint John Chapter 5 from the Protestant Bible?” Burgess began before diving into biblical details.

Another attacker wrote: “The breaking of bread in remembrance of him. Nowhere does it say, ‘the turning of bread into Christ’s flesh so we can eat his flesh over and over again.’"

Burgess’s response began with: “Christ indeed says that the bread and wine becomes his Flesh and Blood (as does Saint Paul) and the Apostles and Disciples replicate the Eucharistic Feast in Acts 2:42, Acts 20:7, and Luke 24:13-35.”

Someone claiming Purgatory is not in Scripture was treated to this: “Thanks Chad. I think you were about to show me the Chapter and Verse that says, ‘There is no Purgatory?’ While we wait on that I’ll regenerate Verses that plainly support the idea of Purgation/Purgatory.” Burgess then provided more than 30 verses.

Dogged persistence and detailed defenses are profitable for all concerned from admirers to detractors. The beauty of following people like Burgess is that by simply reposting, we too are spreading Catholic truths. 

Curious as to where all his enthusiasm comes from, I reached out to Burgess and learned that he is an attorney and mining executive, husband of 22 years, father to three, and a 48-year-old convert from Protestantism who came into the Church in 2021.

It was during COVID that he stumbled onto a video by exorcist Father Vincent Lampert that put life in perspective for him. He explained: “I began to appreciate that spiritual warfare is very real, indeed, in a manner of speaking, our reason for being and came to appreciate that communion with our Lord isn’t simply a primary goal, but truly the only goal.  Being in right relation with him began to take center stage in my life and I knew that this was only possible by attaining full Communion with the Church, he left us at his Ascension — the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.”

Burgess emailed Father Lampert, who encouraged him to consider enrolling in RCIA in his Diocese of Birmingham, which he did, describing the bishops, priests and staff as kind and nurturing. Burgess pointed to the sacraments as transforming his spiritual life along with praying to this guardian angel, the Rosary and the Auxilium Christianorum prayers. 

“My Catholic Twitter account began to take on a life of its own as I started morning prayers invoking the intercession of saints,” he said. “The apologetics angle developed in responding to those who had questions about the Scriptural basis for intercessory prayer. As the base of followers grew, [over 9,500] I encountered varying degrees of interaction.”

Although most interaction is positive, according to him, there are sometimes claims of idolatry and criticism from those propagating “Sola” theology. Therefore, he reasoned that Scriptural responses would have the strongest impact. Catholics and non-Catholics have expressed positive comments including a few from Protestants asking about RCIA.

“One gentleman,” he shared, “reached out a couple of weeks back, who said he was discerning RCIA at around 70 years old on the basis of what he had read about the Church on Twitter/X.”

Although Burgess encourages others to share their faith on Twitter/X, he said that being a convert and an attorney has probably helped his tolerance. “That is,” he said, “I suppose I’m perhaps slightly less apt to take sharp replies personally.”

Sachin Jose

Another evangelizer is Sachin Jose, who is nearing 150,000 followers on X and more than 35,000 on Instagram. He is a cradle Catholic who works as a journalist and social-media marketing consultant.

“My passion for the Catholic faith grew during my high school days as I developed a habit of reading books,” he shared with me in an email. “This habit led me to search for the meaning of life, ultimately understanding that Jesus provides this meaning and that the Church, founded by him, is where we find him.”

Jose enjoyed reading prominent Christian thinkers such as C.S. Lewis, Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen, Scott Hahn and Cardinal Robert Sarah and also delved into Church history.

“I realized its immense contributions to modern education, law, medicine, and Western civilization,” he said. “Seeing the challenges facing the Western civilization, including relativism and woke ideologies, I believe the Catholic Church has a crucial role in preserving it. My goal is to contribute to this cause through media by spreading awareness of the faith.”

His posts include images under the news and inspiration. Here are examples:

• “Happy Feast Day St. Teresa of the Andes, pray for us. She’s known as the ’Flower of the Andes’ and was Chile’s first canonized saint.’
• “Father Chris Garrett, who was ordained a priest last year in Sligo, Ireland, is a former medical doctor who left his career to pursue priesthood.”
• Above a photo of this moment in which he wrote: “Jordan Peterson receives blessings from a Catholic priest at the Easter vigil, where his wife Tammy officially converted to Catholicism.”
• “Vocation boom in Arlington diocese! There are 12 presumptive candidates who are set to be ordained to the priesthood for the small diocese of Arlington in Virginia, which has just around 450,000 Catholics.”

“I never anticipated reaching such a large audience” Jose admitted, “but I began with a desire to evangelize. I receive positive responses from both Catholics and non-Catholics.  Notably, Cardinal Robert Sarah and even Elon Musk, known for his atheism or agnosticism, have interacted with my posts, demonstrating the impact of social media. However, my greatest joy comes from people discovering Jesus and the beauty of our faith through my posts and news reports.”

Jose encourages all Catholics to do whatever they can for the Lord and his kingdom. “Every Catholic has a responsibility to share the faith and to reveal the radiant face of Jesus to those who do not know him,” he said.