"Knowing the Truth is go0d. Knowing and living the Truth is better. Knowing, living and loving the Truth - that is our high goal."
L. A. “Tony” Kovach would be the first to say that the goal above is one that he has often fallen short on. Raised in the Bible-Belt state of Oklahoma, Tony was often confronted with individuals who had well meaning, but mistaken ‘takes’ on Scripture and its meaning. He founded the website, with the idea of providing a ‘visitor friendly way’ of making sense of the existence of God, Scripture, and the Lord’s plan for people’s lives.
“The Truth has inspired me, most of my life. Sharing the Truth is a rich blessing! There is nothing more fulfilling and uplifting than to be able to speak with others, one on one, about the richness and beauty of the Truth. The sharing brings joy, and the return is far greater than one can possibly imagine. “
“Lest one get the wrong idea, let me be clear that there are many, many times that I’ve fallen far short of living the Truth. Yet, in our fallen state, in our errors, we can actually give hope to others when we cling to the truth, in spite of our weaknesses. It isn’t the perfect that God calls, but those who are willing to admit their needs, and to allow themselves to be filled by God’s healing Mercy and Love.”
Tony says, "Many people are familiar with Christ's words:
"You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free." (John 8:32) Fewer consider the words immediately before them:
"If you follow My Teachings, then you will truly be My disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (John 8:31-32) So Christ is telling us that not just any teachings, any faith will do. It is His teachings that we are to follow. Combined with Christ's call to unity among believers (John 17:22-23) and numerous other Scriptures that tell us that the content of our faith is important, we Catholics are called on to clear up the many questions and misunderstandings, and yes, hurts that we have caused to other Christians and non-Christians. We are also called upon by the Lord to
"Speak the truth with love" (Eph. 4:15) and this is hopefully and elemental part of the ABCs of Faith. We want to speak the truth with love, and hopefully with some occasional wit and a bit of fun too!
Tony's happy that so many have written words of encouragement - including non-Catholics who have commented favorably on the friendly, upbeat, reasonable and Bible-based approach that the pages content includes. It is worth noting that to date, more Protesant Christians of various faiths have presented awards to the ABCs of Faith website, than have Catholics!
Tony recently moved from Houston, TX and now lives in The Village of Weston, WI. He misses all of his friends, but is striving to make new ones ‘in the white, wintery Northwoods!’
Tony is a sales and marketing manager by trade. While the site may someday include a bookstore and other items that could be used to increase the impact of this web outreach, unlike some .coms, the thrust of the ABCs of Faith has never been about money. It has been about sharing the gift of faith freely with others. Giving to others as it has been received. A small return to the Lord for His grace and outpouring of love.
Tony lives in The Village of Weston, WI. and says he is happy to be a 'back row Catholic' who attends Mass just like a billion other Catholics world-wide do. :-)
Lacking the time and talents he needed, Tony began enlisting volunteers to help with the project.
Midi collections began, daily Mass Biblical readings were added courtesy of
Joachim Nelson and his team of writers. Many articles were written and added as new web pages.
More recently,
Lynn Wilson our new website's builder, was introduced to us by her mother, Sharon, a convert to Catholicism. Lynn has brought us a level of professionalism, and a sweet spirit of service too. Please keep Lynn and her loved ones in your prayers, and send her a note of thanks for her work on building and design work for our web pages! Thanks for sharing encouragement with her, and all of our volunteers for their work!
More recently, a doctor,
Jean-Baptiste and his friend Christophe, have been translating pages of the
website into French.
John Roewe, a serious student of the Word, has graciously given his time in checking the website for typos and other errors.
Mary Williams has provided the
Stations of the Cross department to the ABCs of Faith.
Click here for a little info about our new
volunteer webmaster EDwin
The list of other contributors of time and talent is growing longer.
“Perhaps you have a talent to share and the will and desire to share it on-line. Be it an hour a week or much more time that you may have, why not surf our site, and then offer your suggestions on ways that your talents and gifts can advance the cause of this all volunteer website. By giving of ourselves, in unity with the Truth, we can be a light to so many souls who are seeking that Rock to build their lives upon. Thanks for surfing in, we hope you will email others about our website, and return many times yourself!”
Tony and the ABCs of Faith team invite YOU to share your conversion story, time and talent on line with others! Please write us at the
abcsoffaith at abcsoffaith.com
