A cradle Catholic by birth, Karlo's upbringing was rather difficult. Both of his parents were severe alcoholics and they split up while he was very young with the intent of divorcing. With the help of God's grace, his father and mother came back together as they re-discovered their Catholic Faith through involvement with the Cursillo movement. >From that point on, young Karlo was brought up in a stable Catholic environment that nourished the seed of faith planted within his heart.
But, like everyone, that faith needed to be further nurtured through a personal relationship with Christ and by studying the Catholic Faith. Karlo's amazing success in the Cajun country music scene proved to be a major distraction and even a source of serious temptation. Playing in honk-tonk bars and recording three successful music albums eventually led Karlo to a crossroads as he began to realize that his core Christ beliefs were not in accord with his everyday actions. The Holy Spirit eventually led him to acknowledge God's truth and embrace his calling as a Catholic apologist.
Get ready for the ride of your life as you listen to Karlo's easy-to-follow teaching regarding the fundamentals of the Faith covering such topics as ecclesiology, Mariology, Eucharistic theology and more. Steeped in Scripture and grounded in Church history, Karlo's explanations are incredibly simple, yet unbelievably profound. You'll be blown away as you learn to defend and advance the Catholic Faith amidst the growing indifference and outright rejection of God's Word.
Discover the Gift of Wisdom
Keep yourself from standing on the shaky ground of doubt and unbelief and move onto the firm foundation of unmovable Catholic truth! Discover the gift of wisdom to see beyond many of the Protestant myths and misconceptions by immersing yourself in the fullness of the Faith that God has revealed. Let this Cajun apologist rock your world so that you can evangelize others with unbelievable fire, passion and zeal! Book Karlo for your next event today!
Content Summary Talks: note: all talks are prepared to be approximately 60 to 70 minutes in length.
1. Cajun Accordionist to Cajun Apologist: Conversion Story
"In this talk, I will share with the audience the glory of God’s grace manifested in my life’s testimony. I will speak about how God led me, a cradle Catholic, from the bandstand to the Bible in my hand. The highlight of the testimony is that we all come to a “Crossroad” in our life, whether we choose the world (mammon) or we choose God. In the music world, which I was living for the majority of my childhood years, it is very hard to prosper in the spiritual life of holiness, which without which I cannot enter Heaven. Therefore, I had to make a choice of whether or not I wanted to live my life in accord with what God has revealed to us, which is reality or sanity. In my testimony, I will hopefully set a fire in the heart of the audience a love for growth in knowledge of the Faith through the means of apologetics, for that is what brought me to the crossroad in my life. Through Apologetics, I was able to find a love that I could not find anywhere else, Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church! In following the Will of God, I was able to find myself here, as a Catholic Apologist for Saint Joseph Communications, a dream that has become a reality!"
2. Why Catholic Apologetics in Evangelization Today: "Be Ready to Give a Reason" (1Pt3:15)
"In this talk, I will be discussing the various reasons why we need “Apologetics in Evangelization Today.” I suppose I will be doing apologetics for apologetics! Due to the various opposing views about Catholic Apologetics that I have gotten over the recent years from priest and professors, I felt there was a need to develop a talk where one could be able to defend the need for apologetics itself. One must be able to understand what Apologetics is, and in fact the reasons why we need it in our day and age while defending Holy Mother Church! The main points that I will be discussing in this talk are as follows: 1) Understanding what Apologetics is, 2) The Relationship of Divine Revelation & Reason, 3) Everyone’s Call to be an Apologist & Evangelists, and 4) The Usage of Scripture in Apologetics. I believe that this talk will inspire many sincere Catholic Christians to grow in their Catholic Faith by studying apologetics and the various other means of study that one can do to be confirmed in their Faith!"
3. The Church: Guardian of Truth
"In this talk, I will demonstrate that the paradigm for 1st century Christianity and 21st century Christianity is a Visible & Authoritative Church divinely constituted by Jesus Christ so that all Christians may come to the knowledge of the fullness of the truth that will make us all free! This talk is one of the most important because it will help the Catholic Christian to be able to respond to the common objection of, “I don’t believe in organized Religion or hierarchy!” This talk is an apologetic for Holy Mother Church! The main points of the talk are as follows: 1) Christ Founder of the Church: Divinely Constituted, 2) The Nature of the Church as Visible, 3) The Nature of the Church as Authoritative, and 4) The Purpose of the Church. This talk will inspire the Catholic Christian to be a knight for Holy Mother Church, ready to defend her in season and out of season."
4. The Pope: Prime Minister & Universal Shepherd
"In this talk, I will teach the Catholic Christian the very thing that distinguishes him or her from all other Christian denominations, and that is 'The Papacy!' The teaching of the Church is that the Pope is the successor of Saint Peter and thus possesses all of the authority that was handed over to Saint Peter by our Blessed Lord. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states in par. 765, Peter is the head of the twelve: 'The Lord Jesus endowed His community with a structure that will remain until the Kingdom is fully achieved. Before all else there is the choice of the Twelve with Peter as their head.' The authority of the Pope rest on the pre-eminence and authority of Saint Peter amongst the other twelve apostles. Therefore, to demonstrate the biblical foundations for the Papacy, one must see the Scriptural evidence for the Primacy of Peter. The main points of the talk are as follows: 1) Old Testament Office of Superiority, 2) Mt16:15-19, 3) Lk22:29-32, 4) Jn21:15-17, and 5) Peter as the Spokesman for Apostles in Book of Acts. I believe that this talk will give the Catholic Christian a sense of confirmation of his or her belief in the primacy of the Bishop of Rome, whom we call the Pope! They will be able to defend, Biblically, the Catholic belief of the unique Authority of the Pope, the visible head of the Body of Christ on earth."
5. Apostolic Succession: "I will be with you always" (Mt28:20)
"In this talk, I will demonstrate from a Biblical perspective that the Apostolic Authority that was communicated to the Apostles was willed by Christ and did in fact continue after the death of the last Apostle. This topic is crucial because this is the definitive line that separates Catholics and Non-Catholic Christians. The majority of scholarly non-Catholic Christians believe in Apostolic Authority, but only for the 1st century. Therefore, in this talk we will demonstrate that the authority given to the Apostles was not just for 1st century Christians, but for all Christians thoughout all ages. The main points are as follows: 1) Magisterial Teaching Apostolic Succession, 2) Scriptural Demonstration on Apostolic Succession, and 3) Identifying Apostolicity in the Catholic Church. This talk will give the Catholic Christians assurance that the gap from the 1st century to the 21st century is in fact bridged through the continuation of the office of the Apostles in the bishops of the Catholic Church."
6. Critique of Sola Scriptura: "We are Religion of The Word & Not the Book"
"In this talk, I will help the Catholic Christian to be able to critique this non-Catholic false doctrine and show that it is truly unbiblical. This topic is also crucial because it is the common denominator amongst all non-Catholic Christians, whether scholarly or not! This is the stone upon which the Reformation was grounded on. The main points are as follows: 1) Church Authority, 2) Apostolic Tradition, and 3) The Necessity of the Church as the Infallible Interpreter of Divine Revelation. If this talk is given within the same day or conference as the talk: 'The Church Guardian of Truth,' then the main points will be as follows: 1) Apostolic Tradition, 2) The Word of God is not Restricted to Written Form Alone, and 3) The Necessity of the Church as Infallible Interpreter of Divine Revelation. The Catholic Christian must be able to know how to speak to a 'Bible Only' Christian about this topic because if this doctrine of non-Catholic Christianity can be demonstrated to be false, then the majority of all else the non-Catholic Christian holds too becomes faulty. This is why I believe that this talk is to be given to audiences in various places."
7. Intercession of Saints: Why or Why Not?
"This talk will be very beneficial for the Catholic Christian to be able to demosntrate from a biblical perspective the relationship that we have with our brothers and sisters in Heaven as members of the Body of Christ. From this talk, the Catholic Christian will be able to give a reaosnable response to those who object to the Catholic practice of 'praying to the saints.' The Catholic will be able to answer the 'why' of the intercession of the Saints. The main points are as follows: 1) Understanding the Semantics of 'Pray,' 2) The Mediation of Christians does not Take Away From Unique Mediation of Christ, 3) Answering the Necromancy Argument of Dt18, and 4) Intercession from Heaven. From this discussion, the audience will be able to answer the question: 'why pray to the saints or Mary?' This is very important for the Catholic Christian to know!"
8. Marian Apologetics 101
"In this talk, I will take the audience over a brief review of the four Marian Dogmas of the Catholic Faith. If there is any other topic that is more controversial between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians is Mary! As Dr. Hahn once said, 'Mary, Mary, quite contrary!' Each Dogma, I believe, can be supported from a substantial amount of Biblical Evidence, whether implicit or explicit. This is necessary for the Catholic Christian to know in order to evangelize more effectively in today’s world of Christianity. The main points are as follows: 1) Mary the Mother of God, 2) Mary’s Perpetual Virginity, 3) Mary Immaculate: Conception & Life, and 4) Mary’s Bodily Assumption. This is marian apologetics 101, a discussion where by we can become knights for our Mother, Mary!"
9. The Eucharist: Symbol or Real Presence?
"In this talk, I will discuss the main reaons why we believe, biblically speaking, in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the most Holy Eucharist. The Catholic Christian will be able to give a biblical response for why we believe Jesus taught that He would remain with us always in the Eucharist, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinty. Also, the Catholic Christian will be able to learn how to refute the non-Catholic Christian interpretation of the various passages that we use to support our Dogma of Faith. The main points are as follows: 1) Understanding John 6 Literally as Opposed to Metaphorically, 2) The Last Supper, and 3) Saint Paul’s Theology on the Eucharist."
10. Confession: Confessing Sins to a Man?
"In this talk, I will demonstrate the Biblical evidence that Jesus Chrsit instituted the Sacrament of Penance. The major points are as follows: 1) Jesus’ Mission of Forgiving Sins, 2) Jesus passes on Authority to Forgive Sins to Other Men, 3) The Ministry of Reconciliation Exercised in Scripture, and 4)The Priest as the Insrtrument of the Forgivness of Sins."
11. Salvation: How is a Man Saved?
"In this talk, I will demonstrate that the Bible reflects the Catholic Church’s position on the nature of Justificlation and the means whereby a man is saved. The major points are as follows: 1) Understanding Justification as Infusion and Not Imputation, 2) Understanding Justification & Salvation as a Process, 3) Refuting the Position of 'Eternal Security,' 4) The Relation of Faith & Works as Necessary for Salvation."
12. Purgatory: "He Shall Be Saved as Through Fire!"
"In this talk, I will demonstrate how 1st Century Christianity understood the reality of a temporary state of purification in the after life before entering Heaven. The major points are as follows: 1) Church’s Teaching on Reality of Purgatory, 2) State of Existence After Death for Righteous Souls that is Not Heaven nor Hell, 3) The Need for Purgatory, and 4) The Truth of Purification After Death."
13. The Rapture: "Should I Be Left Behind?"
"In this talk, I will dispel the false interpretations of the sequence of events for the End Times, answering that common question, 'should I be left behind?' I will show, from the Bible, the fallacy of the 'Pre-Tribulation' view of the end times and demonstrate Biblically the Catholic teaching on the truth of the Second Coming of Jesus. The major points are as follows: 1) The End Times in light of the Rapture, 2) The Catholic Church’s Teaching on the End Times, 3) The Bible & The Rapture, and 4) The Anti-Christ and the Persecution, and 5) The Millenial Reign of Christ: Literal or Symbolic?"
Speaker Fees
$500.00 for one talk, $400.00 for the second talk and every talk after plus travel expenses.
Travel expenses include: Air Fare, Food, Hotel, ground transportation (Saint Joseph Communications books the air fare at its office)
