Sunday, January 24, 2010
Monday, January 18, 2010
Monday, January 11, 2010
Keep a Beatitude-Attitude
It's that time again! The Christmas season has closed, and we now approach Lent and preparation for Easter and Pentecost. For us now, it is time to get back in the groove of Catechism each week. We have quite a journey ahead of us over the next few months. We will continue to deepen our understanding of Christian doctrine, expand further on what we have covered thus far, and progress ever onward in our relationship with Christ through our living liturgy. Some of you may be approaching the Easter Vigil and your reception into full communion with the Church. This will prove to be one of the most exciting times of your life; filled with humble repentance, turning from sin, and anticipation of receiving the Second Person of the Most Blessed Trinity, Jesus Christ Himself, Body Blood Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist. We will no doubt cover this, and other topics, in great detail. The innumerable graces that flow from the Most Blessed Sacrament, the Eucharist, and the other Sacraments contribute without measure or contest to what it means to live the faith; to not just be a hearer of the Word, but a doer. After all, as Christ told us "Not everyone who says to Me 'Lord, Lord' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to Me on that day 'Lord, Lord did we not prophecy in Your Name, and in Your Name cast out demons, and in Your Name perform many miracles'? And then I will declare to them 'I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness' ". (Matt 7.21-23) The letter of St. James, written near the turn of the first century, speaks of this same application of the will of the Father into our daily life when it says "But prove yourselves doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves." (James 1.22)
I cannot begin to describe here the blessings and interior peace that go hand-in-hand with living our faith. That is one of the beauties of the Church; she is as ancient as Christianity itself (naturally) and contains within her all the means necessary to really live the faith. She is the bride of Christ who in all things is subject to Him (Ephesians 5.24-27), the pillar and bulwark of truth (1 Tim 3.15), the body of believers to whom the Holy Spirit was promised (John 16.13-15, 14.26), that body being not a collection of members invisible and unaware of who comprises the rest of the body, but visible and recognizable like a city set on the top of a mountain (Matt 5.14), the forward-marching-multitude who is the fulfillment of the promise and the covenant and who will stand-fast through every attack of hell and schism (Matt 16.18). God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, has promised all these things to us, and if it were not so, He would have told us. He entrusted these things to men that He hand selected from all time; let that one sink in. God is omni-present through what we know as time and space. He chose a particular point in time (the reference point where we reckon time relative to the start of the new covenant...Anno Domini...and even more accurately Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi...."In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ"....coined by yep, a Catholic, St. Bede) and space (specifically Bethlehem which means "House of Bread", generally Israel to fulfill the Covenant and universally to the uttermost parts of the earth to apply His sacrifice for the redemption of all mankind specifically and creation generally for all time...from the rising of the sun to its setting). This point in time and space (again, as we know the terms) was not happen-stance; the plan was laid before the very foundations of the world. In this "beginning" (and I use quotes only because it's really a relative term since with God there is no beginning) the Word existed; the one in Whom all "things" were made. It is through Christ, from the beginning, that all "things" - spiritual and physical - flow back to the Father in a perpetual thanksgiving (Latin - eucharistia).
To those twelve He elected to entrust the whole of his message (Eph 3.5), and mission (John 17.18, 20.21). He taught them in all things and sent them just as the Father had sent Him; for the forgiveness of sins. To these men was given the commandment to make disciples of all nations, to baptize (Matt 28.19), to offer the bread and wine in the manner prescribed by Christ (Luke 22.19, 1 Cor 11.23-26), to bring men to repentance (Luke 10.16, Acts 2.38), to forgive sins (Matt 16.19, Matt 18.18, John 20.21-23) , to guard the faith with life and limb (John 21.15-19, 2 Thess 2.15), and to pass along this power to other men who proved themselves, by the laying on of hands (Acts 6.6, 8.17, 1 Tim 4.14, 2 Tim 1.6); the Church had to continue, and He gave all instruction and means necessary in order to perpetuate it down through the ages. This same faith was guarded and protected by the Apostles, and taught and handed on by them as well (2 Tim 1.13-14). They stressed the importance of remaining in the teaching they had given whether by word of mouth, or by letter (2 Tim 1.13-14, 1 Cor 11.2, 2 Tim 2.1-2, 2 Thess 2.15); this was the living Tradition of the Church. Down from the Apostles, through their disciples, and theirs, and theirs......all the way to us (a direct line even to the men listed on this blog as the previous and elect Bishop of the diocese of Owensboro, KY); so it has remained even unto today, just as Christ promised (Matt 16.18).
This is the faith we have been given. This is the faith we know and love. This is the faith to which you are joining in communion; to say by that act "Amen".....I agree....so be it. I write this post at this time because of that very reason. The faith that the Holy Apostles gave their lives for and that Christ which they learned from and offered, is open to you. That same Christ which laid in a manger, strolled the wheat fields mixed with chaff, fasted in the desert, and was pierced by nail and spear is available to us according to His Divine plan, in that very flesh and blood. And as promised, the closer you come to Christ, the more the world will revile you and persecute you (John 15.18).
Make no mistake, you will be persecuted for being Catholic. You will be made fun of. You will be ridiculed for what you believe, scoffed for your allegiance, mocked for your faith. Anti-Catholicism is ripe in this country, and in this area where we live. Often, people are unaware that the things they say are anti-Catholic, and at other times are only too ready to lash out against the Church with seething hatred. However, over the next few weeks as we talk about some of the approaches the typical anti-Catholic stance takes, let us keep in mind something the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said in regards to these people: "Few people in America hate the Catholic faith, but there are many who hate what they mistakenly think is the Catholic faith. If what they hate really was the Catholic faith, then Catholics would hate it too."
The primary presumption of those whom you will encounter, is that you are not Christian. We will discuss other specific things that will be said, slanders you will no doubt hear from now on, but the one that cuts the deepest, and is the most unfounded, is that by your confession of being Catholic you are not a Christian. It seems that for the average American Protestant, at least of the Fundamentalist sort, Catholic and Christian are opposites and never the twain shall meet. As much as this presumption stings, remain patient. Keep in mind that Fundamental Protestantism is new even for Protestantism, which itself is only a few hundred years old, and odds are this person is not cognizant of that. You will have to conscientiously remind yourself that these individuals are not aware of what the Church really teaches; if they were they would be Catholic....period. You must remember the words that our Lord spoke "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." (Matt 5:11) Of course, we realize that the form of the persecution in example here is in no way a comparison to that of our Lord and His Passion, or those Holy Martyrs who laid down their life for their faith; if only we could have that type of fortitude. Never-the-less, it is still persecution and ridicule, and bearing wrongs patiently brings about blessings and grace. The point I wish to emphasize here is that I have no doubt that you will hear this accusation. Always keep in mind that as a rule, those who are in the frame of mind that Catholics aren't Christian have no idea what it actually means to be Catholic; they are clueless to the teachings of the Church, and ironically embody many of the slanders they frequently use in derision of Catholics. They have never lived the life of the Church, known her truths, or experienced the beauty of her sacraments, and so cannot possibly begin to know what it is to be a part of her. They are left struggling to understand how anyone can find peace and beauty in something so alien without realizing it is they who are the alien to Apostolic Christianity; it is because their forefathers left the Church that it is now alien to them. It is akin to me describing and critiquing the brush strokes of the Mona Lisa hanging on her wall in the Louvre, from my couch in my living room.
Despite what to the logical seems to be an unfounded and inexperienced view of Catholicism, this void does not waiver the Catholic opponent. Their unbridled ignorance of the history of the Church, the history of their own denomination, and the teachings of the Church is almost unmatched in our experience; especially given the "expertise" they claim on the subject and the availability of accurate information. Hilaire Belloc, the great Catholic apologist, when describing the authority these "experts" claim on any number of subjects, succinctly put it this way: "It is amazing, and sometimes profitable, to consider or to refute one of the host who are unequipped for dealing with the great theological problems, and yet who fill our time with silly repetitions of errors which have been exposed during hundreds of years. Their adventures in the obvious, their simple pride in discovering as novelties what men have discussed for thirty centuries are the absurdity of our time."
Absurd because we offer them the title of Christian by relation to the Church their forefathers separated from; apart from which, according to scripture, there is no salvation (John 10.9, Acts 4.12, Eph 4.5, Col 1.24). Yet with reckless abandon they strip Catholics of the term and align them with Satan himself. Absurd because they look at the Church in a similar light...that she left Christianity and her members can only be called Christian in an abstract meaning of the term. In fact, it is in this absurd area, this circus of attacks by Fundamentalists on the Church using verse-slinging and spooky voodoo-esque innuendos that attack her on a doctrinal level and attempt to undermine her true source, that many converts find so aggravating and confusing. Picture it: the attacking group of Christians, who are the descendants of those original "itching ears" that separated from Apostolic Christianity, attack with the persuasion, rightly pulled from Scripture, that many will leave the church (using that term and not fully understanding its meaning) or the faith and have "itching ears" and go to hear what they want to hear; insinuating that this is precisely what the Catholic convert has done. This is nonsensical to the Catholic who understands the history of the faith and knows it was the Protestants who left the organization given by Christ to the Apostles, handed down even unto the end of the age. This can hardly even be called a "view" of the church, the way in which the Protestant views it, since it is a view that topples itself given the predicament that they who follow it are rank and file with of a group who left what others called a "Church" (capital C) to start their own or join another; something Scripture both predicts and refutes. (Matt 24.24) In light of the entire history of the Church founded by Jesus Christ on this planet, there has indeed been those who have "left [their] first love" (Rev 2.4), who have left the Church for man-made novelty -isms and -ists; you can insert your prefered surname or creed for variety. From the annals of Church history speaks Tertullian (the Catholic you can thank for the word "Trinity") in his pointed polemic style, c. 210-220 AD: "If these things be so, so that the truth be adjudged to belong to us as many as walk according to this rule, which the Churches have handed down from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God, the reasonableness of our proposition is manifest, which determines that heretics are not to be allowed to enter upon an appeal to the Scriptures, whom we prove, without the Scriptures, to have no concern with the Scriptures." And again: "As they [the Apostles] provided by their own testament, as they committed it in trust, as they have adjured, so I hold it. You [heresy], assuredly, they have ever disinherited and renounced, as aliens, as enemies."
The early Church was acutely aware of how damning this venture was; to seperate oneself from the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to damn oneself from His promises. Thus, we see from the earliest times, from the Apostles and right to the next generation of Bishops that the Apostles themselves appointed, and so on and so on, that these Christians made it their priority to warn against leaving the "whole" of the Gospel for something appealing momentarily. They wrote time and again of how the Church was given to us, how they were fighting to preserve it, and dieing as active members of that one Body. It is in this area that the Protestant attacker will have no experience, no knowledge of these saints who came before us. If they do have any experience here, it will be sporadic, and ironically quoted to shore up some new doctrine (and I say new since many of their beliefs do not exist past the 1800's, or the 1500's at best). Sometimes they will quote St. Iraneus, or St. Ignatius. I find this extremely ironic since they almost invariably will leave out other things said by these two Bishops, or leave out other parts of the same quote they are paraphrasing. It cannot be falsified: the early Church was distinctively Catholic, in belief and name, and no documentation exists that can prove any existence of, or any support for the Fundamentalist's claim to Authority, the Apostles or any of their doctrines which are not Apostolic. Take St. Ignatius of Antioch for example, who wrote c. 100 AD "In the same way all should respect the Deacons as they would Jesus Christ, just as they respect the Bishop as representing the Father and the Priests as the council of God and the college of the Apostles. Apart from these there is nothing that can be called a Church"; this is not descriptive of the Fundamentalist idea of "church" for sure. Again, writing while on his way to Martyrdom in the Colesium c.110 AD St. Ignatius wrote "[Shun schisms as the source of troubles.] Let all follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ did the Father, and the Priests as you would the Apostles. Reverence the Deacons as you would the command of God. Apart from the Bishop, let no one perform any of the functions that pertain to the Church. Let that Eucharist be held valid which is offered by the Bishop or by one to whom the Bishop has committed this charge. Wherever the Bishop appears, there let the people be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." The annals of Christian history are the best source for the voice of the early Church, and you will not be left wanting for testimony to the unity of their faith.
It is dizzying. Truly. But you will begin to contemplate and realize, ideally and actually, the absolute absurdity of the Protestant-proposed-absence of the Teaching Authority of the Church. Sadly, you will also see around you everywhere examples of how mankind has imitated our Lord in man's secular undertakings all while furthering himself from the auspices of any such authority spiritually; man has fashioned his governments in imitation, his committees and sub-committees, writing, interpreting and enforcing the law. Simply put, man will live under man's laws and remind you quickly (however falsely) that God doesn't have laws. Nonsense. (Matt 7.21-23)
To be quite honest, I have found it completely confounding in trying to confront this type of individual. It's a quagmire to crawl through, but we must. This same individual who claims that you, the Catholic, are not Christian, will sling verse after verse to try and prove his/her position. They will make statements that they feel apply to you, your experience, or the Catholic Church, which in actuality describe themselves. The frustrating part is knowing in your heart that this individual is clueless when it comes to the history of the Church, and that if they were more informed, they would no doubt come to the same conclusions that you have. They have no connection to this history because of the fact that their forefathers left this Church that they now revile, and since then they have focused entirely on Scripture. The same scriptures (well...for the most part...they decided too that those needed a little adjustment...but that's a story for another post) ironically given to them by that same Church. They have built for themselves their own brand of Tradition, which they blindly deny, on individual interpretation of Scripture which oddly enough is renounced in Scripture (2 Peter 1.20). I know, I know...it's so confusing one wants to just throw their hands up. In essence, through Tradition, the Church was able to discern which books where canonical, decided on it and officially proclaimed it (Council of Rome 382 AD), which the Protestants for the most part kept when they seceded but then built their own tradition all while refusing that it could co-exist with Scripture although Scripture confirms it (see above). Now, they busy themselves with feeble attempts to slap the Church in the face with the very collection of writings officially approved by Pope Saint Damasus I. Ironic and sad.
My friend......be prepared. Be prepared to face ridicule. Be prepared to offer that to God. Be prepared by knowing better than they, the position that your opponent will hold. There is no other option, you must. You must be prepared to take that stinging insult thrown at you, and plant a seed of truth into the mind that has absolutely no inkling of the Church. Do not turn to those who attack you in the same manner, or you will never reach them with the truth. Always be prepared to give an account for the hope that is in you with humility(1 Peter 3.14-17). You must be prepared for that irony which fills the Fundamentalist attack, for they are the ones you will face most. Love them. Realize that they are only a few eye-opening experiences away from being right where you are, and God willing they will be. Remember that you once stood among their ranks and don't ever forget that. Realize that you have decided to give your entire life to repairing the schism in the Church that man has put there. Realize that even though they may attack you (sometimes without realizing it), you may be the only one in their life with whom they have a connection to the truth of Catholicism and that you must act. Realize that it is now you who are in many ways like Moses, standing in the face of Pharaoh who has ensnared God's people into blind slavery and a lack of grace, and you must muster all your courage and say "Let my people go."
In all things, keep a humble spirit, a contrite heart, and let each step you take be with the Church. We have been given the gift of faith, do not let the fire be quenched in you. Keep a healthy fear of the Lord (2 Cor 5.11), and work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2.12). This does not mean you cower in fear every step of the way, God forbid. You will fall; you will make wrong decisions. However, repentance is available to those who humble themselves and pray, seek the face of God, and turn from their ways (2 Chr 7.14). Do not let those who would claim you have lost yourself to knowledge be a thorn in your side, for our Lord said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt 5.6). Satan has had his way with causing splinters and schisms within and without the Church. He has been able to perpetrate the most heinous lie conceivable to humanity: that the Church is controlled by him and the Eucharist is a man-made fairy tale. What better way to keep humans from receiving the grace they desperately need to live this life, than to whisper in the ears of their leaders that the Eucharist is a magic trick, and that he controls the Church. Nonsense, inconceivable, a lie and a very bad one at that; but what should we expect from he who our Lord called a liar and a "murderer from the beginning" (John 8.44)? Keep your heart in the Church, and give thanks to God when you receive slander for your faith. This will allow you to have hope in the words of our Lord who said "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". Matt 5:10
Pax Christi.
I cannot begin to describe here the blessings and interior peace that go hand-in-hand with living our faith. That is one of the beauties of the Church; she is as ancient as Christianity itself (naturally) and contains within her all the means necessary to really live the faith. She is the bride of Christ who in all things is subject to Him (Ephesians 5.24-27), the pillar and bulwark of truth (1 Tim 3.15), the body of believers to whom the Holy Spirit was promised (John 16.13-15, 14.26), that body being not a collection of members invisible and unaware of who comprises the rest of the body, but visible and recognizable like a city set on the top of a mountain (Matt 5.14), the forward-marching-multitude who is the fulfillment of the promise and the covenant and who will stand-fast through every attack of hell and schism (Matt 16.18). God Incarnate, Jesus Christ, has promised all these things to us, and if it were not so, He would have told us. He entrusted these things to men that He hand selected from all time; let that one sink in. God is omni-present through what we know as time and space. He chose a particular point in time (the reference point where we reckon time relative to the start of the new covenant...Anno Domini...and even more accurately Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi...."In the Year of Our Lord Jesus Christ"....coined by yep, a Catholic, St. Bede) and space (specifically Bethlehem which means "House of Bread", generally Israel to fulfill the Covenant and universally to the uttermost parts of the earth to apply His sacrifice for the redemption of all mankind specifically and creation generally for all time...from the rising of the sun to its setting). This point in time and space (again, as we know the terms) was not happen-stance; the plan was laid before the very foundations of the world. In this "beginning" (and I use quotes only because it's really a relative term since with God there is no beginning) the Word existed; the one in Whom all "things" were made. It is through Christ, from the beginning, that all "things" - spiritual and physical - flow back to the Father in a perpetual thanksgiving (Latin - eucharistia).
To those twelve He elected to entrust the whole of his message (Eph 3.5), and mission (John 17.18, 20.21). He taught them in all things and sent them just as the Father had sent Him; for the forgiveness of sins. To these men was given the commandment to make disciples of all nations, to baptize (Matt 28.19), to offer the bread and wine in the manner prescribed by Christ (Luke 22.19, 1 Cor 11.23-26), to bring men to repentance (Luke 10.16, Acts 2.38), to forgive sins (Matt 16.19, Matt 18.18, John 20.21-23) , to guard the faith with life and limb (John 21.15-19, 2 Thess 2.15), and to pass along this power to other men who proved themselves, by the laying on of hands (Acts 6.6, 8.17, 1 Tim 4.14, 2 Tim 1.6); the Church had to continue, and He gave all instruction and means necessary in order to perpetuate it down through the ages. This same faith was guarded and protected by the Apostles, and taught and handed on by them as well (2 Tim 1.13-14). They stressed the importance of remaining in the teaching they had given whether by word of mouth, or by letter (2 Tim 1.13-14, 1 Cor 11.2, 2 Tim 2.1-2, 2 Thess 2.15); this was the living Tradition of the Church. Down from the Apostles, through their disciples, and theirs, and theirs......all the way to us (a direct line even to the men listed on this blog as the previous and elect Bishop of the diocese of Owensboro, KY); so it has remained even unto today, just as Christ promised (Matt 16.18).
This is the faith we have been given. This is the faith we know and love. This is the faith to which you are joining in communion; to say by that act "Amen".....I agree....so be it. I write this post at this time because of that very reason. The faith that the Holy Apostles gave their lives for and that Christ which they learned from and offered, is open to you. That same Christ which laid in a manger, strolled the wheat fields mixed with chaff, fasted in the desert, and was pierced by nail and spear is available to us according to His Divine plan, in that very flesh and blood. And as promised, the closer you come to Christ, the more the world will revile you and persecute you (John 15.18).
Make no mistake, you will be persecuted for being Catholic. You will be made fun of. You will be ridiculed for what you believe, scoffed for your allegiance, mocked for your faith. Anti-Catholicism is ripe in this country, and in this area where we live. Often, people are unaware that the things they say are anti-Catholic, and at other times are only too ready to lash out against the Church with seething hatred. However, over the next few weeks as we talk about some of the approaches the typical anti-Catholic stance takes, let us keep in mind something the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen said in regards to these people: "Few people in America hate the Catholic faith, but there are many who hate what they mistakenly think is the Catholic faith. If what they hate really was the Catholic faith, then Catholics would hate it too."
The primary presumption of those whom you will encounter, is that you are not Christian. We will discuss other specific things that will be said, slanders you will no doubt hear from now on, but the one that cuts the deepest, and is the most unfounded, is that by your confession of being Catholic you are not a Christian. It seems that for the average American Protestant, at least of the Fundamentalist sort, Catholic and Christian are opposites and never the twain shall meet. As much as this presumption stings, remain patient. Keep in mind that Fundamental Protestantism is new even for Protestantism, which itself is only a few hundred years old, and odds are this person is not cognizant of that. You will have to conscientiously remind yourself that these individuals are not aware of what the Church really teaches; if they were they would be Catholic....period. You must remember the words that our Lord spoke "Blessed are you when men shall revile you and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." (Matt 5:11) Of course, we realize that the form of the persecution in example here is in no way a comparison to that of our Lord and His Passion, or those Holy Martyrs who laid down their life for their faith; if only we could have that type of fortitude. Never-the-less, it is still persecution and ridicule, and bearing wrongs patiently brings about blessings and grace. The point I wish to emphasize here is that I have no doubt that you will hear this accusation. Always keep in mind that as a rule, those who are in the frame of mind that Catholics aren't Christian have no idea what it actually means to be Catholic; they are clueless to the teachings of the Church, and ironically embody many of the slanders they frequently use in derision of Catholics. They have never lived the life of the Church, known her truths, or experienced the beauty of her sacraments, and so cannot possibly begin to know what it is to be a part of her. They are left struggling to understand how anyone can find peace and beauty in something so alien without realizing it is they who are the alien to Apostolic Christianity; it is because their forefathers left the Church that it is now alien to them. It is akin to me describing and critiquing the brush strokes of the Mona Lisa hanging on her wall in the Louvre, from my couch in my living room.
Despite what to the logical seems to be an unfounded and inexperienced view of Catholicism, this void does not waiver the Catholic opponent. Their unbridled ignorance of the history of the Church, the history of their own denomination, and the teachings of the Church is almost unmatched in our experience; especially given the "expertise" they claim on the subject and the availability of accurate information. Hilaire Belloc, the great Catholic apologist, when describing the authority these "experts" claim on any number of subjects, succinctly put it this way: "It is amazing, and sometimes profitable, to consider or to refute one of the host who are unequipped for dealing with the great theological problems, and yet who fill our time with silly repetitions of errors which have been exposed during hundreds of years. Their adventures in the obvious, their simple pride in discovering as novelties what men have discussed for thirty centuries are the absurdity of our time."
Absurd because we offer them the title of Christian by relation to the Church their forefathers separated from; apart from which, according to scripture, there is no salvation (John 10.9, Acts 4.12, Eph 4.5, Col 1.24). Yet with reckless abandon they strip Catholics of the term and align them with Satan himself. Absurd because they look at the Church in a similar light...that she left Christianity and her members can only be called Christian in an abstract meaning of the term. In fact, it is in this absurd area, this circus of attacks by Fundamentalists on the Church using verse-slinging and spooky voodoo-esque innuendos that attack her on a doctrinal level and attempt to undermine her true source, that many converts find so aggravating and confusing. Picture it: the attacking group of Christians, who are the descendants of those original "itching ears" that separated from Apostolic Christianity, attack with the persuasion, rightly pulled from Scripture, that many will leave the church (using that term and not fully understanding its meaning) or the faith and have "itching ears" and go to hear what they want to hear; insinuating that this is precisely what the Catholic convert has done. This is nonsensical to the Catholic who understands the history of the faith and knows it was the Protestants who left the organization given by Christ to the Apostles, handed down even unto the end of the age. This can hardly even be called a "view" of the church, the way in which the Protestant views it, since it is a view that topples itself given the predicament that they who follow it are rank and file with of a group who left what others called a "Church" (capital C) to start their own or join another; something Scripture both predicts and refutes. (Matt 24.24) In light of the entire history of the Church founded by Jesus Christ on this planet, there has indeed been those who have "left [their] first love" (Rev 2.4), who have left the Church for man-made novelty -isms and -ists; you can insert your prefered surname or creed for variety. From the annals of Church history speaks Tertullian (the Catholic you can thank for the word "Trinity") in his pointed polemic style, c. 210-220 AD: "If these things be so, so that the truth be adjudged to belong to us as many as walk according to this rule, which the Churches have handed down from the Apostles, the Apostles from Christ, Christ from God, the reasonableness of our proposition is manifest, which determines that heretics are not to be allowed to enter upon an appeal to the Scriptures, whom we prove, without the Scriptures, to have no concern with the Scriptures." And again: "As they [the Apostles] provided by their own testament, as they committed it in trust, as they have adjured, so I hold it. You [heresy], assuredly, they have ever disinherited and renounced, as aliens, as enemies."
The early Church was acutely aware of how damning this venture was; to seperate oneself from the Gospel of Jesus Christ was to damn oneself from His promises. Thus, we see from the earliest times, from the Apostles and right to the next generation of Bishops that the Apostles themselves appointed, and so on and so on, that these Christians made it their priority to warn against leaving the "whole" of the Gospel for something appealing momentarily. They wrote time and again of how the Church was given to us, how they were fighting to preserve it, and dieing as active members of that one Body. It is in this area that the Protestant attacker will have no experience, no knowledge of these saints who came before us. If they do have any experience here, it will be sporadic, and ironically quoted to shore up some new doctrine (and I say new since many of their beliefs do not exist past the 1800's, or the 1500's at best). Sometimes they will quote St. Iraneus, or St. Ignatius. I find this extremely ironic since they almost invariably will leave out other things said by these two Bishops, or leave out other parts of the same quote they are paraphrasing. It cannot be falsified: the early Church was distinctively Catholic, in belief and name, and no documentation exists that can prove any existence of, or any support for the Fundamentalist's claim to Authority, the Apostles or any of their doctrines which are not Apostolic. Take St. Ignatius of Antioch for example, who wrote c. 100 AD "In the same way all should respect the Deacons as they would Jesus Christ, just as they respect the Bishop as representing the Father and the Priests as the council of God and the college of the Apostles. Apart from these there is nothing that can be called a Church"; this is not descriptive of the Fundamentalist idea of "church" for sure. Again, writing while on his way to Martyrdom in the Colesium c.110 AD St. Ignatius wrote "[Shun schisms as the source of troubles.] Let all follow the Bishop as Jesus Christ did the Father, and the Priests as you would the Apostles. Reverence the Deacons as you would the command of God. Apart from the Bishop, let no one perform any of the functions that pertain to the Church. Let that Eucharist be held valid which is offered by the Bishop or by one to whom the Bishop has committed this charge. Wherever the Bishop appears, there let the people be; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." The annals of Christian history are the best source for the voice of the early Church, and you will not be left wanting for testimony to the unity of their faith.
It is dizzying. Truly. But you will begin to contemplate and realize, ideally and actually, the absolute absurdity of the Protestant-proposed-absence of the Teaching Authority of the Church. Sadly, you will also see around you everywhere examples of how mankind has imitated our Lord in man's secular undertakings all while furthering himself from the auspices of any such authority spiritually; man has fashioned his governments in imitation, his committees and sub-committees, writing, interpreting and enforcing the law. Simply put, man will live under man's laws and remind you quickly (however falsely) that God doesn't have laws. Nonsense. (Matt 7.21-23)
To be quite honest, I have found it completely confounding in trying to confront this type of individual. It's a quagmire to crawl through, but we must. This same individual who claims that you, the Catholic, are not Christian, will sling verse after verse to try and prove his/her position. They will make statements that they feel apply to you, your experience, or the Catholic Church, which in actuality describe themselves. The frustrating part is knowing in your heart that this individual is clueless when it comes to the history of the Church, and that if they were more informed, they would no doubt come to the same conclusions that you have. They have no connection to this history because of the fact that their forefathers left this Church that they now revile, and since then they have focused entirely on Scripture. The same scriptures (well...for the most part...they decided too that those needed a little adjustment...but that's a story for another post) ironically given to them by that same Church. They have built for themselves their own brand of Tradition, which they blindly deny, on individual interpretation of Scripture which oddly enough is renounced in Scripture (2 Peter 1.20). I know, I know...it's so confusing one wants to just throw their hands up. In essence, through Tradition, the Church was able to discern which books where canonical, decided on it and officially proclaimed it (Council of Rome 382 AD), which the Protestants for the most part kept when they seceded but then built their own tradition all while refusing that it could co-exist with Scripture although Scripture confirms it (see above). Now, they busy themselves with feeble attempts to slap the Church in the face with the very collection of writings officially approved by Pope Saint Damasus I. Ironic and sad.
My friend......be prepared. Be prepared to face ridicule. Be prepared to offer that to God. Be prepared by knowing better than they, the position that your opponent will hold. There is no other option, you must. You must be prepared to take that stinging insult thrown at you, and plant a seed of truth into the mind that has absolutely no inkling of the Church. Do not turn to those who attack you in the same manner, or you will never reach them with the truth. Always be prepared to give an account for the hope that is in you with humility(1 Peter 3.14-17). You must be prepared for that irony which fills the Fundamentalist attack, for they are the ones you will face most. Love them. Realize that they are only a few eye-opening experiences away from being right where you are, and God willing they will be. Remember that you once stood among their ranks and don't ever forget that. Realize that you have decided to give your entire life to repairing the schism in the Church that man has put there. Realize that even though they may attack you (sometimes without realizing it), you may be the only one in their life with whom they have a connection to the truth of Catholicism and that you must act. Realize that it is now you who are in many ways like Moses, standing in the face of Pharaoh who has ensnared God's people into blind slavery and a lack of grace, and you must muster all your courage and say "Let my people go."
In all things, keep a humble spirit, a contrite heart, and let each step you take be with the Church. We have been given the gift of faith, do not let the fire be quenched in you. Keep a healthy fear of the Lord (2 Cor 5.11), and work out your salvation with fear and trembling (Phil 2.12). This does not mean you cower in fear every step of the way, God forbid. You will fall; you will make wrong decisions. However, repentance is available to those who humble themselves and pray, seek the face of God, and turn from their ways (2 Chr 7.14). Do not let those who would claim you have lost yourself to knowledge be a thorn in your side, for our Lord said "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied" (Matt 5.6). Satan has had his way with causing splinters and schisms within and without the Church. He has been able to perpetrate the most heinous lie conceivable to humanity: that the Church is controlled by him and the Eucharist is a man-made fairy tale. What better way to keep humans from receiving the grace they desperately need to live this life, than to whisper in the ears of their leaders that the Eucharist is a magic trick, and that he controls the Church. Nonsense, inconceivable, a lie and a very bad one at that; but what should we expect from he who our Lord called a liar and a "murderer from the beginning" (John 8.44)? Keep your heart in the Church, and give thanks to God when you receive slander for your faith. This will allow you to have hope in the words of our Lord who said "Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven". Matt 5:10
Pax Christi.
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