To deny the reality of the forgiveness of sins through confession, or the sacrament of reconciliation, is also a denial of the words of the resurrected Jesus to the apostles (John 20:22–23), in which he gave them the power to forgive sins in his name. I know Jesus, I know I’m saved, why be a Catholic? This truth pertains to three areas in particular: reconciliation, ritual, and role models. This process is one that must include each individual Catholic and one in which all other people must be invited to share. Each resident of heaven is completely absorbed in the contemplation of God, perfectly united with all the angels and saints in worshiping and praising the divine Majesty, while at the same time more fully alive and unique than ever before. First, Catholics are reasonable people, and the most reasonable position on abortion is to outlaw it. Catholic is Not a Denomination. And basically the answer is: I became Catholic, first and foremost, to save my soul. These, then, are ten important reasons not to settle merely for being Christian, but to seek the fullness of God’s revelation through the Catholic Church, the only true Church of Christ. Eventually a Catholic priest was assigned to the base, and when he began meeting individually with all his parishioners, the soldier-in-training admitted his reason for claiming to be Catholic. The blatant hypocrisy and double standard of the Catholic church is one of the main reasons why many American Catholics are headed out the door. For instance, the widespread Protestant understanding that the Eucharist is merely symbolic flatly contradicts our Lord’s words in John 6 (“My flesh is true food and My blood is true drink”) and also the accounts of the Last Supper (“This is my Body . So my question is: why would I be a Catholic, given that I’m born-again? 3:16). Catholics are indeed known for the honor they give to the Virgin Mary, and she plays an irreplaceable role in God’s plan of salvation. UNIT 7 – Conclusion 7:24–25) and on the rock of Peter’s faith (Matt. From the papacy, you name it. After several metaphors illustrating their spiritual state and future judgment, he writes:It was of these also that Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, … We’ve talked about historical sources that support the claims and beliefs of … The Orthodox church drew apart from Rome off and on over several hundred years, finally separating in the fifteenth century, and the various Protestant denominations date back no earlier than the sixteenth century. We believe that’s what Jesus is talking about there, and it’s very clear when you look at the context that he’s talking about being born of water and spirit, that it’s referring to baptism, which is the instrument whereby we are brought into Christ. We are constantly in need of forgiveness, and this is why Jesus established as a sacrament not only baptism, but also reconciliation. As Scripture says, even the just man falls seven times a day (Prov. Catholicism, with its sacramental emphasis, has carried this truth through to its logical conclusion. When Luther and then Calvin and then Knox and then Zwingli, and now we have thousands of different men and women, have started their own churches, that is outside of the will of God. So you can be as born-again as born-again can be, but you also have to obey Jesus. As the “new Israel” (cf. Because see, I believe, Adam, that you can be as born-again as you want to be born-again, and we believe you’re born again in John 3:5 through baptism —of course, faith and baptism. First of all, the Church has a hierarchical structure; so does heaven. Moreover, Mary herself stated that “all ages will call me blessed” (Luke 1:48). UNIT 6 – The Real Presence of Christ. As a follow-up to Patrick’s speech on “WHY BE CATHOLIC” (broadcast on IMRadio 5/20/16) I ask the following questions: In his book and speech, why does Patrick emphasize as proof of the Catholic church’s authenticity and its decendence from Jesus Christ Himself using the statements that the Roman Catholic Church was the ONLY church around in the 1800s and in the 1500s? Many Protestants are very good at quoting the Bible, but, in terms of its entire message, it is the Catholic Church that lives by it. And so I asked basically the same question you’re asking me, I asked of a young marine about 34 years ago. Why do we need a Church, and why must it be Catholic? The Catholic Church has been obeying Christ’s command for almost two thousand years, and whereas many Christian denominations see the Eucharist mainly in symbolic terms, the Church has consistently taught that it is truly the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ. The word “sacramental” is here used in three different senses. I would humbly and unofficially suggest a “fifth” mark: the true Church is also opposed. Saints are not worshiped, but they are esteemed and honored, for they are part of the “great cloud of witnesses” (Heb. At the same time, all are equal in the sense of fully sharing in the Beatific Vision (the joyous, all-encompassing contemplation of God) and in being perfectly happy. WHY Be Catholic? A story about a small town’s efforts to create an ecumenical outdoor nativity scene illustrates this point. Because what I find in the New Testament is: the Church established by Jesus Christ has infallible authority. There was no Orthodox. Other important spiritual practices promoted by the Catholic Church—prayer, fasting, devotions to the saints, acts of penance, and so on—are designed to aid us in our ongoing efforts to grow in holiness and to cooperate with divine grace in overcoming our faults. This whole cacophony now of protestants, everybody’s saying “Oh, I know the truth!”. Evangelicals, you talk about. I’m curious why we owe God anything. It feels soft and lightweight, with the right amount of stretch. As Jesus noted, much is expected of those to whom much is given (Luke 12:48). Now, however, the “Chaplain” has appeared, and he is calling each one of us personally. The Church has withstood numerous heresies and schisms, along with fierce persecutions stretching from the days of Nero and Diocletian down to our own bloody twentieth century. Not only does this divinely given teaching authority assure the Church’s pronouncements on faith and morals will be free of error, it also serves as a source and measure of unity. Why I Am Catholic serves as a compelling reproposal of the Church for former Catholics, a persuasive argument for truth and beauty to those who have become jaded and disenchanted with religion, and at the same time offers practicing Catholics a much-needed dose of confidence and clarity to affirm their faith against an increasingly skeptical culture. Father chuckled appreciatively and then invited the young man to consider joining the Church for real. This can be seen in three different ways. Catholicism has weathered false prophets and antipopes, wars, civil disturbances, plagues, natural disasters, barbarian invasions, and societal collapse. To put the matter rather bluntly: Why should anyone settle for an imitation when the original is available—especially when it comes to knowing and living the truths necessary for salvation? Human beings are social by nature, and much personal growth and development results from imitating, consciously or otherwise, certain influential persons. The Catholic Church offers the saints as models worthy of imitation. Catholics have suffered discrimination as immigrants along the Eastern seaboard; Catholics have been isolated and unwelcome in the Bible Belt and have been victims of the “No Nothing” movement and other organized opposition to the Church, including the Ku Klux Klan; and today certain political and social movements—such as the proponents of abortion—often appeal to anti-Catholic sentiments. Jesus followed his own advice by building his Church on the solid foundation of fidelity and truth (Matt. Kindly note that this site is maintained by a small group of enthusiastic Catholics and this is not from any Church or any Religious Organization. Catholic Questions and Answers – One of the best ways to learn is to ask questions. Because see, I believe, Adam, that you can be as born-again as you want to be born-again, and we believe you’re born again in John 3:5 through baptism—of course, faith and baptism. And ultimately, Adam, it goes back to the one holy Catholic and apostolic Church. And so I really had to scrutinize: “Okay, why am I?” And then I had to say “Well, why am I, why am I, why am I?”. And when I looked around at all the protestant communities, what I saw is a bunch of men giving you their opinion of what they think the Bible says. Catholic Gallery offers Daily Mass Readings, Prayers, Quotes, Bible Online, Yearly plan to read bible, Saint of the day and much more. The second sense of “sacramental” (used here as an adjective) refers to the Eucharist and the other six sacraments, which are visible signs and sources of God’s grace active in the world. Reconciliation here refers to the fact that we are sinners in need of redemption, and that this process is an ongoing one. And we, as a historical fact, can trace all of the ordinations of all of our bishops from all around the world back to the apostles. This is not to deny the historical fact that Catholics have themselves been guilty of grave sins against charity but to point out that the Church—precisely when it follows its Master most faithfully—is subject to some of the same hatred he encountered. I would have been Cath—well, maybe I’d have been Orthodox. UNIT 1 – Why Do We Need a Church? Now that I found to be fascinating. But I still had the problem, Adam: I disagreed with a lot of the doctrines of this crazy Catholic Church. Because human beings are both body and spirit, the Lord relates to us not only in an invisible, spiritual way but also through the use of human gestures and material items we can see and hear and touch and taste: bread, wine, water, oil, words, and so forth. Catholics are privileged to be able to receive the treasure beyond all price—Jesus himself—each time they attend Mass. A third characteristic of the Church that reflects the kingdom of God is that, in both cases, all the members are united as one while preserving their individuality. Human beings, especially young people, require role models, and in opposition to self-centered movie stars, overpaid athletes, or promoters of cultural degeneration and violence the Church presents as examples those men, women, and children who can truly show us the way to eternal life and happiness. Using an entertaining speaking style, backed up by logic and science, Tim leaves his audience with answers to our most fundamental questions. Otherwise, the scene will appear to be too Catholic.” The priest responded, “I’ll agree to that—on the condition that you explain to everyone how the infant Jesus was born without a mother.”. In this age of talk of “reform” within the Church, how we answer these questions will get to the heart of why reform is or isn’t necessary. If Jesus was willing to humble himself by becoming human (Phil. 1.The Mass has become way to Protestant. In his groundbreaking DVD, Why Be Catholic?, Catholic Answers Director of Apologetics Tim Staples, offers an engaging and simple solution: "Catholicism has the cure for what ails each of us." 2:2; 2 Pet. A further weakness of the Protestant position lies in the idea of sola scriptura itself. Jesus described himself as the bread of life, stating that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood will have life eternal (John 6:54). It is not enough to ask, as many Evangelical Protestants do, “Have you been saved?” This suggests that if we’ve been “born again,” and have “accepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior,” salvation is guaranteed, and little if anything further is required of us. Because, Jesus says concerning his church: “If they hear you they hear me, if they reject you they reject me.” In Matthew 10:40, Luke 10:16, Matthew 18:18, right? Why be Catholic at all, to quote your title ? Many people, even Catholics, want to … Sacraments, by God’s promise and power, are effective in and of themselves, whereas sacramentals depend on the disposition of the believer. Caller: I became a born-again Christian three years ago—I’m 47 years old, so it’s quite late on in life, I was 44—with an evangelical church. UNIT 4 – The Intercession of Mary. 24:16). 9:27; Phil.2:12–13, 3:10–12), but also human nature. About the Director Catholic Answers is one of the nation s largest lay-run apostolates of Catholic … This t-shirt is everything you've dreamed of and more. Catholicism has always remembered that God looked upon his creation and pronounced it “good” (cf. A Protestant minister said to the local Catholic priest, “We can include all the characters mentioned in the Bible, except we should leave Mary out. you’re born again in John 3:5 through baptism. Why should we go further and become Catholic? Also, while all the persons in God’s kingdom are saints, some are even greater in holiness than others. Catholicism’s missionary outreach has covered the entire earth. Satan, possessing a cunning and intelligence far beyond human reason, sees his true enemy very clearly. There are nine different choirs of angels, each with a different function and rank. Through the Catholic Church, his prayer has been and continues to be fulfilled. Popular blogger and apologist Patrick Madrid offers 10 key reasons why he loves being Catholic (and you should too). 2:6–7), it’s logical to assume God would continue working in and through human beings and the material order he himself created. This article is my attempt to describe ten of the unique characteristics of the Catholic Church that set it apart from other Christian denominations. I later became a minister in an Assembly of God community, loved Jesus, became a good old Pentecostal preacher. The Body of Christ, though often wounded, has renewed itself after the attacks of Rationalism and the Enlightenment, the political intrigues of kings and princes, the brute force of mobs and dictators, the meddling of emperors, and even the disastrous rule of sinful or incompetent popes and bishops. Moreover, the Church—because of its international presence and prestige—is a powerful political force in its own right, as demonstrated by Pope John Paul II’s role in the collapse of the Soviet empire and the liberation of Eastern Europe. If we truly understood what a wondrous gift the Eucharist is, none of us would even consider ever leaving the Church, and our example would attract many other persons to Catholicism. The idea—for example, Martin Luther, to start his own Church, the Lutheran Church—where in the world is that in the Bible? A major point to consider is that the Church Doctrine (Dogma) cannot be changed. Jesus prayed that his disciples would be consecrated in truth, for they are in this world, but not of the world (John 17:11–18). The recruit thought about it and agreed; he took instructions, was received into the Church, and became a firmly committed Catholic. Life is full of suffering and often burdensome and who else can you blame but God who made everything. this is my Blood” [Mark 14:22–24]). A society’s “rites of passage”—in which young people are given the chance to demonstrate their maturity and be accepted as adults—are just one example of this. Sacramentals of this sort include holy water, scapulars, crucifixes, medals, rosaries, ashes on Ash Wednesday, the Sign of the Cross, and so on. The protastent churches all believe that if you believe in and desire Christ it is enough. This assertion will surprise those who assume that Catholics are ignorant of Scripture and that the Protestant belief in sola scriptura (accepting “the Bible only” as a source of religious teaching) makes them the only true “Bible Christians.” However, history and logic are again on the side of the Catholic Church. We believe the same ideals that the Apostles passed on. In 1930, the Anglican Church allowed certain “exceptions,” setting in motion a process in which all Protestant denominations have come to regard contraception as morally acceptable. No, the Church freely admits the sinful and unchristian behavior of many of its leaders and members throughout history. As Romans 6:3-4 says, we’re buried together with him him through baptism. And that was a big problem to me, because if you can’t speak in the name of Jesus—that means speak infallibly— well then you’re not the Church that Jesus established. I found it entirely biblical and historical. 11:21; Eph. First we have the incarnational sense, which means that God can be known and experienced in and through what he has created. 20:12). “Whatever you [the Church] binds on earth is bound in heaven, whatever you loose on earth is loosed in heaven.” That is divine authority that Jesus gives to the apostles and the apostles’ successors, the Church! The only parallel in history is that of the Jewish people—a people often singled out for persecution, scorned, oppressed, and exiled, yet miraculously preserved over thousands of years. And I will tell you, I went from doctrine to doctrine to doctrine and I hammered it out. What is it the Catholic Church offers to its almost one billion members that cannot be obtained anywhere else? Once Luther and his colleagues established the precedent of protesting and rejecting the Church’s teaching authority, there was nothing to prevent later protests against their own self-proclaimed authority. Church officials are often able to work behind the scenes in mediating conflicts and defending the rights of the oppressed while remaining true to the Church’s otherworldly mission. Prior to the reformation there was no need to distinguish between various Christian belief systems. UNIT 2 – The Primacy of Peter. 16:18–19). Well, they disagree with each other on matters so essential like we were talking about earlier: predestination, salvation, can you lose it, right? “What must we do?” they said to Peter in Acts 2:37. Drawing heavily on poignant anecdotes from his own experience as a life-long Catholic born in 1960s, Madrid offers readers a way of looking at the Church--its members, teachings, customs, and history--from perspectives many may have never considered. No pope two thousand years ago has ever contradicted on a definitive matter a pope like Pope Francis who is the Bishop of Rome today. The four marks of the true Church are that it is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic. 3:10–11; 2 Thess. Can’t you just accept Jesus, be born again, and be saved? I’m a (probably future ex-) Protestant pastor, and if you want to know what our denomination has to offer has a way to survive a crisis without access to … 12:1) whose lives testify to the truth of the Gospel and inspire those Christians still on earth to persevere in taking up their cross each day. Rom. Moreover, only Catholic and non-Catholic Eastern priests—because of their ordinations—have the sacramental power to consecrate the Eucharist. (1) Only the Catholic Church can trace its roots back to Christ Himself.. UNIT 3 – Miracles and Catholic Teachings. I’ll tell you, Adam, I was asked the question: why was I Assembly of God? They were Catholic. Nowhere does the Bible say that Scripture alone is the only source of divine revelation, but there are numerous references to Tradition and the teaching authority of the Church (Matt. Second, the Church is universal. Protestant churches are unquestionably accomplishing much good in the world, and countless individual Protestants are surely pleasing to the Lord and can look forward to a place in his Kingdom. Moreover, none of the teachings of Catholicism contradict Scripture, and the Bible—at least implicitly but normally explicitly—supports all of the Church’s doctrines. Okay, well, what would you have been in the year 900? 11:11) suggests that some of the saints are indeed ranked higher. But how should you answer? The book of Jude contains some of the most mysterious and intriguing passages in the New Testament.One occurs when Jude warns against a group of Christians who have given themselves over to immorality. “Why should I be Catholic?” is a question we hear all the time at Catholic Answers. In this, the Church imitates heaven, whose citizenship consists of “a great multitude, which no one could count, of every nation, race, people, and tongue” (Rev. Role models are also a fundamental human need. Catholicism is biblical. Therefore, why be a Catholic if the sacraments are non-essential? The process of continually reinterpreting Scripture has reached the point where now, according to Oxford’s World Christian Encyclopedia, there are well over 20,000 Protestant denominations with their own—often contradictory—interpretations of the Gospel, each claiming to possess the true understanding of divine revelation. Our families need to be built on a strong foundation of faith and we need to live in community with … The Catholic Church is virtually unique in obeying and fulfilling this scriptural prophecy. Interestingly, the most significant summary of our Catholic faith was written by St. Thomas Aquinas (called the Summa Theologica – Summary of Theology) and is set up in a question and answer format. We as Catholics can alone rightly claim to have the fullness of God’s revelation and guidance. • “Because it’s the truth” is certainly a good answer. And basically the answer is: I became Catholic, first and foremost, to save my soul. 16:18), and history records many examples of Satan’s vicious but unsuccessful assaults on the Body of Christ. Didn’t Paul say that there is neither Jew nor Greek, servant nor free, male nor female, since we are all … 1 Peter 3:21 says “baptism does now save us.” Acts 22:16, Ananias says to Paul “Why tarriest thou? Local custom, and eventually official policy, gradually recognized and celebrated still other holy men and women as heroic examples of righteousness. Just as Jesus was a sign of contradiction and a stumbling block (1 Cor. Every bishop in the world that is Catholic is a successor of an apostle. Moreover, our Lord’s words about the least in the kingdom of heaven being greater than John the Baptist during his earthly life (Matt. We have the actual writings of St. Ignatius of Antioch referring to the Church as the "Catholic" Church. Only this fact explains their miraculous ongoing existence. Nevertheless, it is in and through the Catholic Church that the fullness of God’s revelation is to be discovered and experienced. 1:23), so his Church is a lightning rod for hatred, calumny, misunderstanding, suspicion, and opposition. Disbelief in the teaching authority of the Church is also disbelief in our Lord’s command to teach and baptize all nations, and in his promise to remain with the Church always (Matt. He had no actual religious background, but when told to list a particular denomination, he identified himself as Catholic. And after I became born-again, I became very active in the pro-life movement which is mainly Catholic-led, so I know a lot of Catholics. There was only one. And I found out, as an historical fact, that Jesus Christ really did establish one church, and that is the Catholic Church. And it was the Church that decided which of the many early Christian writings were canonical, or worthy of acceptance as scriptural. Jesus, my brother, is the only one who has the authority to start a Church, and he did that two thousand years ago. These things are all valuable and praiseworthy—but for a Catholic to give them a higher priority than the Eucharist is akin to Esau selling his birthright for a mess of pottage (cf. As the great bishop and martyr Ignatius of Antioch noted, “Christianity shows its greatness when it is hated by the world.” Anti-Catholicism has arguably had a stronger role in human history than any other prejudice save anti-Semitism, even in the United States. Why be baptized if desire is enough? You can look it up, their website is usccb.org. I can tell you from my own perspective—because as you know, I accepted Jesus Christ as my personal lord and savior when I was 10 years old at Boulevard Baptist Church in Falls Church, Virginia, changed my life. More than any other religion, Catholicism is to be found in virtually every nation and culture, with members from every background and social status (as noted earlier, the word “catholic” means “universal”). It didn’t exist. 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