And why should you be Catholic? Because it is the fullness of the faith!

Introduction

I intend to show why Catholicism is the fullness of the Faith, and that the catholic church is the one true church, Started by Jesus himself, guided by the holy spirit, and protected for over 2000 years by the catholic men, women, and saints that gave their lives and died so that we could have the same bible, same church, and same faith that Jesus himself gave to us in the upper room, on the eve of his passion. 

Big goals, but not at all impossible.  The evidence to the above claims are monumental, but just forgotten to the sands of time, or maybe the agendas of men. This document is not be exhaustive, theologians have spent lifetimes studying, writing and teaching about these ideas.  The only reason that I know anything, is because I stand on their shoulders, and I want to share with you what they have taught me.  Finally, I want this document to simply be a primer, to whet your appetite, so that you can research and discover the beauty of the catholic faith on your own.

What follows are my 5 reasons… These are just the most important 5 to me, there are hundreds more, but most boil down, in one way or another, to a variant of the following.

1. The Bible and the Church Fathers

The history and safekeeping of the bible

Let’s begin with a brief history of how the bible was compiled and has even survived till today. The Old Testament (OT) was “developed” over a period of 4000 years, sometimes written on scrolls, originally composed in Aramaic and Hebrew. But for most of that 4000 years it was simply just handed down by mouth from Rabbi to Student. It was not formally collected, organized and translated into Greek until 300 B.C, by Alexander the Great. The 7 OT books that were written after 300 B.C. were written in Hebrew and did not get translated until after Jesus’s death. These books were called the Dutero-canon.

The New testament (NT) was originally written, primarily in Greek. In about 200 A.D. the NT scriptures were first compiled and organized. It was called The Muratorian Canon, but not even this was the complete bible we know today. There were many ideas floating around about what scrolls should be considered the Bible, and there was even more concern about the false teachings that were starting to be promulgated in many Christian communities.  In response the pope and bishops called the council of Nicea (in 325).  Their task was to deal with some very disturbing heresies that had arisen due to false interpretations of the bible and its meanings. These heresies needed to be squashed once and for all, the church needed to clearly define its dogma. After this council in 385, The NT was entirely translated into Latin by St. Jerome. And then later, In 411, St Jerome went back and translated the OT into Latin as well. 

Now, it is critically important to point out here, that the Bible, OT and NT, did not even exist in a single complete form until after the the council of Nicea. Before then, It was, at most, a loose collection of scrolls and books. But no one had combined them in a complete form until the fourth century. Why is this important? Because many Protestants make the mistake of believing that the Bible was handed to the apostles by Jesus as he ascender into heaven. But the truth is that the church existed for 4 centuries without a Bible. Surviving only on testimony tradition and word of mouth from master to apprentice in the early Christian churches. The Bible was only later added to the Catholic Church once the divinely inspired books were identified, translated and ultimately compiled into the tome that we recognize today as the Bible.

Another important milestone in this history, came about in 636.  Why is this important, because, when the emperor of Rome finally declared Greek the official language of the world, Latin essentially died as a living spoken language.  It is very easy to miss the importance of this event.  We all know that languages evolve. The word “cool” today means something very different, than it did even 100 years ago.  So in 636, The Latin vulgate (the liturgy of the Bible), the Bible that was created by St. Jerome in 385, was literally frozen in time. When you read the words that Jerome wrote, they mean the exact same thing today, that they meant 1600 years ago.  This is especially important because his translation is widely considered the most complete and most accurate of all of the early translations of the ancient scriptures.  So not only has the language of this bible been litterally been frozen in time, it has also remained mostly unchanged for 1600 years. There may have been many translations of the Bible over that time, but the Latin is exactly the same.

The next major milestone, is the unmitigated disaster of protestant reformation. On October 31st, 1517, Martin Luther changed everything. He started by rejecting any OT books that were written after 300 BC. He felt that because they were written in Hebrew, and not Greek, that these books were untrustworthy.  Mostly, Luther claimed that because they came so close to the time before Jesus that they did not have the authority to properly prophesy the coming of Jesus, like the other prophets do.  But, these book, in fact, give tremendous insight into how Jews and Gentiles existed during Jesus’ time, messianic claims, and Jewish orthodox uprisings against the Pharisees and Saduces at the temple. But specifically for Luther, I would also argue that these books directly undermined Luther’s personal agenda, and as such were deemed intolerable by him.  Here are the books and chapters that Luther literally removed from the bible.  A bible, mind you, that had been in use, unchanged, for over 1000 years before him. The books removed were:

• Tobit
• Judith
• The Book of Wisdom
• Sirach (also called Ecclesiasticus)
• Baruch
• 1 Maccabees
• 2 Maccabees
• Seven chapters in the book of Esther
• Two chapters and a prayer in the book of Daniel

Luther also changed parts of the new testament to suit his purposes as well. There are a couple places in Paul’s letters that He completely rewrote the meaning of the epistle, because it did not jive with his world view.  For example, Paul wrote that we are “justified by faith”.  Luther, in his version added the word “alone” and in so doing, created for himself an entirely new religion in his own image.

In direct response to Luther, 1545 the Catholic church convened the council of Trent, to deal with Luther’s apostasy, and to codify the complete bible as we know it today. This council froze (in time) the Latin vulgate as the definitive translation of the catholic bible, and utterly rejected Luther, and all of his teachings.

Finally, in 1611 King James compiled his version of the Bible using the Lutheran collection of books, and alterations. Since then there have been a million different translations all with different interpretations, and there are as many protestant religions to go along with each translation.  Leading to confusion, contradiction, and confrontation among the various different sects. 

Nevertheless, despite all that, one thing remains irrefutably true…, and that is that the bible that you hold in your hands, whether you are catholic or protestant, or Mormon…, the only reason you have that bible, is because of a catholic.  Either a priest, monk, or a scholar, who copied it by hand, preserved it in a library, and ultimately protected it from destruction with their very lives, from the Romans, Byzantines, Mongols, Muslims, all different forms of angry pagans, and even the protestants.  You can thank a catholic for saving that bible for you.

The knowledge and wisdom of the Church Fathers

Next we need to discuss those people that stand out as great teachers and protectors of the church. The Catholic heritage also has a long line of saints and martyrs that lived, taught, and died for the faith. From the very beginning, starting with the very first Pope, St. Peter, and his leading evangelist St. Paul. Also including the gospel writers (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), and all of their contemporaries, Men and women have heard the stories of the holy scripture told to them, and had others teach them the meaning, pass along context, and understanding, but even more importantly they strove to make the bible relevant to their listeners at that time.  Many of these brave souls died because they refused to stop, proclaiming the gospel.

This is how it was during the time of Moses, and his first rabbi’s. Moses insisted that his rabbi’s must memorize, and ultimately recite the law from memory perfectly 5 times in a row.  Then, and only then would they be allowed to teach another person.  But this was only half the equation.  There was also the explanation and understanding of these laws that was also taught, memorized and passed down as well. This tradition of memorization and teaching was repeated for hundreds of years before anything was ever written down.  Once all of this was finally recorded on scrolls, the law was called the Torah, and the explanation of the law was called the Talmud.

After Jesus, the fathers of the church followed the same tradition.  They taught the word of God for centuries before any of it was recorded as the Gospel.  But these fathers of the church, also taught and wrote about the circumstances surrounding Jesus, and his teachings and what it all meant.  These teachings, and exegesis were eventually recorded as well by their students, and many of those writing are still with us today.  This body of work is what we call the teachings of the church fathers. It has helped men and women, for age upon age, to better learn and understand the faith, and it continues to teach us even today, and for generations to come.

Men like St. Polycarp, St. Athenatius, St. Augustine, and later St. Thomas Aquinas.  Men like this, brought light and understand to the holy scripture, and continue to do so today.  If you want to know what the trinity is, A catholic church father has the answer.  If you want to know why Jesus died on the cross, it will be one of these church fathers that can teach you why.  If you want to know why Mary is so important to the Christian faith…, You only need ask a church father, and they will set you on the right track.

If it were not for the intellectual brilliance and divine grace poured out on these men, and women, the church we have today would be a shell of what it is, but more importantly, the scholarship that they started would have to start afresh every generation. Rejecting the accomplishments, and teachings of some of the brightest minds of the catholic faith, is like a doctor rejecting the teachings of his medical school and going into a heart surgery saying I will figure it out. You may ask why anyone would ever want to do such a thing, but that is exactly what Luther did.  He said that there is nothing to be learned from the church fathers, and that each person can discern what the scriptures mean to and for themselves… But history is very clear that those that ignore history are doomed to repeat it.  The scholarship of the church fathers is so rich, and so edifying that ignoring it is like burying a treasure chest in your back yard and throwing away the map.  But unfortunately this willfull ignorance of the past, ensures that the errors of Luther will continue to go unchecked, and sadly, I think that is by design.

The teachings of the Magisterium — Church Council’s & Papal Exhortations.

Great minds will never always agree, and disputes happen, and the church has always been there to bridge the gap. Our Christian faith today, is the result of the words and teachings of Jesus passed down through the centuries by his faithful followers. Taught and explained by the sages and doctors of the church and saved through time by the courageous martyrs and zealots.  The Christian faith is not a stogey book, or just some old words spoken 2000 years ago.  It is a living faith proclaimed from one generation to another.  It is guided by the holy spirit, and it is greater than any of its individual followers, but that is not to say that some did not try to bend it to their own will. There are many examples of this throughout the centuries… and this is where the church and its leaders have served as invaluable witnesses to the truth.

When I say “the church” I am referring specifically to the bishops, cardinals and the popes. When these men get together to discuss and decide on the issues of doctrine and dogma, we call them collectively the magisterium.  The magisterium has met and ruled on issues regarding the church many times over the centuries, but it was usually in the form of an ecumenical council, and usually with the goal of settling a heresy that has developed amongst the people or a group of religious.  

These councils are not undertaken lightly, and they are usually a grueling processes of scholarship, and dissertation. Nothing is decided and proclaimed without consensus and much deliberation.  These are not fiats that are handed down from the Pope on a whim, like a dictator…, they usually take decades to come to a head and can often take months or years to finally settle once they begin.

Some examples of ecumenical councils include…, Nicea, Ephesus, Chalcedon, and later Trent. Councils like this were held to deal with heresies like Arianism, Nestorianism, Monophysitism, and later Protestantism. These are serious heresies that grew out of probably, well-meaning people, but developed a life of their own, and ultimately had the effect of moving people away from the one true God and the fullness of the faith. These councils all Ended differently…, sometimes they ended up solidifying the faith, sometimes they brough the broken factions back into communion, and sometimes like with Protestantism, all they could do was to simply make clear what it is to be a catholic in the Latin rite, and to show that Luther and his acolytes were no longer practicing the same faith of their fathers and that they were no longer participating in the same church that Jesus Christ started in the upper room on the eve of his passion.

Some councils were successful, and some were not, but after a council was finished, it was not possible to have questions as to where the church stood on any particular issue. The results are definitive. 

So, while councils were usually convened to settle disputes between members of the catholic faithful, Papal exhortations and papal encyclicals are declared (by the pope and his closest advisors) as educational scholarship, meant to bring clarity to an issue where there may be confusion and misunderstanding. Mary’s immaculate conception, bodily assumption, and perpetual virginity, are all good examples of issues that were handled in this way. There have been many books written on these dogmas, by some of the greatest minds in our church. Men like Augustine, and Aquinas have definitively written on these subjects, but the people just did not seem to get it.  So popes like St. Pius XII in the 19th century, wrote exhortations citing all of this scholarship, and explaining the work in new ways to definitively settle the issue for all time.

While either the pope or members of the magisterium can bring a council, it usually the result of a combined effort among many or all of the members of the magisterium working together to make it happen. Encyclicals and exhortations, on the contrary, are written by a single person or a small cohort of people, and they are written to their immediate parishioners.  When a bishop or cardinal writes one, it is usually for his diocese alone. When the pope writes one, it is for all the faithful Catholics of the world. But everything we have known or have learned as Christians through the 2000 years since Jesus died, has come down to us from the church fathers, the magisterium, the church councils and the popes. And for that we owe them a great debt of gratitude.

2. Appostolic succession

The great commission — the establishment of the first bishops and first pope

The catholic church is indeed the institution that Jesus himself gave to us in the upper room, when He founded His church on the rock of St. Peter.  He gave Peter the keys to the kingdom and said that “whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”  Jesus, in that ordination, told all of us, that his keys will be given to a single Man, who will have the power to definitively settle all matters that will come before the church, and bind all of mankind to their conclusions. Does this mean that one man can act capriciously, and become a tyrant? Possibly, but Jesus also gave us the holy spirit and said that His guiding hand would always be there to show the way. And he promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against it.  And for 2000 years it has stood as a watchtower for the faithful. How was this accomplished? The answer is Apostolic Succession.  This means that for 2000 years our priests, bishops, cardinals, and popes can trace their ordination back to Jesus himself.  My priest (in my local parish) was ordained by the bishop in Phoenix who was ordained by a pope. And that pope was ordained by another pope, who was ordained by another pope all the way back to the very first pope…, St. Peter, who was ordained by Jesus himself. This lineage is more than just an impressive pedigree, it is the cornerstone on which the legitimacy of the magisterium, and the consecration of the eucharist stands. 

When Jesus was in the upper room, on the eve of his passion, he established his first 12 bishops, of which Peter was the leader.  Today we call that leadership position the Pope.  Jesus told his 12 apostles that they need to do this (the eucharistic consecration) in remembrance of me. He was establishing the priesthood, and delegating the power to these ordained followers the right that they alone, would be the ONLY ones allowed to perform this consecration.  Still today it is taught that only ordained priests and bishops can carry out this most holy rite.  When the church grew beyond to the point that these 12 could handle the need, those apostles ordained more bishops and priests, and the lineage of apostolic succession was born. So for almost 2000 years members of the catholic faith have been teaching and protecting, and feeding the holy faithful, with the word of Jesus, and the food of the holy sacrament of the eucharist.  

Luther’s apostacy and the breaking of apostolic succession.

NO other protestant denomination of christianity can make the claim of apostolic succession, or even come close.  There are some eastern orthodox religions that can claim communion with the church, because their apostolic succession was never broken.  But every denomination that is the result of the protestant reformation, is broken away from this lineage.  Luther broke that line, when he committed his apostasy, and created his own church. Here is why…, After Luther posted his 95 thesis, On all hallows eve, 1517, He basically created a new church for himself. He declared that Jesus’ proclamation about the keys did not matter anymore. He ultimately, declared that the church was no longer in the hands of His appointed successors, and it no longer had the authority to bind and loose. Luther decided that He (a single man) was now the sole authority. The result of Luther’s hubris, is now, any man that disagrees with the church, can just splinter off, and make a new church, of his own, in his own image, ignoring (if not condemning) the church that Jesus Christ Himself first ordained and gave to us. 

The proof of Luther’s massive error, comes from his own mouth.  In the time that followed his protestant revolution, many other men stood up and said that they disagreed with Luther or the church, on one doctrine or another, men like John Calvin, Zwingly, King Henry VIII, John Knox, Robert Brown, John Smith, and many more…, all rose up, one after another, claiming that something Luther or his followers said was wrong, that they alone knew the real truth, and they then, ultimately refused to follow their precessor anymore. The result is that they then created their own church. Luther consequently, condemned these men for leaving him, and for doing their own thing.  This is a well-documented fact, and is confirmed in Luther’s own hand, by the fact he wrote scathing rebukes, about his followers leaving his protestant revolution. He literally claimed that he alone was allowed to be convicted by his interpretations of the bible, and that all others were required to follow him, and not their own interpretations.   It is a really bad sign when your entire theory unravels when your followers do exactly what you did yourself. And to make it even worse it was Luther’s  hypocrisy that was what actually drove them away.

Today there are more than 180 recognized denominations of Christian churches in the world.  That numbers soars to over 37,000+ when you count the Non-denominational christian churches in the world, and that huge number increases every day when someone disagrees with a local pastor, and decides to open a “church of their own” in their back yard or garage carport.  What is the one thing that unifies all of these non-catholic “churches?” It is that nothing stands as a check on the pastor’s doctrine and teachings.  It is only the charism of a single man that stands as a guide-rail against his own error. One single man, and his personal beliefs…, is all that it takes to create a church anymore… that is, of course, until someone disagrees with him, and starts a new church of their own.

The genius and power of authority

The genius of the catholic church comes from Jesus himself.  He knew that there would be times when parishoners would not get along, but disagreement MUST not be the catalyst for separation, it must be the starting point for education and catechesis…, and ultimately reunification. Jesus’ genius was to to give the pope the keys to the kingdom, to bind and loose, and to work to keep the church united through good times and bad. Thus having a pope, and a magisterium, who are lead and guided by the holy spirit is critical, and having those leaders positioned as the smartest and most educated men in the faith, who’s primary job it is to study, and teach and solve these disputes, then souls can be saved, rifts can be mended, and the church stays together as a result. This is crucial to the success and health of the entire community of believers, not just catholics. That is the magisterium’s sole purpose, to save souls and slay error. 

When Adam and Eve were temped in the garden by the serpent, they faced three temptations. They were basically seduced by the idea, that “No one has a right to tell you what to do…” “You can do whatever you want…” and “you too, can be like god.”  That is also what jesus was faced with in the desert.  These are the temptations that all human beings face, every day, by the evil one. Sometimes we fall, and sometimes we don’t. But I contend that Luther, when faced with the temptation that he knew better than the 1500 years of scholarship that proceeded him…, that he failed his test.  And the Christian world is now in a total mess because of it.

3. Doctrine and Dogma

Church Teachings, opinions, and the deposit of Faith.

So, what is Catholic Doctrine and Dogma? First let me start by saying that it is not the teachings of the Bible.  These words that are codified in scripture as the written word of God are called the “deposit of faith”.  The deposit of faith is not questionable, it is true (de fide), and we must believe it to be a Christian. What we are discussing here are the theological beliefs that have arisen and have been established in the time since Jesus ascended into heaven. So a doctrine is a pius belief of the church that has been asserted by scholarship, or by popular interest, or through divine revelation over a period of time.  Now from time to time these doctrines have become the point of contention, or question among the faithful.  It is at that time that the church, either through the pope or his magisterium, will declare clearly and with finitude as to the churches position on the subject. This final declaration is Dogma. When a doctrine is elevated to Dogma, it is to be considered “de fide” as well, it is to be accepted as if it were part of the original deposit of faith. And we are obliged to believe it.

Here is an example…, In the catholic church we have a dogma that Mary was immaculately conceived. The early church fathers all wrote about this. Augustine, and Aquinas wrote convincingly about it, and even early Protestants like Luther and Calvin, absolutely believed and asserted it as well.  There is incredibly vast amounts of scholarship that backs this up, and makes it abundantly clear that it is true.  There were later mystics like St. Catherine Laboure, and Anne Catherine Emerich, and others that had divine revelations further supporting this fact.  This doctrine of the church was very well established and widely accepted for centuries within the church, and generally accepted as true.  Then in 1850 Pope Prius IX, amid pressure from the faithful and due to his own deeply held devotion to the Great Mother Mary, he and his magisterium declared this doctrine of the immaculate conception to be a Dogma of the catholic church, and that is why we speak of this fact as true, and not as that of a personal opinion.

The levels of theological certainty

Please understand that while there are many doctrines of the catholic church that have the same level of certainty as the immaculate conception, there are many, many more that fall far short of that standard.  Let’s explore the 6 levels of Theological Certainty in detail! All of church teaching whether it comes from the pope himself or from his college of cardinals & bishops, or from an individual in private revelation, are categorized (by the magisterium) as one of the following, and we as the faithful, are required to adhere to these teachings with the requisite level of respect and even Faith.  Please note: that these relate to the teachings and revelations of the men and women of the church, not the deposit of faith. What we discuss below, are the teachings that have come after Jesus, and this is how the church ranks their importance.

• De fide divina — indicates that some religious doctrine is an essential part of Catholic faith and that denial of it is heresy. The teachings of Jesus from the bible (the deposit of faith), as well as things like the teachings of the immaculate conception today would fall under this category— This teaching is considered Dogma
• Fides ecclesiastica — Church teachings, definitively decided on by the Magisterium.  The teachings on the immaculate conception before it was declared dogma, would fall under this category.
• Sententia fidei proxima — refers to teachings, which are generally accepted as divine revelation but not defined as such by the Magisterium. The miracle at Fatima might be a good example of this category of certainty.
• sententia ad fidem pertinens (ie. theologice certa) — is a doctrine, on which the Teaching Authority of the Church has not yet finally pronounced, but whose truth is guaranteed by its intrinsic connection with the doctrine of revelation.  This would be akin to a miracle or a revelation that was asserted by the local bishop, but the cause has not been taken up in the vatican yet. Or lady of good hope in Wisconsin, would fall under this category.
• sententia communis — doctrine, which in itself belongs to the field of free opinions, but which is accepted by theologians generally. This would be a revelation or a miracle that many people believe, but the local bishop has not affirmed it, but has also not condemned it either. The revelation of Medugoria or Garabendal would fall under this category.
• sententia probabilis, probabilior, bene fundata, or opinio tolerated. — Those which are regarded as being in agreement with the consciousness of Faith of the Church are called pious opinions (sententia pia). These are any pious writing from the church or the faithful, that have the appearance of holy work, but no one has yet to affirm or deny them.  This category has 4 subclassifications… They are:
  • Probable
  • More Probable
  • Well Founded
  • Tolerated Opinion

So using this hierarchy, we can see that the church clearly differentiates the teachings of Pope Francis’ on the environment, from the teachings of the church on things like the Immaculate Conception of Mary. And we must recognize that these two extremes have a lot of levels of certainty and requisite faithful adherence in between. The first (Francis’ teachings) are the opinion of an extremely liberal and opinionated pope, and the other is the accepted and established dogma of truth. So as such we as the faithful Christians must discern where to put our energy and faith behind.  In the case of dogma. We have the first-hand accounts from the apostles. We have the confirmation of secular Roman and Jewish Writers that confirm the apostles.  We have the teachings and studies of thousands of scholars over the last 2000 years, that expand upon and help us to understand, these teachings, and we have the confirmation of private revelation.  This is why the dogma of the church is held as authoritative and with out challenge.  In the case of Francis and his teachings on the environment… we have less than 100 years of dubious science and so-called authorities whose claims have never been proven, and have often been publicly refuted directly by the environment’s own lack of cooperation.  In the case of De Fide Teachings, you are obliged to believe, in the case of Francis, you are not.

The 6 non-negotiables issues.

In the 2000 years since christ there have been many teachings that have been elevated to the status of de fide.  Things like Marian Doctrine, and the dogma of hell, and purgatory.  These have all been declared to be dogma (see section below) and are beyond question.  But short of that very high standard of dogma, there are only 6 established doctrines that the church says that you MUST agree with the Catholic Church’s position, in order to remain in good standing with the Church. They all center around the churches position on life, family and faith.  The 6 are called the non-negotiables.  They are as follows.

• Abortion – (Catechism of Catholic Church – 2271-2) 
• Homosexual Marriage – (CCC 2357-9) 
• Euthanasia – (CCC 2276-9) 
• Embryonic Stem Cell Research – (Pontifical Council for the Family, Charter of the Rights of the Family 4b)
• Human Cloning – (Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; Instruction on Respect for Human Life in its Origin and on the Dignity of Procreation 1:6) 
• Religious Liberty – (CCC 2108) 

All other doctrines of the church are up for discussion and debate.  Why does the church refer to these 6 doctrines as non-negotiables. In a nutshell, because they are gravely immoral and inherently evil, and there is no set of circumstances in which they can EVER be considered okay. Abortion is the murder of pure innocence.  There is no scenario where this act can be called acceptable.  Homosexual marriage, is an abomination against nature.  Men and women were made to come together, marry, and bring forth children.  Homosexual marriage is a mockery of god’s plan and the natural order of things. Euthanasia, is assisted suicide…, It is murder, plain and simple. You get the picture… if the act is gravely immoral, and that there is no way that mitigating the circumstances could ever change that fact, then the act is inherently wrong, can never be condoned, and must be rejected in the strongest possible terms.  I personally think that it is a tragedy that this truth about the church is not preached from the pulpit every Sunday.  But, After Vatican II the “spirit of Vatican II” has clouded the morality of many parishioners in the church so much so that a political candidate can run as the Catholic candidate, while making clear the fact that he is going to make abortion legal up until the time of birth, and maybe even after, and that candidate gets more than 40% of the catholic vote in America?  The willful ignorance of these “non-negotiables” by many catholics, is despicable, and must be rectified from the pulpit.  If the leadership of the church does not make this clear, then they are part of the problem.

The problem of Papal Infallibility

So why is there so much confusion in the press and in the general population about the teachings of the church? First and foremost because of the liturgical abuses of some rogue bishops after Vatican 2, but also the poor teaching on “infallibility,” in the wake of Vatican 1. The church has a doctrine of infallibility that came out of the First Vatican council, and to this day is one of the most misunderstood and poorly taught teachings in the world. I personally think that this lack of understanding is sown by the evil one to generate confusion, and mistrust among the faithful.  

The doctrine of infallibility is tied to the “binding and loosing” that Jesus granted to the pope and conferred upon the magisterium.  It goes like this.  If the pope, with the FULL support of the magisterium, declares a teaching infallible, then we as the faithful, are obliged to believe it. But this is a very rare thing, and it does not mean that everything the pope does or says is infallible.  To further drive home this very important point, there have only been a handful of times in the 2000 years of the church that the pope has made an infallible declaration and they mostly have to do with the dogma of Mary.  Things like the immaculate conception of Mary, and the bodily assumption of Mary into heaven upon her death and the perpetual virginity of mary for her whole life. These were deeply held beliefs that had very little documentation (or none) in the bible for these doctrines, but over the 2000 years of the church these teachings became understood as truth.  They were supported by divine revelation, and ultimately ratified into dogma by the popes and magisterium, and declared infallible truth.  So, we as Christians are now obliged to believe this, not because the pope declared it, but because of all of the thought, revelation, and scholarship that surrounds these techings.  The infallible declaration is simply a rubber stamp that marks something true that everyone already believed to be true anyway.  So don’t fall for the trope that the popes are always infallible, because they are not, but every once in a thousand years they might declare something that is.

Divine Revelation

I have mentioned divine revelation a couple times herein, and in any discussion about doctrine and dogma, this is a subject that is going to come up, and it is very important, so we will explore it a little further.  The bible is considered the first source of information we look to when we want to find out about Jesus, his teachings, and his bride the church.  But it is NOT the ONLY source. Remember that the bible as we know it today did not even exist until the scrolls that make up the bible were roughly organized into a collection in 200AD, and was not formally organized and translated to Latin until after the Nicean Council, by St. Jerome in 385.  So how does anyone know what books to even put in the bible? or what ideas were even worthy of the church and the christian faith. In two words. Devine Revelation.  Here is what the council of Trent said about it in Dei Verbum:

God, the beginning and end of all things, can be known with certainty from created reality by the light of human reason (see Rom. 1:20); but teaches that it is through His revelation that those religious truths which are by their nature accessible to human reason can be known by all men with ease, with solid certitude and with no trace of error, even in this present state of the human race.

So what does this mean.  Divine Revelation is the word of God spoken to an audience…, maybe a single person, maybe a crowd, but it is spoken, and cannot be refuted.  The catholic church teaches that only with god’s grace, can His nature can be fully understood. And God gives us that grace as soon as we ask for it. God is not an enigma, that cannot be understood, His true nature can be found in every corner of the created universe. When you see a flower in full bloom, or a baby smile, or any of the infinite examples of goodness, truth, and beauty that are found in the natural world around us.  That is where we see a part of the True nature of God.  We know it when we see, it, and we know it is true in the deepest part of our souls.  So when the Holy Spirt Speaks the word of God to the prophet, the truth of it can be immediately understood as true, and when that truth reveals further understanding, increased respect, and deeper adoration for God, then this is what we call divine revelation.  I think that Augustine summed it up nicely with this quote: “Faith is to believe what you do not see; the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”

So Divine Revelation has happened to countless people over the years.  Some are well known, others maybe never left the lips of the original hearers.  We all are going to hear the guidance and urging of the lord or our guardian angles, and some listen, and some don’t.  These are not to be discounted.  Some extremely profound changes can come from a person solemnly listening to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in their lives, and by no means am I saying these don’t matter, but they are not the divine revelation that I am talking about when I speak of the term in regard to church history and the development of dogma.  For this subject I am talking about the revelation that was given to our saints.

This document is not going to recount the centuries of recorded miracles that encompass this subject, there are literally libraries of books devoted to these subjects. But it is important to understand that these are not only the private encounters of individuals that were later excepted as true. There are also public spectacles like Fatima, where 70 thousand people witnessed the same event, including reporters with cameras.  But most are smaller groups of 1 to a few people.  But the revelations that were accepted but the church were always accompanied by a miraculous event.  Be it a spring that wells up with healing water, or Eucharistic hosts that have been transformed into human tissue from the muscle of a heart. There have even been saints that after their deaths, their bodies would not decompose.  There are some who to this day more than 500 years later, their bodies look as fresh as they day they died.  These miracles serve as a sign that their revelations are true and confirmed by the miraculous events.

So how is a divine revelation accepted as real in the church, and are there any that have that been rejected?  When a parishioner has an experience of divine origin, the whole affair is brought to the local bishop, it is investigated and determined as true or not.  For many of them this is where they remain for many years.  They are watched and the analyzed to see if their truth holds up, and maybe even more miracles are attributed to them. At some point the bishop will declare the revelation as “worthy of belief.” Then later, at some point, whether from the bishop or the laity, the cause will be brought to Rome for consideration, and if accepted, it will be investigated and eventually declared true or not.  There is no set timeline for this, and can take years to decades to complete. But eventually they will declare an official statement from the Holy See, as to the validity.

When devine revelation is brought to rome, the same scale that we saw above with doctrine, is applied and the church makes a declaration as to how certain we are of the reveleation.  Some will be accepted, and some will be rejected, and some sit in a state of uncertainty for a long time.  Spectacles like Fatima have been fully accepted by the church.  Others have been approved by the local bishop but not the church, our lady of good hope in Wisconsin is a good example of this. And others have not been approved, but the faithfull flock to them anyway.  Medugoria is a good example of this. And finally others have been utterly rejected as fake and false.  But whether it takes years or centuries for the church to declare its decision, the the holy spirit is guiding this whole process from beginning to end, and we can trust that they will get it right in the end.

But most importantly, we must remember that the reason that God give us Devine revelation, is to bring us all closer to him, to validate the truth of the gospels and the teachings of the church, and to save souls. So in the end we are left with a long history of extremely deep and rich teachings that go far beyond what we can understand by just the bible alone. These revelations, while not as important as the bible itself, serve as an important source of extending biblical understanding, and should not be rejected, simply because they came after it.

4. The communion of the Saints

What is the communion of the saints? 

We believe as catholics, that all baptised human beings are called to be part of the body of christ.  We are all called to commune with God…, the angels, the saints, and all of the faithful that are still residing here on earth. We are all called to participate in that great wedding feast in heaven.  On earth it is called the Holy mass, but we believe that in heaven that the same great celebration is happening eternally.  And the saints are part of that banquet. 

So who are these people that are called saints? We are all called to be saints, though our baptism. We are blessed at our baptisms with the titles of priest, prophet, and king.  This is how we are supposed to live our lives in our families and communities, but our higher call is to be a saint. If we live our lives according to our baptisms, stay close to the sacraments, and live in a state of grace, then we can hope with some certainty that when we make it to heaven that we too can be a saint.  Becuase that is the actual definition of saint, the soul that makes it to heaven, and lives eternally in the presense of God and his Beatific Vision.

What does it take to be a saint.

Not all of the saints in heaven, have been identified as such in this world.  To get this title among the faithful here on earth, requires some strict requirements. So what does it take to be a saint? In a nutshell, it requires that we know that with all certainty that this person made it to heaven and is with god right now. To know this, the church goes through a lengthly process to affirm the fact of this souls saintliness.  

First and foremost, The case for sainthood can not be brought until after the person has passed from this human existence.  Further, most cases for sainthood will not be considered for at least five years after their death, but often it can take decades before a cause will be considered.  The church wants to allow for any information about indescressions or other sins to have a chance to buble up and reveal themselves.  

Once a cause is brought before the church, what happens next is a call for miracles is put before the public.  At least one miracle has to be attributed to the saints direct intercession, but generally speaking the church wants to see at lease two.  These miracles usually consist of a parisioner or faithful devotee of the saint, who after some time of prayer and petition to this saint asking for a healing, or intercession, is granted a miracle.  These miracles have to be confirmed separately, and have to be directly attibuted to the intercession of the saint in question.

Finally, the office of the “devils advocate” is assigned, and this person’s job is to dig up any and all dirt that they can find on this person to prove that they are not who they claim to be.  These advocates are often, not catholic, sometimes athiest, and are usually openly hostile to the church but most especially the saint in question.  When Mother Teresa was being considered for sainthood, the church assigned Christopher Hitchens to be the devils advocate for this case.  the case he brought against St. Teresa of Calcutta was one of the uglier ones I have ever heard of. But it is crucial to the process. All of the claims are then independantly researched and investigated.  This process takes awhile, and is taken very seriously.  The church never wants to get this wrong, they never want to declare someone a saint then later find out that they were an unrepentant molester of children.  The saint’s life must be beyond reproach, and must stand up to all criticism.  

After all of these steps are completed, and if the saint makes it past all of this scrutiny, then at that time the magisterium and the pope will unanimously declare that soul a saint in heaven.  

Why are saints important? And more important why should we study them? 

Most saints lead lives of extraordinary holiness.  Somtimes they are converts from a despicable life, sometimes they live their whole lives as pinnacles of holiness. Regardless, their lives are noteworthy because they show us that ordinary people can lives lives in the way that Christ calls us to live.  And while their lives are extraordinary, often their deaths are even more so.

Let us consider some examples.

St. Augustine, lived the life of a playboy. He had children with his concubine, and lived a life of excess and debauchery. But eventually with the prayers of his mother, monica, and the guidance of his local bishop, Ambrose, he came to give up that life, and became one of the most influential theologians and doctors of the church that we have ever seen.  His life is a testament to the fact that anyone can be a siant, and that when we turn our lives to what God wants for us, and live out the call that God has for us we can do amazing things.  As a side note, his mother Monica, was declared a siant too, she prayed constantly for her son for 30 years, and never gave up on the idea that God wanted more for her son, and her persistence made her a saint, and we should all aspire to do the same

St. Phillomena, is a quite different saint.  She knew from a very little girl that she wanted to be a consecrated virgin for Jesus.  She lived a simple pious life, and never wanted attention of fortune.  At the age of 13, she inadvertantly attracted the attention of the emperor Diocletian. He asked to marry her, and she refused.  The emperor was enraged, and ordered her executed.  First he sourged her, but she did not die, and during the night angels came and healed all her wounds.  The emperor was furious and ordered her drowned.  She was thrown into the sea tied to an anchor.  the angels untied her and helped her rise to the seashore.  Next the emperor ordered her shot with arrows. The first arrows struck her but she did not die, and over the night the angels healed her wounds again. The next day another volley of arrows, was ordered and dispached and the arrows miraculously moved around her, a final third volley was ordered, and these arrows not only missed her, but they returned and struck the archers that shot them.  Finally, the emperor ordered her beheaded, and this time he succeeded, in dispatching little philomena. St. philomena is an example of total trust in God, and faith in his protection.  The lord never left her side, and her death was so miraculous, and unbelievable, that people still talk about her 1700 years after she died.  Her life, and especially her death have inspired and encouraged people for centuries.

Padre Pio, while somewhat recent saint (dying in 1968), is highly revered because of the extraordinary things that he accomplished in his life.  He was given the gift of seeing souls. During confession, he could read peoples minds, and help them to fully confess their sins.  Parishoners would come from miles away to go to confession with the great confessor.  He was fearless in the face of power, and would always tell the truth, even in the face of great danger. He was known to have been seen levitating during prayer. it was also said that he could bilocate, meaning that he would be found giving confession in his monestary, while also ministering to a person in need miles away at the same time.  He was a very earnest penitent, and often asked to suffer on the behalf of those he served, and at one point he was given the stigmatta.  He developed wounds on his hands, like jesus had after being nailed to the cross, he had bleeding wounds that would not heal, and never stopped bleeding. He would wear red soaked gloves when he served communion. His stigmatta was investigated by the church, and confirmed as real.  At the end of his life, a couple days before he died the wounds miraculously healed.  They bled for years, and before his life ended they were healed, and they healed so perfectly that they showed no sign of scarring.  But what I think is most miraculous thing about Padre Pio, was that after he died, his body did not decompose.  He was declared by the church to be incorruptible.  He is one of many of the worlds greatest saints that after death their bodies do not change or decompose.  Some of these saints are still laying in state in churches around the world, and their bodies look as fresh as the day they died.  Science can not explain it, they are miracles, and testaments to the lives of these saints. 

There are so many miraculous stories from the saints lives and their deaths.  I am litterally not even scratching the surface here.  Saints are examples of the power of prayer to overcome any obstacle. They are examples of what it means to trust god completely, and testaments to God’s protection, when you give over yourself completely to Him. Some saints show us what it means to die for god, but more specifically to give everything to god even if it results in death. They are examples of average people that with god’s grace, can do extraordinary things. Their lives are a total witness to Gods fidelity throughout time, and are examples for us to know how to react and deal with any situation that life may throw at us.  They are not just great men and women that overcame significant struggle to rise to greatness, they are living witness to the lives that we are all called to live.

Why should we pray to the saints

Perhaps one of the most frustrating complaints that I hear (after papal infallibility), from non-catholic critics is the suggestion that we pray to saints with either more or equal reverence as we do God himself.  This could not be further from the truth, and let me say this absolutely clearly.  God alone, deserves our worship. No creature that God created should ever be adored more than God alone.  That has never even been a debate, and claims to the contrary, are simply misunderstandings at the best, and utter calumnys at the worst.

Praying unfortunately in the modern protestant world has been redefined to only mean worship.  But the word truly has multiple meanings, and for centuries it was used in several other ways. Some people would use the word like “pray tell”, simply asking for more information. Others would use it to ask for help or favors from their parents, or even other people of authority, like “I pray that they get this road fixed soon.” and then others do indeed use the word petitioning answers to their personal and spiratual needs via prayer.  It is in that second way that catholics talk about praying to saints.  If you were to ask a sibling or parent or friend to pray for you, you would hope and maybe even expect that they would do that for you.  No one has a problem with that, but if I were to ask st. joseph for help with my children or with my family, a lot of protestants believe that that is idolotry.  But catholics believe that if a person has died and we know the that they are in heaven with God (ie they are a saint), that it is possible to seek their friendship and ask their intercession in times of need.  All faithfull souls dead or alive, are part of the body of christ and in communion with all of the other members of the body as well.  And so they are as real to us as our family and friends. So why wouldnt we ask them to help of pray for us, they are litterally right there with god in heaven, and can speak on our behalf directly to Him.  It seems like a no-brainer to me.

Definitions of pray, with regard to those in haven.

So leaving the less religious definitions of the word prayer out of the discussion for now.  The catholic church has created three different categories of prayer and reverence given,with regard to God and the saints:

Lowest — dulia — which simply means reverence — it is a deep respect that is given to souls that have lived great lives and have earned a place in heaven with God.  Since they made it to heaven, we believe that these are people that we should immitate, strive to be like, and ask for their intercession and prayer — these are the souls we call saints.

Higher — hyperdulia — Which is a hightened state of reverence that is reserved for Mother Mary alone.  Why does Mary deserve more respect, first, because god created her free from sin, and unlike Adam and Eve she lived her whole life without ever sinning. Secondly, she was the beloved mother of Jesus, and is the most perfect human being that ever existed, second only to Jesus. and Since she is the mother of our lord, it makes sense that her intercession would be more powerful than any saint or angel in heaven. Jesus is definitely going to listen to her petitions, and so we are wise to call on her for help.  Even more…, she is the queen of heaven and earth and the spiritual mother of all mankind, and she sits at the right hand of Jesus in heaven, so again, her prayer is incredibly powerful. For these reasons, and many more, she deserves more reverence, but still not worship.

Highest — latria — which means adoration — This is the highest form of prayer. It refers specifically to the sacrificial act of worship that is offered to god alone. This can be observed privately but is most commonly and profoundly experienced in the celebration of the holy mass.

The saints point to and amplify the glory of god.

So the communion of saints is a glorious and mysterious jewel in the church’s crown.  These men and women show us that we too can overcome any of the obstacles of life, resist sin, and achieve the great reward of heaven.  Their stories fill us with grate awe, and humility, and they inspire us to seek greatness.  Yes you can be holy without knowing or thinking about the saints, but why would you want to, they bring great riches and glory to the greatness of God.  

A famous speaker who’s name I cant remember, once told this analogy.  He said imagine you were given a vision of heaven like John the apostle did, and you were able to walk into the throne room of the holy trinity.  A catholic would see, light, and gold and hear music and see great angels and saints singing and rejoicing, all surrounding and adoring god. All loving him, and glorifying him, and celebrating in the majesty and beauty of being with the lord, in His beatific vision…  so much beauty and perfection all proclaiming the kingship, and majesty of the holy trinity. And in the middle of it all the holy trinity sits, and we are completely overwhelmed. Can you imagine that, it would be infinitly more profound than any celebration or wedding feast that you have ever known in this life, and more glorious than anything I could describe in words.  The protestants on the other hand wants to strip everything away but the holy trinity, they want all of their focus only on Him, as far as they are concerned, they would be happier if it was just an empty warehouse with concrete walls, and in the middle of it all is the glory of the holy Trinity.  Is this bad…? I dont know! Does it take away from the glory of God, absolutely not! But if you had a choice, wouldnt you rather be at the first celebration?

For me that is what the communion of saints, really is, and that is why I think it is so very very important.

5. Sacraments

An Outward sign instituted by Christ to give grace.

This is the definition that we are taught in the catechism.  For the most part it is sufficient. but the sacraments are far deeper, and important than this definition does them justice.  Lets look at that definition…, an outward sign, this means that the sacraments are a communal activity.  They are not meant to be done in private, some, like confession, are limited to one other person, the priest, but they are never done alone.  Second part, instituted by Christ, this is because all of the seven sacraments can be traced directly to Jesus and his teachings.  We will explore that more below, but it is important that all of these sacraments come directly from Jesus himself, and they reflect his direct wishes for us.  Finally, to give grace, This is the true miracle of the sacrament… That without gods grace we are utterly and totally lost, this world is impossible to navigate successfully without god’s love, guidance, and protection.  that is what is offered to us in the sacraments, and that is why they are so incredibly important. But even more, since the sacraments actually give us grace, it is important to recognize that they actually accomplish what they symbolize.  This is HUGE, because it means that when you actually participate in these sacraments, you are actually brought into the real presense of god (via the holy spirit).  There are many times when we may wonder if god is actually ever with us in this world, but during these sacraments it is known for certain that the lord is directly working in our lives, and by his hand He is guiding you to His way, His truth, and His life.  The reailty of this fact is totally beyond my ability to contimplate or explain, but it is true, and that is amazing.

The 7 Sacraments

The sacraments do different things in our lives, and there are some differences in how we participate in them.  First in what they accomplish, second by whom is lawfully allowed to perform them, and third by how many times they can be participated in.  I will endeavor to touch on all of these factors in my descriptions below.  Here they are in the order most commonly experienced by catholics in their lives.

Baptism

Baptism is by far the most important of all of the sacraments.  We believe that any person, faithful or not, can baptise another person, granted the proper form and matter are present.  The matter is that water has to be poured over the head of the recipient, as these words are spoken aloud… “I baptise you, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, Amen” These words are the form.  As long as those words and real water are used any person, athiest or not, can institute the sacrament of baptism upon another. Why does the church teach this, and doesnt the church want priest to perform this rite? Yes of course, but it is understood that priests are not allways available.  Instances like car wreaks on the side of freeway, or babies dying soon after birth, the importance of the sacrament far outwieghs the need for whom is performing it.  So why is is so important? Well for this we need to go all the way back to Adam and Eve. When they sinned in the Garden of Eden, they broke the covenant with God, and permanently created a situation where man was no longer capable of being in Gods pressence. The stain of original sin made it so that no human could ever walk in the presense of god without first being made clean. It would be like, if your parents were billionaires and one weekend they went to vegas and blew all of their wealth gambing. You, their heir, did not do anything to cause that sin, but nevertheless you still pay the price for their indescretions, because you were deprived of somehing that was your rightful inheritance.  I have a separate document that describes original sin in more detail, please see that for more information.  But what baptism does, in contrast, is to wash away that stain of sin, that your ancestors perpetrated millenia ago, and wipes the slate clean between you and god. It gives you a fresh starting point between you and god for you to begin the lifelong journey of reconciling yourself with God, and preparing for yourself a place in heaven. That is why it is so important, and why it is allowed for anyone to be able to perform this sacrament. Because without it non of the other sacraments are even possible in your life, and you will never be able to overcome that deficit that you were born into. It is the golden ticket to heaven, and God wants us all to have it. 
Baptism in the bible: John baptized Jesus in the Jordan River. and His disciples baptised many in the acts of the apostles.

Confession

Most often in the life of a catholic, Confession is the next sacrament that is experienced.  For most children, the sacrament is completed in 3rd grade (6-7 years old).  It is called 1st Reconcilliation.  But for adults it will be when they first come into the church.  This sacrament can only be recieved from bishop or a priest.  This is because in the bible, jesus gave this responsibility, specifically and directly to his first 12 followers his apostles.  These 12 men were his first bishops and Peter was his first pope.  When Jesus confirmed this title onto his apostles he stated that “whatever you bind on earth with be bound in heaven, and whatever you loosed on earth will be loosed in heaven.  This is a direct command, and very clearly descibes the relationship that is found in the confessional between penitent and priest.  Confession is a sacrament that is required by all catholics, at least once a year, but it can ultimately be completed as often as priest is able to meet with you.  The standard advice by most bishops is once or twice a month, as your conscience compells you.  I would add that once a month should probably be the minimum, but many disagree with me on this point.  Nevertheless, confession after baptism, is the most important thing you can do to stay in the good graces of God.  While baptism wipes away all stain of sin that is present in your life before baptism, confession is the act that allows you to get back into that same state of sinlessness, that was present at baptism.  no human being other than Jesus and Mary were ever able to exist without sinning in this world, so we need the healing and forgiveness that is provided to us in this sacrament.  That is why you are allowed to go as often as is needed, and it is also why you should not go very long between visits.  We are all sinners, and we all need the healing effects that this sacrament provides. 

Confession in the bible: Jesus in his great commision to his apostles tells them… “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sin of any they are retained.” — Later As Christ ascends into Heaven, He reminds His apostles that they are called to imitate His example. — and finally, In the early Church, you can turn to the Second Letter to the Corinthians to read about Saint Peter forgiving others in the presence of Christ.

Confirmation

For children the sacrament of confirmation is completed when they are at least 7 years old. This is considered the age of “consent”. meaning that the child is old enough to understand that the gifts of the sacrament will be applied to their lives and how they interact with the world.  Before this age, it is understood that children are not able to understand the consequences of their actions, but at this age they should be capable of comprehending this reality. Confirmation can only be confered onto a child by a priest or a bishop.  In most diocese it is the bishop, but in larger more spread out dioceses, the authority is often given to a priest to confer on the Bishops behalf. The sacrament confers the gifts of the holy spirit onto the recipient.  These gifts are (wisdom, understanding, knowledge, counsel, fortitude, piety, and fear of the Lord), with these gifts, we are called to use them, to do good and resist evil.  This sacrament is, not only a “coming of age” moment for the child, but it is also a moment where the recipient has to decide if this is something that they want for themselves.  Baptism is conferred upon a child without their consent, but confirmation is choice that they make for themselves.  None of the other sacraments are even possible until after this moment. because they are open choices made by the recipient, using the guidance and help of the holy spirit, to blaze a trail for their soul and spiritual life. The sacrament was given to us by Jesus when he said that, after he died and rose to heaven, that he would give us the paraclete (holy spirit), and that he would be with us always, guiding and helping us along the way. We understand that little children cannot recieve this gift until they are old enough to know that to do with it, so we celebrate the reception of this gift, as the child is beginning to come of age.  

Confirmation in the bible: The Book of Acts has two examples of the sacrament of Confirmation in the lives of Peter and John. Later Paul encounters Christians who had been baptized by John. He “laid his hands upon them, and the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.”

Eucharist

The mass is the highest form of worship and It is only in the mass that we are able to partake in the Eucharist. While I still believe that baptism is the most important of the sacraments because it is not possible to partake in any of the other sacraments unless you are baptized, but the next most important thing you can do as a Catholic is frequent visitation of mass and regular reception of them Eucharist.  It is the source and summit of our faith.  It is the ongoing food needed for the journey, the protection from the wolves along the way. It is truly a foretaste of heaven while still on earth.  Litteraly barrells of ink have been spilt writing about the eucharist and nothing I can say here in a few lines will fully describe the importance and meaning of the eucharist. If you want an apologetic on the reality of the miracle of this sacrament, i have a seprarate document on that, but for this document, am going to  just to cover the basics, of what it is, and why it is important.  The Eucharist is the transsubstantiantion of the bread and wine of the offering into the real body and blood of our lord Jesus Christ.  It is our oportunity as Humans to participate (while still here on earth), in the wedding feast that awaits us in heaven upon our death and purification.  It can only be confected by a priest or a bishop that has proper holy orders and is in the line of apostolic succession of the first pope, St. Peter.  This is crucial, and often a point of major confusion and hurt feelings, among the congregants of protestant churches.  Please review my section above on apostolic succession for more.  But without this proper power and authority handed down from Jesus, to His Rock, Peter, the offering is never transformed, and is not the eucharist.  This point alone, is one of the main reasons that I am a catholic. because it is only in the catholic church that you can find the Real Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our lord Jesus Christ, and actually participate in the last supper with our lord, and commune with his holy essence, and become one with Him for a bit.  There are some rules about the recieveing though.  First, you must be baptised, you must be of age and confirmed, and you must be a member of the catholic church, believing all that the catholic church teaches and professes.  If you cant meet these standards, you are not in communion with the catholic church, and to take the holy eucharist in a state where you do not believe and profess all that she teaches, then you are as Paul says, “bringing condemnation down upon yourself.” The next most important thing that has to be considered is that you must NOT take the eucharist while in a state of mortal sin.  You must confess those sins and recive absolution, before you can partake.  To do so would be to intentionally place Jesus into a desecrated place which is sacreledge.  Which is yet another mortal sin. With those stipulations out of the way, lets talk about what it does for you.  While baptism is a single act that washes away the stain of sin from your soul, it only lasts until you sin again.  That is why we need a way to get back into communion with Jesus, after we fall again.  If we fall badly then confession is needed to right the ship after the accident, but short of that, we also need a way to stay close to Jesus regardless of whether or not we need to go to confession.  The Eucharist, serves that purpose and more.  It will forgive us our venial sins, it will enrich our souls with gods good nature, and it will protect us from the deamons that wish to corrupt and destroy our lives.  No one thing can do more to help us be strong, resiliant, and virtuous, in our daily lives than the reverent reception of the holy Eucharist.

The Eucharist in the bible: The typology is littered all throughout the old testament as a prefiguring of the eucharist.  Mana from Heaven would be the most obvious, Secondly John Chapter 6 lays out the entire bread of life discourses, explaining what it truly is. And finally at the last supper, it is culminated into the rite that we know today.

Marriage

Marriage is one sacrament that is a bit different than the rest.  It takes three.  It must be conducted in a church by a priest, deacon, or Bishop, but they are not conferring the sacrament on you, they are only witnesses.  In a sacramental Marriage the man conferes the sacrament onto his wife, and the woman conferes it onto her husband.  This is a beautiful thing.  The sacrament marragie is litterally the intertwining of man and woman, where they are joined by their vows to each other, and their covenant is then sealed by the holy spirit and the two litterally become one.  Marriage is considered a vocation by the church.  It is a holy, Way of life, Just like the priesthood, religious brothers and sisters, etc.   It is a solemn commitment to procreate, and raise children, to be a giver, and a provider for the members of the next generation of Gods Church.  It is not a licesnse to have sex, or a way to save money on a house or your taxes.  Many other people make the mistake of thinking that marriage is just the ultimate expression of love that two person can say to each other, or the logical next step in their relationship. Sometimes it can be that, But Gods plan for marriage, is far bigger than just that.  It is truly supposed to be reserved for people that want to live out gods vision for the family, and for the raising of children.  there are many broken families in this world. and many fall short of this goal, but when you see this vocation lived, according to gods plan, it is truly a beautiful thing to behold. We should all strive for that lofty ideal, and seek gods grace when we fail to meet that high bar.

Marriage in the Bible: While marriage has been a part of human existence for 10000+ years, Jesus raised it to a sacrament when he said that What God has joined together, let no man put asunder.   He made clear that this is a covenant between man and woman before god, and It cannot be distroyed by man.  

Anointing of the sick

this sacrament is simply the beautiful gift of grace that the church offers to those that are facing death.  Confession and Eucharist are required to keep your soul in a state of grace, and are also part of the rites of this sacrament, but there is one other aspect to this sacrament that make it especially important to the sick and dying.  that is the gift of the apostolic pardon.  When a soul is poised to face the lord, he needs to be in a state of grace, meaning that he is in a right relationship with god.  And for most of us that is the best we can hope for. But when you are facing death, the church has also granted the gift of a plenary indulgence for those that are disposed to recieve it.  This indulgence is freely given by any priest, or bishop, and if your soul is in the right state to receive it, it grants a complete pardon for the temporal punishment of your sins, this means that you get to skip purgatory, and go straight to heaven.  This sacrament is a gift from the church and serves as a great comfort for many that are nearing the end of their lives.  If you do not have this as part of your living will, I highly encourage you to add it. It could litterlaly save your soul from the suffering of purgatory, and wouldnt we all want that.

Annointing of the Sick in the Bible:  There are several healings in the bible where jesus uses his spit and some mud to open the ears of a deaf man, or to open the eyes of a blind man. These are the basic examples, but many others exists, and they all are the result of Jesus touching them to be healed.

Holy Orders

Finally we have the last sacrament, holy orders. Just like marriage is a vocation for the lay person in the church, holy orders is the assigning of vocations to the clergy and religious brothers and sisters of the church.  This can be bishops, priests, the deacons, consecrated brothers and sisters, and many other orders of priests and religious that are not listed here..  These are the vocations that the celebated faithful can attain, contribute, and pursue within the church.  These orders can only be ordained by a bishop, and in the case of a bishoprick, only the pope can ordain a bishop.  This fact, is so important, because, as we learned earlier, about appostolic succession, all of our prellots, in the catholic church, decends directly from the hands of Jesus himself through peter and all of the line of bishops and popes that came after him.  

Holy Orders in the Bible: This is clearly present in the great commision.  When Jesus sets his 12 apostles as the first bishops of his church, and gives them the power to bind and loose. At this point, he is making them the leaders of the church, and setting up the hierarchy.   From that moment the pope and bishops were named, and these leaders would then appoint priests and deacons and later more bishops and popes, but it all started when he told Peter that you are a rock and on this rock I will build my church. 

The sacraments are a gift from God.

They give us the ability to reconcile with God, despite our inclination to sin against him.  I have tried to layout the idosyncracies of each and show how they are administered.  Some are recieved only once, and some can be taken as often as daily.  One can be administered by anyone, and the others require a bishop or a preist. But what is the most important thing is what they do in our lives, and why they are so important to us. The sacraments provide us with three important realities, first they show us a pathway to salvation, second they provide the church and the laity with holy vocations, and finally third, and probably most importantly, with the ongoing forgiveness of our fallen nature, and protection from the evil forces of the world.

The life is not easy.  It can be filled with joy, but is often beset by evil forces on all sides.  When Adam and Eve fell, they started the story of salvation, and they began the search for reconciliation that God sought to fix, and Jesus completed on the cross.  That salvation is offered through baptism and confimation. But this life is long and the journey is perilous, so he gave us the eucharist, so that we can have nourishment for the journey, and confession, so that when we wander from the path, we have a quick way back to right living with the lord.  Once we are on the path, trying to walk the striaght and narrow, God gave us the vocations of marriage and holy orders so that we could live a life in the way that god has planned for us. And finally when we reach the end of the path, or when we fall and are injured along the way, we have the annointing of the sick, to steel our will, and protect us from the mysteries of the unknown and the next life.  

These 7 are truely magnificent gifts. And we are so lucky to have them readily available.  Many of our protestand brother and sisters either dont know about them or simply reject them as not biblical.  I hope that this document makes clear that they are very real, and indeed very biblical, and that they are just waiting for you to reach out, and ask for them.  

The lord truly loves us, and desires for us all to be with him in heaven.  We all have a lot to atone for, and we all have a long road ahead of us,  But the lord has not abandoned us, he is there with you every step of the way, giving you everything you could ever need to follow the right path, and to walk to the narrow gate. Humans are lost without these graces, and cannot get to heaven on our own. Make use of these gifts, open your heart to all that the lord is offering to you, and god speed to you along your journey.

Conclusion

St. Paul wrote that we should… “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope,

but do it with gentleness and reverence”. 1 Peter 3:15-16. That is in fact why I wrote this document.  

For me and my journey, I am the rare type of person that was able to read my way into my faith.  I can spout off many ways, and reasons for why to believe, because there is sound logic for believing in God. but for most people knowledge is not enough.  People want to know the reason why you have faith. not the logical sequence of steps that got you to a conclusion.  For all of us there is a time when knowledge and logic fall away and pure faith becomes totally real, and makes more sense than anything else.  This is what we call witness, and witness is what converts people.

For me it was not a single moment of revelation (like paul getting knocked off his donkey), but it has been a long sequence of events that, over time, has served to provide the foundation upon which I have come to believe.  The story can honestly begin in my childhood, but those were all just stepping stones along the way.  My conversion really started when I first faced great heartache in my life. The time I am reffering to began when my first wife of 10 years decided she wanted a divorce, and culmintated when I attended a cursio weekend.

My childhood was Idealic.  My parents are still married. My Dad took us on adventures, and I grew up loved, and not deprived any anything that I really needed. My adult life was pretty similar. I was married right out of college, to a woman that I had known since highschool, we had one kid, I had a great job working for myself.  Both cars were paid off, and the mortgage was going to be paid off in 10 years, and we had no credit card debt.  I had just completed the RCIA process, and I recieved all of my sacraments at once on Easter Vigil. All my friends and family were healthy.  I believed that I had everything under control and I was happy. Pretty much all that any person can rightly hope for. 

Then one night, in January of 2009, my wife told me she wanted a divorce, she wanted to sell the house, split the assets, and she wanted to take our son, and move 2 hours away!

BOOM! Atom bomb on my life!!!  

I know what you are thinking, and you are right, how did you not see that coming?  Well I didnt.  I had no idea, and I went from thinking that I had a perfect life, with everything under control to litterally losing everthing that had ever mattered to me in a couple ticks of the clock.  The room was spinning, and I felt like I was getting sucked into a black hole. Unless you have stood in those shoes, I do not think that you can understand the combination of fear, loss, anger, bewilderment, pain, and helplessness that I experienced all at once and then again in pulsing waves for weeks afterward.  

The next months were excrutiating. I fought to keep her from taking our son out of his childhood home.  And as a result, my ex-wife made it her life’s mission to make me suffer, and she was really REALLY good at it.  The stories are legendary, in my family, but suffice it to say, she tortured me for years. 

These were really dark days, and it was really hard to find joy, but there were moments of grace throughout that helped me to understand that God was there with me, not leaving me abandoned.  I can recount several moments where god’s closeness gave me comfort and support in a time when I did not think it possible to be more depressed.  But this closeness, was still not faith.  I was just the injured samaritan, that was being nursed back to health by a stranger (Jesus).  In reality, I was SO angry, that it clouded everything. I was angry at Her for doing this to me, I was angry at myself for being so nieve, and gullable.  I was angry at the man that she left me for, and I was angry at god for allowing this to happen to me in the first place. And even though I felt Jesus there with me, at times, I did not think of him as “my lord and my God.” I still wanted to control the situation. and make god attend to me on my terms.

Then something happened, I was invited by Steve Allen, to cursillo. It is probably more acurate to say that Steve dragged me, kicking and screaming to cursillo!  But over those 4 days I had a real conversion of mind, body and soul. During that weekend, I went from being totally closed off, to a point where my hard shell cracked, and god’s light could creep in, just a little, and that bit of light utterly changed me. The people in the cursillo community, still today, talk about my transformation. I found myself faced with the big question.  I was ultimately asked if I was going to accept Jesus  and take up His Cross. I was terrified, I truly said to myself that I don’t deserve His love, and I am not worthy of His forgiveness.  I looked at the pile of crap that I had built for myself, and the enormous dump-truck full of shit, I had been carrying on my shoulders…, and Finally set it down, and allowed Jesus to help me carry it. I learned how to forgive, but mostly I learned to let go of the anger, resentment, and pride that I had been holding onto so tightly. I gave it all to Jesus, and he gave me the peace that I could not find on my own.  

There are things in this world that you cannot control, and those things will tear your up inside if you hold onto them and try to control them.  This is what I had been doing, and it was slowly killing me.  But Jesus does not want us to suffer like that.  He died on the cross so that we could be free of that pain, but he will only help us if we ask him.

On that weekend, my heart opened again, and the wound started to heal. Not all at once, but it was definitely the turning point.  This showed me that god’s love is real, and it heals, and it can save anyone if they open their heart to Him.  I gave Him my heart, and I asked him to take my pain, and becuase of his profound infinite love, he took it.  This was a real thing that happened to me, and from that moment on, I got better.  My Ex-wife, did not stop trying to hurt me, and punish me, but I was no longer suceptable to it.   To know me at this time, was to see a stark difference. My friends all said that was not the same person I was the week before. And they were right, because god had transformed me into a new creation, His beloved son.

St. Thomas Aquinas, said once something similar to this…, God’s mysteries are incapable of being fully understood without God’s grace and revelation.  But those graces are not withheld from us, we only need open our heart to Him, and ask for his help, and He will pour all of these graces upon you, and more.

I spent a good part of my younger years trying to read, and understand, and logically figure out God.  At most, he was just an idea or a theoretical conclusion. But reading will only get you part of the way, you must strip away all human desires to control, and shape Him to your will! You must submit to His power, relent the grip of control, and trust Him to love and comfort and take care of you completely.  Give it all up and God will pour out onto you more grace then you think it is possible to recieve. That grace will then draw you into a love affair more powerful then anything possible in this world. That is when you will find true faith, and that is when you will know what it truely means to be alive.  

This is what I found in the catholic church, and this is why I am  catholic.