The Master Builder and His Work

***Pardon me...
This article is under construction and is not yet finished.
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When one beholds the works of the Hand of God all around us, one can not be anything but dumbfounded and amazed by the intricate detail of organization and beauty. Whether one is looking at a waterfall, a snail or the circulatory system of the human body....

Article summary:
- God's work is amazingly organized, serves a purpose, proclaims His Glory, etc.
- We know a lot about Him through His creation...to a non-Christian, His Creation is the only clear Truth one can know.
- any good student should recognize His handiworks vs an imitation and His modus operandi.
-as Christians we know that Jesus is God and Christ is the builder of His Church.

- therefore we should be able to recognize His handiwork in the Church.

- all we know about Christ is revealed to us by the writings of the Apostles, through the Church (Ephesians).

- if God was to build a Church how would He do it?

- what is a Church? Those who are called out.

- He built one before in Israel? O.T. even refers to Israel as His Church.

- In Israel, God established leaders with His Authority and Succession.

- Christ clearly established leaders, even more clearly than in the O.T. shared His own authority.

- All who admit this (Orthodox and Catholic) believe Rome to be the heir to the see of Peter, the head of the Apostles.

***It is because we can trust in Christ and His very own words, that we know how He, the Good Shepherd would build His Church and guide her. He would protect it, correct it, endure it. He would not take away Her Authority without signs and wonders and give it to another (the early "Reformers" believed they were given this Authority (redefined), later reformers were the ones who believed this authority never existed. 

He led Israel the same way He has led the Church. Sinful men in a hierarchy who have full Authority from God. (He sometimes condemns these men but He never has a kind word for rebels). The difference is, this leadership has been more stable, Universal and more trustworthy...there are problems that arise but the appointed leaders are never conquered. The Body of Christ like an injured human body, it can display weakness and damage but the body heals and compensates for the injury to work toward order.

- Christ would not rule through chaos that works toward more chaos.

Christ would not abandon His Church. Christ is not a liar.

If God wants to be knowable, than He would establish a Church (the Body of the Son, who is the Truth) that is knowable.

Many others claim the the Bible is the only trustworthy rule of faith. Would God now in this Church (Israel version 2.0) provide only a document that was not available to the average member for 1500+ years as the one and only means of knowing His revealed Truth, as interpreted by each member.

- if so, what would this document include that a Master Builder would deem necessary for His followers to know? Would He not make it  unambiguously clear with little room for debate; like a ruling legal document for a nation, a Holy Constitution to rule His Church.

But this is not what we have in the Bible at all. Instead we have five books of historical accounts, four, but especially three, of which mostly repeat the same stories and teachings, in different orders, sometimes even seeming to contradict one another a little.

- we have many letters from party A to party B regarding issues (false teachings, rebelliousness, discord, etc.) we don't fully understand. These letters also refer in general to the importance of following teachings and traditions that were taught in previous personal visits, teachings that are not spelled out.

- Would there be no clearly laid out list of what one needs to do to have eternal life...so that you would not need to be a "scholar" to ascertain the real way. Is it:  follow the commandments, believe and be baptized, call on the name of Jesus, eat His flesh, etc?

*Side note - if the "plan of salvation", as interpreted by each Christian tradition, were a mathematical word problem (in some sense they are just that) what would you get if the factors were deconstructed, the factors removed from our biased words? If you tried to prove their answers from raw data, who's solution would be correct.

My Parish's New Parochial Vicar

St. Joseph Catholic Church in Athens,GA is getting a new Priest this August. From what I have heard and read of him, he is the type of priest so many devout Catholics have been praying for...Praise God. He loves Christ deeply, has a heart for evangelization, is theologically sound, is faithful to the Magisterium and has a reverence for the small "t" traditions of the Church (i.e. music, liturgy).

Here is his conversion story

Here is an article from the newly ordained Fr. Gaurav Shroff.

http://www.hprweb.com/2012/12/the-munus-regendi-of-the-priest-and-the-vocation-of-the-laity/

Miscellaneous Links

The Apologist's Most Important Tool
http://www.catholic.com/blog/trent-horn/the-apologist%E2%80%99s-most-important-tool

Links to Various Conversion Stories

Jeffrey A. Tucker - OPC
http://www.reformed.org/webfiles/antithesis/index.html?mainframe=/webfiles/antithesis/v1n5/ant_v1n5_why.html

Historical Conversions
http://beutel.narod.ru/write/convert.htm

The Venerable (and Quotable) Pope Paul VI

" Not to preach the Gospel would be my undoing, for Christ himself sent me as his apostle and witness. The more remote, the more difficult the assignment, the more my love of God spurs me on. I am bound to proclaim that Jesus is Christ, the Son of the living God. Because of him we come to know the God we cannot see. He is the firstborn of all creation; in him all things find their being. Man’s teacher and redeemer, he was born for us, died for us, and for us he rose from the dead.

All things, all history converges in Christ. A man of sorrow and hope, he knows us and loves us. As our friend he stays by us throughout our lives; at the end of time he will come to be our judge; but we also know that he will be the complete fulfilment of our lives and our great happiness for all eternity.

I can never cease to speak of Christ for he is our truth and our light; he is the way, the truth and the life. He is our bread, our source of living water who allays our hunger and satisfies our thirst. He is our shepherd, our leader, our ideal, our comforter and our brother.

He is like us but more perfectly human, simple, poor, humble, and yet, while burdened with work, he is more patient. He spoke on our behalf; he worked miracles; and he founded a new kingdom: in it the poor are happy; peace is the foundation of a life in common; where the pure of heart and those who mourn are uplifted and comforted; the hungry find justice; sinners are forgiven; and all discover that they are brothers.

The image I present to you is the image of Jesus Christ. As Christians you share his name; he has already made most of you his own. So once again I repeat his name to you Christians and I proclaim to all men: Jesus Christ is the beginning and the end, the alpha and the omega, Lord of the new universe, the great hidden key to human history and the part we play in it. He is the mediator - the bridge, if you will - between heaven and earth. Above all he is the Son of man, more perfect than any man, being also the Son of God, eternal and infinite. He is the son of Mary his mother on earth, more blessed than any woman. She is also our mother in the spiritual communion of the mystical body.

Remember: [it] is Jesus Christ I preach day in and day out. His name I would see echo and re-echo for all time even to the ends of the earth.". (from a homily delivered in Manila, Philipines. November 29, 1970.)
 

The Quotable Blessed Mother Teresa

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"Never let anything so fill you with pain or sorrow as to make you forget the joy of Christ Risen!"

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"God has not called me to be successful. He has called me to be faithful."

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A poem found written on the wall in Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta:

              People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered.  Forgive them anyway.

            If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives.  Be kind anyway.

            If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies.  Succeed anyway.

           If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you.  Be honest and sincere anyway.

            What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight.  Create anyway.

            If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous.  Be happy anyway.

            The good you do today, will often be forgotten.  Do good anyway.

         Give the best you have, and it will never be enough.  Give your best anyway.

         In the final analysis, it is between you and God.  It was never between you and them anyway.

-this version is credited to Mother Teresa

Pope Francis speaks of God's Abundant Mercy

I have not spent much time reading or listening to the latest Successor to Saint Peter but just today I took some time to read his homily from this morning's Mass. I must say...wow, we have a wonderful Evangelist as our new Pope. He certainly is not short selling the Gospel...the Good News is free and for all to receive.

PAPAL MASS FOR THE POSSESSION OF THE CHAIR OF THE BISHOP OF ROME HOMILY OF POPE FRANCIS

Basilica of Saint John Lateran Second Sunday of Easter or Divine Mercy Sunday, 7 April 2013

It is with joy that I am celebrating the Eucharist for the first time in this Lateran Basilica, the Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. I greet all of you with great affection: my very dear Cardinal Vicar, the auxiliary bishops, the diocesan presbyterate, the deacons, the men and women religious, and all the lay faithful. I also greet the Mayor, his wife and all the authorities present. Together let us walk in the light of the risen Lord.

1. Today we are celebrating the Second Sunday of Easter, also known as "Divine Mercy Sunday". What a beautiful truth of faith this is for our lives: the mercy of God! God's love for us is so great, so deep; it is an unfailing love, one which always takes us by the hand and supports us, lifts us up and leads us on.

2. In today's Gospel (John 20:19-31), the Apostle Thomas personally experiences this mercy of God, which has a concrete face, the face of Jesus, the risen Jesus. Thomas does not believe it when the other Apostles tell him: "We have seen the Lord". It isn't enough for him that Jesus had foretold it, promised it: "On the third day I will rise". He wants to see, he wants to put his hand in the place of the nails and in Jesus' side. And how does Jesus react? With patience: Jesus does not abandon Thomas in his stubborn unbelief; he gives him a week's time, he does not close the door, he waits. And Thomas acknowledges his own poverty, his little faith. "My Lord and my God!": with this simple yet faith-filled invocation, he responds to Jesus' patience. He lets himself be enveloped by divine mercy; he sees it before his eyes, in the wounds of Christ's hands and feet and in his open side, and he discovers trust: he is a new man, no longer an unbeliever, but a believer. Let us also remember Peter: three times he denied Jesus, precisely when he should have been closest to him; and when he hits bottom he meets the gaze of Jesus who patiently, wordlessly, says to him: "Peter, don't be afraid of your weakness, trust in me". Peter understands, he feels the loving gaze of Jesus, and he weeps. How beautiful is this gaze of Jesus – how much tenderness is there! Brothers and sisters, let us never lose trust in the patience and mercy of God! Let us think too of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus: their sad faces, their barren journey, their despair. But Jesus does not abandon them: he walks beside them, and not only that! Patiently he explains the Scriptures which spoke of him, and he stays to share a meal with them. This is God's way of doing things: he is not impatient like us, who often want everything all at once, even in our dealings with other people. God is patient with us because he loves us, and those who love are able to understand, to hope, to inspire confidence; they do not give up, they do not burn bridges, they are able to forgive. Let us remember this in our lives as Christians: God always waits for us, even when we have left him behind! He is never far from us, and if we return to him, he is ready to embrace us. I am always struck when I reread the parable of the merciful Father; it impresses me because it always gives me great hope. Think of that younger son who was in the Father's house, who was loved; and yet he wants his part of the inheritance; he goes off, spends everything, hits rock bottom, where he could not be more distant from the Father, yet when he is at his lowest, he misses the warmth of the Father's house and he goes back. And the Father? Had he forgotten the son? No, never. He is there, he sees the son from afar, he was waiting for him every hour of every day, the son was always in his father's heart, even though he had left him, even though he had squandered his whole inheritance, his freedom. The Father, with patience, love, hope and mercy, had never for a second stopped thinking about him, and as soon as he sees him still far off, he runs out to meet him and embraces him with tenderness, the tenderness of God, without a word of reproach: he has returned! And that is the joy of the Father. In that embrace for his son is all this joy: he has returned! God is always waiting for us, he never grows tired. Jesus shows us this merciful patience of God so that we can regain confidence, hope – always! A great German theologian, Romano Guardini, said that God responds to our weakness by his patience, and this is the reason for our confidence, our hope (cf. Glaubenserkenntnis, Würzburg, 1949, p. 28). It is like a dialogue between our weakness and the patience of God, it is a dialogue that, if we do it, will grant us hope.

3. I would like to emphasize one other thing: God's patience has to call forth in us the courage to return to him, however many mistakes and sins there may be in our life. Jesus tells Thomas to put his hand in the wounds of his hands and his feet, and in his side. We too can enter into the wounds of Jesus, we can actually touch him. This happens every time that we receive the sacraments with faith. Saint Bernard, in a fine homily, says: "Through the wounds of Jesus I can suck honey from the rock and oil from the flinty rock (cf. Deut 32:13), I can taste and see the goodness of the Lord" (On the Song of Songs, 61:4). It is there, in the wounds of Jesus, that we are truly secure; there we encounter the boundless love of his heart. Thomas understood this. Saint Bernard goes on to ask: But what can I count on? My own merits? No, "My merit is God's mercy. I am by no means lacking merits as long as he is rich in mercy. If the mercies of the Lord are manifold, I too will abound in merits" (ibid., 5). This is important: the courage to trust in Jesus' mercy, to trust in his patience, to seek refuge always in the wounds of his love. Saint Bernard even states: "So what if my conscience gnaws at me for my many sins? 'Where sin has abounded, there grace has abounded all the more' (Rom 5:20)" (ibid.). Maybe someone among us here is thinking: my sin is so great, I am as far from God as the younger son in the parable, my unbelief is like that of Thomas; I don't have the courage to go back, to believe that God can welcome me and that he is waiting for me, of all people. But God is indeed waiting for you; he asks of you only the courage to go to him. How many times in my pastoral ministry have I heard it said: "Father, I have many sins"; and I have always pleaded: "Don't be afraid, go to him, he is waiting for you, he will take care of everything". We hear many offers from the world around us; but let us take up God's offer instead: his is a caress of love. For God, we are not numbers, we are important, indeed we are the most important thing to him; even if we are sinners, we are what is closest to his heart. Adam, after his sin, experiences shame, he feels naked, he senses the weight of what he has done; and yet God does not abandon him: if that moment of sin marks the beginning of his exile from God, there is already a promise of return, a possibility of return. God immediately asks: "Adam, where are you?" He seeks him out. Jesus took on our nakedness, he took upon himself the shame of Adam, the nakedness of his sin, in order to wash away our sin: by his wounds we have been healed. Remember what Saint Paul says: "What shall I boast of, if not my weakness, my poverty? Precisely in feeling my sinfulness, in looking at my sins, I can see and encounter God's mercy, his love, and go to him to receive forgiveness. In my own life, I have so often seen God's merciful countenance, his patience; I have also seen so many people find the courage to enter the wounds of Jesus by saying to him: Lord, I am here, accept my poverty, hide my sin in your wounds, wash it away with your blood. And I have always seen that God did just this – he accepted them, consoled them, cleansed them, loved them. Dear brothers and sisters, let us be enveloped by the mercy of God; let us trust in his patience, which always gives us more time. Let us find the courage to return to his house, to dwell in his loving wounds, allowing ourselves be loved by him and to encounter his mercy in the sacraments. We will feel his wonderful tenderness, we will feel his embrace, and we too will become more capable of mercy, patience, forgiveness and love.

© Copyright 2013 - Libreria Editrice Vaticana

The Absurdity of Sola Scriptura

"There is a major hole in the logic of those Christians who protest against the Catholic Church: you cannot use the authority of Scripture to attack the authority of the Church when it was the authority of the Church that recognized the Scripture’s authority. The hierarchy, the sacraments, the major doctrines of the Catholic Church were all well in place — centuries in place — before the biblical canon was in place and, of course, it was the Catholic Church that authorized the biblical canon. Chesterton says he can understand someone looking at a Catholic procession, at the candles and the incense and the priests and the robes and the cross and the scrolls, and saying “It’s all bosh.” But what he cannot understand is anyone saying, “It’s all bosh — except for the scrolls. We’re going to keep the scrolls. In fact, we’re even going to use the scrolls against the rest.”" - Dale Alquist quoting and referring to G.K.Chesterton.
Û

St. Augustine: Quotes

St. Augustine (AD 354-430)

Faith Alone?

“we should advise the faithful that they would endanger the salvation of their souls if they acted on the false assurance that faith alone is sufficient for salvation or that they need not perform good works in order to be saved.” (On Faith and Works, 14:21)

“When St. Paul says, therefore, that man is justified by faith and not by the observance of the law, he [Paul] does not mean that good works are not necessary or that it is enough to receive and to profess the faith and no more. What he means rather and what he wants us to understand is that man can be justified by faith, even though he has not previously performed any works of the law. For the works of the law are meritorious not before but after justification.” (Ibid)

Church Authority

"In the Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep (John 21:15-19), down to the present episcopate.

And so, lastly, does the very name of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house.

Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should...With you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me... No one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion...For my part, I should not believe the gospel except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church."
Against the Epistle of Manichaeus AD 397
[Contra Epistolam Manichaei Quam Vacant Fundamenti]

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"Let us love our Lord God, let us love His Church, Him as a Father, her as a Mother; Him as a Master, her as His Handmaid; for we are children of the Handmaid herself.  But this marriage is held together by great love; no one offends the one and gains favor with the other. . . . Cling, then, beloved, cling all with one mind to God our Father and to the Church our Mother."
Sermons [inter A.D. 391-430]: Reconciliation

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Penance

"If you want God to forgive, you must confess.  Sin cannot go unpunished.  It were unseemly, improper, and unjust for sin to go unpunished. Since, therefore, sin must not go unpunished, let it be punished by you, lest you be punished for it.  Let your sin have you for its judge, not its patron.  Go up and take the bench against yourself, and put your guilt before yourself.  Do not put it behind you, or God will put it in front of you."

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"If you believe what you like in the gospels, and reject what you don't like, it is not the gospel you believe, but yourself."  

The Church IS Christ

"About Jesus Christ and the Church, I simply know they are just one thing, and we should not complicate the matter." -St. Joan of Arc

"Christ and the Church are two in one flesh." - St. Augustine (in Ps.142,3).

"Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" ..."Who are you, Lord?,...I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting" -Acts 9:3-5

"Unflaggingly, let us love the Lord our God and let us love his Church. Let us love Him as the Lord and the Church as his handmaid.
No one can offend the one and still be pleasing to the other. What does it avail you if you do not directly offend the Father but do offend the mother?"
- St. Augustine (Commentary on Psalm 88, 14)

Unity of the Gospels

Here is quote from St. Bede concerning the unity of the four Gospels...

But though there were four Evangelist,
yet what they wrote is not so much four Gospels, as one true harmony of four books. For as two verses having the same substance, but different words and different metre, yet contain one and the same matter, so the books of the Evangelists, though four in number, yet contain one Gospel, teaching one doctrine of the Catholic faith.

When Did the Church Fall into Apostasy?

This is a question every non-Catholic Christian must address. An Apostate Catholic Church is a required doctrine of all Protestants or non-trinitarian sectarians such as Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, etc. The Catholic Church is not just another denomination out of many. For any professing Christian, the Catholic Church is to be either loved and obeyed as Christ's very own authority here on earth.... or despised as Antichrist. 

Don't be so sure you know the answer because the Biblical and Historical reasons for the Catholic Church to make such claims for Herself are quite strong and weighty. Remember that the scribes and Pharisees were confident that the Scriptures proved Jesus was false prophet and a blasphemer. They were hard hearted...we all need to check our own hearts and pride daily.

Ask yourself...If Christ had established One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church would not Satan himself do everything he could to deceive people, spread lies, rumors,infiltrate Her with wolves in sheep's clothing, cause confusion about Her doctrines and try to discredit Her where ever possible...yet the gates of Hell shall not prevail against It.

So, please do not be so sure you understand the arguments and positions. I was raised Catholic, left before the age of thirteen to enter Evangelical, Conservative Protestant churches. I thought I knew the Catholic side of the story (I became an Anti-Catholic)...but I was wrong, I began to realize I couldn't explain to my inquiring Protestant friends why exactly Catholics believe what they believe.

So, 25+ years later I began to study for myself the Catholic arguments, in their own words. I have been blown away by the Christo-centric and Scripturally solid evidence for Catholicism. Enough so, that I do now believe that She speaks with the Authority of Christ Himself and I am so grateful that Jesus loved me so much to not only die for my sins but He as given me a Church, made me a member of the tangible Family of God which is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth (1Timothy 3:15). I can trust Her and be loved by Him, ministered by Him, nourished by Him through Her.

The Biblical Foundation for Church Authority.....
And Jesus answered him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven.  And I tell you, you are Peter (kepha*), and on this rock (kepha*) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Matthew 16:17-19 ESV
*kepha is the word Jesus would have used in his native language, Aramaic.

To Peter alone are these keys given which we see from the Old Testament in 1 Kings ch.4 how Solomon had established twelve ministers/officers over the different parts over His Kingdom. We see in Isaiah 22 that only one of these office holders is the Prime Minister and holds important keys of authority and responsibility. Look closely as the Lord speaks to one of the holders of the office of Prime Minister to the King, the Son of David...

"I will thrust you from your office, and you will be pulled down from your station. In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, and I will clothe him with your robe, and will bind your sash on him, and will commit your authority to his hand. And he shall be a father to the inhabitants of Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. And I will place on his shoulder the key of the house of David. He shall open, and none shall shut; and he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him like a peg in a secure place, and he will become a throne of honor to his father's house. And they will hang on him the whole honor of his father's house, the offspring and issue, every small vessel, from the cups to all the flagons."  Isaiah 22:19-24 ESV

Any honest reading of these two similar passages from Matthew 16 and Isaiah 22 would admit that Jesus, the Davidic King, was appointing Peter to this office of Prime Minister. And remember "offices" must remain filled, for as we observe the first immediate action the Apostles took after Christ ascended was to fill the vacant office left by Judas Iscariot...

Peter in leading says...."For it is written in the Book of Psalms, "May his camp become desolate, and let there be no one to dwell in it"; and "Let another take his office."
Acts 1:20 ESV

We see that Jesus also gave His authority to the other 11 Apostles and the 72 (although Peter was primary). Speaking to appointed disciples whom the Early Church believed the Bishops to be their successors. Christ says:

"Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives him who sent me.  Matthew 10:40 ESV

He clearly gives His very Authority to the 12 Apostles. Yes, they gave us the Holy, Inerrant New Testament Scriptures but remember only 3 of those initial 12 actually wrote any of those books/epistles. He clearly came to do more than inspire books to be written, he came to establish an Authoritative, tangible Church made up of men (although they were flawed) whom He chose, appointed and sent out with a mission. As we see in the Gospel of Matthew....

And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Matthew 28:18-20

Another Catholic blogger at beginningcatholic.com explains this passage well....

"This brief passage contains several critical points about Church authority:
Jesus tells the Apostles that the authority he is giving them derives from his own, divine authority. ("All authority..." / "Go therefore".)
The Apostles' authority and mission comes directly from Christ himself.
The nature of this mission is to lead or govern ("make disciples"), sanctify ("baptizing them"), and teach ("teaching them to observe").
Christ promises to remain present with them always in support of this mission ("I am with you always").

Also, Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I send you." (John 20:21)

And...
"He who hears you hears Me, and he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me." Luke 10:16

I will work on expanding this post or explaining in future posts how we see biblically the truth and function of Apostolic Succession because that is a very vital doctrine which understandably must be proven for the Catholic claims to Apostolic Authority to be valid. (I will get working on that as time permits).

But assume for a minute you have been given ample evidence for the possible belief in Apostolic Succession...you may object to submission because the Catholic Church has had some corruption in her past, present and most likely her future. But Biblically we see that corruption does not negate ones God given authority.....

Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples, "The scribes and the Pharisees sit on Moses' seat,  so practice and observe whatever they tell you— but not what they do. For they preach, but do not practice.
Matthew 23:1-3 ESV

Bryan Cross from Called to Communion deals with the question thoroughly in his article and podcasts called Ecclesial Deism. Please read....and/or listen to his Podcast here (Episode 6).

Liturgies : Living Histories of Church Doctrine

A Liturgy is a construction of doctrine and ritual used to direct organized/orderly worship by a particular Church (in some ways even modern Evangelical Mega-churches have a liturgical structure). You will see at the following link that each of these written Orthodox, Catholic (and Coptic, Assyrian Church of the East / Nestorian , Liturgy of the Holy Apostles (Armenian),etc), Qurbana (Indian) liturgies are uniquely beautiful but yet they each also contain the same basic elements such as; Scripture readings, prayers, songs of worship and most notably all include a common and clear belief in the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist and their common emphasis on the transubstantiation of the elements of bread and wine as they become the very real, physical presence of the Flesh and Blood of Christ.

What makes this so amazing and profoundly important to understanding the history of Christian doctrines is that the Assyrians broke from the Great Catholic Church around 430 AD, the non-Chalcedon / Monophysite Churches left around 450 AD and the Eastern Schism of the Orthodox took place about 1000 AD.  Hence, we can hypothesize that these doctrines and rituals entered the Church very early and not through a Roman Catholic Apostasy of the Middle Ages as Protestants often wishfully state. It may even be suggested from this evidence that these practices even came from the Apostles and Christ Himself as the historic Apostolic Churches have been claiming from the beginning via Sacred Tradition.
 
2 Thessalonians 2:15 ESV
So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

Sermons of the Saints - Audio Link

Found a new treasure today. This web site is a rich collection of
Sermons of the Saints (click link)
  Many of these relatively brief selections from the writings of these great Christian heroes of the Faith (40-50%) are available in downloadable audio format. There is a wide variety of authors to chose from: Ambrose and Anthanasius to Francis de Sales and Teresa of Avila.

St. Francis de Sales : Missionary to Protestants

After studying Catholic Apologetics very thoroughly from various modern scholars and evangelist, I was taken aback when I did finally (after several recommendations) read St. Francis de Sales collection of pamphlets he published in the late 1500's and distributed to 2nd generation Calvinist. His arguments are so completely relevant to modern day ears. He covers the core issues that truly separate Protestants from their Mother Church.

The following is from and linked to www.goodcatholicbooks.org

The Catholic Controversy

by Saint Francis de Sales (1567-1622), Bishop and Doctor of the Church

After being repeatedly rebuffed in his attempts to re-evangelize Calvinist Protestants who would not listen to Catholic preaching for fear of reprisals, St. Francis turned to writing leaflets and inserting them into copies of his sermons, which he then posted on walls, slipped under doors and handing to whomever he could. Four years later, almost 72,000 had returned to the ancient Catholic Faith! These tracts have been compiled into a book and given the title The Catholic Controversy.
The works are still as fresh and powerful today as they were then, and give some of the most compelling arguments against Protestantism that have ever been written, presenting a defense of the Catholic Faith that in some respects has never been equalled.

What reviewers say about this book:
"If you ever had any doubts about the truth of the Roman Catholic Faith, read this book. Saint Francis will set you straight!"

"St. Francis de Sales uses scripture like no other. His arguments are as persuasive today as they were then. For those looking to understand the biblical basis for Catholic teachings (i.e., purgatory, papal infallibility) this book is a must."
"this is a fantastic read, overflowing with strong arguments for classic Catholic doctrine."

Order this book on Amazon

Table of contents

1. The Authority of the Church

2. The Doctrine of Purgatory.

3. The Protestant Violation of Scripture.

4. The Mission of the Church.
;
5. The Authority of the Pope.

6. Faith and Reason.

*Source:
www.goodcatholicbooks.org

The Mystery of Israel & the Church

Mystery of Israel & the Church 

This Audio Recommended Link is a real hidden treasure of Catholic thought. The lectures you can access are extremely rich and thorough. The site can be a bit confusing to navigate though. So please read the directions carefully.

The speaker is Lawrence Feingold, an Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary, Saint Louis, Missouri. He is very well spoken and brings to light various key elements of Catholic theology and philosophy. 

The Association of Hebrew Catholics has been offering a Fall and Spring lecture series on various themes within The Mystery of Israel and the Church...

Each series of 12 lectures treats an overall motif. In many lectures, Dr. Feingold highlights the unique role and positive contribution of the Jewish people.

- Each Lecture Series link you see in the table in this link, takes you to a page where the various lectures are available for online listening or downloading to your computer. 

- The free mp3 audio for these lectures can be accessed or downloaded by clicking on the title of the lecture. 

- The free mp3 audio of the Q&A sessions following each of the lectures can be accessed or downloaded by clicking on Q&A where respectively. 

- The text for these lectures, when they are available, can be accessed by clicking on the symbol "[PDF]" next to the title. The pdf containing the text of the lecture will be removed once a book containing that lecture is published.

http://hebrewcatholic.org/Studies/MysteryofIsraelChurch/mysteryofisraela.html

Cyprian's Confidence in Papal Authority

Cyprian of Carthage in 251 A.D. 

"The Lord says to Peter: ‘I say to you,’ he says, ‘that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not overcome it. And to you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever things you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth, they shall be loosed also in heaven’ [Matt. 16:18–19]). ... 

On him [Peter] he builds the Church, and to him he gives the command to feed the sheep [John 21:17], and although he assigns a like power to all the apostles, yet he founded a single chair [cathedra], and he established by his own authority a source and an intrinsic reason for that unity. Indeed, the others were also what Peter was [i.e., apostles], but a primacy is given to Peter, whereby it is made clear that there is but one Church and one chair. 

So too, all [the apostles] are shepherds, and the flock is shown to be one, fed by all the apostles in single-minded accord. If someone does not hold fast to this unity of Peter, can he imagine that he still holds the faith? If he desert the chair of Peter upon whom the Church was built, can he still be confident that he is in the Church?" 

(The Unity of the Catholic Church 4; 1st edition [A.D. 251]). 

*Source: http://www.catholic.com/tracts/the-authority-of-the-pope-part-i

The History of Catholic Heresies

I had so often been left to believe that Catholics had invented new doctrines throughout the Middle Ages. This is an eye opening article that explains and cites the earliest references to various Catholic doctrines.

Young, Evangelical, and Catholic: How Quickly Catholic Heresy Took Over the Church (Immediately) [Updated]

Some quotes from: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

"The gate of heaven is very low; only the humble can enter it."

“I will go peaceably and firmly to the Catholic Church: for if Faith is so important to our salvation, I will seek it where true Faith first began, seek it among those who received it from God Himself.”

________________
from Wikipedia
Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton, S.C., (August 28, 1774 – January 4, 1821) was the first native-born citizen of the United States to be canonized by the Roman Catholic Church (September 14, 1975). She established the first Catholic school in the nation, at Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the first American congregation of Religious Sisters, the Sisters of Charity.

From Pope Benedict XVI Lenten Message 2013:

"Concerning the relationship between faith and works of charity, there is a passage in the Letter to the Ephesians which provides perhaps the best account of the link between the two: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God; not because of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them" (2:8-10). It can be seen here that the entire redemptive initiative comes from God, from his grace, from his forgiveness received in faith; but this initiative, far from limiting our freedom and our responsibility, is actually what makes them authentic and directs them towards works of charity. These are not primarily the result of human effort, in which to take pride, but they are born of faith and they flow from the grace that God gives in abundance. Faith without works is like a tree without fruit: the two virtues imply one another. Lent invites us, through the traditional practices of the Christian life, to nourish our faith by careful and extended listening to the word of God and by receiving the sacraments, and at the same time to grow in charity and in love for God and neighbor, not least through the specific practices of fasting, penance and almsgiving."

"Jesus Isn't a Cracker"

Recently, I overheard a critique of the ancient Catholic doctrine of the actual corporeal presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

"Jesus isn't a cracker" were the simple but weighty words that were uttered. This bitingly brief comment caused me to ponder upon some of the other absurdly ridiculous doctrines that Catholics claim are so essential to the Christian Faith.

1) God spoke the entire Universe into being with His Word (CCC 338 Nothing exists that does not owe its existence to God the Creator. The world began when God's word drew it out of nothingness; all existent beings, all of nature, and all human history are rooted in this primordial event, the very genesis by which the world was constituted and time begun.)

2) a Virgin gave birth to a child...even though everyone knows this is scientifically impossible.

3) God became man, born to that Virgin as a baby in a manger....yet even as an ancient Roman critic of Christianity once asked "Why would God need to become man?  To see what we are doing down here? doesn't He already know everything?"

4) This God-man walked the earth, performed many miracles including healings, walking on water and multiplying a few loaves of bread to feed thousands of people, twice.....again, all of these things are scientifically impossible, what absurdity to believe such a thing!...right?

5) Then, this same man bore the sins of all of humanity by offering up his own body on a Roman cross as a pleasing sacrifice to God His Father...

6) On top of that, Catholics actually believe that this man who was now dead, lay in a tomb for three days but then rose from the dead, was seen by and spoke with many. Then ascended to heaven and now sits at the right hand of His Father.

I could go on....but let's revisit the doctrine of Jesus being truly present in the bread and wine (called transubstantiation by Roman Catholics theologians). Why would anyone believe in such an unlikely thing...in fact the Gospel of John in the sixth chapter tells us that most of the disciples of Jesus left him over this very teaching....

John 6:53-58 ESV
So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.

As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever feeds on me, he also will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like the bread the fathers ate and died. Whoever feeds on this bread will live forever."

These are perplexingly controversial words. If Jesus had wanted his disciples to understand that he was only speaking symbolically, would he have said "my flesh is true food and my blood is true drink" and would he have not spoken up and clarified to his confused disciples (as he usually does in the Gospel narratives) before they walked away from him in the end of chapter six?

But, if he was actually saying that he would one day give us his body to truly eaten by those he loved (as the Israelites were instructed to eat the entire Passover Lamb) how could he have said this any clearer than he does in this passage (several times emphasizing that his disciples needed to eat (literally chew in the Greek) his body and drink his bloody which is true food and true drink and all of the Last Supper narratives (in Matthew, Mark, Luke and 1 Corinthians)

Luke 22:19-20 ESV
And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me." And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

It is often said by critics that these verses show that he was saying that by us doing it in remembrance of him...that it is only symbolic. But that is not a logical conclusion for he says that "This" bread is the very same as the body that is being given up for us (on Calvary). It is OK for this doctrine to be "a hard saying" for it was from the first time Christ taught it as we see in John six. We are not told to completely understand it but to "eat" and "drink" often, remembering his everlasting sacrifice.

Is it really so absurd to believe that the Creator of the Universe who spoke the everything that is out of nothingness, after being born to a Virgin, he walked on earth dwelling among men, multiplied bread and fish to feed the multitudes, healed lepers, the lame, the blind and raised the dead, etc...could make himself fully present in his body, blood and divinity to His beloved Church to feed her, nourish her and cause her to grow in His Grace. For this is what the earliest Church Fathers believed ( http://www.therealpresence.org/eucharst/father/a5.html ) and has been believed in all of faithful Christianity (until the 1500's) and is still believed by and attested to in the ancient liturgies of both Roman and Eastern Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, who broke from Rome in the 11th century, the Oriental Orthodox (Coptic, Ethiopian, Indian, Armenian, etc) who broke from Rome in the 5th century. Despite the rampant rumors among various Protestants, this was NOT an invention by the Catholic Church of the Middle Ages. No, it was an essential doctrine from the beginning. See how clearly St. Ignatius of Antioch writes of this doctrine, who to the Smyreans wrote in c.100 AD:

"Consider how contrary to the mind of God are the heterodox in regard to the grace of God which has come to us. They have no regard for charity, none for the widow, the orphan, the oppressed, none for the man in prison, the hungry or the thirsty. They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not admit that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, the flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His graciousness, raised from the dead."

*The website cited above as many similar quotes from the Early Church.

I think it is significant to remember that until the rise of Protestant theology the largest denial of this doctrine came from the Docetist and Gnostics who denied that Christ had actually come in the flesh but only seemed to appear in the flesh. For what would the Spiritual Holy God, they said, have to do with this sinful material world?

Anyhow, this blog will explore this huge issue (and other theological issues) in various ways. But let me be clear in my conclusion....

Yes, of course, it is a very absurd belief to hold that Jesus IS a "cracker" (more correctly He, in his full body, blood and divinity, are physically present in the forms of bread and wine in the Eucharist.) But I think if any truth seeking Christian considers the matter honestly they will admit that it is an infinitely much more absurd thing to believe that the Most Holy God, creator of heaven and earth became man and walked among us sinners.

Yes, absurd...but true.

1 Corinthians 1:27 ESV
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;