Welcome to “RE:IMAGINE,” a safe place dedicated to the authentic discovery of Catholic Christianity. This site is for everyone, though some of the terminology and ideas may be easier for a Christian to understand. On the other hand, someone who is a non-Christian may be able to see and receive some of the Catholic treasures before a non-Catholic Christian may be able to. Regardless of where a person stands, discovering who the Catholic Church is will be an exciting journey if one allows the Story really to take hold. Fascination really is the best word for this process. When one truly approaches the Story, one cannot help but be “pulled in by it.”
The Story of the Church really is the Story of the Gospel, which is the Story of Jesus, a Person Who truly left an indelible mark on this world. His Story did not end when He died, nor did it end when He rose. It did not end when Paul, Peter, or John passed from this life. They were teachers and transformers like their Teacher and Transformer and their students continued the mission successfully. The Story of Jesus did not become lost and rediscovered again. Though the Story has twists and turns and certain thoughts must be rediscovered, the People of God have been on the move throughout history and have left their indelible mark.
The Church is living fossil, an ancient species that looks like nothing else in the world but still can thrive in all parts of the world. Its only when we cease to be ourselves that the Church begins to disease an area. Its only when the Church ceases to be a Servant that a culture or people begin to reject her. What culture hates a person who freely serves the sick and suffering, who works hard for no visible reward, who gives thanks for all created things, and who gives their life away so that others might have life? Eventually, the life of that servant takes over that culture and becomes the new culture, the new way of life. This is the Story of the Saints and Martyrs throughout Church history. They lived in an upside Kingdom where the last in this world become the first in the next. And ‘the next’ is not full of Fuel and Ferraris. It is full of the Flaming Presence of God. It is full of Love, made for a People who only know Love.
We cannot pit the Bible against the Early Church. Once we do that, we degrade the notion of Scripture that God is guiding this Story and that Jesus left behind a People to be His hands and feet. Can we read history critically through the lens of Scripture? Yes. Can the People of God go astray? Yes. Read the Story of Israel! But the moment we say that the Church became mostly corrupted a generation or two after Christ until the 1500s, 1800s, or the present’, we destroy the credibility and influence of Christ on this world. People loved Christ and preserved the ‘DNA” of His Mission even after the apostles died. We have their writings. Read Clement, Ignatius, Papias, Justin, or Ireneaus. Men who all died for Christ and who faithfully guided His people while on this earth. This is where the Catholic Story begins! I pray that you will join us.
Barrel Aged Faith 