Re:imagine Catholic Christianity (Book Introduction)

We all have a past, a lineage, and a family tree whether we know it or not. For most evangelical Christians, including myself, we have been ignorant of it. I remember when I first became interested in the history of my faith—looking to examples such as D.L Moody, Charles Spurgeon, John Wesley, and Johnathan Edwards. These were men who shaped what evangelicalism has become in the last few hundred years. They were revivalist preachers who wanted to see the whole world experience rebirth, but they were also compassionate pastors who truly were concerned that people have a real experience with Jesus grounded in the scriptures. People flocked to these men, because they didn’t want to be mediocre anymore. They wanted the same fire that they had. And so did I.

“This book is not about returning to mediocre, legalistic versions of Christianity and finding Biblical support for that. It is not about falling asleep in the pew, listening to boring or fluffy sermons, or choosing rules and church laws over experiencing the power of the Risen Christ.”

This book is about re-imagining and rediscovering the fiery heart of Catholic Christianity that existed from the beginning as evidenced by history, and how present evangelical pastors and leaders are returning to the family we believe we have always belonged to. This book is about falling into deeper love with Jesus and receiving the gifts He always intended us to have so that we can complete the mission he gave us—teaching, baptizing, and making more authentic disciples of Jesus who supernaturally love one another.

In 2011, I made the decision to resign from my evangelical church in order to enter into full communion with the Catholic Church and reconcile with my family tree. I did this for numerous reasons, but it is important for me to say that it was not because I found my past experiences within evangelical Christianity unfulfilled. My years being formed in two evangelical churches and an evangelical school, Taylor University, were full of deeply, transformative experiences that helped me grow in my relationship and understanding of Jesus. I actually cannot speak of these experiences enough! There are many, many people who I could think of that poured their very hearts into mine and to them I am forever grateful (my parents being on top of the list). But I also began to find some of our historical claims rooted in a Protestant worldview to be incomplete and inconsistent as I began to grow in my understanding of the scriptures.

Growing up, I would have never said that the fullness of the Church seemed to be complete within Catholic Christianity. I was largely ignorant of Catholicism, but I generally believed that the Catholic Church was a medieval dinosaur about to go extinct! Like all traditional churches, it was slowly being abandoned by the people and needed to be left to die in the streets. I had it reinforced in my mind time and time again that Biblical truth and Christian freedom were largely abandoned until the 16th century when Martin Luther came around like Moses to set God’s people free. When I was a child, I also heard it said that there were some ‘saved’ Catholics, but they were the lucky ones still fortunate enough to see Jesus through all of the medieval superstition, pharisaic legalism, and severe doctrinal confusion. The prayer was that someday they would discover freedom in a church like ‘ours.’

I began to appreciate the Catholic Church more in college as I encountered the church fathers, the spiritual disciplines, the monastic movements, and ancient forms of Christian worship. However, my mindset was more like a man grabbing prized possessions from a burning building. The ‘Roman Catholic Church’ would still crumble or become obsolete in its relevance, and it was the duty of Christian leaders to preserve was still good in this system. As a future pastor and church planter, I could take some of these effective ideas and use them in ministry settings.

My world was turned upside down however when my best friend became Catholic and challenged me on several points. The Catholic claim is that it is the form of Christianity that has been around since basically the Book of Acts and that the study of church history from the earliest sources vindicates this claim. So I sought to both understand my friend, but also use Biblical and historical evidence to show that he was wrong. That process backfired, and I discovered that the first generations of Christians sounded shockingly Catholic. Ideas that I thought originated in the Middle Ages were documented at the end of the New Testament era. I found that there was quite a bit of evidence that the Catholic Church was the only thing around in the first few centuries except a few heretical groups that nobody wants to be associated with today! Blessed John Henry Newman summarizes this experience quite well, “To be deep in history is to cease to be Protestant.”

My first reaction was anger that this information had been hid from me by my college professors. My second reaction was shock that I missed this information even after reading some of these writings before and that it had the potential to completely change my life. My third reaction was fear that the Catholic Church was going to have a bunch of baggage that I would have to accept and that it was no longer the church it once was. My fourth reaction was sorrow—that I would hurt friends and family members, leading some to think that I had become a fearful, timid pastor who was simply looking for way out of ministry. In reality, I was embarking on the most courageous journey God had ever called me to.

Today, the breakdown in prejudice between Catholics and Protestants and advances in Biblical scholarship has led to a new phenomenon — a significant number of evangelical theologians, pastors, and leaders have become Catholic after rediscovering the real teachings of the Catholic Church. This could be clearly seen in 2007 when the President of the Evangelical Theological Society, Francis Beckwith, resigned in order to enter into the Catholic Church. Beckwith admits he does not feel as though he stopped being an evangelical when he became Catholic, but that his evangelicalism was being fulfilled by being in right relationship with Christ’s Church in its visible and historical fullness. In response to this startling news about Beckham, a book was written by Norman Geisler and Betancourt called, “Is Rome the True Church?,” which argued against the Catholic Church’s claims. Shortly after it was published, the co-author Betancourt made a dramatic decision to also become Catholic himself. He found (as I found and many others) that there are good arguments against the Catholic Church, but there are still much stronger ones for it, or as G.K. Chesterton puts it, “It is impossible to be just to the Catholic Church. The moment a man ceases to pull against it he feels a tug towards it. The moment he ceases to shout it down he begins to listen to it with pleasure. The moment he tries to be fair to it he begins to be fond of it.”

“There are good arguments against the Catholic Church, but there are still much stronger ones for it.”

In 2008, evangelical pastor Allen Hunt made the decision to resign from his 10,000 person Methodist congregation to become Catholic, and this last year, in 2014, Ulf Ekman followed Hunt’s example by resigning from his evangelical, Pentecostal mega church in Sweden after studying the Church’s claims and building strong relationships with Charismatic Catholics across the globe. There is a entire organization called the “Coming Home Network” that networks with pastors and Christian ministry leaders so they can tell their story and find support from one another.

Looking at Catholics and Evangelicals from a distance, there is a lot that we have in common. Evangelical pastor Rick Warren, author of the best selling Purpose Driven Life, noted that, “We have more in common than we have different,” when he visited the Vatican in November of 2014 in order to give a talk on Marriage. There is even an organization called, “Catholics and Evangelicals Together” begun by evangelical Chuck Colson and former Lutheran theologian turned Catholic, Father Richard Neuhaus, and they have issued significant declarations together while still noting their differences. Much has been done in the last 25 years to warm up the relations between Catholics and Evangelicals. This was most notably seen when Billy Graham visited Pope John Paul II in 1981, and the Pope responded by calling them “brothers.”

This warming of the relationship may be alarming to some, but generally, it has produced fruit in unity and holiness that helps more people see Jesus as we love another. My greatest aim for this book is that after reading it Catholics and Evangelicals would be much more stirred up to love one another and seek understanding from each other prayerfully so that the light of the Risen Jesus would shine out all the more clearly and powerfully through us. “But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.” 2 Corinthians 4:7

Why Catholic?

Isn’t the Catholic Church just another denomination among many others? Doesn’t every Christian group get some things wrong? Why does it matter which church I am in as long as I am worshiping God?

Many people make the mistake today in thinking that the word ‘Catholic’ is just the name of another denomination or sect of Christianity such as Methodist, Baptist, or Lutheran. In reality, ‘catholic’ originally was used in Greek to say exactly the opposite. The word ‘katholikos’ actually translates as Global. So when we say Catholic Church, we mean the Global Church that has been around since the beginning.

St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch, is the first person recorded to use the word ‘katholikos’ around 107 AD (About ten years after the books of the New Testament were completed). He states, “Wherever the bishop appears, let the congregation be there also, just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.” Around 258 AD St. Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage, paints a wonderful image with words, “The Church is a unity; yet by her fruitful increase she is extended far and wide to form a plurality; even as the sun has many rays, but one light; and a tree many boughs but one trunk,… yet in the source itself unity is preserved.” The Blessed John Henry Newman also adds, “Unless the Church, and the Church alone, had been one body everywhere, they (the Church Fathers) could not have argued on the supposition that it was so.” He continues, “She, as St. Pacian explains the word (Catholic), was everywhere one, while the sects of the day were nowhere one, but everywhere divided. Sects might, indeed, be everywhere, but they were in no two places the same.”

There are many Protestant churches now claiming to be non-denominational, but only the Catholic Church is the truly non-denominational Church in the world. We can say confidently that there will not be lots of different Catholic denominations and sects fifty or five hundred years from now. We are by definition ‘anti-schismatic.’ We do not break up or turn into something else for we are the one Church, a Body held together by Christ at each joint.

Baptism: Branded with Fire

“John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”  Luke 3:16

“Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.” John 3:5

“In it only a few people, eight in all, were saved through water, ²¹ and this water symbolizes baptism that now saves you also—not the removal of dirt from the body but the pledge of a clear conscience toward God.^[e] It saves you by the resurrection of Jesus Christ, ²² who has gone into heaven and is at God’s right hand —with angels, authorities and powers in submission to him.” 1 Peter 3:20-22

 

The Feast of St Lawrence, the Martyr and Deacon of Rome

I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. -John 12:24

The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.  -Tertullian in his work Apologeticus, Chapter 50.

Yesterday was the Feast of Saint Lawrence, a day to celebrate and remember a man who gave his life away for the Gospel of Christ. Ironically, I found this out while listening to Catholic radio about an hour before I passed through a little town dedicated to this saint, Lawrenceburg, Indiana. It was my first time there, and I was happy to find that SR 50 passed by the local parish dedicated to him (I prayed there before returning home).

In about 258 AD when the Church was still underground, illegal, and persecuted, the Emperor of Rome (Valerian) had the Bishop of Rome (Pope Sixtus II) executed. Lawrence was one of seven deacons in Rome, and he kept the treasury. Lawrence was asked by the Roman authorities to gather all the wealth of the Church and place it before the Emperor. After 3 days, he distributed the church treasury and property to the poor throughout the city and gathered them together in one place. When the Emperor arrived, Lawrence pointed to the poor and stated, “Here is the treasure of the Church.” Three days after the Pope had been executed, Deacon Lawrence followed his footsteps to martyrdom and was burned alive.

Another tidbit from my trip yesterday is that Lawrenceburg has a large casino that attracts many to its city. I find it a bit ironic that while St. Lawrence is considered ‘the patron saint of giving’ (since he gave away the church treasury to the poor and his own life to God), people are literally flocking to his town in order to give  their lives away to this casino in exchange for nothing.

Let’s ask St Lawrence to pray for us to our God whenever we become to focused on the pleasures of the world and forget what eternal Love and Blessing await us in the world to come. Amen.

Jesus without the Church?

Where in the Bible do you see Jesus personally endorsing Popes, Priests, and Bishops? Doesn’t Jesus speak against organized religion and the traditions of men? Isn’t the Catholic Church a human invention and a distortion of what Jesus started?

Many non-Christians and more and more Protestant Christians are claiming to follow a Jesus who has been rescued from the hands of the Church. They take some of His words that reveal His love for humanity and disdain for the ‘current establishment’ of religious leaders, and they pit those words against everything else He says. To summarize their message: “love God and others but do it in way that you find best rather than what organized religion says, because you are the only authority that matters in your personal relationship with God.” The problem with this line of thinking is that it does not consider a third possibility—that God has given us a faithful and reliable picture (revelation) of Himself in history so that we can know and experience Him on His own terms.

Recall what God said during Jesus’ transfiguration, “This is my Son, Listen to Him” (Luke 9:35). If we listen to the Son, we will hear Him speak through His Life, Death, and Resurrection, and we will hear Him speak when He appointed Apostles and gave them His authority to heal, teach, forgive sins, and cast out demons in His name. We will hear Him speak when he says, “You are Peter, and on this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it” (Matt. 16:18). The point is this—the Church was not an invention of man, but a Mystical Body breathed into existence by Christ Himself.

Excitingly, for Catholic Christians, the Story does not stop there. These Apostles then appointed deacons to assist them in service (Acts 6:1-7), presbyters (priests in English) to assist them in running the local churches (Acts 14:23), and lastly, bishops to assist them in governing whole cities (dioceses) of churches. As seen in Titus 1:5 and 1 Timothy 1:3 , Saint Paul transferred His apostolic gift to Titus and Timothy as bishops over Ephesus and Crete so that they could appoint more presbyters and keep things moving orderly. These first bishops then appointed other men and passed on this apostolic gift to the present day through an unbroken line of successors. One of the earliest bishops, Saint Ireneaus, described this doctrine around 180 AD, “It is incumbent to obey the presbyters who are in the Church—those who, as I have shown, possess the succession from the apostles; those who, together with the succession of the episcopate (college of bishops), have received the infallible charism of truth, according to the good pleasure of the Father.”

What a wonderful gift God has given to the Catholic Church—the gift of infallibility guarded and taught through our bishops and priests so that we might rightly hear the voice of God’s Son.  Let’s honor Christ by honoring those whom He appointed by not sitting on the sidelines, but by joining them in their labor so that our communities might know that Jesus still is alive and that He has not rejected the Church, but continues to live and reign in Her.

Evidence of the Eucharist from the Early Church’s Mouth

Most Christians (1 billion Catholics, 400 million Orthodox) believe that during Communion they literally approach the Cross and Christ’s Sacrifice from 2000 years ago and partake of His Body and Blood. Why? Because the Cross was a Cosmic event that touched on all points of time, making the Sacrifice available by the Holy Spirit for all of God’s People forever and ever. Pretty Cool, huh? Yes, a very mystical idea, but a loving one. In the same way a husband and wife become one flesh in the marital act, so Christ and His Church become one flesh and one body in Communion. This teaching is seen both in the Scriptures and by those early leaders (Bishops) that were appointed by the Apostles. Check it out!

St. John, Apostle of Christ, 80-90 AD, The Gospel of John

⁵² Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

⁵³ Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. ⁵⁴ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. ⁵⁵ For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. ⁵⁶ Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. ⁵⁷ Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. ⁵⁸ This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.”

St. Paul, Apostle to Gentiles, 50 AD

the Eucharist (Communion) as a Sacrifice & Participation with the Body and Blood of Christ (1 Corinthians 10 & 11)

^“16 Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? ¹⁷ Because there is one loaf, we, who are many, are one body, for we all share the one loaf. ¹⁸ Consider the people of Israel: Do not those who eat the sacrifices participate in the altar? ¹⁹ Do I mean then that food sacrificed to an idol is anything, or that an idol is anything? ²⁰ No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God, and I do not want you to be participants with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you cannot have a part in both the Lord’s table and the table of demons. ²² Are we trying to arouse the Lord’s jealousy? Are we stronger than he?”

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^“27 So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord. ²⁸ Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup. ²⁹ For those who eat and drink without discerning the body of Christ eat and drink judgment on themselves. ³⁰ That is why many among you are weak and sick, and a number of you have fallen asleep. ³¹ But if we were more discerning with regard to ourselves, we would not come under such judgment. ³² Nevertheless, when we are judged in this way by the Lord, we are being disciplined so that we will not be finally condemned with the world.

³³ So then, my brothers and sisters, when you gather to eat, you should all eat together. ³⁴ Anyone who is hungry should eat something at home, so that when you meet together it may not result in judgment.

And when I come I will give further directions.”

What were those further directions that Paul later gave? The Scriptures do not say, but the Bishops (literally, “overseers”) appointed by the Apostles likely give us reliable historical evidence to what those “further directions” were.

The Didache, 9:2; 14:1, circa 90 A.D.:

Regarding the Eucharist … Let no one eat and drink of your Eucharist but those baptized in the name of the Lord; to this, too, the saying of the Lord is applicable: Do not give to dogs what is sacred.

On the Lord’s own day, assemble in common to break bread and offer thanks; but first confess your sins, so that your sacrifice may be pure. However, no one quarreling with his brother may join your meeting until they are reconciled; your sacrifice must not be defiled. For here we have the saying of the Lord: In every place and time offer me a pure sacrifice; for I am a mighty King, says the Lord; and my name spreads terror among the nations. [Mal 1:11,14].

Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, Chapter 6, 110 A.D.:

Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God … They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 8:1, 110 A.D.:

Let that Eucharist be held valid which is offered by the bishop or by the one to whom the bishop has committed this charge. Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Romans, 7, 110 A.D.:

I desire the Bread of God, the heavenly Bread, the Bread of Life, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who became afterwards of the seed of David and Abraham; I wish the drink of God, namely His blood, which is incorruptible love and eternal life.

St. Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadephians, 4:1, 110 A.D.:

Be ye careful therefore to observe one eucharist (for there is one flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ and one cup unto union in His blood; there is one altar, as there is one bishop, together with the presbytery and the deacons my fellow-servants), that whatsoever ye do, ye may do it after God.

St. Clement, bishop of Rome, 80 A.D., in his letter to the Corinthians, 40:

Since then these things are manifest to us, and we have looked into the depths of the divine knowledge, we ought to do in order all things which the Master commanded us to perform at appointed times. He commanded us to celebrate sacrifices and services, and that it should not be thoughtlessly or disorderly, but at fixed times and hours. He has Himself fixed by His supreme will the places and persons whom He desires for these celebrations, in order that all things may be done piously according to His good pleasure, and be acceptable to His will. So then those who offer their oblations at the appointed seasons are acceptable and blessed, but they follow the laws of the Master and do not sin. For to the high priest his proper ministrations are allotted, and to the priests the proper place has been appointed, and on Levites their proper services have been imposed. The layman is bound by the ordinances for the laity.

Justin Martyr, Apology, I.66-67, 2nd century:

Communion in the Body and Blood of Christ

It is allowed to no one else to participate in that food which we call Eucharist except the one who believes that the things taught by us are true, who has been cleansed in the washing unto rebirth and the forgiveness of sins and who is living according to the way Christ handed on to us. For we do not take these things as ordinary bread or ordinary drink. Just as our Savior Jesus Christ was made flesh by the word of God and took on flesh and blood for our salvation, so also were we taught that the food, for which thanksgiving has been made through the word of prayer instituted by him, and from which our blood and flesh are nourished after the change, is the flesh of that Jesus who was made flesh. Indeed, the Apostles, in the records left by them which are called gospels, handed on that it was commanded to them in this manner: Jesus, having taken bread and given thanks said, “Do this in memory of me, this is my body.” Likewise, having taken the cup and given thanks, he said, “This is my blood”, and he gave it to them alone.

The Sunday Assembly

Furthermore, after this we always remind one another of these things. Those who have the means aid those who are needy, and we are always united. Over everything which we take to ourselves we bless the Creator of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ and through the Holy Spirit.

On the day called after the sun [Sunday] there is a meeting for which all those dwelling in the cities or in the countryside come together. The records of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read as long as time allows. When the reader has stopped, the one who is presiding admonishes and encourages us by a sermon to the imitation of those good examples.

Then we all stand up together and lift up our prayers and, as I said previously, when we have finished our prayer, bread is brought forth and wine and water. The one who is presiding offers up prayers and thanksgiving according to his ability and the people acclaim their assent with “Amen.” There is the distribution of and participation on the part of each one in the gifts for which thanks has been offered, and they are sent to those who are not present through the deacons.

We all come together on the day of the sun since it is the first day, on which God changed darkness and matter and made the world. On that day, Jesus Christ our Savior arose from the dead. They crucified him on the day preceding that of Saturn, and on the day of the sun he appeared to his Apostles and disciples and taught them these things which we have presented also to you for inspection.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, [5,2,2] 180 A.D.:

If the body be not saved, then in fact, neither did the Lord redeem us with His Blood; and neither is the cup of the Eucharist the partaking of His Blood nor is the Bread which we break the partaking of His Body . . . He has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be His own Blood, from which He causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, He has established as His own Body, from which He gives increase to our bodies.

St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 180 A.D., 4,17,5:

Again, giving counsel to His disciples to offer to God the first-fruits from among His creatures, not as if He needed them, but so that they themselves might be neither unfruitful nor ungrateful, He took from among creation that which is bread, and gave thanks, saying, “This is My Body.” The cup likewise, which is from among the creation to which we belong, He confessed to be His Blood.

He taught the the new sacrifice of the New Covenant, of which Malachi, one of the twelve prophets, had signified beforehand: “`You do not do my will,’ says the Lord Almighty, `and I will not accept a sacrifice at your hands. For from the rising of the sun to its setting My name is glorified among the gentiles, and in every place incense is offer to My name, and a pure sacrifice; for great is My name among the gentiles,’ says the Lord Almighty.” (Mal 1:11). By these words He makes it plain that the former people will cease to make offerings to God; but that in every place sacrifice will be offered to Him, and indeed, a pure one; for His name is glorified among the gentiles.”

St. Irenaeus, Against Heresies, 4, 18, 2, 180 A.D.:

It is not oblations as such that have met with disapproval. There were oblations of old; there are oblations now. There were sacrifices among the people of Israel; there are sacrifices in the Church. Only the kind of oblation has been changed: now it is offered by freemen, not by slaves. There is one and the same Lord, but the character of an oblation made by slaves is distinctive, so too that of an oblation made by sons: their oblations bear the mark of freedom.

We must make oblation to God, and in all things be found pleasing to God the Creator, in sound teaching, in sincere faith, in firm hope, in ardent love, as we offer the firstfruits of the creatures that are his. The Church alone offers this pure oblation to the Creator when it makes its offering to him from his creation, with thanksgiving.

We offer him what is his, and so we proclaim communion and unity and profess our belief in the resurrection of flesh and spirit. Just as bread from the earth, when it receives the invocation of God, is no longer common bread but the Eucharist, made up of two elements, one earthly and one heavenly, so also our bodies, in receiving the Eucharist, are no longer corruptible, for they have the hope of resurrection.

St. Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies, [5,2,2] 180 A.D.:

If the body be not saved, then in fact, neither did the Lord redeem us with His Blood; and neither is the cup of the Eucharist the partaking of His Blood nor is the Bread which we break the partaking of His Body . . . He has declared the cup, a part of creation, to be His own Blood, from which He causes our blood to flow; and the bread, a part of creation, He has established as His own Body, from which He gives increase to our bodies.

St. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor of Children [1,6,41,3] 202 A.D.:

When the loving and benevolent Father had rained down the Word, that Word then became the spiritual nourishment of those who have good sense. [42,1] O mystic wonder! the Father of all is indeed one, one also is the universal Word, and the Holy Spirit is one and the same everywhere; and one is the Virgin Mother. I love to call her the Church. This Mother alone was without milk, because she alone did not become a wife. She is at once both Virgin and Mother: as Virgin, undefiled; as a Mother full of love.

Calling her children about her, she nourishes them with holy milk, that is with the Infant Word. . . . The Word is everything to a child: both the Father and Mother, both Instructor and Nurse. `Eat My Flesh,’ He says, `and drink My Blood.’ the Lord supplies us with these intimate nutriments. He delivers over His Flesh, and pours out His Blood; and nothing is lacking for the growth of His children. O incredible mystery!

St. Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor of Children [2,2,19,4] 202 A.D.:

The Blood of the Lord, indeed, is twofold. There is His corporeal blood, by which we are redeemed from corruption; and His spiritual Blood, that with which we are anointed. That is to say, to drink the Blood of Jesus is to share in His Immortality. the strength of the Word is the Spirit, just as the blood is the strength of the body. [20,1] Similarly, as wine is blended with water, so is the Spirit with man. The one, the Watered Wine, nourishes in faith while the other, the Spirit, leads us on to immortality. The union of both, however, –of the drink and of the Word,–is called Eucharist, a praiseworthy and excellent gift. Those who partake of it in faith are sanctified in body and in soul. By the will of the Father, the divine mixture, man, is mystically united to the Spirit and to the Word.

Tertullian’s The Resurrection of the Dead [8,2] A.D. 208-212:

The flesh, then, is washed, so that the soul may be made clean. The flesh is anointed, so that the soul may be dedicated to holiness. The flesh is signed, so that the soul too may be fortified. The flesh is shaded with the imposition of hands, so that the soul too may be illuminated by the Spirit. The flesh feeds on the Body and Blood of Christ, so that the soul too may fatten on God. They cannot, then, be separated in their reward, when they are united in their works.

Tertullian [ca. 200/206 AD] in his treaties on Prayer [6,2], quotes John 6 in connection with a spiritual understanding of the Lord’s prayer “give us this day our daily bread.” In a spiritual sense Christ is our daily Bread, presumably because of the practice of the daily reception of the Eucharist.

Later in that same treatise [19,1] he writes;

Likewise, regard to days of fast, many do not think they should be present at the sacrificial prayers, because their fast would be broken if they were to receive the Body of the Lord. Does the Eucharist, then, obviate a work devoted to God, or does it bind it more to God? Will not your fast be more solemn if, in addition, you have stood at God’s altar? The body of the Lord having been received and reserved, each point is secured: both the participation in the sacrifice and the discharge of duty.

Regarding worship on the Lord’s Day Tertullian also writes; [The Crown [3,4] AD 211]:

We take anxious care lest something of our Cup of Bread should fall upon the ground.

Origen, Contra Celsum, 8:57:

We are not people with ungrateful hearts; it is true, we do not sacrifice … to such beings who, far from bestowing their benefits upon us, are our enemies; but to God who has bestowed upon us an abundance of benefits … we fear being ungrateful. The sign of this gratitude towards God is the bread called Eucharist.

Origen Homilies on Exodus 13,3:

I wish to admonish you with examples from your religion. You are accustomed to take part in the divine mysteries, so you know, when you received the body of the Lord, you reverently exercised every care lest a particle of it fall, and lest anything of the consecrated gift perish. You account yourselves guilty, and rightly do you so believe, if any of it be lost through negligence. but if you observe such cation in keeping His Body, and properly so, how is it that you think neglecting the word of God a lesser crime than neglecting His Body?

St. Cyprian of Carthage, the Lord’s Prayer, 252 A.D., chapter 18:

As the prayer proceeds, we ask and say: ‘Give us this day our daily bread.’ This can be understood both spiritually and simply, because either understanding is of profit in divine usefulness for salvation. For Christ is the bread of life and the bread here is of all, but is ours. And as we say ‘Our Father,’ because He is the Father of those who understand and believe, so too we say ‘our Bread,’ because Christ is the bread of those of us who attain to His body. Moreover, we ask that this bread be given daily, lest we, who are in Christ and receive the Eucharist daily as food of salvation, with the intervention of some more grievous sin, while we are shut off and as non-communicants are kept from the heavenly bread, be separated from the body of Christ as He Himself declares, saying: ‘I am the bread of life which came down from heaven. If any man eat of my bread he shall live forever. Moreover, the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the life of the world.’ Since then He says that, if anyone eats of His bread, he lives forever, as it is manifest that they live who attain to His body and receive the Eucharist by right of communion, so on the other hand we must fear and pray lest anyone, while he is cut off and separated from the body of Christ, remain apart from salvation, as He Himself threatens, saying: ‘Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you shall not have life in you.’ And so we petition that our bread, that is Christ, be given us daily, so that we, who abide and live in Christ, may not withdraw from His sanctification and body.

St. Cyprian, Letter of Cyprian to a Certain Magnus, 6 (76), 5; 255 A.D.:

Finally, the sacrifices of the Lord proclaim the unity of Christians, bound together by the bond of a firm and inviolable charity. For when the Lord, in speaking of bread which is produced by the compacting of many grains of wheat, refers to it as His Body, He is describing our people whose unity He has sustained, and when He refers to wine pressed from many grapes and berries, as His Blood, He is speaking of our flock, formed by the fusing of many united together.

St. Cyril of Jerusalem, Mystagogic Catechesis 4,1, c. 350 A.D.:

`I have received of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which He was betrayed, took bread, etc. [1 Cor 11:23]’. This teaching of the Blessed Paul is alone sufficient to give you a full assurance concerning those Divine Mysteries, which when ye are vouchsafed, ye are of [Eph 3:6] and blood with Christ. For he has just distinctly said, [1 Cor 2:23-25] Since then He Himself has declared and said of the Bread, , who shall dare to doubt any longer? And since He has affirmed and said, , who shall ever hesitate, saying, that it is not His blood?

2. He once turned water into wine, in Cana of Galilee, at His own will, and is it incredible that He should have turned wine into blood? That wonderful work He miraculously wrought, when called to an earthly marriage; and shall He not much rather be acknowledged to have bestowed the fruition of His Body and Blood on the children of the bridechamber?

3. Therefore with fullest assurance let us partake as of the Body and Blood of Christ: for in the figure of Bread is given to thee His Body, and in the figure of Wine His Blood; that thou by partaking of the Body and Blood of Christ, mightest be made of the same body and the same blood with Him. For thus we come to bear Christ in us, because His Body and Blood are diffused through our members; thus it is that, according to the blessed Peter, [2 Peter 1:4]

4. Christ on a certain occasion discoursing with the Jews said, [1 John 6:53] They not receiving His saying spiritually were offended, and went backward, supposing that He was inviting them to eat flesh.

5. Even under the Old Testament there was showbread; but this as it belonged to the Old Testament, came to an end; but in the New Testament there is the Bread of Heaven, and the Cup of Salvation [cf. Ps 116:13], sanctifying soul and body; for as the Bread has respect to our body, so is the Word appropriate to our soul.

6. Contemplate therefore the Bread and Wine not as bare elements, for they are, according to the Lord’s declaration, the Body and Blood of Christ; for though sense suggests this to thee, let faith establish thee. Judge not the matter from taste, but from faith be fully assured without misgiving, that thou hast been vouchsafed the Body and Blood of Christ.

7. The blessed David also shall advise thee at the meaning of this, saying, [Ps 23:5] What he says, is to this effect. Before Thy coming, evil spirits prepared a table for men, foul and polluted and full of all devilish influence; but since Thy coming, O Lord, When the man says to God, , what other does he mean but that mystical and spiritual Table, which God hath prepared , that is, contrary and in opposition to the evil spirits? And very truly; for that had fellowship with devils, but this, with God. . . .

9. These things having learnt, and being fully persuaded that what seems bread is not bread, though bread by taste, but the Body of Christ; and that what seems wine is not wine, though the taste will have it so, but the Blood of Christ; and that of this David sung of old, saying,

St. John Chrysostom (PG 59:261)

This blood is the salvation of our soul; it cleanses our souls, it beautifies our soul; … it makes it shine even more than gold. Through the pouring out of this blood, it becomes possible to walk the path of heaven.

St. Ambrose of Milan, “On the Mysteries” 9, 50-52, 58; 391 A.D.:

Let us be assured that this is not what nature formed, but what the blessing consecrated, and that greater efficacy resides in the blessing than in nature, for by the blessing nature is changed. . . . Surely the word of Christ, which could make out of nothing that which did not exist, can change things already in existence into what they were not. For it is no less extraordinary to give things new natures than to change their natures. . . . Christ is in that Sacrament, because it is the Body of Christ; yet, it is not on that account corporeal food, but spiritual. Whence also His Apostle says of the type: `For our fathers ate spiritual food and drink spiritual drink.’ [1 Cor 10:2-4] For the body of God is a spiritual body.

St. Ambrose, De Sacrametis:

Whenever the blood of Christ is being poured out, it flows for the forgiveness of sins.

St. Augustine, Sermons, [227] A.D. 391-430:

… I promised you, who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the Sacrament of the Lord’s Table, which you now look upon and of which you last night were made participants. You ought to know what you have received, what you are going to receive, and what you ought to receive daily. That Bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the Blood of Christ. Through that bread and wine the Lord Christ willed to commend His Body and Blood, which He poured out for us unto the forgiveness of sins. If you receive worthily, you are what you have received.

St. Augustine, Sermons, [272] A.D. 391-430:

What you see is the bread and the chalice; that is what your own eyes report to you. But what your faith obliges you to accept is that the bread is the Body of Christ and the chalice the Blood of Christ. … How is the bread His Body? And the chalice, or what is in the chalice, how is it His Blood? Those elements, brethren, are called Sacraments, because in them one thing is seen, but another is understood. What is seen is the corporeal species, but what is understood is the spiritual fruit. … `You, however, are the Body of Christ and His members.’ If, therefore, you are the Body of Christ and His members, your mystery is presented at the table of the Lord, you receive your mystery. To that which you are, you answer: `Amen’; and by answering, you subscribe to it. For you hear: `The Body of Christ!’ and you answer: `Amen!’ Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth.

St. Augustine, Explanations on the Psalms, [33, 1, 10] A.D. 392-418:

`And he was carried in his own hands [3 Kgs 20:13 LXX? corrupted].’ But, brethren, how is it possible for a man to do this? Who can understand it? Who is it that is carried in his own hands? A man can be carried in the hands of another; but no one can be carried in his own hands. How this should be understood literally of David, we cannot discover; but we can discover how it was meant of Christ. For Christ was carried in His own hands, when, referring to His own Body, He said: `This is My Body.’ For He carried that Body in His hands.

St. Augustine, Explanations on the Psalms, [98, 9] A.D. 392-418:

And adore the footstool of His feet, because it is holy [Psalm 98:9, LXX 99:9]. . .In another place in the Scripture it says: `The heavens are my throne, but the earth is the footstool of My feet’ [Isa 66:1] Is it the earth, then, that He commands us to adore, since in this other place the earth is called the footstool of God’s feet? . . . I am put in jeopardy by such a dilemma (Anceps factus sum): I am afraid to adore the earth lest He that made heaven and earth condemn me; again, I am afraid not to adore the footstool of My Lord’s feet, but because the Psalm does say to me: `Adore the footstool of My feet.’ I ask what the footstool of His feet is; and Scripture tells me: `The earth is the footstool of my feet.’ Perplexed, I turn to Christ, because it is He whom I seek here; and I discover how the earth is adored without impiety, how without impiety the footstool of His feet is adored. For He received earth from earth; because flesh is from earth, and He took flesh from the flesh of Mary. He walked here in the same flesh, and gave us the same flesh to be eaten unto salvation. But no one eats that flesh unless he adores it ; and thus it is discovered how such a footstool of the Lord’s feet is adored; and not only do we not sin by adoring, we do sin by not adoring.

St. Augustine, Explanations on the Psalms, A.D. 392-418, [98, 9]:

`Unless he shall have eaten My flesh he shall not have eternal life. [John 6:54-55]’ [Some] understood this foolishly, and thought of it carnally, and supposed that the Lord was going to cut off some parts of His Body to give them … But He instructed them, and said to them: `It is the spirit that gives life; but the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life’ [John 6:64]. Understand spiritually what I said. You are not to eat this Body which you see, nor to drink that Blood which which will be poured out by those who will crucify Me. I have commended to you a certain Sacrament; spiritually understood, it will give you life. And even if it is necessary that this be celebrated visibly, it must still be understood invisibly.

St. Augustine, The Trinity, [3, 4, 10] A.D. 400-416:

Paul was able to preach the Lord Jesus Christ by means of signs, in one way by his letters, in another way by the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood; for when we speak of the Body of Christ and of His Blood, certainly we do not mean Paul’s speaking, nor his parchments nor his ink, nor the meaning of the sounds issuing from his tongue, nor the signs of letters written on skins. By the Body and Blood of Christ we refer only to that which has been received from the fruits of the earth and has been consecrated by the mystical prayer, and has been ritually taken for our spiritual health in memory of what the Lord suffered for us.

St. Augustine, 172,2, circa 400 A.D.:

For the whole Church observes this practice which was handed down by the Fathers: that it prayers for those who have died in the communion of the Body and Blood of Christ, when they are commemorated in their own place in the sacrifice itself; and the sacrifice is offered also in memory of them on their behalf.

St. Augustine, “Homilies on the Gospel of John”, 26, 13, 417 A.D.:

O Sacrament of piety! O sign of unity! O Bread of love! He who desires life finds here a place to live in and the means to live by. Let him approach, let him believe, let him be incorporated so that he may receive life. Let him not refuse union with the members, let him not be a corrupt member, deserving to be cut off, nor a disfigured member to be ashamed of. Let him be a grateful, fitting and healthy member. Let him cleave to the body, let him live by God and for God. Let him now labor here on earth, that he may afterwards reign in heaven.

St. Augustine, The City of God, 10, 5; 10,20, c. 426:

The fact that our fathers of old offered sacrifices with beasts for victims, which the present-day people of God read about but do not do, is to be understood in no way but this: that those things signified the things that we do in order to draw near to God and to recommend to our neighbor the same purpose. A visible sacrifice, therefore, is the sacrament, that is to say, the sacred sign, of an invisible sacrifice. . . . Christ is both the Priest, offering Himself, and Himself the Victim. He willed that the sacramental sign of this should be the daily sacrifice of the Church, who, since the Church is His body and He the Head, learns to offer herself through Him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria, Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew 26,27, 428 A.D.:

Christ said indicating (the bread and wine): ‘This is My Body,’ and `This is My Blood,’ in order that you might not judge what you see to be a mere figure. The offerings, by the hidden power of God Almighty, are changed into Christ’s Body and Blood, and by receiving these we come to share in the life-giving and sanctifying efficacy of Christ.

St. Cyril of Alexandria, “Catecheses,” 22, 9; “Myst.” 4; d. 444 A.D.:

We have been instructed in these matters and filled with an unshakable faith, that that which seems to be bread, is not bread, though it tastes like it, but the Body of Christ, and that which seems to be wine, is not wine, though it too tastes as such, but the Blood of Christ . . . draw inner strength by receiving this bread as spiritual food and your soul will rejoice.

Synod in Constantinople (Jan. 1156-May 1157):

Today’s sacrifice is like that offered once by the Once-begotten Incarnate Word; it is offered by him (now as then), since it is one and the same sacrifice.

Council of Trent: In the sacrifice of the mass, Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is made present, its memory is celebrated, and its saving power is applied.

©

The Sacred Scriptures Part I

Language- any set or system of such symbols as used in a more or less uniform fashion by a number of people, who are thus enabled to communicate intelligibly with one another.

       Think about the first time someone gave you a Bible as a gift. Did it have your name on the cover? Was it bound in leather or a paperback edition? Was it a King James Version, NIV, or some other? Did it have pictures or perhaps study notes on the bottom? As 21st century Christians, we receive the Scriptures after a whole lot of work has already been done to them. Ancient manuscripts were collected. Ancient languages were translated. Ancient ideas were interpreted.Without this process, the Scriptures would only be a stack of symbols waiting to be made sense of. The Scriptures were written in two languages–Hebrew (Old Testament) and Greek (New Testament). Jesus likely spoke in Aramaic so having an understanding of the 1st century form of that language also helps. These languages only made complete sense to the communities who wrote them for one another (see definition above). It is the work of scholars to get us the word today. We will address the role of the Holy Spirit in this process shortly.

       Realistically, if one truly wanted to get a hold of the Scriptures in their most authentic, present day form, we would have to travel to Oxford, Paris, the Vatican, and many other cities around world and begin collecting hundreds of fragments and manuscripts. Once we had this enormous pile sitting in front of us, we would then form one Greek translation from the most ancient and reliable fragments and manuscripts of this pile. Once we have done this enormous task, we would then translate the Greek into our native tongue, which requires thousands of decisions. Our own interpretation would begin enormously effecting the way we translate this ancient Greek into modern English. We would have to rely heavily on ancient Jewish, Greek, and other Christian literature to make all of these decisions more objectively and historically. Our own church background and tradition would also effect this process. This is why we have so many translations available today. Most denominations or traditions have a preferred translation, because it more closely supports their take on the Scriptures. These are not enormous differences though, so a Christian should not be overly anxious concerning these issues, but simply wise. Thankfully, after this whole process, we would still have a very reliable Bible that is based upon 1st century documents written by 1st century Jewish-Christian leaders that can still benefit us greatly as 21st century Christians.

       Once the Bible has been given to us in its newly translated forms, it is the work of the Church through the Holy Spirit to interpret and apply the Scriptures to our 21st century world. Bible commentators, theologians, pastors, and church historians all play a part, and the rest of us have to rely on them as sources of authority. But how do we know what scholars to trust? For Protestants or people who find their church histories flowing from Lutheran, Reformed, Presbyterian, or Baptist movements (many other denominations originated from these), scripture is said to have the only authority over their lives (sola scriptura). The difficulty in such an idea however has always been that other authorities must be relied upon in order to understand and apply the Scriptures. This is why “Scripture Alone” by the Protestant Reformers never really meant that. Luther was often caught saying, “The Bible & Augustine.” Why? Because he wanted to reform the Church more towards his way of looking at the Bible primarily through his take on Augustine (Luther was an Augustinian Monk by the way). So for Lutherans, Martin Luther and their Lutheran Confessions (Ausburg, etc) become their authority for translating and interpreting Scripture. For the reformed, John Calvin and the Reformed Confessions (Westminister, etc). All different kinds of denominations and confessions have been formed in reaction to other, most of them accusing one another that “they have added to the Bible” or have walked away from being “a Bible believing church.”

       The disillusionment from this constant ‘fighting and dividing amongst each other’ has led many protestants to begin forming non-denominational churches. These kinds of churches may still claim an affiliation with a denomination or may not, but in these churches, whatever the pastor chooses to read or study becomes the authority for interpreting Scripture and terminating where the congregation should go. The non-denominational movement is a new experiment with Protestantism, but already churches are trying to decide upon doctrinal statements and confessions. Most of these non-denominational churches would call themselves evangelical, which would allow them to have some guiding light for this first generation of churches. But what keeps the next pastors of these new churches evangelical in thought? These new churches will eventually have to come up with confessions or doctrinal statements of their own to safeguard future generations that they are looking at the Scriptures in an evangelical manner or they will likely spin off into something else that evangelicals probably won’t like.

       Quaker history is a great example. They started off as a solid Christian movement, but now no longer do things Jesus prescribed such as baptism, communion, and in many cases, evangelism. Another example is two new mega churches both called Mars Hill that were started by pastors Rob Bell and Mark Driscoll. These two churches are totally unrelated, but were started in very similar ways by two very dynamic, Jesus-loving guys (One in Seattle, One in Grand Rapids). But now, both churches are behaving very differently, because Mark became more reformed, embraced some historic reformed creeds, enrolled in seminary, and started hanging out with some pretty reformed guys such as John Piper and Tim Keller. Rob Bell, on the other hand, wanted to pave a creative new way that allowed more and more Christians to participate. Ex pastor Brian Mclaren did very similar things. When Brian began opening the door for homosexual Christians, evangelicals walked away from him. When Rob began opening the door for Christians who couldn’t believe in an eternal Hell, evangelicals especially got upset.

       The conclusion of these few examples in Protestantism is to demonstrate that something else authoritative must be relied upon in order to make sense of Scripture, particularly its use in guiding churches and their leaders. Therefore, one must ask, does the doctrine “Sola Scriptura” really even make sense? Evangelicals and other kinds of Protestants are either relying on old 16th-20th century confessions or they are having to create new ones. Those who do not cannot really hope to pass a faith resembling the faith of the Apostles to future generations. Read the history of some creedless groups and you will see where the Holy Spirit led them!

       So how do we best hand off the Scriptures and the Faith of Christ and His Apostles faithfully to future generations? Perhaps we could rely on the Ancient Creeds, Confessions, and Testimony of the Early Church who actually knew the Apostles and those who wrote the Sacred Scriptures. This is actually the way most Christians handle the Scriptures (1.1 Billion Catholics, 400 Million Orthodox). As a Catholic Christian, I can have a very dynamic relationship with Scripture, yet still trust that my Church is relying on trustworthy testimony and beliefs about the Scriptures that have been faithfully preserved and passed on to the Church today by the Holy Spirit.

Stay Tuned for Part 2!

The Word ‘Katholikos’

The word ‘katholikos’ (translated ‘whole’ or ‘universal’) was first recorded to be used by Ignatius, the Bishop of Antioch, who was executed and martyred by the Romans for his faith around 107-112 AD. As an overseer or guardian of the Church (episkopos, often translated as bishop into english), he was entrusted with the ‘serious business’ of keeping watch over people’s lives, as Hebrews 13:17 says, “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.”

Within in the Christian tradition, every person will give an account of their life and actions before God at some point in their existence, but to those ‘who know more, more will be expected.’ As James states, “Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” If one is a pastor or teacher of the Church and has been given more insight into the mystery Who God is, they will also have to give account on how ‘they shared the faith and this insight with others.”

This is no different in the Jewish tradition when the God of Israel speaks to the prophet Ezekiel (ch 3:17-19),  “Son of man, I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel…¹⁸ When I say to a wicked person, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn them… I will hold you accountable for their blood. ¹⁹ But if you do warn the wicked person and they do not turn from their wickedness or from their evil ways, they will die for their sin; but you will have saved yourself.”

As Ignatius was taken to Rome from Antioch to be executed (eaten by animals in the Colosseum before an audience), he acted like a man who was about to give an account before His Creator and so wrote 7 influential letters to cities where Christianity was rapidly spreading. In these letters, his love for Christ and the churches truly come through to the reader. He was most concerned that people not abandon the faith but follow Christ at all costs, live morally faithful lives,stay close to the leaders who knew the apostles, and stay away from the false teachers that said “Christ only ‘appeared’ to be human, but never really was, just divine.” In this context, Ignatius uses the word ‘katholikos’ and writes,

“You must all follow the bishop (primary overseer) as Jesus Christ follows the Father, and the presbytery (the team of elders/pastors/priests) as you would the Apostles. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the katholikos Church” (Letter to the Church in Smyrna, 8).

This word ‘katholikos’ was developed in order to distinguish Christians who were following the leaders who came from the apostles with those people who were believing in false teaching, such as believing Jesus did not become a human being or take on a physical body. This word was developed by early church leaders in order to guard against the ‘hijacking’ of the Faith. These leaders of the Church could all say at once at the end of the 1st century, “we are the authentic and true universal church that came from Christ, because we knew the Apostles personally and are guarding and spreading what they handed down to us. Those who say Christ was not a man, surely did not know Peter, Paul, or John, because they ate fish with him on the seashore.”

Discovering Catholic Christianity

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.