We Catholics are under a continuous bombardment of negativism from many sources. How many times have you heard from the pulpit a Catholic priest deliberately attacking a non-Catholic Church? I do not recall one single case in which this has happened.
Yet others take great pleasure in attacking our Catholic Church, and they will do it from the pulpit. It amazes me how some non-Catholic sects seem to spend a significant percentage of their time in attacking our Church, instead of preaching to their own followers, of "love thy neighbor" as taught by the Word of GOD in Holy Scripture.
It is the duty of every Catholic to learn the faith and to defend it. Do not be afraid to speak out when your Church is being attacked by anyone. When you defend the Church, you are defending its founder, Jesus Christ.
He will remember that when you meet Him face to face someday. He will also remember those who attacked His Church which is His body, with He Himself being the Head and Savior of it (Ephesians 1:22-23, 5:23, Colossians 1:18).
For those who defend Our Blessed Mother, Catholics, and the Catholic Church, from the non-stop barrage of slings and arrows, Holy Scripture has promised that you will certainly receive your reward:" My brethren, if any of you err from the truth and one convert him: He must know that he who causeth a sinner to be converted from the error of his way shall save his soul from death and shall cover a multitude of sins." (James 5:19-20).
Updated by Bob Stanley, March 10, 2007
7 comments:
GOSPEL:
Jesus said to the Pharisees:
"There was a rich man who dressed in purple garments and fine linen and dined sumptuously each day.
And lying at his door was a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who would gladly have eaten his fill of the scraps that fell from the rich man's table.
Dogs even used to come and lick his sores. When the poor man died,
he was carried away by angels to the bosom of Abraham.
The rich man also died and was buried, and from the netherworld, where he was in torment, he raised his eyes and saw Abraham far off
and Lazarus at his side.
And he cried out, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me. Send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am suffering torment in these flames.'
Abraham replied,
'My child, remember that you received what was good during your lifetime while Lazarus likewise received what was bad; but now he is comforted here, whereas you are tormented.
Moreover, between us and you a great chasm is established to prevent anyone from crossing who might wish to go from our side to yours or from your side to ours.'
He said, 'Then I beg you, father, send him to my father's house, for I have five brothers, so that he may warn them,
lest they too come to this place of torment.'
But Abraham replied, 'They have Moses and the prophets. Let them listen to them.'
He said, 'Oh no, father Abraham,
but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.'
Then Abraham said, 'If they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.'" (Luke 16:19-31)
The Church is the Foundation of Truth
The church is the pillar and foundation of the truth, not the Bible. What can be more clear?
I should note that it is common for Protestants who are critical of Catholicism to misrepresent the Catholic view regarding the Bible.
The Catholic Church teaches that the Bible is the inspired, inerrant, infallible Word of God.
The dificulty arises in interpreting it truthfully.
"The difficulty arises in interpreting it truthfully"
39greenway is quite correct in this statement. But I'm stunned at how there's a failure to see that writers like Bob Stanley continue to make this error. For example he begins by quoting Ephesians 6:11-17 which is a powerful teaching on how believers in Christ are to arm themselves to do battle against Satan. And then he proceeds to complain about negativity against Catholics and how ill-treated they are supposing that this Ephesians passage was the sole property of Catholics? Mr. Stanley doesn't understand as many Catholics that the church is believers of all stripes and does not necessarily or primarily refer to Catholicism.
The Greek word "catholic" comes from the word for "wholeness" or "fullness."
The "catholic" church is not just a regional sect for an exclusive little group.
Rather it must include the whole family of God over the whole world, welcoming all, from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation (Rev 7:9).
In addition, the "catholic" church cannot pick and choose which doctrines are trendy and convenient, but must be faithful to the whole truth.
Paul points out that the essence of his apostolic call was to be a "catholic" teacher: "I became a minister of this church through the commission God gave me to preach among you his word in its fullness . . . we admonish all men and teach them in the full measure of wisdom, hoping to make every man complete in Christ" (Col 1:25, 28, NAB).
Marcellino D'Ambrosio, Ph.D.
http://noutax.blogspot.com/2010/09/blog-post.html
Dear Noutax,
The Catholic Church Stands Alone!
Scooter said...
Mr. Stanley doesn't understand as many Catholics that the church is believers of all stripes and does not necessarily or primarily refer to Catholicism.
Scooter,
Jesus Christ Founded the Catholic Church on AD 33 Matthew 16:18: And I say also unto thee, That thou are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
(Matthew 28-19) Jesus states - Go ye therefore, and TEACH all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
(Mark 16-15) Jesus states - And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and PREACH the gospel to every creature.
(Mark 16-20) -And they went forth, and PREACHED everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.
The church is "the light of the world." He then noted that "a city set on a hill cannot be hidden" (Matthew 5:14). This means his Church is a visible organization.
It must have characteristics that clearly identify it and that distinguish it from other churches. Jesus promised, "I will build my Church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it" (Matthew 16:18).
This means that his Church will never be destroyed and will never fall away from him. His Church will survive until his return.
Church is a "city set on a mountain that cannot be hidden" ( Matthew 5:14) Church is not spiritual or invisible. Church in Greek is Ekklesia mentioned in the bible more than hundred times.
Protestants thinks that the church is spiritual and invisible composed of some sort of amorphous collection of true believers form every denomination is completely unbiblical.
Jesus established only one church, NOT for a group of squabbling rival denominations.
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