Catholicity

IF I WANTED TO PLEASE MEN, I WOULD NOT BE A SERVANT OF CHRIST  From a sermon by Saint Augustine, bishop, died 430 AD (Sermo 47, 12-14, De ovibus: CCL 41, 582-584) This is our glory: the witness of our conscience. There are men who rashly judge, who slander, whisper and murmur, who are eager to suspect what they do not see, and eager to spread abroad things they have not even a suspicion of. Against men of this sort, what defense is there save the witness of our own conscience? My brothers, we do not seek, nor should we seek, our own glory even among those whose approval we desire. What we should seek is their salvation, so that if we walk as we should they will not go astray in following us. They should imitate us if we are imitators of Christ; and if we are not, they should still imitate him. He cares for his flock, and he alone is to be found with those who care for their flocks, because they are all in him. And so we seek no advantage for ourselves when we aim to please men. We ...

DID THE EARLY CHRISTIANS BELIEVE IN THE EUCHARIST ?  Yes—the early Christians not only believed in the Eucharist, they centered their entire worship around it.  From the earliest days of the Church, the Eucharist was not seen as a mere symbol, but as the real presence of Jesus Christ—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. This belief is deeply rooted in Scripture and confirmed by the writings of the early Church Fathers. 1. Scripture: Jesus Meant What He Said In John 6, Jesus tells the crowd: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53).  When many followers found this teaching hard and walked away, Jesus did not soften His words or clarify them as symbolic. Instead, He let them leave—confirming He meant what He said. At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread and wine and declared, “This is My Body… This is My Blood” (Matthew 26:26-28). The early Christians took these words literally and faithfully obeyed His command to “Do th...

Q. DO CATHOLICS PRAY TO MARY ? A. No. If you wish, you can stop reading here. Now you know. But devotion to Mary is one of the most misunderstood aspects of Catholicism among non-Catholics. So if youre not a Catholic, youre liable to be critically, even emotionally, triggered at this moment. Critics often ask, “Why in the world do Catholics pray to Mary? Shouldn’t you just go directly to Jesus?” And of course, you can - AND WE DO. Constantly. However, the emotional tirggering here is the result of an assumption they make, which is simply this: They THINK they see Catholics praying to Mary as god in her own right. Then, based solely on what they imagine is happening, they create a mental collapse... because what they dont KNOW is the problem . Let me explain. The answer lies not in Catholics replacing Jesus with Mary (NEVER!) but in understanding Mary’s unique role in God’s plan and her powerful intercession as His mother. 1. Mary Is the Mother of Jesus Mary is not just any wo...

THE APOSTOLIC CHURCH WAS CATHOLIC, NOT ICONOCLASTIC  by Micah McDaniel, edited To those who reject relics, saints, and sacred images as “not biblical, man-made tradition,” let’s be clear: The earliest, persecuted Church, the one that hid in catacombs, bled in the arenas, and wrote copies of, as well as preserved the New Testament....THEY venerated relics, honored saints, and called on their intercession. 1. Even the Enemies of the Church Admit It But don’t take the word of the people who know this best, The Catholic Church, on this. In fact, take her enemies ’ word for it: • Julian the Apostate (4th c.) sneered that Christians had “filled the world with tombs and shrines” for saints. • Lucian the Satirist (2nd c.) mocked them for revering the bones of martyrs. • Celsus (2nd c.) accused them of seeking healing at martyrs’ graves. • Porphyry (3rd c.) complained that Christians prayed to dead saints instead of the gods. • Vigilantius (4th c.), a Christian dissenter, raged against “lam...

5 IMPORTANT THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT THE SOLEMNITY OF THE SACRED HEART  The solemnity of the Sacred Heart is celebrated each year by the Catholic Church, honoring Jesus' divine love for humanity. The Church has always believed in the beauty of Jesus' sacrificial love, and how it comes from his merciful Heart...for our salvation. However, the liturgical feast of The Sacred Heart of Jesus wasn't always on the calendar, and it took many centuries before it was established and spread throughout the world. Here are five key facts to know about the origin and history of the solemnity of the Sacred Heart: 1.Jesus requested the feast in 1675 St. Margaret Mary Alacoque received private revelations from Jesus Christ. Jesus spoke to her on  June 16, 1675, and asked her specifically to promote a feast that honored his Sacred Heart. 2. The feast is held the Friday after Thr Solemnity of Corpus Christi Jesus specifically asked St. Margaret Mary Alacoque that, "...the Friday after the Oc...

 INSTRUCTION ON THE FEAST OF THE SACRED HEART OF JESUS  by Rev, Leonard Goffine, 1880 After many devout souls had venerated the Sacred Heart of Jesus, with sincere devotion, in the solitude of quiet life, as is seen in the lives of SS. Augustine, Bernard, Bonaventura,Thomas of Aquin, Francis de Sales, Ignatius, Clara, Gertrude, Mechtild, Catharine of Sienna, Theresa, and others, our divine Saviour willed that His heart's infinite love should be recognized by all men, and be kindled in cold hearts by a new fire of love.  For this end He made use of a feeble, obscure instrument, that all the world might know that the devotion to His loving heart, previously almost entirely unknown, was His own work.  This instrument, disregarded by the world, was one who shone before God in all the radiance of the most sublime virtues, the nun Margaret Alacoque of the order of the Visitation of Mary, at Paray, in Burgundy.  In the year 1675, whilst she was one day in prayer before...