Catholicity - Apologetics For Our Time

  THE TRINITY IS NOT TO BE IGNORED My Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,      For many people, the Trinity—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—  feels like an abstract, complicated formula. Many Protestant denominations have come up with work arounds for this reason; they deny the Trinity and make  Jesus as the only thing there is.      Some folks somply dismiss it as a mystery too confusing to matter to them in their daily life.      But the truth is, the Trinity is not just a doctrine to memorize; it is the very heart of the Christian faith since the beginning and and it is key to understanding God’s love. 1. The Trinity Is About Connection, Not Math      The Trinity is not a puzzle of, “three in one” to be solved, but a revelation of God’s inner life. God is not a solitary being, but a communion of love:  - The Father eternally begets the Son. He isn't made, in the sense of "created" like a puppet - he is BEGO...

    My brothers and sisters in Christ,      For a long time, I used the word, "sect" when referring to Protestant religious groups, not the more common, "denomination."      Why? Because to my way of thinking, the term, 'denomination' in this context implies equality.      For example, consider the different 'denominations' of currency...      We will often say something like, "....Two $5 bills are equal to, or, as good as, a $10 bill," right?      But non-Catholic denominations - or sects - are not equal to The Church, and they are not even the equal when compared to each other. To complicate matters, they often have the belief that one Christian religion is as good as another....as long as you're not Catholic.      But if they believed that, would there be hundreds of different groups? It turns out that people like the flavors they prefer, so they don't seem to practice that belief...

  The Catholic Priesthood A deep dive into the teachings about the priesthood. The teaching of the Catholic Church on the priesthood is something I would like every Catholic, as well as non-Catholics, to understand. You may have heard of this Latin phrase "IN PERSONA CHRISTI CAPITALIS" ... which exactly the summarizes the the church's teaching on the priesthood. In Persona Christi Capitalis simply means, "in the person of Christ the Head." To break it down, every ordained priest, as he celebrates the sacraments, is not acting or celebrating them on his own... instead, he is standing in the place of Christ. [Which makes me wonder - do Protestants see their pastors in the same light? - David]      What this implies is that the priest is not the one celebrating any of the sacraments, even though he is the one physically present. Rather it is Christ himself who celebrates them.      When the priest hears confessions, it is not his hand that offers abso...

THE CROSS AND THE LOGIC OF LOVE Why Jesus Had to Be Both God and Man INTRODUCTION:  The Scandal—and Wonder—of Divine Sacrifice      Why did it have to be Jesus?      Why not a prophet, an angel, or simply a righteous man? If God is all-powerful, why not forgive humanity with a word?      Why suffering?      Why the Cross?      These are not abstract questions. They cut to the center of Christian belief, itself.      At first glance, the Cross appears scandalous—even irrational.       A suffering Man-God?      A crucified Savior?      To some, it seems unnecessary; to others, cruel.      Yet Christianity dares to proclaim something astonishing: the Cross is not divine cruelty or a  legal transaction ;  It is Godly Love revealed.      As Scripture proclaims: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). And love, if it i...

  In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen. First Letter of Saint Peter Brothers and sisters, you know that God rescued you from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors—not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, the spotless and unblemished Lamb. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but for your sake was revealed in these final times. Through Christ, you have come to believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and filled Him with glory, so that your faith and hope might rest in God. Therefore, having purified yourselves through obedience to the truth that leads to sincere love of your brothers and sisters, love one another deeply and from the heart. For you have been born anew—not from perishable seed, but imperishable—through the living and enduring word of God. For: “ All flesh is like grass, and all its beauty like the flower of the field. The grass withers and the flower falls, but th...