What Catholicism REALLY Is
A challenge one encounters as a Catholic is that most every other Christian 'denomination' imagines that Catholics are totally wrong, even ANTI-Christian - and only THEY have it right. This sometimes crosses over into outright hatred of even the word, 'Catholic.'
At this, I'm reminded of a famous (or infamous) essay by Venerable Fulton Sheen on this subject.In 1938, Fulton Sheen (by that time, Monsignor) was asked to write the preface for the American edition of "Radio Replies," an Australian Catholic Q & A book inspired by the programs of radio evangelist Father Charles Rumble.
Sheen was a priest, respected university professor, esteemed orator, and mesmerizing Catholic radio personality that drew bigger audiences than Milton Berle! And he spoke with love to millions who hated what they imagined the Catholic Church to be.
So Msgr. Sheen placed pen to paper, wrestling with the question: “How does one astutely answer the skeptic, the doubter, or the antagonist of the Catholic Faith? And how does one appeal to ‘potentials’ that may in time, be drawn to the Church?”
Here, in its entirety, is what he said.
- Catholics, “worship/adore statues” - Catholics, “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God” - Catholics think that, “indulgence is a permission to commit sin” - The Catholic Pope, “is a Fascist, or the anti-christ"; - The “Catholic Church is, the defender of Capitalism.” ... and any number of other falsehoods.
If the Church taught or believed any one of these things it should be hated. But the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against ERROR, and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
But here is a crucial point of decision. If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today..., I would seek out the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words...
- I would seek out the Church which the world hates, as Christ was hated by the world.
- I would seek out the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned.
- I would seek out the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth.
- I would seek out the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils.
- I would seek out the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ, thinking they had done a service to God.
- I would seek out the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth.
- I would seek out the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men.
So if we accept that the hatred of the Church is founded on erroneous beliefs, it follows that the basic need of the day is instruction.
The opposite of hate, Love, depends on knowledge, for we cannot aspire to, nor desire, the unknown.
Our great country is today filled with what might be called 'marginal Christians', i.e., those who live on the fringe of religion and who are descendants of Christian-living forefathers, but who now are Christians mostly in name.
They retain a few of its ideals out of indolence and force of habit. A few know the glorious history of Christianity only through certain emasculated forms of it, which have married the spirit of the age and are now dying with it.
Of Catholicism and its sacraments, its pardon, its grace, its certitude and its peace, they know next to nothing, except for a few prejudices inherited through hatred and hearsay.
And yet, they are good people who want to do the right thing, but who have no definite philosophy concerning it....
They educate their children without religion, or with lukewarm versions of it, and yet they resent the compromising morals of their children.
They would be angry if you told them they were not Christian, and yet they may only give lip-service that Christ is truly God.
They would resent being called pagans, and yet they rarley, if ever, take a practical, day-to-day cognizance of God's existence.
(They are, what is being called in our time, "cultural Christians") - David
There is one thing, however, of which they are aware - albeit dimly - and that is that things are not right as they are.
It is that single certitude which makes them what might be called great “potentials,” for they are ready to be pulled in either of two directions.
Within a short time they must take sides; they must either gather WITH and commit to Christ - or - they must scatter.
They must either be with Him, or against Him;
They must either be on the Cross, as other Christs, or under it, as other executioners.
Which way will these marginal Christians go?
Only this much is certain:
Being human and having hearts, they want more than class struggle and economics; they want Life, they want Truth, and they want Love. In a word, they want Christ.
It is to these millions who believe wrong things about the Church and to these marginal, lukewarm, cultural, and anti-Catholic Christians, that this little book is sent.
It is not to prove that THEY are “wrong”; it is not to prove that WE are “right”; it is merely to present the truth in order that the truth may conquer through the grace of God.
When men are starving, one need not them to avoid poison; nor to eat bread, because there is nourishment in bread. One need only go to them and tell them that they ARE starving and HERE is bread; the laws of nature will do the rest.
This book of "Radio Replies" with 1,588 questions and answers goes out on a similar mission.
Its primary task is not to humble those who in find themselves in error.
It is not to glorify the Catholic Church as intellectual and self-righteous.
Rather, its purpose is to present the Truth in a calm, clear manner in order that, with the grace of God, souls may come to the blessed embrace of Christ.
Because despite what you may have been led to believe, THAT is the singular mission of the Church.
Another point to clarify is that the purpose of "Radio Replies" is not just to show that the Church is the only completely soul-satisfying Church in existence at the present day.
It is also to make clear that the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ....indeed, to Christ Himself.
There is literally no other Christian Church that can say that - not one.
It is, in fact, a very curious thing to observe that our own, well-known and documented human History is so very clear on this matter - yet so many minds miss, or deliberately ignore, its obviousness.
Therefore, when you readers of "Radio Replies" wish to know about Christ and about His early Church, and about His mysteries, we ask you to go not only to the written records, but to the living Church which began with Christ Himself.
That Church, that Mystical Person and Body, which has been living all these centuries is the basis of our faith, and to us Catholics it speaks this way:
- "I live with Christ. I saw His Mother and I know her to be a Virgin and the loveliest and purest of all women in heaven or on earth;
- I saw Christ at Caesarea-Philippi, when, after changing Simon's name to Rock, He told him he was the Rock upon which the Church would be built and that it would endure unto the consummation of the world;
- I saw Christ dying on a bloody cross, and I saw Him rise from His tomb;
- I saw Magdalene rush to His feet; I saw the angels clad in white beside the great stone;
- I was in the Cenacle room when doubting Thomas put fingers into His hands and side;
- I was on Olivet when He ascended into heaven and promised to send His Spirit to the apostles to make them the foundation of His new Mystical Body on earth;
- I was at the stoning of Stephen, saw Saul hold the garments of those who slew him, and later I heard Saul, as Paul, preach Christ and Him crucified;
- I witnessed the beheading of Peter and Paul in Rome, and with my very eyes saw tens of thousands of martyrs crimson the sands with their blood, rather than deny the faith Peter and Paul had preached unto them;
- I was living when Boniface was sent to Germany, when Augustine when to England, Cyril and Methodius to the Poles, and Patrick to Ireland;
- At the beginning of the ninth century I recall seeing Charlemagne crowned as king in matters temporal as Peter's vicar was recognized as supreme in matters spiritual;
- In the thirteenth century I saw the great stones cry out in tribute to me, and burst into Gothic Cathedrals;
- In the shadows of those same walls I saw great Cathedrals of thought arise in the prose of Aquinas and Bonaventure, and in the poetry of Dante;
- In the sixteenth century, I saw my children softened by the spirit of the world, leave the Father's house, and tear apart the faith, instead of reforming discipline which would have brought them back again into my embrace;-
- In the last century, and at the beginning of this, I heard the world say it could not accept me because I was behind the times. But I am not behind the times, I am only behind the scenes.
I have adapted myself to every form of government the world has ever known. I have lived with Caesars and kings, tyrants and dictators, parliaments and presidents, monarchies and republics.
I have welcomed every advance of science, and were it not for me, the great records of the pagan world would not have been preserved.
It is true - I have not changed my doctrine.
But that is because the doctrine is not mine, but His who sent Me. I change my garments which belong to time, but not my Spirit which belongs to eternity.
In the course of my long life I have seen so many modern ideas become unmodern, that I know I shall live to chant a requiem over the modern ideas of this day, as I chanted it over the modern ideas of the last century, and the one before that.
I celebrated the two-thousandth anniversary of the death of my Redeemer and yet I am no older now than then, for my Spirit is Eternal, and the Eternal never ages.
I am the abiding Personage of the centuries.
I am the contemporary of all civilizations.
I am never out of date, because of the dateless; never out of time, because of the timeless.
I have four great marks:
> I am One, because I have the same Soul I had in the beginning
> I am Holy, because that Soul is the Spirit of Holiness
> I am Catholic, or universal, because that Spirit pervades every living cell of my Body
> I am Apostolic, because my origin is identical with Nazareth, Galilee and Jerusalem.
I shall grow weak when my members become rich and cease to pray, but I shall never die.
I shall be persecuted as I was persecuted in Japan, France, Mexico, Russia, and more.
I shall be crucified as I was on Calvary, but I shall rise again, and finally when time shall be no more, and I shall have grown to my full stature, then shall I be taken into heaven as the bride of my Head, Christ, where the celestial nuptials shall be celebrated, and God shall be all in all, because His Spirit is Love and Love is Heaven."
======= ✠ =======
Today, there are 6,863 questions with answers, in 5 volumes, spanning nearly 40 years at "Radio Replies."
The consistency of the Church's teaching, the faithfulness to the Gospel message through all controversies is consoling. It is a help to faith in our troubled times. "This too will pass".
It is interesting to browse some of today's issues in the Search function:
- birth control
- euthansia
- women priests
- sex before marriage
- annulment
- divorce
- religious education
- abortion
- ecumenism
- atheism
- secularism
- infallibility
Enjoy browsing, for free, starting here: Radio Replies
Comments
Post a Comment