Heresy or not?

[Lost_Again]

First off thank you for reviewing this. I have tried to ask this question of you folks a couple of different ways in the past and it has gone un-answered.

I am a cradle Catholic who has left the church and returned several times. Finally left for good about 1995. Was led to reading the Bible for the first time in 1999 by a Protestant co-worker. Was led by prayer to a Protestant church and have been there since 2003.

I had no idea how hated the CC was until I started attending the Baptist church I am attending now. A lot of it is just plani ignorance of what the church really teaches versus what they “think” the church teaches. Lately I have been listening to John Martinoni, and been spending time on his site and here. What I have read and seen on his site has given me new insight into my childhood faith. It has given me the tools to act as an apologist and I find myself defending the CC more and more.

But here is my dilemma…

In my heart of hearts I cannot agree 100% with everything that the CC teaches. My family who are all practicing Catholics keep telling me to come back and to just “go through the motions” but believe what I want to believe and in the end leave it up to God to decide what is wrong. To me that is being hypocritical and very “cafeteria catholic” like. I have tried reading the catechism of the church and the more I read the more legalistic it all seems and then I start to remember why I left the church in the first place.

I recently went to mass at the church we used to attend. I prayed so hard for a conversion to take place but even after almost 13 years nothing had changed. The people all seemed so dead… they just mouth the responses from reflex during mass, there’s just no passion for God!!!

From listening to John Martinoni, EWTN, and some of the other radio stations on Sirius like The Journey Home and others, I gather that if I continue to stay away from the church and remain a Protestant, I am a heretic, and I forfeit my chances of getting into heaven. Can you please explain to me why this is true?

Isn’t getting into heaven a decision for God to make and not what “flavor” of Christian you are?

Please help me… I just want to do the right thing.

Your brother in Christ

 

[Fr.Vincent_Serpa]

Hi,

I would hope that what you are seeking is the truth. Returning to the Catholic Church without accepting its teachings in their entirety would betray such seeking.

Disregarding the Catechism of the Catholic Church because it appears legalistic also betrays such seeking. The question is: is what it says true? If not, then rejecting it would be consistent with your endeavor. But if after reading it, you are not sure, then read it again and seek help.

Resisting Catholicism because of the state of the liturgies you have attended again betrays your endeavor. The presence of or lack of affect and/or devotion of some Catholics at Mass does not speak to the question of whether the Catholic Church teaches the truth or not.

The Catholic Church is not merely a flavor of Christianity. It IS Christianity! Most often when people want to discredit Christianity, they attack the Catholic Church. There is a reason for this. Of all the Christian churches, it stands out. The pope symbolizes Christianity like no one else. He is the shepherd to the world—not by reason of his own person, but by reason of his office.

If you stay away by reason of honestly and humbly not understanding all that the Catholic Church teaches, then God will have mercy on you. But if you set yourself up as a judge of the only Church Jesus founded, you risk initiating a monumental act of arrogance.

My friend, I will pray for you during my daily hour before the Blessed Sacrament at 2 a.m. I firmly believe that He is truly present under the physical appearance of earthly food in the tabernacle. The importance of that time is not dependent on my passion for Him, but on His passion for me. The Eucharist is the LIVING sign of that passion and each morning I give Him explicit thanks for each of His sufferings—both physical and mental. Catholicism is not principally about us, but all about Him. When you fully recognize this, you WILL BE A CATHOLIC!

Fr. Vincent Serpa, O.P.