Mormon "Apostasy & Restoration"

[Robert_in_SD]

All this over a mistranslation of the word ‘prevail.’

You see, “prevail” doesn’t mean that there aren’t lost battles. It means that ultimately the war is not lost. In this case, the ‘gates of hell’ will ‘not prevail’ against the church—means that ultimately those gates will fail, not that they were never closed.

Mormons can say, with perfect logic, that of course the gates of hell did not prevail against His church, did they? We are, after all, here.

But that’s just the point. The LDS Church was NOT always here. According to your own doctrine the true Church (or at least its authority) was taken away for about 1800 years, then restored through Joseph Smith. So, LDS members can say, “the gates of Hell did not prevail” with perfect logic only by first ignoring roughly the first 1800 years of the common era.

I think that this is a very fundamental problem with LDS doctrine. It hinges entirely upon the need for a complete restoration of true christianity, but the scripture upon which that christianity is largely based promises that this will not occur. Yes, it promises heresies and a falling away, but it promises that in the end the Church founded by Christ will never fall. This seems to be a serious problem for the LDS faith.

I’ve read many posts trying to walk a line between total apostacy and loss of authority, and while they certainly are creative, they ultimately do not persuade me. I can’t speak to how others feel on the matter, but it seems to me that in order to overcome this hurdle one must first do a lot of selective re-interpretation of what the scriptures are saying about the matter.

Peace,
Robert

 

[KathleenGee]

I found out yesterday through another thread why we are not the real church…because it ended after the first apostle…

The Apostles relayed the Oral Tradition of Jesus…it took many people and many years to compile the Bible…and Christology took about 400 years to define ending with the Nicene Creed at the Council of Nicea…because people in time lost faith in Jesus also as True Man.

The Great Heresy at the time of the early Christians was not believing in the Divine presence of the Eucharist…and there was a set ritual then…there were others that did not believe in eating meat, others not having sex, and so on…

We all have to get back to the early Church history…it is all there…the Apostles were not formed and then quit their job of laying down the beginnings of the church…they chose great men as bishops and Church Fathers…it was a time of intense persecution, then barbarian invasions, and the Word of God and the churches (dioceses) being established throughout the world with all their different races and cultures…and there was the great work of liturgy…how we believe we pray, and integrating norms into these cultures to ensure that the true message of Jesus Christ was incorporated…this takes much time, reflection, study and dialogue and approval from Rome.

The seat of Rome was always seen in the end as the final say as well as the sign of unity…the Byzantine Church was of great standing and served great purpose in the development of the universal church…

And recently remains were exhumed…alleged to be those of st. Peter—buried without feet, and those of St. Paul…case is open and we wait…but I don’t need such proof…

 

[ricko]

Originally Posted by dianaiad
All this over a mistranslation of the word ‘prevail.’

You see, “prevail” doesn’t mean that there aren’t lost battles. It means that ultimately the war is not lost. In this case, the ‘gates of hell’ will ‘not prevail’ against the church—means that ultimately those gates will fail, not that they were never closed.

Mormons can say, with perfect logic, that of course the gates of hell did not prevail against His church, did they? We are, after all, here.

Not just prevail but “always”. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to be within the Apostles and the Church for “always”
In the Mormon twisting of scriptures, it’s okay to have a lapse of 2,000 or even 4,000 years between the establisment of the Church and Apostasy and it’s supposed restoration. They say this with “perfect logic” That’s not logical at all when it conflicts with plain scripture but what can you expect from a church and a new gospel when scriptures warns us of such.

 

[Xavierlives]

I found out yesterday through another thread why we are not the real church…because it ended after the first apostle…

The Apostles relayed the Oral Tradition of Jesus…it took many people and many years to compile the Bible…and Christology took about 400 years to define ending with the Nicene Creed at the Council of Nicea…because people in time lost faith in Jesus also as True Man.

The Great Heresy at the time of the early Christians was not believing in the Divine presence of the Eucharist…and there was a set ritual then…there were others that did not believe in eating meat, others not having sex, and so on…

We all have to get back to the early Church history…it is all there…the Apostles were not formed and then quit their job of laying down the beginnings of the church…they chose great men as bishops and Church Fathers…it was a time of intense persecution, then barbarian invasions, and the Word of God and the churches (dioceses) being established throughout the world with all their different races and cultures…and there was the great work of liturgy…how we believe we pray, and integrating norms into these cultures to ensure that the true message of Jesus Christ was incorporated…this takes much time, reflection, study and dialogue and approval from Rome.

The seat of Rome was always seen in the end as the final say as well as the sign of unity…the Byzantine Church was of great standing and served great purpose in the development of the universal church…

And recently remains were exhumed…alleged to be those of st. Peter—buried without feet, and those of St. Paul…case is open and we wait…but I don’t need such proof…

My favorite part is they can’t shed the church at the last apostle’s death, because they have taken a stand the the Bible is okay, so long as it is translated correctly, so they have a 300 stretch where the CC is getting firmly established and then, canonize the Bible, THEN, saying… it all has now fallen apart.

It is also a vague moment. Things like “it was one thing, but many little things…” It is like a boyfriend and a girlfriend breakup. “I still want to be friends.”

 

[KathleenGee]

About the nature of true faith…it is based on certitude…not emotions, passions, …and remember, ours is faith fulfilled…visible, concrete…no arbitration…afterall, to live the true faith in the power of the Gospel requires daily renewal…the whole intent of Scripture through the whole intent of Sacred Tradition…always within the consistency of the Holy Spirit and all His means of communication–peoples, events, places, nature…familiar…not a different and foreign story and unconnected with the events of our faith’s origins…not in far away places, but near.

 

[SteveVH]

KathleeGee:

Thank you for the kind words and thoughts. It sounds like you think that I am a new convert to Catholicism. I’m not sure how you arrived at that but I am a cradle Catholic and have been teaching the faith to teenagers for about 11 years now.

Just a word about the role of the Church. Actually, the Church is not just a guide in one’s life. It is the presence of Christ on this earth, the mystical Body of Christ in which we share in the communion between the Father and the Son by means of the Eucharist. It does not just lead us to salvation, but is, in essence, salvation itself because salvation comes from Christ the Head through the Church which is His Body. I don’t mean to offend any Protestants out there. We consider most Protestant faiths as being under the umbrella of the Church in that you have the truth, just not the fullness of truth, which we believe is found only in the Catholic Church. It just dawned on me that this is probably a subject for another thread and I am violating my own standard of staying on task.

Anyway, thanks again for your sweet comments and God bless.

 

[dianaiad]

Dianid…

So you have reported me to the shunning department? So that means I am removed from your baptism…boy, you really took me on! So I got banned because of what I came across in your bookstore…and it was bigoted, and I wasn’t clear about the title…

What in the name of all that is wonderful are you talking about?

Kathleen, I gave you a link to the Pearl of Great Price to go look at. All you had to do was click on it, and you would be taken right there to see whether it was the book you remembered or not. In fact, here it is again. Click on the word “here.”

I also wrote to Rebecca specifically saying that I did NOT believe you were lying, but were simply mistaken about the book you thought you had. I did say that if you continued to make those claims about it AFTER it has been proven that the book doesn’t say what you claim it does, THEN you would be lying.

I am interested; I would like to know what book it was that you got. The wording you use is extremely interesting; words like ‘whoredaughters,’ which do NOT occur in the quotes that Rebecca gave, DO show up in some really virulent anti-Catholic websites and publications (not LDS…we don’t have such websites OR publications…no “Jack Chicks” supported by us.)

So, being a linguistic and rhetorical nut, I was struck by the words. You repeated them; they struck you enough to remember…those specific words. So…where did you see them?

…NOT in “The Pearl of Great Price!”

 

[dianaiad]

My comment about Jesus Christ Eternal Word was taken out of context…

And an institution that is 2,000 years old living in historical events surrounding it…you will always find the chaff with the wheat…and our Church is constantly self-reforming…

Yes, our priesthood is so different than the Mormon’s you can’t compare the two…

And so you can’t say yours is better or the real one…

Of course we can. You do, after all, about yours.

The Catholic Mass is the fulfillment of ancient Jewish liturgy…the liturgy of St. James the Lesser, who was one of the apostles of Jesus, was the head of the church of Jerusalem, and the intent, spirit, and a number of prayers are same as in Mass today, 2000 years later.

The Maronites have the liturgy of the Eucharist by St. John the Evangelist of which I attended a few years back, it going all the way back to St. John.

I read the story of a woman brought up in an anti-Catholic home. She decided to study the ancient catechisms. When she got hold of the catechism we use today, she saw the same teachings, and converted.

I think the flaw of Mormonism and all other sects coming out of America in the 1800’s is the lack of understanding of Christianity’s documented beginnings and the expansion of teachings…culminating in the Nicene Creed.

The Catholic/Orthodox priest is the fulfillment of the the old Jewish priesthood, that disappeared with the diaspora of the Jewish people. Christ is the fulfillment of Melchizedek…and He instituted His church through Peter. The successors to the apostles are the bishops, the priests Christ’s disciples. You can’t have the Eternal Word of Christ stand alone as well as He as High Priest. We as Catholics extend the Kingship, the role of Prophet and Priest in extending our faith into the world…extending holiness is acting as priest be you male or female.

You really have to understand the core of Catholic faith and how it expresses it in its multidisciplines. It is concrete. We have the 7 sacraments that come from Christ through His apostles. They are structured, and have norms to protect their integrity.

I found the post on The Pearl of Great Price and it does not contain those passages. I wonder if it was a commentary…but will never know because the book was pulled when I got back there several weeks later.

Thank you, Kathleen. I am incredibly curious about the book you read. The fact that the book was pulled is also interesting; have you ever thought about WHY the store would pull such a book?

 

[dianaiad]

Correction…The Catholic Church is the true church instituted by Jesus Christ but that does Not mean that its people have a monopoly on holiness and good works…then you go case by case…and where you have studied Catholics doing wrong…there were Catholics in the same time who doing greater good but without the splash.

Of course.

the problem, however, is that you were talking about the church as a whole when you were bragging about all the good it did, and the 'church as a whole" is basically what the leaders endorsed and what the main body of the church did.

To now say that, even though a Pope declared something, and the entire church followed that declaration, it meant nothing—that’s a problem.

 

[dianaiad]

Thank you! Our family had our Christmas dinner last night and I noted how the Lord visited us with His presence. Part of my family will be going to different in-law’s this year and so with new cases as well in my work, this past month has been quite hectic.

I am so happy you are where you are, and that you are in such a good and holy place. I would love to visit there and my family really enjoyed our past trips to Utah.

I was really ‘laid’ by all the rapid fire of posts that overshadowed my original intentions of visiting the store in the first place…I find the Campbell/Stone ideas particularly repulsive especially as they come out of our native land and our country has the highest number of denominations all spiraling out of the Sacred Word of God that gives us life and meaning for the higher ground.

I don’t know why, Kathleen. If some anti-Catholic came to you and claimed that he had read the Cathachism, and it said in there (for instance) that Jews were Christ-killers and not worth the air they breathe, wouldn’t you be upset? YOU know that the catachism says nothing of the sort, but here is this person who not only claims it does, but who continues to claim it even after being corrected–not only by another Catholic, but by a Jew.

That is very similar to what you did, y’know. It shouldn’t surprise you that you were ‘jumped on’ over that. It’s important.

I have not read a single Mormon post justifying replacement/restoration or whatever you call it.

Well, you probably have. You simply haven’t read one that convinced you that the idea has any merit.

They simply do not know early church history, the Church Fathers, the liturgy and priesthood…ours and theirs are so different that it is like comparing apples and oranges.

That’s quite true.

The greatest number of healings by Christ regarded blindness and so much of that blindness stems from the heart and the lack of understanding through the will and mind. We don’t need glasses to see life in a new way, but we have the sacraments and penance is a great place for spiritual healing and new vision.

As I shared with another, you may be interested some day in studying the walk of perfection…It has nothing to do with outward appearance but the disposition of the heart in growing union with Jesus. The doctors of the church have written on perfection, union with God, and it is amazing.

May God bless you as you bless others in your walk in climbing the Holy Mountain of Jesus our Lord!

 

[dianaiad]

[SIGN][/SIGN][/SIGN]

Nope, it cant be. Jesus gave the power to the Apostles at Pentecost and they had the power to pass it on, And its been happening from the day of Pentecost. You say it ended, but you can say what you want, Proof is what we need. We can prove the that RCC has been here for over 2000 years. You try to deny that fact, but you cannot. We have proof. Check it out.

The CC is the only Church started by Jesus Christ. Your Church was started by Joseph Smith. Big difference.

Well, we believe that the CoJCoLDS was started by Joseph Smith the way you believe that the Catholic church was started by Peter.

 

[dianaiad]

[SIGN][/SIGN]

See now right here, This is a big problem. Jesus promised us the gates of hell would not prevail, you are saying Jesus lied by saying the gate of hell did indeed prevail. You must see what you are doing and saying here.

How did the ‘gates of hell prevail,’ if the church was restored?

Rinnie, I’ve had this conversation before. “Prevail” doesn’t mean that there would be no struggle, It doesn’t mean that there would be no defeats along the way. It means…to win, ultimately and finally.

It doesn’t matter HOW long the ‘gates of hell’ may SEEM to have the upper hand, if ultimately they are defeated, they did not prevail, did they?

 

[SteveVH]

Dianaiad:

I am very curious about these internal “feelings”, this “burning in the bosom”. The teen who recently converted to LDS and who is the reason for my original question, gave me the same line telling me that “if it was wrong I would feel it”. Speaking with others, one a convert to Catholicism from LDS, I learned that this is something fairly important in your beliefs. Yes, I have seen some of the other posts concerning this subject but what I don’t understand is that I also “feel” that my faith is the one, true faith. Yes, I have prayed, very sincerely, for God to lead me deeper into His truth. Why are your “feelings” more valid than mine?

There are over 40,000 registered “Christian” denominations in this country, that is, offshoots of the original, the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is actually not considered a “denomination” as it is the original from which the others divided. Each of them would and do claim the same thing - they “feel” that they have the truth. Since, by the very definition, truth cannot conflict with truth, yet each denomination’s beliefs conflict to some extent with the others, with the Catholic Church and certainly with the LDS. I have heard countless Protestants very sincerely tell me that they can interpret scripture because they have prayed to the Holy Spirit to guide them. While simultaneously praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance, their interpretations conflict with each other, yet each “feels” they are right. Please explain how “feelings” are any valid indicator of truth, even with sincere prayer?

The Mormon bishop I spoke with retreated to the same warm, fuzzy place when I asked him for actual evidence of the Apostasy. He had none, but that didn’t bother him at all. He had the testimony of Joseph Smith and his own “internal testimony” and that was all he needed. You seem very intelligent. Please truthfully consider the fact that human experience proves you wrong on this point. We may wish to believe that our feelings are somehow a measure of truth but if you are honest you will recall times when your feelings deceived you. It’s happened to all of us. My belief is not based upon feelings (although I do feel very good about it), but rather faith and reason.

God bless.

 

[dianaiad]

Dianaiad:

I am very curious about these internal “feelings”, this “burning in the bosom”. The teen who recently converted to LDS and who is the reason for my original question, gave me the same line telling me that “if it was wrong I would feel it”. Speaking with others, one a convert to Catholicism from LDS, I learned that this is something fairly important in your beliefs. Yes, I have seen some of the other posts concerning this subject but what I don’t understand is that I also “feel” that my faith is the one, true faith. Yes, I have prayed, very sincerely, for God to lead me deeper into His truth. Why are your “feelings” more valid than mine?

Because they are mine, Steve. Why do you think that your feelings are more valid than mine?

The thing is, in terms of religion, the saying ‘extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof’ holds very true. Why DO you believe that the Catholic church is the one true church of Jesus Christ?

What is the underlying basis for that belief?

There are over 40,000 registered “Christian” denominations in this country, that is, offshoots of the original, the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church is actually not considered a “denomination” as it is the original from which the others divided.

Well, Catholics don’t think so, certainly.

Each of them would and do claim the same thing - they “feel” that they have the truth. Since, by the very definition, truth cannot conflict with truth, yet each denomination’s beliefs conflict to some extent with the others, with the Catholic Church and certainly with the LDS. I have heard countless Protestants very sincerely tell me that they can interpret scripture because they have prayed to the Holy Spirit to guide them. While simultaneously praying to the Holy Spirit for guidance, their interpretations conflict with each other, yet each “feels” they are right. Please explain how “feelings” are any valid indicator of truth, even with sincere prayer?

The Mormon bishop I spoke with retreated to the same warm, fuzzy place when I asked him for actual evidence of the Apostasy. He had none, but that didn’t bother him at all. He had the testimony of Joseph Smith and his own “internal testimony” and that was all he needed. You seem very intelligent. Please truthfully consider the fact that human experience proves you wrong on this point. We may wish to believe that our feelings are somehow a measure of truth but if you are honest you will recall times when your feelings deceived you. It’s happened to all of us. My belief is not based upon feelings (although I do feel very good about it), but rather faith and reason.

God bless.

Why do you have faith? What IS faith? Reason is all well and good…very well and good…but why do you believe one set of evidence and not another?

WHY do you believe that Jesus is the Christ…and that other world religions don’t have the truth right?

When you can answer that one, I think you will have answered all your questions, as well.

…and I’m not being glib here, or facetious, or trying to wiggle out of something. This is a very straightforward and serious question.

Why do you believe that Jesus is the Christ?

 

[KathleenGee]

When I share the good our church has done not only for the faith but also for society, this is also my response to what the Mormons think of Catholicism.

SteveVH…I was being hit by a very quick lady with nimble fingers and was amazed at all the savvy she has… I don’t have such computer skills…I finally saw the post and it was like this:

                  ___                 

.... on my big computer screen with many ballistic responses open and shaded.

I found the post and acknowledged it in #245.

Unfortunately, despite my attempts the book was gone and I assume it was pulled, as were others during that time the Mormons were removing unpopular materials, it being around 2005.

Likewise I don’t hear any apology either from them for holding on to such for a very long time. Sorry I misunderstood you, Steve, but agree with your stand on our church.

 

[SteveVH]

Dianaiad:

Thank you for asking.

I believe Jesus is the Christ because I have a wonderful teacher, the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. It has taught me to look at scripture in an amazing way, to see that all of the Old Testament points to Jesus Christ; He is the Lamb that the Jews would anticipate since Abraham proclaimed “God Himself will provide the Lamb”. His is the saving Lamb foreshadowed by the Passover (the Lamb that had to be slaughtered, his blood sprinkled and his flesh eaten). He is the suffering servant prophesied by Isaiah. I would have to write a book but, thankfully, it has already been done, actually 46 of them. Read the Old Testament.

Then I look at the New Testament. I read the Gospels and take a close look at the man Jesus. I read what He said and did when He walked this earth; what those who lived with Him had to say about Him. I compare His life with what was revealed in the Old Testament. I read the epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John and Jude, the Acts of the Apostles and finally Revelation. With “reason” I come to a point where I have to make a decision. Do I believe He was who He said He was? Based upon His life and the testimonies of the many witnesses, I come to the conclusion that I do believe and then ask the question “What does this mean to my life”? I discover that Jesus started a Church and I look at the promises He made concerning this Church. I then enter into the Body of Christ, His Church, and participate in the sacraments which bring me into intimate contact with the living God. Every day I am privileged to enter into the Holy Sacrifice, made once, for all, now made present, today, for me, through the Mass. I eat His flesh and drink His blood as he commanded. His body and blood now run through my veigns and become part of me, literally. He dwells within me. Through this intimate relationship I grow in “faith”, believing in that which is unseen.

Why do I “believe one set of evidence and not another”? Because I have weighed the evidence and find that the Church that Jesus founded is the Catholic Church. This isn’t some whimsical decision, but is based upon scripture and history - 2000 years of evidence. I find that its doctrines have not changed since the beginning. My “reason” tells me that it is authentic. I then submit, in faith, to its teaching as I would if Jesus Himself was teaching me, because, in essence, it is He who is teaching me. He is the Head, His Church is the Body and I am part of that Body.

As for other world religions, I believe that there is some truth in all of them, otherwise no man would be attracted in the first place. Man was created to seek God and he does, but until he finds the one, true God, he is left wandering, seeking the way to fill the void. But there is also deception. We are constantly in a spritual battle and the evil one knows very well how to mix a little truth with a lie in order to deceive. He did it from the beginning, in the Garden of Eden. In fact he told the same lie that some still fall for today; that they will become gods.

Do you remember Jesus’ comparison of the “wise man, which built his house upon rock: And the rain descended, and the the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not; for it was founded upon a rock”. He then tells of the “foolish man, which built his house upon sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house; and it fell…” (Mt 7:24-27)

Jesus created His Church upon a “rock”. Coincidence? For you to say that this Church fell is to call him the foolish man. Yes the Church has been “beat upon” but hell has never prevailed. His Church has never fallen “for it was founded upon a rock”. His Church is how He remains with us, as He promised. No other world religion comes close and weighing the evidence, through reason, I can’t buy into another. Truth is not a something, it is a somebody. Once you have met Him, you have met the Truth. He is found, in all His fullness, within the Church that He Himself founded. There is no other. You really should check it out.

God bless you.

 

[KathleenGee]

According to Catholic teaching, faith is a 'personal adherence to the whole man to God who reveals himself. It involes an assent of the intellect and will to the self-revelation God has made through His deeds and words. To believe has twofold reference: to the person and to the truth: to the truth, by trust in the person who bears witness to it.

We must believe in no one but God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Faith is a gift from God and in order to believe man needs the Holy Spirit to help one’s faith. Believing is a a human act, conscious and free, corresponding to the dignity of the human person. Believing is an ecclesial act. The Church’s faith precedes, engenders, supports and nurtures our faith. The Church is the mother of all believers. “No one can have God as Father who does not have the Church as Mother”, St. Cyprian.

We believe all 'that which is contained in the word of God, written or handed down, and which the Church proposes for belief as divinely revealed, Pope Paul VI.

Faith is necessary for salvation. St. Thomas Aquinas says, 'Faith is a foretaste of the knowledge that will make us blessed in the life to come."

Faith is not emotions.

 

[SteveVH]

Dianaiad:

You know, going through the rest of your post, you advise me that if I can answer your questions, I will have answered my own. But I asked you a question and you avoided it at every turn. You were glib, and you wiggled out of my very question. To say your feelings are valid because they are your own says nothing.

Maybe I’m just totally wrong here. Is the “burning in the bosom” important in your beliefs or is it not? If it is, why do you give it such credence in light of what I said. I’m trying to find out what you believe and why you believe it. I think I gave you an honest answer. May I please have one back?

 

[KathleenGee]

I also love the encyclical of John Paul II, ‘Veritatis Splendor’…‘The Splendor of Truth’.

The Holy Father says each person must ask what is good and what is evil…Truth is Jesus Christ. He says, “The answer is only possible thanks to the splendor of the turth which shines forth deep within the human spirit, as the Psalmist bears witness: 'There are many who say; 'O that we might see some good! Let the light of your face shine on us, o Lord.” Ps 4:6.

The light of God’s face shines in all its beauty on the countenance of Jesu Christ, ‘the image of the invisible God’, the reflection of God’s glory, full of grace and truth (Jn 1:14. Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life. Consequently, the decisive answer to every one of man’s questions, his religious and moral questions in particular, is given by Jesus Christ, rather is Jesus Christ Himself, as the Second Vatican Council recalls: "in fact, it is in the mystery of the Word incarnate that light is shed on the mystery of man. For Adam, the first man, was a figure of the future man, namely, of Christ the Lord. It is Christ, the last Adam, who fully discloses man to himself and unfolds his noble calling by revealing the mystery of the Father and the Father’s love’.

Jesus Christ, the ‘light of nations’ shines upon the face of his church, which he sends forth to the whole world to proclaim the Gospel to every creature. Hence the Church, as the People of God among the nations, while attentive to the new challenges of history and to mankind’s efforts to discover the meaning of life, offers to everyone the answer which comes from the truth about Jesus Christ and his gospel. The Church remains deeply conscious of her 'duty in every age of examining the signs of the times and interpreting them in the light of the Gospel, sot hat she can ofer in a maner appropriate to each generation replies to the continual human questionings on the meaning of this life and the life to come and how they are related.

We as Catholics believe the revelation of God ended with Jesus Christ. The church exists not only to serve Catholics but all people. This encyclical was written in response to all the conditions affecting morality and its understanding today, even among Catholics regarding differences of theologians who were meant to bring to light the Sacred Tradition of faith in light of today’s issues.

 

[KathleenGee]

Sorry seeing other posts come in…I am responding to what faith and truth are.

Finally, our take on ‘Our hearts were burning within us…’

Elaborating on the Gospel passage of Luke 24:13-35, showing how Jesus communicated the Good News in the story of Emmaus, the Catholic Church sees this as the model for the pastoral plan of adult catechesis…John Paul II excelled in sharing dialogue with others, talking as they walked…it is a dynamic encounter of Jesus in today’s world.

The apostles encountered Jesus, they had a glimpse into the heart of God as well and found their world made new…and they saw this had to happen with Christ’s death and resurrection, they found new direction and began to grasp the height and depth of God’s love.