No need to get Mother Superior. I was whacked enough with the ruler in grade school!
I’ve got nothing against candles. I just question its use for spiritual guidance. I know Jesus is the light of the world, as well as a candle provides light for one to see. I see that as the practical use of the candle. For 39 years I was a catholic. I began to go beyond the teachings of the RCC and like Saul who was blinded, his sight returned like “scales falling from his eyes”. It is difficult to explain. I too was indoctrinated thorougly in the Teachings of the Church. Things changed for me.
I’ll let you know something, SA. I wasn’t the most devout Catholic for the longest time. I was much a secular person.
Strangely things started happening to me.
I was asked by a Jewish man why christians had so many versions of the bible. I didn’t know.
I had a chance meeting with an Evangelical seminary student. He asked me questions about the Catholic faith. I didn’t know.
Then the big thing happened. I started working with some Jehovah’s Witnesses. I worked with them for several years. They had accusations I had never heard. Catholicism is pagan; there is no hell; Catholics worship statues; the list goes on.
It forced me to look at the Catholic religion, the first real look I had ever had. I found things I had never known existed.
For instance, I had no idea that other Catholic churches existed. The Copts, Orthodox, Assyrians, Cyprians, Antiochans, et al. were all “catholic”. I didn’t even know what the word “catholic” meant.
I really had to investigate. Really in depth. I began to read, sometimes for hours - days! I still do.
What happened after many hours of research is this - I became convinced of the reality of Catholicism. Believe me when I tell you, I was ready for picking by anyone who could show me that catholicism was wrong.
The most profound thing I found that I didn’t know existed are the Church Fathers and thier writings. I tell you I had no idea they existed. I thought the bible was all there was to early writings.
I started reading the Fathers and do you know what I found? I ran headlong into the Catholic Church. All of the belief structure was there: the Eucharist; priests; bishops; religious artwork; Anointing of the sick; confession to a priest; apostolic succession; and the list goes on.
Not only was I convinced that the Catholic Church was the right church, but I got the JW’s to start questioning thier beliefs just by showing them what I had found! The truth is hard to go around.
So what did I discover about the word “catholic”? It is a conjunction of the Greek words “Kata” and “Holos”. These words appear together in the bible at Acts 9:31. The words taken alone mean respectively - Kata = “alone, among” and Holos = “whole, all”. Taken together in translation they mean “each throughout” literally.
But something else became evident. The bible contains letters to other churches and the Church Fathers wrote letters to other churches. Each were written with a specific purpose in mind - to unify the faith.
You see, each of the letters were distributed among ALL of the churches so that everyone would get the same message. This is true of the biblical letters as well as the letters of the Fathers. Each had thier letters distributed for the purpose of UNIFYING THE FAITH.
So, when you take the literal meaning of the word “catholic” and apply it to the churches which all have the information contained in the letters, an extended meaning becomes apparent. The word “catholic” as applied to all these ancient churches means “All the particular churches who have the same faith.”
So, looking at the ancient churches we can see that this meaning is true. All of the ancient churches practiced the same religion. Bishops, priests, apostolic succession, sacraments, et al, were practiced by all of the churches AND STILL ARE TODAY. All claim that the faith comes directly from Christ through His apostles. Indeed, the fundimental forms of all these Traditions are found in the bible and are commanded by Christ or the apostles. Every one of them.
This “put the nail in the coffin” for me. No reformist form of christianity even comes close.
So why the Roman Catholic Church? It is the one which Paul addressed in his Letter to the Romans. It is the one that is found in the last few chapters of Acts. It is the Church that has biblical roots and biblical verification.
I belong to that church. For me, there is no other. I am convinced that I have found the true church of Christ.
Subrosa
).
- this is not Christian; but neither is it very tolerant of paganism.
