StGeorge's Blog

I AM A CATHOLIC …


Because the founder of the Catholic Church is the God-Man Jesus Christ, Who was foretold by the prophets, and Who proved the divine character of His mission and teaching by wonderful miracles, especially by His Own Resurrection from the dead;

Because Christ established upon Peter and the Apostles the Church, one, holy, universal, apostolic, with which He declared He would remain all days to the consummation of the world, and against which the gates of Hell would not prevail;

Because Christ gave this society certain well defined doctrines which all men everywhere must believe under pain of damnation, to which they may not add or from which they may not subtract;

Because Christ the Author of all holiness, promised to guard this society from error and preserve it until the end of time;

Because the Catholic Church possesses all marks of this Church established by Christ:

The Catholic Church is ONE because she everywhere professes the same faith, has the same sacrifice and sacraments, and is governed by one and the same visible head, the Pope. All non-Catholic sects lack unity. Because of the principles of private judgment they are conditionally splitting and subdividing. They have no central authority to hold them together. Their doctrines and practices are changing from day to day.

The Catholic Church is HOLY because its Founder, Jesus Christ, is all-holy; because it doctrines are holy; because its means of sanctification, the sacraments, are holy; because it produces holy, saintly men and women.

The Catholic Church is UNIVERSAL because it subsist throughout the ages, teaches all nations, and maintains all the truths given to it by Christ. The sects are not spread over the whole world but rather localized, nor do they they teach everything that Our Lord taught the Apostles.

The Catholic Church is APOSTOLIC because it was founded on Christ’s Apostles, because it is governed by their doctrines through their lawful successors, and because it never ceases to teach their doctrine. The sects cannot trace their origin to Christ or to the Apostles.

I am a Catholic, finally, because God Who is Supreme Truth and Holiness could not possibly be the Author of the countless sects with their mutually destructive and contradictory teachings and practices

Every Deciple Has A Vocation
Category: Religion and Philosophy


Every Disciple Has A Vocation


Discernment

"The word of the LORD came to me thus: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I dedicated you, a prophet to the nations I appointed you." (Jeremiah 1:4-5)

From the moment you were conceived God has had a plan for you and your life, and He has a desire to share His life with you. He has been forming you throughout your life to fulfill this plan that is specific for you. God wants you alive now, in our time, with your family, living among His people today – and He has given you this life for a purpose. This can be a reassuring thought when we consider that our lives are not merely random, but purposeful. And, more important to calm your fears, His plan for your life is what is already the greatest joy of your heart. So there is nothing to fear in discovering God's plan for you.

Discernment is a special form of prayer which ultimately helps people figure out where they fit into the Lord's plan, or as we often say, where they are "called". It is a process that requires prayer, meditation, reflection, honesty, and direction. Through the sacraments of Eucharist and Penance as well as private prayer, Christ draws us more deeply into His life and reveals His will. Here is where one learns to listen for the voice of the Lord. Anyone who wants to walk closely with the Lord, regardless of the vocation of life to which he is called, should take time to discern where the will of God is directing his life, for it is only in the fulfillment of His will that we find our peace. It is essential to remember that the primary focus of discernment is not to determine what I want to do with my life, but rather to determine what God wills for my life.

To follow is an excerpt from an episode of Sunday Night Live with host Fr. Benedict Groeschel, and guest Dr. Peter Kreeft, discussing the state of Catholic higher education in the United States. Do American Christians have the proper perspective on our faith or is it more important to be politically correct?

Benedict Groeschel: You and I were talking and you told me an anecdote about when they took the crucifixes down from the classroom walls at Boston College. I think this anecdote is a little bit long, but I think our audience would be very interested to hear it.

Peter Kreeft: Well, I was teaching comparative religions, and during the long break, there was a Jewish student and a Muslim student in the front row. The Jewish student noticed a faint cross painted on the wall behind me, so he asked me, "Is that supposed to be a cross?"

I started to explain that that's where the crucifix used to be, and another student, a Catholic, said "Oh, we took the crucifixes down last year."

"Why did you do take them down?"

"Oh, well, we didn't want to offend people."

"When did you take them down?"

"Well, let's see. 1979."

"Aha," said the Jewish student. "It was the Bundy money."

No one understood that, so he explained that President Carter's secretary of state, McGeorge Bundy, had brokered a deal by which federal money could go to private schools if and only if those schools were not sectarian, divisive, discriminatory… something like that. And - by coincidence - all 21 Jesuit colleges took down their crucifixes from their classrooms in the year following that decision. So when he explained that to the students, the students were rather scandalized, and one said, "Oh, no, we wouldn't do that for money."

And he said, "Of course you wouldn't, but I hope you got more than thirty pieces of silver this time." Rather wicked… some of them were so biblically illiterate that he had to explain to them that Judas Iscariot was the first Catholic bishop to accept a government grant.

But then the student said, "No, we did that to be ecumenical."

And then the Muslim chimed in.

"What is ecumenical?"

So the student said, "Oh, ecumenical means we think we're all equal, and we didn't want to discriminate against others, and offend outsiders."

And the Muslim said, "You mean people like me, and my friend the Jew?"

"Well, yes."

"Well, I am highly insulted."

"Why?"

"Well, you're treating me like a bigot."

"No, we hate bigotry."

"Let me explain. Suppose you came to my country. You enrolled in a Muslim university. Now we don't have pictures or images; we think that's idolatry, but when you are in a Muslim university, you know you are in a Muslim university. Who would object to a Muslim symbol in a Muslim university, except a bigot? Now you expect me to be offended by a Catholic symbol - the crucifix - in a Catholic university, so you are treating me like a bigot."

Everyone was thinking.

He didn't stop. He said to the students, "How many of you believe that Jesus is the Son of God?"

And most of them raised their hand.

He said, "Well, we Muslims don't believe that; the Koran says that's blasphemy, that's ridiculous, but we have a great devotion to Jesus. We hardly ever mention his name without saying, 'Blessed be he' or 'Blessed be his name' and we think he's one of the greatest men who ever lived, and he is a great prophet, and we love him and his mother Mary. And if we had pictures of him, we would never take them down, not for any money in the world. In fact," he said, and he was now waxing eloquent, "what if some soldiers came into our classroom and said, 'We demand that you take down this offensive picture of the prophet Jesus'? Every good Muslim would go in front of that picture and say, 'You will take down this picture of our beloved prophet Jesus over our dead bodies. We would be glad to be martyrs for him.' So I think we are better Christians than you are."

You could hear a pin drop.