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It’s Day 117!!
THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC
WHAT DOES “CATHOLIC” MEAN?
Paragraph 830 says, “The word ‘catholic’ means ‘universal,’ in the sense of ‘according to the totality’ or ‘in keeping with the whole.’”
HOW is the Church catholic?
Paragraph 830 continues, “The Church is catholic because Christ is present in her…this implies that she receives from him ‘the fullness of the means of salvation.’”
That’s UNIVERSAL
That’s ACCORDING TO THE TOTALITY
That’s IN KEEPING WITH THE WHOLE
Paragraph 831 says, “Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race…”
So the Church is CATHOLIC in two senses
It has the FULLNESS, in keeping with the whole, OF REVELATION
THE FULLNESS OF GRACE
THE FULLNESS OF THE MEANS OF SALVATION
Secondly the Church is CATHOLIC because She is meant to go out to the whole world
Does that make sense?
EACH PARTICULAR CHURCH IS “CATHOLIC”
Paragraph 833 says, “The phrase ‘particular church,’ which is first of all the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession.”
So that is every diocese throughout the world
We profess THE SAME THING
We worship THE SAME WAY
Paragraph 834 says, “Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of the, the Church of Rome ‘which presides in charity.’”
There are some really incredible quotes from St. Ignatius of Antioch, St. Irenaeus of Lyon, and St. Maximus the Confessor
From the very beginning, all Christians understood that they were united with the Church of Rome
So the big question is WHO BELONGS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
There are three groups of people who belong to the Catholic Church (this is what is called a TEASER 😉)
So let’s pray!!
Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven, we thank you. We thank you and give you praise. We thank you for the gift of Faith, Hope, and Love. We ask you to please increase our Faith so we can trust you all the more. Not only trust what you have done, but also trust what you are doing. Give us Hope not only to belong to you today, but to belong to you in the future. And give us Love, the Love that will never end. The Love that will last and endure and be alive forever in Heaven. Lord God, we ask you to give us these incredible gifts of Faith, Hope, and Love. Keep us deeply rooted in you, in your heart. Keep us deeply rooted in your Church. We make this prayer in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen”
So there we have it!!
SO PROFOUND
The Catechism has clarified a lot of things in these paragraphs
For example, WHAT DOES “CATHOLIC” MEAN?
Every Apostles’ Creed states ONE HOLY CATHOLIC APOSTOLIC CHURCH
Paragraph 830 says, “The word ‘catholic’ means ‘universal,’ in the sense of ‘according to the totality’ or ‘in keeping with the whole.’”
What does that mean?
The Church is “catholic” in TWO SENSES
Paragraph 830 continues, “First, the Church is catholic because Christ is present in her. In her subsists the fullness of Christ’s body united with its head…”
This is the KEY THING to hold on to
THIS IS REMARKABLE!!
Other non-Catholic Christians have grace and truth
They have many books of the Bible
We have 73
They have 66
They have Baptism
We have 6 other Sacraments
So they have means of grace
There is goodness in all non-Catholic churches
BUT…
When we say the Church is CATHOLIC, we say, “in her subsists THE FULLNESS of Christ’s body united with its head…”
Paragraph 830 continues, “This implies that she receives from him ‘the fullness of the means of salvation’ which he has willed: correct and complete confession of faith, full sacramental life, and ordained ministry in apostolic succession.”
Not just 1 or 2 sacraments
ALL 7 SACRAMENTS!!
THE FULLNESS OF THE MEANS OF SALVATION
Fr. Mike is now telling a story about one of his non-Catholic students so pay attention!!! 😉
Basically, why should she be Catholic?
One answer is that when it comes to the Catholic Church we have received from Jesus the FULLNESS of the means of Salvation
Not just the CORRECT profession of faith
BUT…
The COMPLETE profession of faith
THAT IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!
If you know something about the one you love
BUT…
There is MORE to know about them
Then wouldn’t you want to know MORE?
If you want to be able to say something about God, wouldn't you want to be able to say ALL THERE IS TO SAY about God?
Knowing that it is not only COMPLETE but CORRECT
We also have the SACRAMENTAL LIFE
Christians have access to the Father’s heart through BAPTISM
BUT…
Wouldn’t you also want to have access to God’s Grace that He has given to us through the OTHER SIX SACRAMENTS?
SEVEN SACRAMENTS TOTAL!!
Wouldn’t you WANT that?
Do we want ADEQUATE means of salvation?
OR…
Do we want the FULLNESS OF THE MEANS OF SALVATION?
There are wounds to the unity of the Church
That wound is sin
It is not a great and glorious thing that the Church is divided
Jesus’ prayer from His heart was that we would be ONE
That’s another reason to want to be part of His ONE CHURCH
Paragraph 831 says, “Secondly, the Church is catholic because she has been sent out by Christ on a mission to the whole of the human race…”
There is NO ONE who doesn’t belong in the Catholic Church
EVERY SINGLE PERSON belongs in the Catholic Church
Fr. Mike is talking about that non-Catholic student again…
There are so many things that people misunderstand about the Catholic Church
The Church is CATHOLIC because EVERYONE BELONGS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH
EVERYONE!!
There is no BACKGROUND…
There is no ETHNICITY…
There is no LANGUAGE BARRIER…
There is no TEMPTATION TOWARDS SIN…
THAT EXCLUDES ANYONE!!
There is no HISTORY OF BROKENNESS that excludes ANYONE from God’s embrace
The Church is Catholic because EVERYONE BELONGS THERE
Remember what Jesus said about the mustard seed?
The SMALLEST SEED that grows into this LARGE TREE and EVERY BIRD OF THE AIR can find a nest in its branches
EVERYONE BELONGS!!
EACH PARTICULAR CHURCH IS “CATHOLIC”
Paragraph 833 says, “The phrase ‘particular church,’ which is first of all the diocese (or eparchy), refers to a community of the Christian faithful in communion of faith and sacraments with their bishop ordained in apostolic succession.”
We profess the SAME THINGS
We worship the SAME WAY
That’s what a diocese is
Paragraph 834 says, “Particular Churches are fully catholic through their communion with one of them, the Church of Rome ‘which presides in charity.’”
From the very beginning, they already noted that the Church in Rome has a UNIQUE ROLE of presiding in charity over the other diocese and other churches
Paragraph 834 continues, “‘For with this church, by reason of its pre-eminence, the whole Church, that is the faithful everywhere, must necessarily be in accord.’”
We have these Church Fathers professing this UNION we HAD TO HAVE
WHICH IS JUST REMARKABLE!!
IT IS PRETTY PRETTY IMPORTANT!!
WHO BELONGS TO THE CATHOLIC CHURCH?
Paragraph 836 says, “‘All men are called to this catholic unity of the People of the God…And to it, in different ways, belong or are ordered: the Catholic faithful, others who believe in Christ, and finally all mankind, called by God’s grace to salvation.’”
THIS IS BEAUTIFUL!!
THIS IS POWERFUL!!
It’s CATHOLIC so it is for EVERYONE
Paragraph 837 says, “‘Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who-by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion-are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops.”
WHO is Catholic?
THAT!! ⬆️
People might CLAIM to be Catholic but if they reject any of those things they are living in this irregular relationship
They are imperfectly in relation to the Church
Even if we are in perfect relation right now, we can step out of that
Paragraph 837 continues, “Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’”
This means we can turn away
We can LEAVE the Church
We have to ask ourselves if that is us
We might show up but we might pick and choose
We might see the Church as a buffet
We may accept things we like and reject things we don’t like
ALL OF US are called to persevere in LOVE
If we don’t persevere in love, we are NOT SAVED
THIS IS REALLY IMPORTANT!!
All the Sacraments are FREE GIFTS
Baptism is a FREE GIFT
None of us did anything to deserve it
None of us earn it
BUT…
WE CAN REJECT IT!!
THAT IS A SCARY THOUGHT!!
Paragraph 838 says, “‘The Church knows that she is joined in many ways to the baptized who are honored by the name of CHristian, but do not profess the Catholic faith in its entirety or have not preserved unity or communion under the successor of Peter. Those ‘who believe in Christ and have been properly baptized are put in a certain, although imperfect, communion with the Catholic Church.’ With the Orthodox Churches, this communion is so profound ‘that it lacks little to attain the fullness that would permit a common celebration of the Lord’s Eucharist.’”
We see ALL CHRISTIANS as brothers and sisters
Those who are baptized and have faith are SONS AND DAUGHTERS OF THE FATHER
So we are in a CERTAIN relationship
BUT…
We are not in a PERFECT relationship
There is so much similarity between the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Churches
There is little that would have to happen to unite us
Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI longed for the East and West to be united once again
THE TWO LUNGS OF THE CHURCH TO BREATHE FULLY IN UNISON
We pray for that UNITY
Tomorrow we will talk about the Church and non-Christian religions
What is our relationship with Jewish people, Muslim people etc?
Today we recognize THE CHURCH IS CATHOLIC
God has given the Church the FULLNESS of the means of grace and sanctification
The Church is called to go out to EVERYONE
There is NO ONE that does not belong in the Catholic Church
NO ONE is excluded
NO ONE is disqualified
EVERYONE IS NOT JUST WELCOMED!!
EVERYONE IS INVITED!!
Because God LONGS for us to have the FULLNESS OF HIS GRACE
God LONGS for us to be able to say fully YES to HIm and all that He has revealed about Himself
Fr. Mike is praying FOR YOU!!
Please pray for Fr. Mike and for each other!!
I cannot WAIT to see you tomorrow!!
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