They all belong to their create your own religion sects. They reject the only Church founded by Jesus and not only reject it but protest its very existence and veracity. This is evidence of a lack of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit because when one accepts Christ into their lives and believed in Him and grace becomes abundant. They are so full of pride at their own creation that there is no room for God's grace. One full of grace would not lie so egregiously and certainly not about the only Church that Jesus and the disciples founded and His faithful. They literally hate what the Church teaches and St. Paul gave us insight into why that is so. He said the following:
2 Tim 4:3(KJV): For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
Their doctrines and beliefs are of their own creation and they seek out like minded people who believe in he same heresies. The foundation for their arrogance and pride in doing so is the heretical doctrine of Sola Scriptura and the teaching that each man is his own theologian. This has caused tens of thousands of schisms in the Body of Christ. Even the father of Protestantism Martin Luther believed that he was destined for hell for opening this Pandora's box. These are the fruits of Protestantism.
Remember the founders of Protestantism were Secular Humanists. Calvin was a Secular Humanist lawyer. What they wanted was a God that served man instead of a God that man must serve. This was definitely heterodox teaching that opened the door for all kinds of heresy. What man could imagine he could call truth instead of the orthodox teaching of the Church based solely on God's Word but not limited to the written Word but the living Word contained in its fullness in His Church.
We Catholics rarely complain about the underserved vitriol about us. I have never become angry no matter how hostile or untrue these anti-Catholics depicted the Church. Most of my fellow Catholics do not as well. We know what our Lord taught us and that is that the world would hate us as it hated Him. Jesus taught us how to react when He said that to insults we are to turn the other cheek. Why would we expect those who hate His Church and what Christ has founded to follow our Lord's teaching. They cannot even restrain themselves from bearing false witness against us. Pridefully they justify their lies as ironically doing God's work. Sin is never God's work and nothing justifies such hatred and disobedience. They do not do this because they feel persecuted but instead because of their arrogance. Certainly they believe that their own self created beliefs are of more veracity than anything Christ, the disciples or His Church could ever teach. It is the age old nemesis of man which is pride which leads to destruction. On the last day it is likely that they will hear from our Lord, "depart from me I never knew you" and they will receive their eternal reward that they have earned which is eternity in the lake of fire.
God bless!
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
Showing posts with label Hatred for Catholics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Hatred for Catholics. Show all posts
30 November, 2009
08 August, 2009
How should we respond to those who spread hate and lies about us?
Those of us who are engaged in contending for our faith are continuously tested for our patience and charity towards others. Often we hear outrageous accusations against our Church, leadership, beliefs and practices that are at least partially untrue and usually just blatant lies based on bigotry and hatred of what Christ and the disciples founded. Sometimes I think we forget that enduring these attacks is something we must do when doing Christ’s work by His example. Jesus said the following:
(Mat 5:39) But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other:
Jesus was speaking here not of physical attacks but of insults. We are called by His example to endure insults but more than this we are instructed to love them and we are to pray for those who persecute us and His Church. We are called to seek perfection in our love for our enemies.
(Mat 5:43) You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy.
(Mat 5:44) But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:
(Mat 5:45) That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.
(Mat 5:46) For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this?
(Mat 5:47) And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this?
(Mat 5:48) Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus said from the cross when in His greatest agony:
(Luk 23:33) And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
(Luk 23:34) And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots.
We must remember that our battle is not against our fellow men that are suffering from a lack of knowledge and are most often the victims of false teachers who have deceived them into believing that anyone different from what they teach is evil when it is those teachers and false prophets who are the evil ones. They do not recognize that they are doing the work of the great deceiver but believe instead that they are doing God’s will. They have failed to heed the warning:
(Mat 7:15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
But, they are not our enemy but the ones we must show the most charity and the most mercy. We must remember what we are told about our enemy:
(Eph 6:10) Finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power.
(Eph 6:11) Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil.
(Eph 6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
(Eph 6:13) Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and to stand in all things perfect.
(Eph 6:14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of justice:
(Eph 6:15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
(Eph 6:16) In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.
(Eph 6:17) And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
(Eph 6:18) By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit: and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints:
(Eph 6:19) And for me, that speech may be given me, that I may open my mouth with confidence, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
We must remain forever mindful that our efforts can help, with the assistance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to turn them from their hatred. We can provide them with knowledge and loving example when we offer them the other “cheek” of love, patience and charity. By doing so the Bible tells us the following:
(Pro 25:21) If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him water to drink:
(Pro 25:22) For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.
We are to give our enemies the food of love and the water of truth to satisfy their hunger and thirst. It is through our charity and kindness that they will come to Christ and His Church and not through our frustration and consternation for their souls.
While it comes from our flesh to lash out at the attacks and to seek vengeance it is not the way of our Lord. We are instead to do all things in love.
If we fail in our efforts the price is great so we should instead change our anger to love so that their bulwark of false teaching will not withstand the “hot coals” of the truth through love that we provide. We can turn some of them from their desire to serve themselves and come home into the familial relationship that Christ has provided in His Church. The stakes are very high and we must put on a Christ like manner along with our armor of God and that manner is represented truly and substantially but the love we give and not the love we receive. Here is the dangers our opponents face who have rejected His Church:
(Mat 7:21) Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 7:22) Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?
(Mat 7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
We must be a conduit to lead them to the rock of true and full faith which is contained in His Church:
(Mat 7:24) Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,
(Mat 7:25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
(Mat 7:26) And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,
(Mat 7:27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
We must accept our suffering through insults and lies so that others will receive the truth. Jesus prepared us for our mission by His prophetic statement that also encourages us in its veracity:
(Joh 15:18) If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you.
We must never forget what He said to us all and what the priest tells us at the end of every Mass which is "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" which reflects the following:
(Mar 16:15) And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature.
We must remain strong and not seduced by our flesh into the following:
(Rom 12:19) Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.
With Love in Christ
Fr. Joseph
(Mat 5:39) But I say to you not to resist evil: but if one strike thee on thy right cheek, turn to him also the other:
Jesus was speaking here not of physical attacks but of insults. We are called by His example to endure insults but more than this we are instructed to love them and we are to pray for those who persecute us and His Church. We are called to seek perfection in our love for our enemies.
(Mat 5:43) You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thy enemy.
(Mat 5:44) But I say to you, Love your enemies: do good to them that hate you: and pray for them that persecute and calumniate you:
(Mat 5:45) That you may be the children of your Father who is in heaven, who maketh his sun to rise upon the good, and bad, and raineth upon the just and the unjust.
(Mat 5:46) For if you love them that love you, what reward shall you have? do not even the publicans this?
(Mat 5:47) And if you salute your brethren only, what do you more? do not also the heathens this?
(Mat 5:48) Be you therefore perfect, as also your heavenly Father is perfect.
Jesus said from the cross when in His greatest agony:
(Luk 23:33) And when they were come to the place which is called Calvary, they crucified him there: and the robbers, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.
(Luk 23:34) And Jesus said: Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. But they, dividing his garments, cast lots.
We must remember that our battle is not against our fellow men that are suffering from a lack of knowledge and are most often the victims of false teachers who have deceived them into believing that anyone different from what they teach is evil when it is those teachers and false prophets who are the evil ones. They do not recognize that they are doing the work of the great deceiver but believe instead that they are doing God’s will. They have failed to heed the warning:
(Mat 7:15) Beware of false prophets, who come to you in the clothing of sheep, but inwardly they are ravening wolves.
But, they are not our enemy but the ones we must show the most charity and the most mercy. We must remember what we are told about our enemy:
(Eph 6:10) Finally, brethren, be strengthened in the Lord and in the might of his power.
(Eph 6:11) Put you on the armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the deceits of the devil.
(Eph 6:12) For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.
(Eph 6:13) Therefore, take unto you the armour of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day and to stand in all things perfect.
(Eph 6:14) Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth and having on the breastplate of justice:
(Eph 6:15) And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
(Eph 6:16) In all things taking the shield of faith, wherewith you may be able to extinguish all the fiery darts of the most wicked one.
(Eph 6:17) And take unto you the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit (which is the word of God).
(Eph 6:18) By all prayer and supplication praying at all times in the spirit: and in the same watching with all instance and supplication for all the saints:
(Eph 6:19) And for me, that speech may be given me, that I may open my mouth with confidence, to make known the mystery of the gospel,
We must remain forever mindful that our efforts can help, with the assistance and inspiration of the Holy Spirit to turn them from their hatred. We can provide them with knowledge and loving example when we offer them the other “cheek” of love, patience and charity. By doing so the Bible tells us the following:
(Pro 25:21) If thy enemy be hungry, give him to eat: if he thirst, give him water to drink:
(Pro 25:22) For thou shalt heap hot coals upon his head, and the Lord will reward thee.
We are to give our enemies the food of love and the water of truth to satisfy their hunger and thirst. It is through our charity and kindness that they will come to Christ and His Church and not through our frustration and consternation for their souls.
While it comes from our flesh to lash out at the attacks and to seek vengeance it is not the way of our Lord. We are instead to do all things in love.
If we fail in our efforts the price is great so we should instead change our anger to love so that their bulwark of false teaching will not withstand the “hot coals” of the truth through love that we provide. We can turn some of them from their desire to serve themselves and come home into the familial relationship that Christ has provided in His Church. The stakes are very high and we must put on a Christ like manner along with our armor of God and that manner is represented truly and substantially but the love we give and not the love we receive. Here is the dangers our opponents face who have rejected His Church:
(Mat 7:21) Not every one that saith to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven: but he that doth the will of my Father who is in heaven, he shall enter into the kingdom of heaven.
(Mat 7:22) Many will say to me in that day: Lord, Lord, have not we prophesied in thy name, and cast out devils in thy name, and done many miracles in thy name?
(Mat 7:23) And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, you that work iniquity.
We must be a conduit to lead them to the rock of true and full faith which is contained in His Church:
(Mat 7:24) Every one therefore that heareth these my words, and doth them, shall be likened to a wise man that built his house upon a rock,
(Mat 7:25) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell not, for it was founded on a rock.
(Mat 7:26) And every one that heareth these my words and doth them not, shall be like a foolish man that built his house upon the sand,
(Mat 7:27) And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat upon that house, and it fell, and great was the fall thereof.
We must accept our suffering through insults and lies so that others will receive the truth. Jesus prepared us for our mission by His prophetic statement that also encourages us in its veracity:
(Joh 15:18) If the world hate you, know ye that it hath hated me before you.
We must never forget what He said to us all and what the priest tells us at the end of every Mass which is "Go in peace to love and serve the Lord" which reflects the following:
(Mar 16:15) And he said to them: Go ye into the whole world and preach the gospel to every creature.
We must remain strong and not seduced by our flesh into the following:
(Rom 12:19) Revenge not yourselves, my dearly beloved; but give place unto wrath, for it is written: Revenge is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord.
With Love in Christ
Fr. Joseph
09 June, 2009
As Christians should we hate what we do not understand?
The Catholic Church is Christ's Church. All other churches are founded by men who are in protest of what Christ created. I belief that all the critics of Christ's Church hate the Church because His Church was given promises that their man made churches do not have. Christ promised that the gates of hell would not prevail against the Church. This guarantees to all that the Church can never fall into apostasy. In doing so, the Scriptures promise that His Church is the "bulwark and ground of the truth" which is exclusive of His Church. He said that He would be with His Church until the end of the age and that the Church would endure for all times. Christ gave us warning when He said that the world would hate us just as it hated Him.
Many people create a "straw man” to attack illustrating that there is an unjustified hatred for Catholics. So much so that people will even make up lies about the Church and then attack those lies as if they are the truth. There is no excuse for such actions as the Catholic Church publishes its Catechism on the web and all this information can be verified or debunked by simply accessing this information.
Catholics know what we believe and we know that the accusations are false, so to whom are these liars speaking? Are they just preaching to the choir of fellow haters and prevaricators of Christ's Church and if so for what purpose? Are they just trying to justify their doctrines of men such as throwing the corporeal Christ out of their worship and their antinomianism? There is also the heresy of "Bible only" or "Sola Scriptura" which has caused tens of thousands of exponentially increasing divisions and wounds to Christ's Church through schism and false teaching. Even the Gospel itself is not safe from their heresy where they teach a lawless soteriology of "faith alone" where the only place that is mentioned in Scriptures is when it is forbidden as written by St. James.
The facts are that there are no Pagan practices in the Catholic Church but only the false and unqualified accusations of anti-Catholic haters like Alexander Hislop, Loraine Boettner and Ralph Woodrow.
As Catholics we will continue to pray as Christ gave us example that we all be one in His Church and welcome those who the Holy Spirit brings into His fold. We will welcome those who drawn by the Holy Spirit desire the real food of salvation which is the Eucharist containing the Body, Blood., Soul and Divinity of the Lord that the Lord said in His soliloquy at the synagogue in Capernaum is necessary for eternal life. The Church will remain the refuge from the world just as the Ark was the refuge of humanity from the great flood where all can come and receive the fullness of faith, practice and truth.
Obviously from what I just said I believe it is wrong to allow personal and prejudicial views to lead one to be judgmental towards others. Christians are not to judge others but to simply love others and pray for the Lord's mercy towards them. I am not saying that one is not entitled to an opinion but one must be very careful when determining the will of God in the lives of others. I think it is better to pay attention to what Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, "thine will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
There is certainly enough Scripture verses that point that eternal life will be enjoyed by a very limited group within humanity. One can find references throughout Scripture in the OT as well as the NT that God's plan does not include everyone. Almost all Christians and theologians agree on that concept. Of course those Scriptures were written by human authors in a particular culture for a specific group which was the Church as it existed in the mid to late first century. It was written in an understandable vernacular of the time to Christians as a written version of the oral Tradition of the apostles. We know that the Bible has a universal message not just for believers but for all mankind and that it is the Gospel message contain in it that touches the heart and the souls of men in cooperating with the Spirit. It speaks more of who will be saved than who will not while at the same time pointing us to the sovereign nature of God who created man to serve Him.
The interesting thing about the Bible that parallels mans knowledge in general is, that the more we know about God the less we realize that we know. As a new Christian we see Jesus our Savior as a man among us and as the God that saves us through His grace to judgment. We have surrendered to the law and everything is clear and simple. But God does not leave us in that naiveté but the Holy Spirit starts to work in our lives. We are transformed and part of the transformation is our desire to do the will of God. In order to live within His will we study and learn more about Him. As we do the glass we see through darkly becomes even darker and we are overcome by the magnanimity and justice of God and His awesome nature. We realize more and more our unworthiness as we become more and more righteous for it is the goodness we possess from God that convicts us of our sinfulness. We come to realize that if God can save a wretch like me then it is possible that anyone may receive His saving grace. It is the spirit of the individual that God sees which no man can discern and it is that spirit that deserves eternal life or damnation. Through our love for each other and even for our enemies we must pray for God's mercy for all creation and pray that His mercy extends beyond our understanding and imagination. "Thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
Many people create a "straw man” to attack illustrating that there is an unjustified hatred for Catholics. So much so that people will even make up lies about the Church and then attack those lies as if they are the truth. There is no excuse for such actions as the Catholic Church publishes its Catechism on the web and all this information can be verified or debunked by simply accessing this information.
Catholics know what we believe and we know that the accusations are false, so to whom are these liars speaking? Are they just preaching to the choir of fellow haters and prevaricators of Christ's Church and if so for what purpose? Are they just trying to justify their doctrines of men such as throwing the corporeal Christ out of their worship and their antinomianism? There is also the heresy of "Bible only" or "Sola Scriptura" which has caused tens of thousands of exponentially increasing divisions and wounds to Christ's Church through schism and false teaching. Even the Gospel itself is not safe from their heresy where they teach a lawless soteriology of "faith alone" where the only place that is mentioned in Scriptures is when it is forbidden as written by St. James.
The facts are that there are no Pagan practices in the Catholic Church but only the false and unqualified accusations of anti-Catholic haters like Alexander Hislop, Loraine Boettner and Ralph Woodrow.
As Catholics we will continue to pray as Christ gave us example that we all be one in His Church and welcome those who the Holy Spirit brings into His fold. We will welcome those who drawn by the Holy Spirit desire the real food of salvation which is the Eucharist containing the Body, Blood., Soul and Divinity of the Lord that the Lord said in His soliloquy at the synagogue in Capernaum is necessary for eternal life. The Church will remain the refuge from the world just as the Ark was the refuge of humanity from the great flood where all can come and receive the fullness of faith, practice and truth.
Obviously from what I just said I believe it is wrong to allow personal and prejudicial views to lead one to be judgmental towards others. Christians are not to judge others but to simply love others and pray for the Lord's mercy towards them. I am not saying that one is not entitled to an opinion but one must be very careful when determining the will of God in the lives of others. I think it is better to pay attention to what Jesus taught us to pray to the Father, "thine will be done on earth as it is in heaven."
There is certainly enough Scripture verses that point that eternal life will be enjoyed by a very limited group within humanity. One can find references throughout Scripture in the OT as well as the NT that God's plan does not include everyone. Almost all Christians and theologians agree on that concept. Of course those Scriptures were written by human authors in a particular culture for a specific group which was the Church as it existed in the mid to late first century. It was written in an understandable vernacular of the time to Christians as a written version of the oral Tradition of the apostles. We know that the Bible has a universal message not just for believers but for all mankind and that it is the Gospel message contain in it that touches the heart and the souls of men in cooperating with the Spirit. It speaks more of who will be saved than who will not while at the same time pointing us to the sovereign nature of God who created man to serve Him.
The interesting thing about the Bible that parallels mans knowledge in general is, that the more we know about God the less we realize that we know. As a new Christian we see Jesus our Savior as a man among us and as the God that saves us through His grace to judgment. We have surrendered to the law and everything is clear and simple. But God does not leave us in that naiveté but the Holy Spirit starts to work in our lives. We are transformed and part of the transformation is our desire to do the will of God. In order to live within His will we study and learn more about Him. As we do the glass we see through darkly becomes even darker and we are overcome by the magnanimity and justice of God and His awesome nature. We realize more and more our unworthiness as we become more and more righteous for it is the goodness we possess from God that convicts us of our sinfulness. We come to realize that if God can save a wretch like me then it is possible that anyone may receive His saving grace. It is the spirit of the individual that God sees which no man can discern and it is that spirit that deserves eternal life or damnation. Through our love for each other and even for our enemies we must pray for God's mercy for all creation and pray that His mercy extends beyond our understanding and imagination. "Thine will be done, on earth as it is in heaven".
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
Why do Protestants hate Christ's Church but Catholics love Protestants?
We Catholics would never tell non-Catholic Christians what they believe but instead accept their statements of their belief; although, unlike the Catholic faith, there is usually no source to verify their beliefs as it is with Catholics where one can go to the Catechism and see exactly what Catholics believe. Therefore in this modern age of instant information, via the computer, there is no excuse when one bears false witness against Christ’s Church and the faithful. Such actions must, if one uses reason, be intentional prevarification. There is simply no other explanation except laziness. Actually it is correct in saying that one may be a wannabe Catholic but it probably is not intentional desire but the result of the Holy Spirit drawing them to Christ’s Church and causing conflicts in their disobedient soul. Their spirit of contention tells them they must find fault in Christ’s Church, even if it is created in their own imagination, or it becomes apparent that the original and only Church that Christ created is the true Church with all of the promises that Christ gave to His Church. Obviously, if one did not surrender to these facts then they would not be in God’s will and obedient to the one true God. It seems that ignoring this obvious conclusion is illustrated by their unwillingness to even check out their beliefs about the Catholic Church to find out if their imagined faults have any veracity. What will happen, as thousands of people will attest who have come home to His Church is that, what they hated and spoke out against is not at all the Catholic Church but an enemy of their own creation.
The question is asked, “do Protestants actually look up to their pastors like we Catholics do to our priests?” This is a very good question and it points out a key difference in the leadership of the Protestant churches in contrast to Catholic Churches. Many times in Protestant churches there is no oversight with the so called non-denominational churches that are becoming so popular. This allows for all kinds of false teaching and apostasy. Any minister can teach whatever he desires without hindrance. Many times the pastors of these churches have no training at all in biblical understanding and use a proof text methodology in presenting their doctrines to their congregations is common causing heretical errors. Only the congregation has any semblance to oversight but most often they put blind faith in their pastors, truly putting them on pedestals as representing a man of God. The congregations imagine their pastors to be free of sin and the example of righteousness. This is the reason there is such a scandal when they fail and their sinful humanity is revealed. Their churches actually draw upon the righteousness of their pastor for their veracity as a church. Since it is a man-made church from where else can that veracity and righteousness come? Therefore when they teach that the Catholic Church is evil there is no where else for these congregants to appeal to truth as their trust is in their pastor.
We Catholics see our priests and bishops differently. The Church teaches that the priest is a servant of the people and that the bishop is the shepherd leading and delivering the spiritual needs to the flock through the Sacraments. The priest reminds the congregation of our lack of righteousness as a person and child of God, confessing to our congregations that we too are sinners in thought, word and deed. If there was any tendency of the congregation to believe that the priest is godlier or have less of a sinful nature this confession should remove all doubt. There is no pretense among priests to present one who is more righteous or less tempted by sin. If a Protestant pastor confessed his/her sins to the congregation even in a general sense as do priests they would probably be released from their position. The Catholic Church, of course, receives its righteousness from Christ and its veracity from His promises and not from the example of inherently sinful men. In the Catholic Church it is not necessary or even expected that the priest would be any different than anyone else in the tendency to be tempted into sin. For instance, the Sacraments are just as valid coming from a sinful priest as from a more godly priest because the holiness of the Sacraments are the result of Christ’s righteousness and not the priest as the priest acts “in person Christi” where righteousness can never be doubted.
These being fundamental differences as to how clergy are perceived in Catholic and Protestant communities, I believe that because Protestant pastors are perceived as righteous, godly and holy men that there is a greater opportunity for false teaching leading to heresy and apostasy. The congregation is hungry for God’s Word and it is often being filtered through the sole interpretation of one man’s theology. Because of this is it no wonder that there are thousands of different schismatic sects within Protestantism each having their own truthfulness as well as heresy. The only trust these congregants have is in their pastor and not in any Church founded by Christ containing His promises for veracity.
Christ using construction vernacular says the following:
Upon this rock I will build my Church speaking to St. Peter.
Christ is the cornerstone and the 12 disciples are the foundation
He says that He will be with His Church
He says that the Church will endure until the Parousia
He says that the Church will be free of apostasy
He says that He will be with His Church for all time and does this by sending the Holy Spirit to guide the Church and by sharing His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity with His Church through His miracle of the Eucharist.
He says the His Church is the “bulwark and ground of the truth”.
Can any pastor make such promises when founding their church? Of course not, only Christ’s promises have veracity regardless of the intent or sincerity of any man.
As Catholics we are commanded to love others. We are not to love just those who love us or the Church but our enemies as well. This is one of the most difficult teachings in all of Scriptures because it goes against our natural tendencies in our sinful selves to hate. We are called to pray for these people who hate us and His Church and desire the same blessings that we receive. But, even most importantly we are to pray that God’s will be done and that they may come into full communion with His Church sharing the fullness of faith, worship and truth that Catholics receive in His Church.
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
The question is asked, “do Protestants actually look up to their pastors like we Catholics do to our priests?” This is a very good question and it points out a key difference in the leadership of the Protestant churches in contrast to Catholic Churches. Many times in Protestant churches there is no oversight with the so called non-denominational churches that are becoming so popular. This allows for all kinds of false teaching and apostasy. Any minister can teach whatever he desires without hindrance. Many times the pastors of these churches have no training at all in biblical understanding and use a proof text methodology in presenting their doctrines to their congregations is common causing heretical errors. Only the congregation has any semblance to oversight but most often they put blind faith in their pastors, truly putting them on pedestals as representing a man of God. The congregations imagine their pastors to be free of sin and the example of righteousness. This is the reason there is such a scandal when they fail and their sinful humanity is revealed. Their churches actually draw upon the righteousness of their pastor for their veracity as a church. Since it is a man-made church from where else can that veracity and righteousness come? Therefore when they teach that the Catholic Church is evil there is no where else for these congregants to appeal to truth as their trust is in their pastor.
We Catholics see our priests and bishops differently. The Church teaches that the priest is a servant of the people and that the bishop is the shepherd leading and delivering the spiritual needs to the flock through the Sacraments. The priest reminds the congregation of our lack of righteousness as a person and child of God, confessing to our congregations that we too are sinners in thought, word and deed. If there was any tendency of the congregation to believe that the priest is godlier or have less of a sinful nature this confession should remove all doubt. There is no pretense among priests to present one who is more righteous or less tempted by sin. If a Protestant pastor confessed his/her sins to the congregation even in a general sense as do priests they would probably be released from their position. The Catholic Church, of course, receives its righteousness from Christ and its veracity from His promises and not from the example of inherently sinful men. In the Catholic Church it is not necessary or even expected that the priest would be any different than anyone else in the tendency to be tempted into sin. For instance, the Sacraments are just as valid coming from a sinful priest as from a more godly priest because the holiness of the Sacraments are the result of Christ’s righteousness and not the priest as the priest acts “in person Christi” where righteousness can never be doubted.
These being fundamental differences as to how clergy are perceived in Catholic and Protestant communities, I believe that because Protestant pastors are perceived as righteous, godly and holy men that there is a greater opportunity for false teaching leading to heresy and apostasy. The congregation is hungry for God’s Word and it is often being filtered through the sole interpretation of one man’s theology. Because of this is it no wonder that there are thousands of different schismatic sects within Protestantism each having their own truthfulness as well as heresy. The only trust these congregants have is in their pastor and not in any Church founded by Christ containing His promises for veracity.
Christ using construction vernacular says the following:
Upon this rock I will build my Church speaking to St. Peter.
Christ is the cornerstone and the 12 disciples are the foundation
He says that He will be with His Church
He says that the Church will endure until the Parousia
He says that the Church will be free of apostasy
He says that He will be with His Church for all time and does this by sending the Holy Spirit to guide the Church and by sharing His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity with His Church through His miracle of the Eucharist.
He says the His Church is the “bulwark and ground of the truth”.
Can any pastor make such promises when founding their church? Of course not, only Christ’s promises have veracity regardless of the intent or sincerity of any man.
As Catholics we are commanded to love others. We are not to love just those who love us or the Church but our enemies as well. This is one of the most difficult teachings in all of Scriptures because it goes against our natural tendencies in our sinful selves to hate. We are called to pray for these people who hate us and His Church and desire the same blessings that we receive. But, even most importantly we are to pray that God’s will be done and that they may come into full communion with His Church sharing the fullness of faith, worship and truth that Catholics receive in His Church.
In Christ
Fr. Joseph
Bishop Fulton Sheen on Catholic Hatred
What Is The Catholic Church ?
by Bishop Fulton Sheen
"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God;” because they “say indulgence is a permission to commit sin;” because the Pope “is a Fascist;” because the Church “is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things, it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many miss its obviousness..."
by Bishop Fulton Sheen
"There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues;” because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God;” because they “say indulgence is a permission to commit sin;” because the Pope “is a Fascist;” because the Church “is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things, it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other-worldly. Since it is other-worldly, it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. ... the Catholic Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many miss its obviousness..."
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