Artist Unknown
WITH the ongoing scandals coming to surface in the Catholic Church, many—including even clergy—are calling for the Church to reform her laws, if not her foundational faith and morals that belong to the deposit of faith.
The problem is, in our modern world of referendums and elections, many do not realize that Christ established a dynasty, not a democracy.
THERE is a Great Storm coming, and it is already here, in which those things built on sand are crumbling. (First published October, 12th, 2006.)
Everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. And it collapsed and was completely ruined. (Matthew 7:26-27)
Already, the driving winds of secularism have shaken apart several mainstream denominations. The United Church, the Anglican Church of England, the Lutheran Church, the Episcopalian, and thousands of other smaller denominations have begun to cave in as the raging flood waters of moral relativism pound at their foundations. Permission of divorce, birth control, abortion, and gay marriage has eroded the faith so drastically that the rains have begun to wash large numbers of believers out of their pews.
Forgiven by Thomas Blackshear II
AT a recent event, a young married Pentecostal couple approached me and said, "Because of your writings, we are becoming Catholic." I was filled with joy as we embraced one another, delighted that this brother and sister in Christ were going to experience His power and life in new and profound ways—particularly through the Sacraments of Confession and the Holy Eucharist.
And so, here are two "no-brainer" reasons why Protestants should become Catholics.
Sacred Heart of Jesus by Michael D. O’Brien
WRITTEN ON THE MEMORIAL OF ST. FAUSTINA KOWALSKA
This writing was first published October 5th, 2006.
AS I wrote in Moutains, Foothills, and Plains, the Summit of the Church is Jesus. This Summit is the foundation of the Christian Life.
FINDING THE SUMMIT
In my early school years, we had no Catholic youth group. So my parents, who were devout Catholics in love with Jesus, sent us to a Pentecostal group. There, we made friends with other Christians who had a passion for Jesus, a love for the Word of God, and a desire to witness to others.
One thing they often spoke of was the need for a "personal relationship with Jesus".
LIKE most Catholic newlyweds, neither my wife Lea nor I knew much about the Church’s teaching on birth control. It wasn’t mentioned in our "engagement encounter" course, nor at any other time during wedding preparations. We’d never heard a teaching from the pulpit on it, and it wasn’t something that we had thought to discuss much with our parents. And if our consciences were pricked, we were able to quickly dismiss it as an "unreasonable demand."
So when our wedding day neared, my fiancée did what most women do: she started taking "the pill."
SCANDALS, shortcomings, and sinfulness.
When many people look at Catholics and the priesthood in particular (especially through the biased lens of the secular media), the Church seems to them anything but Christian.
Rembrandt van Rinj, 1631 — Apostle Peter Kneeling
MEMORIAL OF ST. BRUNO
ABOUT thirteen years ago, my wife and I, both cradle-Catholics, were invited to a Baptist church by a friend of ours who was once a Catholic.
We took in the Sunday morning service. When we arrived, we were immediately struck by all the young couples. It dawned on us suddenly how few young people there were back in our own Catholic parish.
Photo by Michael Buehler
MEMORIAL OF ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI
I HAVE many Protestant readers. One of them wrote me regarding the recent article My Sheep Will Know My Voice in the Storm, and asked:
Where does this leave me as a Protestant?
AN ANALOGY
Jesus said He would build His Church on "rock"—that is, Peter—or in Christ’s Aramaic language: "Cephas", which means "rock". So, think of the Church then as a Mountain.
Foothills precede a mountain, and so I think of them as "Baptism". One passes through the Foothills to reach the Mountain.
Vast sectors of society are confused about what is right and what is wrong, and are at the mercy of those with the power to "create" opinion and impose it on others. —POPE JOHN PAUL II, Cherry Creek State Park Homily, Denver, Colorado, 1993
AS I wrote in Trumpets of Warning! – Part V, there is a great storm coming, and it is already here. A massive storm of confusion. As Jesus said,
…the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered… (John 16:31)