{"id":34097,"date":"2018-05-03T14:47:42","date_gmt":"2018-05-03T20:47:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/?p=34097"},"modified":"2018-05-18T17:07:30","modified_gmt":"2018-05-18T23:07:30","slug":"turn-in-the-road","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.markmallett.com\/blog\/turn-in-the-road\/","title":{"rendered":"Turn in the Road","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"

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WHAT<\/strong> should be our personal response to the elevating confusion and division surrounding Pope Francis?<\/p>\n

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THE REVELATION<\/p>\n

In today’s Gospel<\/a>, Jesus\u2014God incarnate\u2014describes himself in this way:<\/p>\n

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I am the way and the truth and the life.\u00a0No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Jesus was saying that all human history to that point, and from that point on, flowed to and through Him. All religious seeking,\u00a0<\/em>which is a seeking after the Transcendent\u2014after\u00a0life\u00a0<\/em>itself\u2014is fulfilled in Him; all truth, <\/em>no matter its vessel,\u00a0finds its source in Him, and leads back to Him; and all human action and purpose finds its meaning and direction in Him, the way\u00a0<\/em>of love.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In that sense, Jesus did not come to abolish religions, but to\u00a0fulfill and guide them to their true end. Catholicism, in that sense, is simply the authentic human response (in her teachings, Liturgy, and Sacraments) to revealed truth.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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THE COMMISSION<\/p>\n

In order to make the Way, Truth, and the Life known to the world, Jesus gathered Twelve Apostles around Him, and for three years, revealed these realities to them. After He suffered, died, and rose from the dead in order “take away our sins” and reconcile humanity to the Father, He then commanded His followers:<\/p>\n

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I<\/span>\u00a0am with you always, until the end of the age. (Matt 28:19-20)<\/span><\/p>\n

From that moment on, it was clear that mission of the Church was only a continuation of Christ’s ministry. That the Way He taught must become our way; that the Truth He imparted must become our truth; and that all of these lead to the Life we long for.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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TWO THOUSAND YEARS LATER…<\/p>\n

St. Paul says in today’s first reading<\/a>:<\/p>\n

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I am reminding you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you indeed received and in which you also stand. Through it you are also being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you. (1 Cor 1-2)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

What this means is that the Church of today has the responsibility to return again and again to that “which you indeed received.” From whom? From today’s successors to the Apostles, back through the centuries to the councils and popes before them… back to the Early Church Fathers who were the first to develop these teachings, as they were handed on to them from the Apostles… and to Christ Himself who fulfilled the words of the prophets. No one, be he an angel or a pope, can change the immutable truths Christ has imparted.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! (Galatians 1:8)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

In centuries of old, when there was no Internet, no printing press, and thus, no catechisms or Bibles for the masses, that Word was passed on\u00a0orally. <\/em>[1]<\/sup><\/a>2 Thess 2:15<\/span><\/span>