Commentaries
Index
"Catholicism
in
the Land of Make Believe" continued
The
Land
of Reality
In the Land of Reality, people who belong to
the Pseudo-catholic churches are adhering to something that is totally
in opposition to Catholic Tradition in every sense of the word.
True Catholics believe that Jesus established the Church to continue
His ministry of teaching and healing, so they welcome Her as an
authority in their lives. They understand that the word
“adherence” means staying with and attempting to be faithful to the
authority that they accepted when they were baptized. True
Catholics also believe that Jesus protects His Church from teaching
errors by the power of the Holy Spirit working through the legitimately
elected Pontiff and the Bishops who act in accord with him. The
Pseudo-catholics place their founders as well as themselves in judgment
of the Papacy and the Church. Disobeying the directives of the
Pope or not recognizing his legitimacy as the successor of Peter is an
act that is contrary to the foundational beliefs of the Catholic
faith. In the Land of Reality those Pseudo-catholic sects have
more in common with the Protestant Reformation of the 16th Century than
they do with the Catholic Church that has existed since the Great
Commission.
Reality is what it is and it is not
always morally convenient, liturgically glamorous and/or appealing to
our personal tastes. Let us accept the Church for what she is,
not contrive something that she is not. The Catholic Church was
founded by Jesus – only once. He has not abandoned her in order
to re-founded through individuals. She is the Church of Rome that
has spread throughout the world and continues in existence even in
places of the world that are hostile toward Her members. History
reveals that the Catholic Church is a body of imperfect believers who
should work together and sometimes challenge one another so that they
can grow in their faithfulness to the teachings of Jesus, not excuse
immoral behavior in the name of “compassion” nor condemn those who are
struggling with sin. The Church’s hierarchy is the authority to
which Catholics should turn for moral, doctrinal and pastoral guidance,
not create their own to meet personal preferences. The Roman
Catholic Church has not lost the love that God’s Son has promised
it. Sometimes it undergoes change as it did after the First
Vatican Council. Sometimes these changes are things that may or
may not appeal to us, but in the end almost everything valuable and
worthwhile in life can challenge us, make us uncomfortable or even feel
sad. We can either live up to and accept those challenges and
changes and become better people of God through them or we can retreat
to our imaginary Land of Make Believe and miss out on an opportunity of
grace. Let us as members of the Roman Catholic Church make the
right choice, remain faithful to the Church Jesus founded and work
together at making it become more and more truly what it is, The REAL
Household of God!
What do you think about
this?
Send an email
and lets us know!
*
We
will not provide links to websites that openly express disdain for
the Church's teachings or to the legitimate papacy. For your own
personal research, much information about the types of groups mentioned
in this essay can be found through a free online Encyclopedia such as http://en.wikipedia.org.
Commentaries
Index