Dead rituals and dogmas

Kay writes: Your Church is nothing. Nothing but rituals, rules, dogmas and orders for people. It is my opinion that you can keep your church and all it's made up of. Your so call apostolic succession, your baby baptizing, your Eucharist and your "Peter is the first pope" theology, your idea that Mary never had other children, and your hierarchy historical hocus pocus. Your passion for Mother church is nothing but an insult to me, to all Christians and to the holiness and the beauty that Jesus brought to us by sending the real Holy Spirit of God that comes to true believers and reveals to them God's heart and will. In my opinion the so called 'Church' (the RCC) is still trying to deceive the ignorant and the feeble with her dead ritual and dogmas that saves no one and heals no one. That's it. So thanks for reading this. It is not my intention to insult Catholics but rather to tell them all the truth. There is absolutely nothing that Catholics or your pope, priests or whatever they want to call themselves will be ever able to convince the true saints of God that you have something we don't have.

My response: You of course have free will and are entitled to your opinions, but I have to completely disagree with what you've stated. My Church, the Catholic Church is not "nothing". The Catholic Church is the church created by Jesus Christ and has stood the test of time. The Catholic Church brings the sacraments to people and preaches the Gospel to the world. She is a gift from God. I am truly sorry that you do not know or see the beauty of the Catholic Church the way I do. It is my hope that one day you will. You have hit upon many area's that are part of the Catholic Church, i.e., "apostolic succession" and "infant baptism" and "the Eucharist" and "Peter our first Pope" etc. I think each of these perhaps needs their own post as it would be too lengthy to answer all these topics in one. So in the future, I will write on each of these topics. For now, I'd like to briefly touch on them. Apostolic succession is seen clearly in Acts when Judas' is replaced. Infant baptism is also seen in Acts when whole households are baptized. The Eucharist is beautifully revealed in John 6. Peter our first Pope is seen in Matthew 16 and the last chapter of John. And the bible never ever records Mary as giving birth to anyone but Jesus. There is no other record of her being pregnant or giving birth to another child. I have already addressed this topic on my blog: Connecticut Catholic Corner: Christ's "brothers" (http://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2008/01/christs-brothers.html), so I don't feel I need to repeat this. Nor will I at this time repeat the topic of Peter as this was addressed 2 weeks ago in March:http://connecticutcatholiccorner.blogspot.com/2008/03/peter-is-first-pope.html

If however you feel something is missing, I will be happy to return to this topic. You also mention "hierarchy historical hocus pocus". What "hocus pocus" would that be? Hierarchy is seen in scripture and since there is over 2,000 years of Catholic Church history, I really don't know what are referring to. I can say, there is absolutely no "hocus pocus" in the Catholic faith. So yes, we have hierarchy and we have history, but we do NOT have "hocus pocus". I don't know of any "dead rituals" in my Church. And the dogma's aren't "dead" either, they are very much alive and part of my Church. Doesn't your church (if you have one-I know some Christians are deciding not to attend churches any more) have dogma's or some sort of defined doctrines or statements of faith so others know what you believe and why?
I am sorry you feel "insulted" by my passion for my Church, but I am not sorry I am passionate about my Catholic faith. I can tell you that Jesus is not insulted by it as you are, because Jesus inspires it. You feel insulted because you are ignorant of the Truth of the Catholic faith. That doesn't not mean you are stupid or dumb. I want to clarify. It merely means that you do not yet, know the truth of the Catholic faith, what we believe and why. If you knew the truth and understood it, you would not have said the things you did. You speak from ignorance, not stupidity on your part. Of the two, ignorance is the easier to rectify. The problem occurs when one wishes to remain ignorant and that is just plain stupidity in any given situation. And I don't mean to insult you by saying that, but rather to share the truth with you. From your above statement to me, I am sure we understand each other. I look forward to addressing each of the topics you've mentioned and hope to shed some light on these topics. If I fail, it's my fault, not the fault of the Catholic Church or it's teachings. And I recommend taking your questions to Catholic clergy who can best answer all your concerns. Thanks for reading.

Peter is the first pope

Mick writes: You want to establish that Peter is the first pope as to justify The RCC as the true church that Christ Gave us. I still disagree but lets say you are right that Jesus did make Peter the head of the church. What makes you think that justifies the RCC. If we compare the early church that Christ made Peter the head of there is no comparison with the RCC and papacy that fell into apostasy after 300 AD. Jesus never told Peter the church was to be a politicaly ambitious religious government. Nor did Christ ever teach this to any of the apostles. Peter never sat in a palace throne wareing fancy religious robes and hats with golden staffs, surounded with cardinnals. Why because Christ never taught that. He nerver taught Peter to force religion as a religious government and a corrupt government at that. The church existed for three hundred years with out this Apostilic succesion does not justify any of this either. I don't have time to go into the many other differences but please don't tell me this justifies the RCC as the true church.

My response: You've got a few different things going on in your comments to me. I am going to try and take them one at a time and if I don't connect them as well as you'd like I apologize. Sometimes from a brief comment, I don't always understand the connections others see to their own comments, for example you putting Peter as the first Pope with "justifying the RCC". I really don't know where you're going with that, but I will do my best to respond to your comments.
I don't need to "establish" that Peter was the first Pope because Jesus did that in the Gospel. If you'd take a moment and look at Matthew 16 you will see that Jesus is changing Simon's name to "Rock" {Greek 'Kephas'} to us "Peter" or "Petros". Jesus says to Simon, now called Kephas/Rock "So I say to you, you are Peter [or you are rock], and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Mt.16:18-19). There are a few things here that need to be noted. First, is the name change from Simon to "Rock". None of the other disciples were called "Rock", only Simon. Jesus has signaled Simon out as the "Rock" which He, Jesus, will build His Church on. So Simon is now seen and known as Peter (the Rock) and all the disciples are a witness to Jesus signaling Simon out and setting him apart from the others. Jesus not only changes Simon's name and tells him He will build a Church on him, but he also places authority in Peter's hands with the "keys". Keys are often, especially in scripture, a sign of authority. It shows who holds authority. We see this is a few places in scripture, for example Isaiah 22:
20 "In that day I will summon my servant, Eliakim son of Hilkiah. 21 I will clothe him with your robe and fasten your sash around him and hand your authority over to him. He will be a father to those who live in Jerusalem and to the house of Judah. 22 I will place on his shoulder the key to the house of David; what he opens no one can shut, and what he shuts no one can open."

Sounds similar to what Jesus said with Simon Peter doesn't it?

Next, note Jesus saying "you" specifically to Peter in Matt. 16. He is making it clear who is now called "Rock" and who has the keys. All the "you's" are directed right at Peter in Matthew 16 and in the the last chapter of John. Here is more of Jesus establishing Peter as the first Pope. Let's go to the last chapter of John (from the NIV bible):
Jesus Reinstates Peter
15When they had finished eating, Jesus said to Simon Peter, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?" "Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my lambs." 16Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?" He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Take care of my sheep." 17 The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?" Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you." Jesus said, "Feed my sheep."
Here again we see Jesus signaling out Peter specifically above all the other disciples. It is Peter, Jesus tells to "feed my sheep" and he repeats this over and over again. Jesus does not do this with any other disciple. I hope you are able to see what I am attempting to point out to you about Peter and Jesus establishing him as first pope of the Catholic Church.
Now about your view that the Church fell into apostasy in the year 300. We go back to Jesus Christ's own words to Peter when He changed his name from Simon to Peter: Jesus promised that "the gates of hell would not prevail against" His Church. That is our Lord's Word. It can't happen. Sure there can be Church members who do wrong and sin, we are not perfect, but the Church will prevail against all evil because Jesus promised us it would. As far as robes and palaces go, we see those things in scripture, mostly in the Old Testament, but they are there. I don't believe God has condemned them or opposes them, do you?

Now you mention the Church being politically ambitious. There is no denying there is some history in the Catholic Church that we as Catholics regret and wish had never occurred. But the Church teachings are not in error because the Holy Spirit guides the Church and keeps it from error. So while men will come and go and fall into sin and error, the Church will not because Christ said it wouldn't. Am I making any sense with that? If you see something you view as "wrong" with the Catholic Church, you have to look to our official teachings. Those are never in error. If you see a Catholic clergy or layperson and you view something they say or do as 'wrong' you might be correct or you might not, as we are not without sin or error and their personal opinions are just that, THEIR opinions. But if the Catholic is sharing a Catholic belief and you question it, check it against our catechism. Our faith is spelled out in the Catholic catechism fairly clearly in my opinion. There are references and quotes in there for you to further research as to the "why" behind the beliefs we hold.

I hope I've answered your concerns about Peter and our Catholic Church.

Your church- it's really a CULT

someone writes: Your church--it's really a CULT--was founded by the last pagan Pontiff and the first "Christian" (yeah, right!) Pontiff, Constantine in 312 AD.
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My response: My Church, the Holy Catholic Church is not a "cult" and it was not founded by a pagan Pontiff Constantine in 312 AD. The Catholic Church was founded by Jesus Christ and the record of this can be found in scripture when Jesus changed Simon's name to Peter (meaning "rock") and told him he was going to build a church on him the 'rock'. This is the significance of Jesus changing Simon's name to "Peter" [rock]. To mark his position.
Matt.16:17-19 "Jesus replied, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter [rock], and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven." There are a few significant words used here, first as noted is Simon's name changed to Peter [Rock]. The second is Christ telling Simon Peter that he is going to create a church on Peter the rock. And third, Jesus handing the "keys" to Peter. Keys show an authoritative position held and Jesus giving the keys to Simon Peter clearly show him as set apart from the other disciples. Finally, Jesus gives Simon Peter the power and authority to "bind and loose" on earth and in heaven. In the last chapter of John, Jesus singles Peter out again from all the other disciples and reinforces the place of authority he has placed him in (John 21:15-19).
Early Christian writings clearly document that the Catholic Church existed long before Constantine was a twinkle in his mother's eye. Here are a few for you to consider and please note the dates and words used like "Catholic" and "Eucharist" which identify that the Early Church was the Catholic Church as it is even today, because Christ said 'the gates of Hades will not overcome it'. And so the Catholic Church has existed and grown since Jesus founded her on the 'rock' in the scriptures.

Ignatius of Antioch"Let no one do anything of concern to the Church without the bishop. Let that be considered a valid Eucharist which is celebrated by the bishop or by one whom he ordains [i.e., a presbyter]. Wherever the bishop appears, let the people be there; just as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church" (Letter to the Smyrneans 8:2 [A.D. 110]).

The Martyrdom of Polycarp"And of the elect, he was one indeed, the wonderful martyr Polycarp, who in our days was an apostolic and prophetic teacher, bishop of the Catholic Church in Smyrna. For every word which came forth from his mouth was fulfilled and will be fulfilled" (Martyrdom of Polycarp 16:2 [A.D. 155]).

The Muratorian Canon"Besides these [letters of Paul] there is one to Philemon, and one to Titus, and two to Timothy, in affection and love, but nevertheless regarded as holy in the Catholic Church, in the ordering of churchly discipline. There is also one [letter] to the Laodiceans and another to the Alexandrians, forged under the name of Paul, in regard to the heresy of Marcion, and there are several others which cannot be received by the Church, for it is not suitable that gall be mixed with honey. The epistle of Jude, indeed, and the two ascribed to John are received by the Catholic Church (Muratorian fragment [A.D. 177]).

Tertullian"Where was [the heretic] Marcion, that shipmaster of Pontus, the zealous student of Stoicism? Where was Valentinus, the disciple of Platonism? For it is evident that those men lived not so long ago—in the reign of Antonius for the most part—and that they at first were believers in the doctrine of the Catholic Church, in the church of Rome under the episcopate of the blessed Eleutherius, until on account of their ever restless curiosity, with which they even infected the brethren, they were more than once expelled" (Demurrer Against the Heretics 30 [A.D. 200]).

And Constantine was never "pontiff" of the Catholic Church. He converted to the Catholic faith on his death bed and soon died afterwards. I hope this has dispelled your previously held misconceptions of the origin of the Catholic Church and Constantine's relationship to the Catholic Church.

Abiding in Christ

We've all heard that Jesus is the Vine and believers are the branches and that we must 'abide' in the vine. How does a person "abide" in the vine; that is to say, how do Christians abide in Jesus Christ our Savior? Do we abide by having faith? We all need faith in our daily journey towards our heavenly reward but that's not it. Do you abide by prayer? Prayer is important, no doubt about it. We need prayer but that's not exactly it either. Do we abide by participating in our faith? Now we're getting closer to the answer. In John 15 Jesus tells us He is The Vine and that we are the branches and that we must bear good fruit (good works) to remain part of The Vine. If we fail in this, holy scripture says the branch will be cut out and tossed into the fire. In Matt. 25:31-46 Jesus talks about the Sheep & the Goats. What separated the Sheep from the Goats was their works. The Sheep did good works, they fed the hungry and clothed the naked and visited those in prison and gave water to those who were thirsty. The Goats did none of these things, they were devoid of good works and Jesus said to them "I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' "Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life."-(Matt.31:45-46). Clearly we need not only to have faith but to act out our faith with good deeds. Jesus is saying you can't sit in the boat and say you have faith, you need to take action and show your faith as Peter did when he stepped out of the boat onto the water. When Peter wavered in his faith, his actions began to sink him but Jesus was there beside him. Jesus is still here beside us now, offering us support when we waver and fall short. One place to find this support is in our sacraments, namely Penance (Confession). If you fall, go to Confession and make things right again. We need to hold tight to our faith and bear good fruit so that we are not cut off and tossed into the fire. We should desire to abide in Christ above all things and live our lives pleasing to God. Not just our words but also by our actions (deeds or works). Jesus says the way to abide in him is by Holy Communion (John 6:56). If we eat His Flesh and drink His Blood we abide in Christ. This is the very core of our Catholic mass. This is why attending mass is so very important for Catholics. The sacraments are vital to us abiding in Jesus Christ. These are not to be taken lightly or treated as valueless 'options' to take or leave. For Catholics they are essential. Attending mass is essential. Going to Confession is essential. We need to understand the sacraments and their importance to us and our Lord. If we fail to abide in Christ we will have put our very salvation in jeopardy. He is The Vine and we are the Branches only if we abide in Him.

John 15
The True Vine
1 “I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples."

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John 6:50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.”52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?”
53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me."