Category: Catholicism

Finding the Church

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searching

I began listening to talks by John Martignoni years ago. Recently on his mailing list, he posted a series of questions about the Church, as well as their Scriptural responses. Here it is:

1. Did Jesus found a church?
Yes; Matthew 16:18

2. How many churches did Jesus found?
One. The church is the Body of Christ and there is only one body of Christ.
Romans 12:5, Ephesians 4:4, Colossians 1:18

3. So, if Jesus founded a church, then when was it founded?
2000 years ago

4. Was that church guided by the Holy Spirit?
Yes; John 14:26, John 16:13; Acts 2:3-4

5. If the church was founded by Jesus Christ and was guided by the Holy Spirit, could it teach doctrinal error?
No; 1 Tim 3:15

6. So, could we say that the church founded by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit, taught doctrinal truth infallibly – without error – to the 1st century Christians?
Yes; Luke 10:16, John 14:16-17, 1 Peter 1:12

7. Did the church of the New Testament teach different doctrinal truths to different people in different areas?
No; 2 Timothy 1:12-14, Ephesians 4:14, Titus 1:9

8. Are there any denominations in the church of the New Testament?
No. The church in the New Testament is one, just as the Body of Christ is one – 1 Corinthians 1:10, 1 Corinthians 11:18-19, Jude 19

9. Would a church founded by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit still be in existence today?
Yes; Matthew 16:18, Matthew 28:20, Ephesians 3:21

10. How old would that church be?
2000 years old

11. Would that church still be guided by the Holy Spirit?
Yes; Matthew 28:20, John 14:16

12. Could that church founded by Jesus and still guided by the Holy Spirit teach doctrinal error?
No; 1 Timothy 3:15, 1 Corinthians 12:28

13. So we could say that the church founded by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit would still teach doctrinal truth infallibly?
Yes; Luke 10:16, John 14:16-17, 1 Peter 1:12

14. Would that church founded by Jesus Christ and guided by the Holy Spirit teach different doctrinal truths to different people in different areas?
No; Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8, 1 Timothy 4:6

15. Would there be any denominations in that church?
No; 1 Corinthians 1:13

16. Can the Lutheran denomination be the church founded by Jesus in Israel 2000 years ago?
No; It was founded by Martin Luther in Germany in the 1500’s.

17. Q) Can the Anglican/Episcopalian denomination, or any of its offshoots, be the church founded by Jesus in Israel 2000 years ago?
No; It was founded by King Henry the VIII in the 1500’s because he wanted to divorce his wife.

18. Are there any Protestant, Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Fundamentalist, or Non-Denominational denominations that were founded by Jesus in Israel 2000 years ago?
No.

19. So is there any Protestant, Baptist, Evangelical, Pentecostal, Fundamentalist, or Non-Denominational denomination that could be the church founded by Jesus Christ in Israel 2000 years ago?
No.

20. So if Jesus founded a Church – one Church – in Israel 2000 years ago that was guided by the Holy Spirit and that Church is still in existence today and is still guided by the Holy Spirit, which means it teaches doctrinal truth infallibly, and there are no denominations of that Church now, just as there were no denominations of that Church 2000 years ago, then shouldn’t all Christians be in that one Church founded by Jesus?
Yes

21. Does it make sense to be in a church that was not founded by Jesus Christ in Israel 2000 years ago?
No.

22. How can we identify which Church – of the thousands upon thousands – is THE Church founded by Jesus?
The Church founded by Jesus, should at least claim to be THE Church founded by Jesus; it should be able to trace its leadership back 2000 years to the Apostles; and it should claim to be guided by the Holy Spirit and to thus teach doctrinal truth infallibly with the authority of Jesus Christ, its Founder.

23. How many churches fit that description?
One

24. Which Church is that?
The Catholic Church

Sunday Lectionary: Blessed are the unblessed

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Beatitudes

Back when I started this blog, I led a Young Adult Bible study group, so each week I would post my notes concerning the upcoming Mass Readings. My goal was to produce a commentary for the entirety of the Sunday Lectionary. However, this came to an end when I started attending an Eastern-Rite parish and handed the Bible Study over to another leader. The Eastern Churches have a different liturgical calendar and Lectionary, so the project came to an end.

This Wednesday I was leading a Bible study at a Roman-Rite parish, so I thought I would revive my tradition of posting my notes for today’s readings…

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Charlie Johnston’s Farewell

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CharlieYou may recall at the beginning of last year, I wrote an article about a man named Charlie Johnston, a Catholic layman who claimed to have been visited by Jesus, as well as by a number of Saints and angels.

As a result of these visitations, Charlie warned people of a coming “storm”, a series of catastrophic and calamitous events which he said would befall humanity. While he wasn’t predicting the end of the world, his descriptions of economic collapse and widespread war certainly carried with them an apocalyptic character. Although he said that it would be a very dark time, Charlie promised that the Immaculate Heart of Mary would ultimately triumph and this victory would usher in a period of unity and peace.

At the time I wrote that earlier post, Charlie had already been on my radar for some time. Although I had reservations concerning his teachings, I was rather impressed with the way he seemed to be operating. He was obedient to his Bishop and was also under spiritual direction. Despite the content of much of his message, he ultimately presented it as one of hope. Finally, there was nothing to suggest that he was attempting to profit from his message in any way. As a result, despite my skepticism regarding his predictions, I defended Charlie against those who immediately dismissed him as “crazy”, or who called him “a charlatan” or “liar”.

Having said that, I was becoming increasingly concerned. Quite a few of my friends had enthusiastically embraced Charlie’s message and I started to worry about the effect of his teachings upon them. When one of my friends cancelled an out-of-state trip for fear that it might coincide with Charlie’s “storm”, I decided that it was time to speak openly about my concerns…

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TEA: How I met your Blessed Mother (St. Brigid)

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Mary

Last night I led Bible study at a local parish and I was asked to give an informal talk beforehand on the Virgin Mary.

My talk was entitled “How I met your (Blessed) Mother” and in it I told a little bit of my story and explained how I overcame my deep-seated resistance concerning Mary and how I ultimately came to embrace the Catholic teaching concerning the Blessed Mother.

Some friends couldn’t make it last night and asked me to record the talk, so for anyone who would like to hear it, the audio is available below.

How I met your (Blessed) Mother (Download)

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