Defending The Faith!

The recent wonderful visit to the United States by Pope Francis, and the response to it, especially from the evangelical community, bought to the forefront the need for all of us, as Catholics, to have the knowledge to defend our faith. The sheer hatred toward the Pope, based on lies, myths, and comments taken out of context surprised even me. Especially from the source of that hatred.....I had sort of expected our brothers and sisters in Christ to be a bit more accepting, and the vitriol to come from the left. I was so very wrong. And, the news pundits? Don’t get me started.

It underlined the need for apologetics. Too many Catholics go to Mass because they were raised Catholic, and always have gone, without understanding the need nor possessing the knowledge to defend our faith. We are the Church that Christ Himself founded. All the others broke off from us, for one reason or another. That is the fact. I was stunned at how many Catholics have no clue as to the basis of their faith, and how to defend it.

It is something that we all need to spend time on.....as Catholics we need to know why we believe, and we are charged with passing it on to our youngsters. I teach and spend a lot of time with the youth of our parish, and I’m always surprised that while they get the love, peace, and all of that, quite a number of them do not realize that the Church, and the Papacy, was actually instituted by Jesus Christ, Himself. They do not realize the Scriptural basis of everything from the Rosary and devotion to Our Lady, Purgatory, all the rest of it. They are unaware of the Scriptural basis and the institution of the Sacraments, which is paramount in the difference between the Church Christ founded, and other Christian denominations. I also tell them, that, as far as I concerned, without the Sacraments it’s all just talk. I explain to them that their faith will be attacked, quoting individual bible verses to make their point. I explain to them that a knowledge of Scripture that verifies the teachings of the Church can turn that right around. Now, I have no problem with evangelicals, save that so many of them have a problem with us being Catholics. Some seem to have taken it upon themselves to go ‘get’ Catholics by using bible verses, unaware that everything we do and teach has Scriptural verification to it. The sad part is that so many are led astray.

This is something I emphasize, and spend a lot of time on it in my classes. I also give to them the irrefutable facts about the institution of the Church, and that it can pointed out in the Bible, and can be verified countless times in Old Testament prophecy and all the through the New Testament. I also hit hard how the Church does not have the right to tell them what to do. More importantly, the Church has been the task of telling what Jesus taught! Christ gave us free will, we all make choices.

I also touch on other subjects, such as the abuses and the disingenuous folks that have arisen to positions of power from time to time. I explain to them that even though there are some individuals that have made efforts to destroy it, from within, and without, the Church still stands. It is still Christ’s Church, and He said the ‘gates of hell will not stand against it’. So many despots, tyrants, and power brokers have tried to destroy it.....they are all gone, the Church still stands. "Upon this rock I will build MY CHURCH". In other words, He is still in charge.

As Catholics we don’t need to take a back seat to anyone when it comes to knowing and living Holy Scripture. It is time we start emphasizing that.