The Papists

Anon, you’re not alone! Lots of people, including myself, have doubts or have had doubts about what we believe to be the pinnacle of our Catholic faith.

The Eucharist is the ultimate source of life for the soul, because in both species, it’s Jesus’ body and blood, soul and divinity. We know this because in the Gospel, Jesus referred to himself as the Bread of Life, He told us that if we don’t eat the flesh of the Son of Man, we will die, and He commanded us to “do this in memory of me:”

Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6: 35)

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (John 6: 53-58)

While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.” (Mark 14: 22-24)

Then he took the bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which will be given for you; do this in memory of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.” (Luke 22: 19-20)

As Catholics, we take all of these statements literally. We don’t believe the bread and wine are symbols of Jesus, we believe they actually are Jesus. And this is a tough bullet to bite! Why would the God of the Universe tell people to eat bread and drink wine (which was supposedly His body and blood) in Give us this day our daily bread” section of the Our Father. Says the Catechism #2387:

2837“Daily” (epiousios) occurs nowhere else in the New Testament. Taken in a temporal sense, this word is a pedagogical repetition of “this day,”¹²⁸to confirm us in trust “without reservation.” Taken in the qualitative sense, it signifies what is necessary for life, and more broadly every good thing sufficient for subsistence.¹²⁹Taken literally (epi-ousios: “super-essential”), it refers directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the “medicine of immortality,” without which we have no life within us.¹³⁰Finally in this connection, its heavenly meaning is evident: “this day” is the Day of the Lord, the day of the feast of the kingdom, anticipated in the Eucharist that is already the foretaste of the kingdom to come. For this reason it is fitting for the Eucharistic liturgy to be celebrated each day.

The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and made members of him, we may become what we receive. . . . This also is our daily bread: the readings you hear each day in church and the hymns you hear and sing. All these are necessities for our pilgrimage.¹³¹

The Father in heaven urges us, as children of heaven, to ask for the bread of heaven. [Christ] himself is the bread who, sown in the Virgin, raised up in the flesh, kneaded in the Passion, baked in the oven of the tomb, reserved in churches, brought to altars, furnishes the faithful each day with food from heaven.¹³²

Taken literally, the Eucharist is our daily bread. But why bread? I think that Jesus chose bread because it’s something that’s accessible to everyone: everyone understands we need food to live, and every believer understands we need God to live, so why not combine the two? In the Eucharist, God takes a mere symbol of life (bread for a mortal body) and turns it into actual life (His body, given up for the immortal soul). Isn’t that neat?

All this information aside, it’s still tough to believe, especially when you’re at Mass and the incense is choking your lungs, there are screaming children at the back of the church, someone’s cell phone goes off, your nose itches, your knees hurt from kneeling because you got the pew that didn’t have the padding, ad infinitum. There are a ton of reasons as to why our “experience” of God (especially during the Eucharistic prayer and most especially during the Consecration—the highest part of the Mass) doesn’t always feel the same. I find that I “experience” the Eucharist better at youth rallies, retreats and other gatherings. Sure, we can have warm fuzzy feelings about the Eucharist when packed into a crowded gymnasium full of other young crazy people who are also on fire for Christ, but does the actual Eucharist itself change from a retreat setting to a boring, home parish setting? Of course not! Jesus makes Himself present at every valid Mass, regardless of who believes and what emotional circumstances they find themselves in. And that’s the beauty of the Catholic faith: God is present in the transubstantiated bread and wine even if we don’t believe it. It still happens no matter what! 

There’s one miracle in particular that I want to focus on: The Miracle at Lanciano.

During Holy Mass, after the two-fold consecration, the host was changed into live Flesh and the wine was changed into live Blood, which coagulated into five globules, irregular and differing in shape and size.

… 

[A]nalyses were conducted with absolute and unquestionable scientific precision and they were documented with a series of microscopic photographs.
These analyses sustained the following conclusions:

• The Flesh is real Flesh. The Blood is real Blood.
• The Flesh and the Blood belong to the human species.
• The Flesh consists of the muscular tissue of the heart.

So basically, a priest was doubting the presence of Jesus in the Eucharist (just like you!) and the accidents of the bread and wine actually turned into flesh and blood! It always gets me. I mean, I don’t think it would have happened unless God wanted to tell us that the transubstantiated bread actually is His body and the wine actually is His blood. It’s amazing, really. 

Last question: “How can I believe?” 

That’s a hard one to answer. I don’t think there’s anything you can do about it on your own. However, ask the Holy Spirit to give you a spirit of knowledge and understanding the next time you’re in Eucharistic Adoration! Sometimes, things just ‘click,’ and you say to yourself, “yeah. That’s the Body of Christ.” It’s happened to me a bunch of times. 

I’ll be praying for you!!

-Olivier

PS: Here’s a list of Eucharistic Miracles

The priesthood is having a problem with pedophilia in the same way that teachers, coaches, ministers, parents, imams, rabbis and other adult demographics are having a problem with pedophilia. 

Pedophilia, as Javi pointed out, is not a Catholic problem. It’s more of a “original-sin-entered-the-world-and-now-we-have-to-deal-with-it” kind of problem. 

The major difference between the Church and other organizations, however, is that we are doing our absolute hardest to prevent it from happening. I, for one, have seen the dramatic increase in the hoops you have to jump through in order to serve in youth ministry. I have to get a criminal record check, sign waivers, do screening with the diocese, etc… just so I can work with minors. 

I hope this answers your question!

-Olivier

Phillip’s 2¢ -When I explain to priests that I am in application with my diocese for priestly formation and tell them everything that is involved with the process, 9 out of 10 reactions are along the lines of, “Wow, we never had to do all of that back when we applied.” The application process has definitely become much more complex, from fingerprints sent to the FBI and Dept. of Justice to full-blown psychological assessments. Undoubtedly inspired by the abuse of the past decades, the Catholic Church is making a concerted effort to screen applicants thoroughly before they begin seminary, let alone are ordained.

I agree with Olivier, though: this is not only a problem of the Catholic priesthood, this is a problem of fallen humanity.

For those of you who don’t know, this is the Third Secret:

I write in obedience to you, my God, who command me to do so through his Excellency the Bishop of Leiria and through your Most Holy Mother and mine. After the two parts which I have already explained, at the left of Our Lady and a little above, we saw an Angel with a flaming sword in his left hand; flashing, it gave out flames that looked as though they would set the world on fire; but they died out in contact with the splendour that Our Lady radiated towards him from her right hand: pointing to the earth with his right hand, the Angel cried out in a loud voice: ‘Penance, Penance, Penance!’. And we saw in an immense light that is God: ‘something similar to how people appear in a mirror when they pass in front of it’ a Bishop dressed in White ‘we had the impression that it was the Holy Father’. Other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious going up a steep mountain, at the top of which there was a big Cross of rough-hewn trunks as of a cork-tree with the bark; before reaching there the Holy Father passed through a big city half in ruins and half trembling with halting step, afflicted with pain and sorrow, he prayed for the souls of the corpses he met on his way; having reached the top of the mountain, on his knees at the foot of the big Cross he was killed by a group of soldiers who fired bullets and arrows at him, and in the same way there died one after another the other Bishops, Priests, men and women Religious, and various lay people of different ranks and positions. Beneath the two arms of the Cross there were two Angels each with a crystal aspersorium in his hand, in which they gathered up the blood of the Martyrs and with it sprinkled the souls that were making their way to God.

Funny story, actually. Cardinal Ratzinger (before he became Pope Benedict XVI) commented on the revelation and said this:

A careful reading of the text of the so-called third ‘secret’ of Fatima … will probably prove disappointing or surprising after all the speculation it has stirred. No great mystery is revealed; nor is the future unveiled.

The purpose of the vision is not to show a film of an irrevocably fixed future. Its meaning is exactly the opposite: it is meant to mobilize the forces of change in the right direction.

… 

[The meaning of the secret notes] the exhortation to prayer as the path of ‘salvation for souls’ and, likewise, the summons to penance and conversion.

I don’t know about an earthquake, but I think it’s important to see that the message of third secret sticks out (and is ever-relevant): Repent and turn to God!

God bless, and I hope this answers the question!

-Olivier

RE: The Abuse Scandal

I recommend that your friend read these facts!

RE: Should The Church Have Never Existed?

Shorter answer: No!

Longer answer: Jesus Christ affirmed in the Gospel that His Church was 1) built on Peter, the first Pope, and 2) would conquer any obstacles it would face:

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. (Matthew 16:18)

Jesus is telling us that even amidst corrupt Popes, World Wars, Reformations, communism, heresies of all shades, the selling of indulgences, relative morality, and other evils, He was and is with us through it all. 

In the Church founded by Christ, we have nothing to fear. We’ve thrived for 2000 years on the grace of God, and we will continue to do so! We’ve had many bumps along the way (and the largely misunderstood clerical sex abuse scandal is one of them), but we shouldn’t let them stop us from sticking on the road to heaven.

And besides, I would rather have a God-given institution that gave me the chance to encounter Him in a deeply personal way (the Sacraments) than wallow alone in my sins! And on a similar note, we  can’t forget all of the charitable work that the Church does to help the less fortunate of this planet. Without the Church, I’d say that people of this world would be in a much worse place. 

Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam,

-Olivier

Hey! Well, I’d say forgiveness from God can only happen if two straightforward conditions are met. One, the act needs to be a sin, and two, the person needs to be sorry for that sin and needs to be seeking forgiveness. 

As a Catholic, I believe there are a there are basic conditions for a mortal sin (a sin that really separates us from God in a big way):

1. It needs to be a serious offence against God (called grave matter).
2. You need to know it’s a sin.
3. You need to commit it of your own free will.

If you commit a mortal sin, according to Catholic tradition, you should be rushing to confession with a true spirit a repentance to get your sins absolved as per John 20:23. We also believe that if someone dies in a state of mortal sin, their soul runs a serious risk of going to Hell, because they chose to turn away from God. For this, we have Divine Mercies :)

If any of these conditions aren’t met, then it’s not a mortal sin on your soul. If you know something is a sin, and you commit it of your own free will, but it’s not a huge offence against God, then it’s what we call a venial sin. It doesn’t sever your relationship with God, but it’s not great for it, either.

So if the person was unaware they committed a sin, but found out later, and was repentant, I can’t see why they wouldn’t be forgiven. If they don’t know it’s a sin and never find out, then it’s really not their fault and they don’t need forgiveness for something they didn’t know was wrong. 

Hope this makes sense! God bless :)

-Olivier

From the YouCat:

The Church believes that “the most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege of almighty God and by virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune from all stain of original sin.”

Belief in the Immaculate Conception has existed since the beginning of the Church. … It is saying that God preserved Mary from original sin from the very beginning. 

So, from the very beginning, Mary had no original sin. This is not to say that Mary is divine - she is not. She is fully human, simply “preserved from original sin” at her conception. This was necessary for Mary to be the mother of God because Christ, who is fully human yet fully divine, could not dwell in a place where sin exists, since He Himself is perfect and without sin.

I hope this helps. Feel free to contact us with any further questions.

Grace be with you!

+Jordan

My good friends over at EWTN have a really good answer to this, but I’ll just try to expand a little.

When you “offer up a mass for an intention,” what you’re doing is bringing a prayer to God (can be a prayer of thanksgiving, supplication, contrition, adoration etc…) in the holiest of settings, that is, the Catholic Mass.

Father McNamara says this about the Mass:

[T]he Church considers the Mass as the greatest possible prayer of intercession insofar as it is the perfect offering of Christ to the Father by making present the paschal mystery of his death and resurrection. 

Basically, the whole point of prayer is because we want God to hear us and answer us according to His will. So, what better way to do this than in the intimate presence of the Eucharist?

Regarding what specifically happens when you offer up a Mass, well, that’s up to God. Be assured however, that as long as you come to Mass with honest and good-natured intentions, God will reward you and anyone involved in your intentions with grace :)

I hope this answers your question. If you’re specifically wondering about stipends, I recommend reading through the technicalities that Father McNamara outlines in the link at the start of the post. 

-Olivier

If you can’t do it before the *official* relationship starts, then I’m afraid you’ve found the wrong person ;)

-Olivier

People go to Hell when they make the open and informed decision to reject God and His Love. I believe that a Protestant will go to Hell for not choosing God in the same way that I believe a Catholic will go to Hell for not choosing God. However, it’s not for me to judge if someone goes to Hell or not. I only know that one goes to Hell when one decides to reject God.

God alone sees a person’s soul and the true circumstances of their actions, so it would be arrogant to say that Protestants go to Hell. As Catholics, we’re just here to communicate the Fullness of the Faith :)

-Olivier

Hey, good question.  I think its more of a ‘reminder’ if you will.  But it shouldn’t just be a reminder.  It should show a deepening of our faith.  Here’s a great pamphlet I found:

~

Lent means “springtime.” It is the springtime of our life in the Spirit. Lent is a special gift of God to His people. It is an opportunity to imitate Jesus as He fasted forty days in the desert. During Lent, we can walk with the catechumens as they prepare for the greatest event of their lives: receiving the sacrament of Baptism on Easter Vigil. In this way, we can prepare for one of the greatest moments of the year — the renewal of our baptismal promises. This renewal is so important that the Church offers this opportunity on the greatest day of the year, Easter Sunday, at every Mass in every Catholic church in the world. Pope John Paul II has taught: “It is no exaggeration to say that the entire existence of the lay faithful has as its purpose to lead a person to a knowledge of the radical newness of the Christian life that comes from Baptism” (Lay Members of Christ’s Faithful People, 10).

The renewal of our baptismal promises is the goal of Lent. All our Lenten activities should move us toward this goal. For example, when we go to Confession during Lent, it has an added significance. Our Lenten Confessions should prepare us to reject Satan, all his works, and all his empty promises and to make a deep act of faith in the Father, Son, and Spirit.

When we give alms, pray, and fast during Lent, we should do so secretly and sacrificially (see Mt 6:1-18). We should let the Lord put us in a position where we need help, when no one but our heavenly Father knows our need. Then, when our Father provides, we will know that He did it, for He was the only One Who knew our need. Thus we will have a greater faith in our Father. This will encourage us to simplify our life-style, which will give God the Father more opportunities to father us. We will then be in a life-style of ever-increasing faith. This kind of life-style is the best context for renewing our baptismal promises.

When we read, pray, and study God’s word during Lent, we are not merely reading for information or inspiration. We are reading to grow in faith, for faith comes through hearing and hearing through the word of God (Rm 10:17). With our faith growing deeper, we are preparing to make the greatest act of faith: the renewal of our baptismal promises.

When we see that all the roads of Lent lead to the renewal of our baptismal promises, we understand that a “good Lent” does not merely mean that we’ve gone to Confession and have been faithful to our Lenten practices. This is a necessary start, but a good Lent also means:

1. I have repented of all sin in my life and have gone to Confession. Despite my weakness, by God’s grace, I’ve committed myself to obeying the Lord. Therefore, I can renounce Satan and be protected from his retaliation (see Acts 19:13 ff). I can use my authority over him and bring down his strongholds (see 2 Cor 10:4).
2. The extent of my penitential practices has put me in a position where I obviously needed God’s practical help immediately. My heavenly Father has fathered me, and I now have a deeper faith than ever before.
3. God’s word is burning inside me (Lk 24:32). My communication with God is better than ever and my faith is stronger than ever.

If the Lord has His way, the renewal of our baptismal promises on Easter Sunday will be the greatest act of faith of our lives. Even if we previously have totally committed our lives to the Father, Son, and Spirit, this Easter’s renewal of our baptismal promises should not be a re-run. The love which God has poured out on our lives since last Easter should bear fruit in the deepest expression of faith in God that we have ever made.

In preparation for the renewal of your baptismal promises, review the six questions of the baptismal promises.

Celebrant: Do you reject Satan?

Response: I do.

Celebrant: And all his works?

Response: I do.

Celebrant: And all his empty promises?

Response: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth?

Response: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, Who was born of the Virgin Mary, was crucified, died, and was buried, rose from the dead, and is now seated at the right hand of the Father?

Response: I do.

Celebrant: Do you believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting?

Response: I do.

Now renew your baptismal promises. Answer “I do” to each of the six questions. Renewing these promises is a way of making a total commitment of our lives to God. This is the most important decision a human being can make. Give your life to the Lord. Decide to live for Him and not for yourself (2 Cor 5:15). Respond to His total love with your total love. After making this new act of faith, you will notice major changes in your life. Write and tell us the good news.

P.S. Check the date of your Baptism and celebrate your baptismal anniversary each year.

Nihil obstat: Reverend Edward J. Gratsch, January 23, 1992
Imprimatur: † Reverend James H. Garland, Auxiliary Bishop of Archdiocese of Cincinnati, January 23, 1992

The Nihil obstat and Imprimatur are a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free from doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil obstat and Imprimatur agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.

~

-Niko