Father John J. Lombardi & Stephen Quinn
Read
History of the Church:
Part
II,
Part
III,
Part IV
Ever hear the statements
like: "How can the Catholic Church, which has
done its own injustices, dare to condemn
abortion!?", or: "The Crusades were really a
fabrication of power-hungry popes to steal lands
and valuables from peaceful Muslims while
forcing their conversions." How do we as
Catholics react to these when confronted with
the so-called "sordid" history of our Church?
Well, not everyone
thinks the facts of history paint the Catholic
Church in such a bad light. In fact, the
founders of the American nation and rulers of
Europe were comprised of mainly white Anglo
Saxon Protestants who failed to recognize the
historical contributions from certain groups of
people such as women, minority groups, and yes,
Catholics. Are we guilty of not recognizing the
contributions of others? Perhaps we are guilty
of taking credit for works or deeds done by
others or presenting our contributions in turn
of others?
Historians such as
Cardinal John Newman, Hilaire Belloc, and
Matthew Arnold help us cut through the faulty
journalism of modern revisionists responsible
for certain public school text books and media
bias with a specific agenda to provide an
authentic roadmap free from bias.
Archbishop Fulton Sheen
neatly divided the past 2000 years into four
parts of 500 years, briefly highlighting central
conflicts:
- The first 500 years
saw arguments about the nature of God: How
many natures?, how many persons in God? How
many wills?
- The second 500 years
saw arguments concerning the authority of the
head of the Church on earth, namely the
papacy. This caused the division we now refer
to as the Eastern and Western Church…We could
call this Man without the Authority of the
Pope.
- The third 500 years
saw arguments concerning the body of the
Church. This period of history challenged the
visible Church body as nonexistent and the
sacrificial character of the priesthood and
the sacraments…Man without the Church.
- The past 500 years
provides the battleground for secularism
versus the religion in general…Man without
God.
Do we know our church
history? Are we defenders of the Bride of
Christ-the Holy Catholic Church--or do we
"apologize" for the supposed "barbarism and
evil" perpetrated by the Catholic Church? We can
defend our Church and help others to understand
the true history only by knowing it ourselves.
Combating heresies
played a major role in the Church's development
of her understanding of the mysteries of her
Faith. Likewise today, combating false doctrine
helps us to better understand our faith. St.
Peter wrote, "There will also be false teachers
among you, who will secretly introduce
destructive heresies, even denying the Master
who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon
themselves" (2 Peter 2:1). Thus: People will
distort the Truth of Christ and His Catholic
Unity.
Even before the time of
Christ, some people misunderstood or
deliberately tried to change revealed truth.
This fact should not surprise us, because we are
fallen sinners who don't always cooperate with
grace, and might be influenced by outside
factors or interior sinfulness to twist God's
revelation. The Old Testament Law dealt
forwardly with people who did not want to obey
it: "The man who acts presumptuously by not
listening to the priest who stands there to
serve the Lord your God, nor to the judge, that
man shall die; thus you shall purge the evil
from Israel" (Deuteronomy 17:8-12-19). St. Paul
writes of the New Testament Church, "For the
time will come when men will not put up with
sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own
desires, they will gather around them a great
number of teachers to say what their itching
ears want to hear" (2 Tim 4:3). For this reason,
it is necessary to discuss a seemingly negative
circumstance (of heresy) to illuminate the
historical context in which the Church was
called to action. Do we "Take heed unto thyself
and unto thy doctrine for in doing so you will
save yourself and those of them that hear you"
(1 Timothy 4:16).
Realize: people will
invent new kinds of beliefs (homosexuality and
abortion are normal, o.k.; we don't need Jesus
to forgive sins, etc.), and try to lead others
astray from Jesus' Church and Way of Life.
We now need to ask,
"What is a heresy?" The Catechism of the
Catholic Church states, "Incredulity is the
neglect of revealed truth or the willful refusal
to assent to it. Heresy is the obstinate
post-baptismal denial of some truth which must
be believed with divine and Catholic faith, or
it is likewise an obstinate doubt concerning the
same; apostasy is the total repudiation of the
Christian faith; schism is the refusal of
submission to the Roman Pontiff or of communion
with the members of the Church subject to him"
(# 2089). With this definition in mind, let's
briefly explore the first 500 years of the
Church.
The First 500 Years:
As a matter of history,
the first instance of heresy that required the
pope to define doctrine can be found in the
Bible (Acts 15) with a people called the
Judaziers. They taught the Gentiles had to be
circumcised in addition to baptism to enter the
new covenant. Remember that circumcision was the
old covenant method for entering the kingdom of
God and ultimately receiving salvation. Paul's
and Barnabas' mission included the power of God
to heal (Acts 14:8), but they did not have
authority to settle doctrinal debates. Such is
the distribution of gifts and powers among the
economy of God's salvation. Resultantly, the
local church sent them to the church "in
Jerusalem to the apostles and presbyters" about
this question (an implicit proof of the
supremacy of the Pope and the visible Church
magisterium. We are thankful for St. Peter's
successor, Pope John Paul II, in helping us know
and love Truth.)
"When they arrived in
Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church, as
well as by the apostles and the presbyters," and
Paul and Barnabas presented the doctrinal issue
(Acts 15:4). The apostles and the presbyters met
together to see about this matter. After much
debate had taken place, Peter, to whom Jesus had
given the key to His Kingdom, arose and said to
them, "My brothers, you are well aware that from
the early days God has made His choice among you
that through my mouth the Gentiles would hear
the word of the gospel and believe" (Acts
15:6-6). Peter then says, "we believe that we
are saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus,
in the same way as they. The whole assembly fell
silent… After they had fallen silent, James
responded, 'My brothers, listen to me, Symeon
has described how God first concerned himself
with acquiring from among the Gentiles a people
for his name;'"(Acts 15), thus supporting
Peter's position.
Saint John Chrysostom
best explains this exchange citing the authority
of Peter as well: "This (James) was bishop, as
they say, and therefore he speaks last, and
herein is fulfilled that saying, "In the mouth
of two or three witnesses shall every word be
established" (Deut. 17:6; Matt. 18:16). But
observe the discretion shown by him also, in
making his argument good from the prophets, both
new and old. For he had no acts of his own to
declare, as Peter had and Paul. And indeed it is
wisely ordered that this (the active) part is
assigned to those, as not intended to be locally
fixed in Jerusalem, whereas (James) here, who
performs the part of teacher, is no way
responsible for what has been done, while
however he is not divided from them in opinion.
'Men and brethren,' he says, 'hearken unto me.'
Great is the moderation of the man. His also is
a more complete oration, as indeed it puts
completion to the matter under discussion."
Although the argument of
the Judaziers has been settled for years, the
early heresy of Gnosticism has resurfaced in
various religions such as Jehovah's Witnesses
and others who would add requirements to Jesus'
teachings on salvation and oppose the Catholic
Church.
You may remember from a
couple weeks ago, we talked about a book that
has been on the New York's best sellers list for
10 weeks called "The DaVince Code" by Dan Brown.
In it, Brown brings back several Gnostic ideas
from the 2nd century heresy of Gnosticism. St.
Ireaneas wrote many letters against the heresy
and is held as great a defender of the true
faith. Are we defenders of the true faith?
Gnostics' false
doctrines typically sprang from a general denial
that things are what they seem. They held that
the Bible's doctrines were simply a cover for
"secret knowledge" that only the clever could
know. For instance, one strand of Gnosticism
held that matter was evil, and that salvation
came from severe asceticism, which included
denying marriage and sex. All strands of
Gnosticism denied the Incarnation, and said that
Jesus wasn't really one in Being with the Father
and Holy Spirit. How would we combat these false
notions?
Let's summarize:
- "Lex orandi, lex
credendi"-means the law of prayer is the
source of belief. Catholics always believed
Jesus is God (unlike gsnostics), with two
wills (one divine, one human-unlike
monothelitists-who thought He had only one
will), and that God was a Trinity of Divine
Persons (Arians believed Jesus was not God).
The Church usually prays what she believes and
then codifies it once it has been documented
and verified. Let's thank our spiritual
friends of the past who preserved this
connection between prayer and belief and pass
on the right beliefs to others.
- The Catholic Church
preserved-even codified (chapter and
verse)-the Bible as we know it. The Church
defended authentic Scripture against wrongful
scriptures. St Paul instructed the earliest
Christians to follow the traditions of the
apostles (I Cor. 11:2; 2 Th 2:15). Thus, if
the Catholic unity established by Jesus had
not continued, authenticated by the Holy
Spirit's guidance, many in early Christianity
would have become heretical or "spiritually
sick" from bad doctrine. Instead of believing
the Catholic Church is non-biblical or
biblically illiterate, perhaps we can focus on
the fact that she actually gave us the Bible
(as we discussed in last week's bulletin)-and
be grateful?
- The Church read both
the Scriptures and other holy writings to
discern Jesus Christ's true nature-both true
God and true Man. The Church, early on, thru
her "reading of the Old Testament and Jesus'
sayings and extent gospel writings, gained the
ability to truly define Jesus in the right way
(as we believe today). Saints died as martyrs
to bring us these truths… are we grateful in
our hearts? How can you believe even more
Jesus Christ's true nature, and the need of
the Catholic Church to teach in the right
ways?
- What is essential and
what is not: The early Church discerned (thru
St Paul) that circumcision was not essential
to the Faith; but belief in a Trinitarian God,
and Christ's divinity was. We can sometimes
confuse the essentials of Christianity with
secondary customs. We can also extrematize and
throw out all seemingly secondary things. How
can you both believe in, and practice, the
essentials (love God and neighbor) while not
throwing out other, secondary things, like
fasting and praying in certain ways? We need
the Church's wisdom and guidance in these
matters lest we become Pharisees (legalists)
or modernists (minimalists).
-Read the Bible with the
"analogy of Faith"-with the whole of our Church
history and helps-the saints and holy
teachers-at your side. Don't neglect the organic
and Holy Spirit-guided interpretations which
have gone before you.
-Know the Bible and the
Church go together: don't try to separate them
or use them apart. They are twin fonts of
revelation and we should rely on them.
Read
History of the Church:
Part
II,
Part
III,
Part IV
Briefly Noted
Grotto Story: Sister
Pierre, Administrator of St. Joseph's Hospital,
was commissioned to find a suitable piece of
property on which to build a new hospital. The
one property which matched the needs of the
sisters was owned by a woman who was not
disposed to sell her land for "Catholic
purposes." Sister Pierre made a pilgrimage of
petition to the Grotto of Lourdes in Emmitsburg.
When she emerged from the car, she tripped and
rolled down an embankment, some 25 feet, and
landed in a patch of poison ivy. This was about
3 o'clock. She proceeded to the Grotto and laid
her petitions as the feet of the virgin. When
she arrived back in Baltimore, at St. Joseph's
Hospital, she found much to her delight, that
exactly at 3 o'clock the reluctant seller called
and finally agreed to sell the property.
Sometimes God humbles us right before He exalts
us!
Walk with Jesus and
Mary: Sat., Oct. 25---9:30 am meet at Seton
Shrine (you may park at Grotto and ride shuttle
van to Seton Shrine); 10 am Rosary Walk to
Grotto; 11 am Marian music by Mark Forrest;
12:15 am Mass.