Theology

The Holy Mother Church may be likened to an oyster. On the outside, clinging to its borders, are all kinds of foul-smelling parasites that seek to kill the oyster. But should one take the effort to pry it open he will find a delicious morsel of meat swimming in salted water, and if he is very lucky a rich pearl, all surrounded by mother of pearl.

So too is the Catholic Church. Clinging to Her borders are many wicked pseudo-Christian Catholics whose only goal is to destroy Her and Her children. But should one take the time to look into Her history and Her teachings, he will find a spiritually nourishing Eucharist, salted with faith, and a richly rewarding treasure of truthful teachings. He will also find that these teachings and Eucharist have been protected from heresy by Mother Mary and the saints of God.

Many will profess that the Catholic Church just teaches Her version of the gospels. Those who claim such also teach a “branched Christianity,” with the Catholic Church being just another branch of one giant Christian Church. But they are incorrect. First of all, there cannot be a “branched Christianity” because this would have God teaching a different belief to all His children, as each Christian Church has a teaching that is different from other Christian Churches.

This is division and the Holy Bible teaches against this division: One Lord, one faith, one Baptism (Eph.4:5).

Secondly, the whole Christian revelation was delivered by our Lord to the apostles. A major portion of these beliefs (not all of them) can be found in the Apostles Creed (Nicene Creed). What the Mother Church has done since the time of the apostles is augment and clarify Her teachings. She has done this by taking the teachings of Jesus Christ and the law of God found in the scriptures and applying His words and His law to contemporary situations.

Third, the Christian Religion is made up of the faithful, which is also known as the congregation. But the Catholic Church is not founded upon Her congregation, as many individuals mistakenly believe. She is founded upon Her teachings, given to Her by our Lord. It is Her teachings that our Lord, working through the Holy Spirit, has held up as a guiding light to a darkened world.

The Catholic Church is the instrument through which God officially communicates with His children. One can “see” and “hear” God communicating with His children all the time through many different media, particularly through the many different churches and religions. But these are unofficial communiqués. His Mother Church is the method through which He officially communicates with His children. She is the instrument through which God teaches mankind. She is founded upon Her teachings, not Her faithful.

It is easy to search through the history of the Catholic Church and see the many times that She has changed her position and then claim that such changes proves that Her teachings are just as fallible as those of any other church or religion. However, these changes concerned Her policy, not her teachings. Her teachings have never changed.

As for her changing policy, when the hierarchy of the Mother Church discover that Her policy is in error, then they, guided by the Holy Spirit, will change the direction She is going and thereby bring Her back on the course that our Lord wants Her to follow. The Catholic Church does not break-up into warring factions and sects, each with a different teaching. She changes Her policy and begins to do the will of God. Hence, She is a sailing ship at sea tacking left and then tacking right.

The hierarchy of the Catholic Church may be likened to officers of a sailing ship and the parishioners are the seamen. Jesus Christ is the owner of the ship; the reigning pontiff is merely the captain. The captain and the officers must answer to our Lord in how they commanded His ship while they were on watch (Heb.13:17).

A classic example of this may be seen in the dissension that arose in the fledgling Catholic Church about circumcision (Act.15:1-11). Inspired by the Holy Spirit, St. Paul and St. Barnabas went to St. Peter in order to get a final decision on which course of action the Mother Church should follow. It was St. Peter, acting as the head of the church, who made the final decision in this matter, (Act.15:7) and all the other churches established by the apostles followed St. Peter’s advice.

In this way, the children of God are assured that they are doing the right thing when they follow the teachings of the Catholic Church. The children of God know that they are safe in following the teachings of the Catholic Church, for they know that when the Catholic Church begins to stray off course, then our Lord will keep His promise (Mt.16:18-19; 28:19-20) and inspire one of His children to cause Her to do His will.

Thus, even when one knows that the hierarchy of the Mother Church is not doing the will of God, one is not justified in refusing to obey them. Just as a seaman aboard a ship at sea must obey his captain, (who is not the owner of the ship) so also must parishioners obey the bishops (who are not the owners of the Catholic Church).

At present there is a dissension in the policy of the Catholic Church in Her stand in not allowing women to become priests and in not allowing priests to get married. Many claim that such is an ungodly policy. But they are not looking at Heb.13:17. Women cannot become priests and priests cannot get married until the Holy See in Rome changes the policy of the Mother Church.

While it is true that there is nothing wrong with women becoming priests and allowing priests to get married, this is not the present policy of the Catholic Church. The present policy is what all faithful Catholics must accept until such time that the Holy Father in Rome changes it.

It is also easy to search through the history of the Catholic Church and see the blasphemy of many of Her deacons, the infidelity of many of Her nuns, the materialism of many of Her priests, the ungodliness of many of Her bishops and the impiety of many of Her popes and then deny the apostolicity of the Roman Catholic Church. History is full of the ungodly, materialistic and politically minded clergy of the Catholic Church.

From Her very beginning She has had pseudo-Christians try to destroy Her. Ananias and Saphira tried to infiltrate Her by fraud (Act.5:1-10). Later, St. Paul wrote of them (2Cor.11:13-15; 1Tim.4:1-2; Phlp.3:2; & Col.2:8). St. John wrote of them (3Jn.9-10). St. Jude also wrote of the many who would try to destroy the Catholic Church (Jude,15-19).

Nor should one forget about the Inquisition. There is no telling how many innocent victims went to their deaths, denounced by anonymous witnesses and forced, through the use of brutal torture at the hands of self-serving hierarchy, to confess nonexistent sins.

This unfaithfulness has not even excluded the highest positions of the Catholic Church. E. R. Chamberlin, in the book The Bad Popes, has shown how the Holy See and the cardinal offices that surround it have been misused by the sensual, self-centered hierarchy of this world.

There is virtually no place in the Mother Church where Satan has not put its evil finger. No facet of Her has gone without being attacked by this foul wretch. She has been under continual attack from all sides from the moment of Her conception and, as anyone can discover, history has shown how often it is that the gates of hell “seem” to have prevailed over the Roman Catholic Church.

Although it is a simple statement of truth that many (not all) hierarchy of the Catholic Church have been (and still are) sinful, materialistic minded individuals, this is only a small part of the total picture. Such an examination does not include the thousands of saints produced by the Mother Church. Nor does such an examination include the most important part of the picture – Her teachings.

This is what the many individuals who have abandoned Her and condemned Her failed to perceive. They looked at Her outward appearance and cared naught for Her inner features. These wolves-in-sheep’s clothing looked at the cockroaches that attach athemselves to her borders, not at the pearl of truth She teaches or the Mother of God and Saints who protect her.

The Catholic Church is not now, never has been and never will be built upon the many bloodsucking leaches that cling to Her like so many parasites. Those who judge the Catholic Church by the actions of these wolves are themselves wolves-in-sheep’s clothing.

The Catholic Church always was, is now and always will be built upon Her teachings given to Her by Jesus Christ. It is these teachings, protected by the saints that have prevailed over the twisted lies of Satan, not those who are nothing more than politicians in the clothing of a member of the clergy.

Finally, the term catholic was first applied to the Mother Church in a letter of St. Ignatius, Bishop of Antioch (circa 107 A.D.). He was a child of God believed by many to have been a disciple of St. John. In his letter to the Smyrneans, he exhorts them to obey their bishops, their priests and their deacons: “See that ye all follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ, the Father; and the presbyter, as the Apostles, and reverence the deacons as the command of God. . . . Wheresoever the bishop shall appear, there let the people also be; as where Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church” (III:1,4).

Also, in a letter to St. Polycarp, Ignatius tells the faithful to “hearken unto the bishop, that God may hearken unto you. My soul be security for them that submit to their bishop, with their presbyters and deacons” (II:12). One should note that these two letters are a paraphrase of a passage in the letter to the Hebrews, where it says that one should obey the bishops (13:17).

Earth Angel