What Does It Mean to Be A Catholic?

Does it mean putting another title next to my name? Does it mean getting up early ever Sunday? Is it the same as other Christian religions?

No. Our society is living in a culture of death where lies spread because some prefer the darkness to the light. These people hate the Truth - the Truth that Jesus Christ started the Catholic Church (Matthew 16:18) and the Seven Sacraments of that Church. Through the ages the manipulations by others have taken the teachings of Christ and not simplified them but changed them! They call Christ liars!

I, however, do not blame anyone today at all. Above all, being Catholic is to love Christ completely. When we enter the Church in baptism we have our sins forgiven by the power of Christ working through His priests. This command he gave to His disciples at the end of the Gospel of Matthew: "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

In this great Sacrament of baptism, we literally enter the Catholic Church and in turn become part of the Mystical Body of Christ. We are baptized into Christ's body and therefore salvation is possible. Salvation outside of baptism is unrealistic because salvation outside of baptism is available only to those that truly didn't know of Christ - not those that refused Him.

We as Catholics are not hypocrites. We know the Mass - the form of worship started by Christ where at every single Catholic Mass Christ, the Good Lord - is the bloodless sacrifice of the Cross. We remember His death as in the words of the Gospels: "Do this in memory of Me." And through the Mass we reach a question: Can't I just stay at home and pray the same?

No! Is God physically present in your room? No, but at the Mass at the very most solemn moment, by the power of God and through His teachings in the Gospel of John 6, the Bread and Wine truly become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ not by the priest's power but God's power working through the priest.

We as Catholics are not idolaters and pray to statues and we don't worship Mary at all. We are not liars and wrongdoers but followers of Christ and His teachings before those came to corrupt them so that these anti-Christs might bring others down with them.

Look to Christ. So many people spend YEARS looking for life and its purpose, and in truth it only has one word: God. Look to God alone and trust in Him. Love Him who died for you and rose again so that you might live in His glory. Is Heaven easy? Certainly not, look to the lives of the saints and martyrs who died for their beliefs. Look to those in everyday life standing against the majority to support Christ's teachings and not trying to reason around opinions against the Church. Heaven is the narrow road that few shall find (Matthew 7:13)

Trust in God. He is there, waiting...Patiently in the Holy Eucharist for us to adore Him. In this year of the Eucharist may we grow more in love for our Savior and God and serve Him alone. That His not our way may be done.

The Council of Nicea (325 AD) wrote the following Profession of Faith. This is what Catholics believe. It should be solemnly proclaimed each Sunday Mass:

We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary , and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Catholics also must never support abortion, embryonic stem cell research, homosexual marriage, human cloning, euthanasia, or artificial contraception. A Catholic must believe all dogmas of the Catholic Church declared over the past 2,000 years since.

For more information see Apologetic Posts. Are you, Interested in becoming Catholic?  If so, look at the online resources available through CatechismClass.com.