3rd Sunday of Advent

by David Lins  |  12/17/2023  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

Over the past seven years, I’ve occasionally either been asked why I think being Catholic matters—or told outright that it doesn’t. I’d like to think the sum total of my writing over that span has been my response, but I’ll boil it down as best I can.

I love our protestant and non-dom friends. I truly do. But that doesn’t mean I’m going to say, “It doesn’t matter, as long as you love Jesus.” Why? Here are a few reasons:

THE EUCHARIST MATTERS
If protestants celebrate communion services where the bread and wine are mere symbols—but those symbols draw them nearer to the Lord, what’s the difference? I would respond with this—ask any soldier who took a photo of his wife to war if it is the same as being with her. It might make him “feel” closer, but it is nowhere close to the same. And the Church has always taught this.

“Take note of those who hold heterodox (not conforming with accepted standards or beliefs) opinions… They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.” Ignatius of Antioch - Letter to the Smyrnaens 6:2-7:1 110 AD

MARY MATTERS
She is definitely worth more than a quick mention during a church’s Christmas program. One would think Bible-believing churches would understand this since she is referenced throughout the entire Bible—from beginning to end. (Genesis 3:15 to Revelation 12:1!) And she initiated Jesus’ first miracle. Finally, she doesn’t distract from Jesus, but points us to him. After all, her last recorded words were, “Do whatever he tells you.”

LOVE MATTERS
True love requires an on-going response. The Catholic Church teaches that His invitation, love, and sacrifice must be met with an ongoing response. And don’t get it twisted. This isn’t us believing we can “earn our way into heaven.” Our continuous response, effort, penance, trying again...it is all our acceptance of his invitation. And we don’t do it alone because we are part of his great big Catholic family.

There are about 1,725,634 other reasons that all add up to the same conclusion: Being Catholic Matters.

David’s last column will be appear next week in our Christmas bulletin—thank you for reading.