ARE THERE TWO RELIGIONS: ONE FROM GOD AND ONE
CREATED BY MEN? When I was young, I received all my teaching from the Roman Catholic Church. The catechism taught me that all men had to belong to the Catholic Church in order to be saved. I loved God and Jesus, but we were not encouraged to talk to them directly. I thought that my religion was the right one. We recited the rosary every night. Then, at the age of 27, I was given a Bible. I marveled as I read God’s words and promises, and was shocked that they were never told to me. Nothing is said in the
Bible about the Church. Jesus teaches me to pray:
“When you pray, enter your room and pray to your
Father”. God
was love and I was afraid of death. I never talked
to Jesus to ask for his forgiveness and to be saved. It seems to me that
there are two religions: one from God and one that was
developed by men. *** I had to summarize a long letter to discuss the most important points. I have answered similar questions in my previous writings. I refer my correspondent to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1992. It contains the complete teaching of the Church, a teaching drawn from the Word of God: the Bible and the Tradition inspired by the Holy Spirit. I can’t impose my faith on those who hold to a different doctrine. I pray that, in mutual respect, we remain faithful to the Spirit received from Jesus. Contrary to the opinion of the questioner, the Bible often speaks of the Church. The Catholic Church goes back to Jesus’ time. She is of apostolic origin and many biblical texts show the importance Jesus, her Founder, attached to her. He laid down his life for her (Ep 5: 25). We know that the Church is Christ’s Body and that he is the Head of the Church (Col 1: 18). He has founded the Church on Peter and the Twelve Apostles (Mt 16: 18). He commissioned them to go forth and preach the Good News to all nations (Mt 28: 19). We are baptized in order to form one Body (I Co 12: 13). We are brothers and sisters, children of the same Father, not to live each in his or her own corner, but together, like a family, in Church. Let’s never separate Christ from his Body, the Church. Even if we do not belong to the Body of the Church because we fail to understand its importance, God will see our deep desire to please him. But, within the Church we find all the graces the Lord has given us: his integral and authentic teaching, pastors he has commissioned, sacraments of life, especially the Eucharist, the motherly presence of Mary, etc. We can’t take only certain passages in the Gospel and forget about the rest, neglecting the context and other words from the Lord. The excerpt quoted in the question in regard to prayer is one of many passages concerning prayer and doesn’t include all the example and teaching received from Jesus. In the quote, the sacred writer underlines the importance of humility in prayer. But remember, Jesus, our Model, prayed by himself, but also with his disciples; he went to the temple and to the synagogue, “as he usually did” (Lk 4: 16). Now that we are adults, we must try to better understand what we learned in religion when we were young. Exactly as we do in regard to secular sciences. For many Christians, their faith is still at the ‘spoon-feeding’ stage, whereas they have grown older and are more than able to feed themselves... We should imitate other Christians who nourish their faith through deepening their knowledge of Jesus, of the Church and of divine gifts; they become exemplary Christians and devoted Catholics; they sanctify themselves, in spite of human frailties. As they grow older, certain people suddenly understand the value and riches of faith, but some do so outside the Catholic Church. This is not proof that the Church’s doctrine is false; but it is still insufficiently understood. I believe in Jesus. I also believe in the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church. I unite my profession of faith to that of millions and millions of Catholics, those of the past and those of today. I unite my profession of faith to that of all martyrs, mystics, missionaries, consecrated souls, and devoted laypeople of yesterday and today. Throughout the centuries and today, moved by the Holy Spirit, they have lived or still live a holy life as members of the Catholic Church. |