Our Lady's Lamp

If I were to ask what the biggest dividing factor between Catholics and Protestants is, I guarantee you at least half would say "Mary." A few might say "The Pope," one or two may bring up the sex scandals, some may bring up Tradition and Scripture vs Solo Scriptura, and a few who were familiar with Catholic doctrine might say the Eucharist. But the bulk of people would say Mary and the Saints.  Why is that? Some people will claim that it is because we shouldn't talk to the dead, but Jesus told us that God is not God of the dead, but of the living , so many will leave the topic of the saints alone - regardless of their acceptance of it. But few will leave Mary alone. I was listening to a talk by a convert, and he was certain that "Mary would keep him Protestant." Mary was one of my mother's largest hurdles to pass as well, though that wasn't something I had an issue with . But for many of my friends, it is.  So, first, let me clarify a ...

The Ark of the Covenant has been found! For two and a half thousand years, people have searched for the ark, but it has already been found, and, as Christians, we can take joy in the knowledge our tradition and scriptures pass to us, for Revelation tells us where it is. "Then God's temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of the covenant could be seen in the temple. There were flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a violent hailstorm. A great sign appeared in the sky: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. She was with child...." The new temple, complete with the altar upon which Christ presents himself, slain, yet glorified , to the Father, is in heaven. And the Ark of the Covenant, the dwelling place and vessel the Almighty used to come to His people who were not ready to see His full glory, is also there. But it is not the same as it once was. It has changed forms, th...

Guess what, everone? Jesus is risen! He suffered and subjected himself to a horrible death, He remained with the dead for three days, and now He's risen! And just like He suffered, my Big Brother also rose for me. No more do I have to fear death. Death is not something, as in the Old Testament, to be feared or embraced only reluctantly. I can now look forward to the day I die because it is not, as good Gandalf says, the end but "just the beginning." My time here, in my earthly flesh, will be over, but I will be given a new body, a glorious body, like the one Jesus wore from the grave. What does it mean to, as Paul says, have the hope of the resurrection? Well, if we die to our old selves and become slaves to Christ, then we can join the "Cloud of Witnesses" the author of Hebrews talks about. We will join our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, David, Solomon, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Ezekiel, Judah, Simeon, and the other Maccabean Brothers and Martyrs, Simeon and ...

Because I have been asked many times, I decided to write a blog post about what the Catholic Church teaches about the Eucharist - Holy Communion. I give this one disclaimer: I am only a human, and some mysteries can never be fully understood by the human mind (The Incarnation, the Trinity, the Virgin Birth, to name a few....), and this is definitely one of them. Like the Incarnation, this mystery asks us to take a leap of faith. And as with explaining all mysteries, sometimes difficulties arise in choosing the proper terms. This is also not comprehensive - that would take several volumes! So please, ask questions if you have them! If I can't answer them right off, I will go find the answer. What We Believe As Catholics, we believe and profess to be truth that when we celebrate the mass, the bread and the wine offered become the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. This is a mystery called Transubstantiation. (In English, that just means that two...

Scriptural Evidence From Our Savior's Lips First, we turn to John's gospel, and we see Jesus feeding the five thousand. Here, he took a finite amount and multiplied it exponentially. He fed the people's bodies, then retreated across the Sea of Galilee. The next day, however, they found him, and Jesus said that they followed because they ate of the bread and were filled, but he warns them not to work for bread of the world but the bread of life that fills. The people ask for that bread always and ask for a sign, after all, the Israelites in the desert got manna. Jesus replies by saying, Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to use, it is not Moses who has given you the bread out of heaven, but it is My Father who gives you the true bread out of Heaven. For the Bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Lord, always give us this bread.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to Me w...

Paul's Testament to the True Presence After Jesus ascended into heaven, we see the beginning of organized religion that differs greatly from the Jews. Peter, Paul, James, John and Luke (among others) are called upon to defend and define ideals of the faith, to guide and instruct the new believers. When writing to the Corinthians, Paul uses similar language to that of Christ that allows for little misconception about the nature of the bread and wine used at communion. “ The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body for we will all partake of the one loaf.” - 1 Corinthians 10:16-17 The “cup of blessing” is the blessed cup that is “done in remembrance.” The “cup of blessing” was also one of the cups of wine at the passover meal, the one that corresponds with the cup blessed at the Lord's Supper. Thi...

Tracing the Doctrine Throughout History: The Early Church to Now But how do we know that's actually what the early church taught? How do we know this isn't just a teaching that emerged in the middle ages and has been taught erroneously since then and it wasn't until the Reformation that people began to speak out against this treasonous, blasphemous doctrine? Well, let's take a walk through history and see who preached which doctrines when. The Early Church Ignatius of Antioch wrote in 110 AD to Rome and Smyrna, and his admonitions to both respectively are listed below. "I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible" "Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of ...

Why Does it Matter? Most of us would agree that we must be “born again” because Jesus said so, though He only used those words twice. Why then do we not take Christ literally when He says, many times, that we must eat His flesh? Paul also reiterates this fact, as do all the early apologists and early church writers. Unfortunately, this is not an area where we can “agree to disagree.” We can disagree, but we cannot ever think we can both be right. One of us is right, one of us is wrong. Either that is Jesus upon the altar as has been professed since the First Century, or Christians have been idolaters until the reformation. Therefore, until the reformation, no true Christians were around, and even then, only one or two got it right. Either the same Church that put together the cannon of the New Testament (since we all agree on the NT books that were put together by the Early Church Councils) was a blaspheming idolater, or that is Jesus upon the altar. Either the Church was guided ...