My Father's House Spiritual Retreat Center at 39 North Moodus Road, Moodus, CT 06469 US - Letter to the Editor Hartford Courant

There is no doubt about it. The Catholic Church has high standards that most Americans fail to live up to. (See, "When Catholics Don’t Keep The Faith," August 22, 1999.) It is the only church founded by Christ. Every other "church" was founded by a man. It is the only church that claims a divinely-backed prophetic anointing found in its leader, the pope, and based upon the very words of Jesus, "You are Peter and upon this rock I will build my church. To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven, so that whatsoever shall be bound on earth shall be bound in heaven … and the forces of hell shall not prevail against it." Accordingly, empires and even millenniums have come and gone; but still, she prevails. Fully Scriptural It is the only church that is fully scriptural. The New Testament was written by Catholics as members of this one, universal Church. In the new Catholic Catechism, for example, almost every verse of the Bible is quoted throughout its 803 pages. I would encourage any sincere person to pick up the new Catechism and see where the Church stands in the areas of doctrine, morals, liturgy of worship, and in its spiritual life. Catholics, for example, are encouraged to read, meditate upon and live the scriptures, to attend Mass, daily if possible, to live lives of holiness and purity, and to live in simplicity and generosity. It holds out as ideals St. Francis, all of our martyrs, St. Theresa the Little Flower, and all her great saints who lived lives of extraordinary holiness. In matters of morality, the Catholic Church consistently teaches, as Jesus taught, that only the pure of heart will see God; and as St. Paul taught that no sodomist, adulterer, fornicator, murderer, or idolater would enter the Kingdom of Heaven, unless they repented. It has held out as its ideal the same standard as Jesus – to be holy as your heavenly Father is holy. Although the Church has many sinners in its ranks, the Church has never officially taught that a person could worship false gods, use the Lord’s name with irreverence, not keep the Sabbath, be disobedient to parents and lawful authority, or practice adultery or promiscuity. It is the most powerful pro-life church, holding on to the sanctity of human life from the moment of conception to the moment of natural death. If one were to read the magnificent encyclical of Pope John Paul II on The Gospel of Life, there’s a tremendous call to all people to respect the right of life. It is the only church that canonized the Bible at the Council of Hippo in 393AD. The Bible is a Catholic book. Even the reformers admit that they got the Bible from the only Church in existence at the time of the reformation. It is this church that is and continues to be the "pillar and standard of truth" (cf 1 Tim 3:16). The Catholic Church consists of over 1 billion members throughout the world, some very saintly, some not so. She continues to produce men and women, both in clerical and religious life of extraordinary holiness as she has always done. But once again, as Jesus said, it is the narrow way and few there are who find it. It is the Church of Peter, Paul, John, Augustine, Irenaeus, Thomas Aquinas, Leo the Great, Mother Theresa, Francis and Clare, and John Paul II. Christ only wanted one church. He wished all of His people to be united as the Father and He are one. And most obviously, that Church would be His Church. Further, because God is one, His people were meant to be one. Because God is holy, His people would be given all the means to make them holy. And because God loves everyone, His Church was meant to be Catholic (universal). And, it is the only church that teaches the narrow road to holiness – through poverty, chastity and obedience. To follow in the pattern of this heritage, virtue and standards set by centuries of belief and teaching requires personal, moral and spiritual strength and perseverance. Look to Christ. It is He who said, "Many are called, but few are chosen." In the final analysis, the truly saintly are rare.

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