Friday, February 05, 2010

The Faith and the Church...

h/t Athos@The Four Mass'keteers

Belloc -Ekklesia as Home

Just reading a paragraph of this superb post on the writings of Belloc was like the Holy Spirit setting my heart once again on fire, aflame with love for Jesus and His Church. To love the One who gave Himself for me. Forgiving all my sins and welcoming me back into the Fold. I was wandering on the outskirts you could say, as an Evangelical. I've not "dissed" everything about being an Evangelical, but what has happened is that I'm now a "completed" Evangelical. When one returns to the VERY SOURCE, you become and daily become, through deeper conversion/repentance/conversion... the 'you' God created you to be. The "better" me is nourished more completely where the Fullness of Truth resides, than it was anywhere else. Not that what I was given was bad by any means, it just wasn't the "whole Truth" (even though they claimed they had the 'whole Truth') they didn't. Only One Church has the complete, the absolute 'fullness' of Truth. The fact that we are separated brothers and sisters is not a 'happy' thought. It must grieve the Holy Spirit who was/is sent to "lead us into ALL TRUTH." How can so many, teaching such differing things and doctrines be the unity Jesus prayed for for His Church?

When you take time to really consider, ponder and cogitate on this, you have only one question to ask: "Is the Catholic Church what it claims to be or is it a most horrific, diabolical cult? You have some Christians, who are 'bible believing Christians that think the Catholic Church is the 'whore of Babylon.' Then you have some that think it's just another denomination like all the rest, that early on went off the rails and was corrupted...and needs to be 'brought up to date' or whatever. Then you have those that don't even consider the Catholic Church anymore than ust a 'man-made' religion, with that guy that wears white telling everyone what to do.

Here's an excerpt from Belloc:

The Faith, the Catholic Church (the two were inseparable for him - and me), is discovered, is recognised, triumphantly enters reality like a landfall at sea which at first was thought a cloud. The nearer it is seen, the more is it real, the less imaginary: the more direct and external its voice, the more indubitable its representative character, its 'person', its voice. The metaphor is not that men fall in love with it: the metaphor is that they discover home.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT I AM?
can just as easily be asked of the Catholic Church.

WHO DO YOU SAY THAT SHE IS?
you really should find out.
maybe the Holy Spirit is nudging you right now
to find out the truth about the Catholic Church.
Not from angry ex-Catholics w/ their ax to grind.
Not from Protestants who may be well intentioned
but sincerely, completely wrong.
The separation is sad.
The Catholic Church has been doing all in her power
to mend the breach...
what have you done?

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