What doesCatholic mean? Okay, youre at Mass on Sunday. You just listened to the priests homily and youre either A) very inspired or B )falling asleep. You hear the thunder of the congregation as they launch in to their best rendition of the Creed. We believe in One God the Father, the Almighty.... You zone out. A minute later you zone back in, We believe in one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church - cut - back up -rewind... hcruhC cilotsopa dna, cilohtac - right there - stop.Thats the word. Say it forward: CATHOLIC. Yes! What does that mean? Any Clue?Check it out: Its Greek, and guess what it means? UNIVERSAL! Catholic meansuniversal. And why did we name the Church universal?Here it is in a nutshell: # THE CHURCH IS UNIVERSAL IN TIME:From the moment Jesus commissioned the apostles to right now, the Church has continued to exist, working to spread the message and truth of salvation in Christ. In other words, the Church has been (and will be) there from its foundation to last week, to now, to tomorrow, to the end of time! There, its UNIVERSAL in TIME. # THE CHURCH IS UNIVERSAL IN PLACE:The Church is for all land and all peoples - all races, nationalities, shapes,sizes and colors. The Catholic Church can be found in more countries than any other religion. You name the country, and the gospel of Jesus is there. You name the language, and the Bibles probably in it. And every single day,throughout the world, one common prayer echoes in literally thousands of languages: the Catholic Mass. When we go to Mass, were uniting spiritually in the same prayer that is being said all over the world. When we lift up our hearts in repentance at the beginning of Mass, there are Chinese, Japanese,Germans, Indians, Africans, Australians, and people from every other country in the world lifting their hearts with us in spirit. When we give the sign of peace, they’re reaching out in peace as well. When we recite the Creed, they’re professing the same faith. When we say, “Our Father, who art in heaven,” they’re praying the same words in many other languages. This is the meaning of universal in place. Universal means for all people. # THE CHURCH IS UNIVERSAL IN DOCTRINE:No matter where the Catholic faith is practiced, it maintains the same Christian doctrine. And how, you might ask, after 2,000 years of it spreading through so many different cultures and times, can its doctrine still be unchanged? Because, through all the centuries, the Holy Spirit has guided it!Sure, people (even popes) within the Church have made mistakes, but ultimately,despite human error, the Church’s doctrine has remained intact. Saying the doctrine does not change doesnt mean it doesn’t develop. For example, you can’t find the word trinity in the New Testament. It’s like the acorn and the oak. The giant oak doesnt look like the acorn, but it still came from it. It is this doctrine that holds the Catholic faith together all over the world. All united under the Pope, we Catholics profess the same faith and remain committed to the same Church. Sure, there’s plenty of variety within our ranks, but there is unity in that diversity. And that unity is what makes us Catholic. That unity is universal. (Taken from the Catechism at the beginning of the The International Student Bible for Catholics Thomas Nelson publications) Also see Catechism of the Catholic Church, 813-822, 830-835.
Posted on: Fri, 08 Nov 2013 18:27:15 +0000
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