In my last post on the Pope's letter, Porta Fidei, my focus was on the commitment that all Catholics should have for their faith in Jesus Christ. Today I want to discuss what that commitment entails.
To be committed to the Truth of the Catholic Faith means that we truly believe what has been revealed to us through the Holy Catholic Church. But that brings up the following question: what has been revealed to us?
In answering this question, the word 'revealed' is of no small importance. For something to be revealed signifies to us that we could not have come to know it on our own efforts. Therefore, if something is to be revealed to us it must be done by someone other than ourselves. And this same rule applies for the revelation of ultimate Truth. Mankind could not have come to know the Truth of the Catholic Faith through his own efforts. It had to be revealed from outside. And that is exactly what happened. God came to us from Heaven, from outside our realm of understanding, and came into the midst of mankind by becoming incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. And it is Jesus who has revealed to us God's divine and ultimate Truth. This Truth is the salvation and also the path that leads us to the salvation that we so desperately need. This Truth is safeguarded for all time by the only Church that Christ founded, the Catholic Church. And each person baptized in the Catholic Church, or those baptized outside the Catholic Church who have converted and become full members of the same, has a commitment to uphold the full Catholic Faith that has been delievered to them through that baptism. That means we must fully adhere to the teachings of Christ as taught to us by the Catholic Church, if we truly want to be Catholic.
To be committed to the Truth of the Catholic Faith means that we truly believe what has been revealed to us through the Holy Catholic Church. But that brings up the following question: what has been revealed to us?
In answering this question, the word 'revealed' is of no small importance. For something to be revealed signifies to us that we could not have come to know it on our own efforts. Therefore, if something is to be revealed to us it must be done by someone other than ourselves. And this same rule applies for the revelation of ultimate Truth. Mankind could not have come to know the Truth of the Catholic Faith through his own efforts. It had to be revealed from outside. And that is exactly what happened. God came to us from Heaven, from outside our realm of understanding, and came into the midst of mankind by becoming incarnate in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both God and man. And it is Jesus who has revealed to us God's divine and ultimate Truth. This Truth is the salvation and also the path that leads us to the salvation that we so desperately need. This Truth is safeguarded for all time by the only Church that Christ founded, the Catholic Church. And each person baptized in the Catholic Church, or those baptized outside the Catholic Church who have converted and become full members of the same, has a commitment to uphold the full Catholic Faith that has been delievered to them through that baptism. That means we must fully adhere to the teachings of Christ as taught to us by the Catholic Church, if we truly want to be Catholic.
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