Episode Transcript
Speaker 0 00:00 Okay.
Speaker 1 00:05 In one section of his marvelous little book called the index of, of leading Catholic indicators, uh, Kenneth C. Jones summarizes the results of a series of recent surveys which had been done to determine the beliefs of American Catholics. So I would say pick a few of the results. Just the sample. 87% of American Catholics feel the church should permit couples to make their own decisions regarding birth control. 77% of American Catholics believe a person can be a good Catholic without going to mass every Sunday. 70% of Catholics age 18 to 44 believe you cruised is barely a symbolic reminder of Jesus Christ. 68% believe that good Catholics can track as some form of contraception. 65% believe could Catholics can divorce me. Marry 53% believe Catholics can have abortions and remain in good standing. 90% of lay religion teachers in Catholic elementary schools, 90% disagree with the church's teaching on contraception.
Speaker 1 01:15 74% is teachers lay religion. Teachers in Catholic elementary schools, 74% disagree with the church's teaching on abortion. And not surprisingly, the surveys show that 80% of American Catholics believe that it's possible that this group, the pope would explains the official church position, the teaching, the Church on morality and still be a good Catholic. Now, last week we talked about director of religious education at a Catholic parish should just correct it. A friend of mine for his use of offensive language. The issue was she didn't feel comfortable when he referred to God as their father because she preferred to think of God as a mother. We saw that she has a fundamental confusion at the level of the faith and as we shed, she's not alone and certainly these statistics. I don't know what the reliability is, but they indicate quite clearly she is not alone. In fact, no one said, we're confused.
Speaker 1 02:15 Director of religious education, not alone in terms of basic fundamental confusion about matters to the faith. She's in the majority, obviously serious, they're heresy and apostasy aren't the norm for Americans who still identify themselves as Catholics. Now, before we go any farther, let's not forget to keep praying for these people, especially to our lady. Let's keep praying for these people who believe these crazy things because if we don't pray for them, who will? And besides, there's probably more than a few of us here who have been saved from some of these very scenarios. Huh? Okay. So before we go, any fired, let's review. Last week we looked at the virtue of faith and we considered three points. What faith is what we believe by faith and why we believe it, what faith is what we believe by faith and why it is that we believe it.
Speaker 1 03:15 And answered the first question, what is faith? We saw that faith is a supernatural power that gives us the ability to accept whatever God says is true. It's a supernatural power that gives us the ability to be able to truly say God center. I believe it. And that settles it. And we use the example of a blessed Itzhak. Amen. We don't believe that by the power of natural reason, Huh? It is not obvious that our lord is their body, blood, soul, divinity, whole, entire, and most busted sag with altar. But we believe that. Why? Because God said so. And he gave us the ability to believe it. It's an ability that's above the nature of man. Okay, so an answer. The second question. What w what do we believe by faith we saw we're bound to believe everything contained what's called the deposit of faith.
Speaker 1 04:10 We saw the deposit rate or all those things which are contained in the word of God as far as scripture and tradition. We also saw that in order for us to know what we ought to believe, our Lord established a visible Church of true teachers. He did not establish an invisible church, a true believers or lord established a visible Church of true teachers and promise to be with that church, the Catholic Church until the end of the world. So it's easy for us to know what to believe. We have to believe all the truths which the holy Catholic Church proposes for our belief and answers their question, why do we believe these things? We saw that we believe these real revealed things, not because we can see their truth in natural light by reason. We don't see that in the bus at sacral, for example. That's not obvious.
Speaker 1 05:03 Baptism is not obvious the light of reason, but we believe it because of the authority of God himself. We revealed these things to God. Can either deceive? No, repeat. Deceived. Okay. All right. Today we started by listening to some starving statistics about the beliefs in American Catholics. Statistics like 53% of American Catholics believe that Catholic can have an abortion, yet remain in good standing. I think they're on political office. He Kansas. We drew one conclusion from these statistics. We're accepting people here, but I mean there's a lot of these. We concluded that serious air heresy and apostasy are the norm for Americans who consider themselves Catholic. Still, the majority of American Catholics today identify themselves with positions that would have been condemned by Luther or Calvin, and that's the reality that we're living at. The majority of American Catholics identify themselves with positions that Luther and Calvin would have considered completely insane and off the reservation.
Speaker 1 06:12 Okay, so much for the review today. Let's reflect for awhile on two of the basic misunderstandings in the minds of so many American Catholics, and we certainly include priests and religious. In this category. Okay. First, many Catholics don't realize that the truths of the faith are not subject to change. The deposit of faith was given by our Lord to the apostles, and he sent down the Holy Ghost on him. I Pentecost precisely. In order to teach the apostles all truth. The deposit of faith is complete and final. There will never be anything added to it in any way. Never. Everyone needs to burn this into his mind. The positive phase can't change. It's a done deal. Nothing can be added to it. Nothing can be lost from it. For example, there's seven sacraments. There will never be more than seven segments and there will never be less than seven sacraments.
Speaker 1 07:20 That's the way it is until the end of the world, seven sacraments are lowered. Did not forget to tell the policies anything to process. Got It. All God knows it all. He isn't going to have a new idea, isn't gonna learn anything and he's isn't gonna forget anything and he certainly doesn't need our advice and how to run the universe or his church. He's got, he fits the job description. He didn't forget to tell the process anything. I got it all and because they got it all. That means the deposit of Phage can never change and not only that, once the particular truth contained in the deposit of faith has been officially explained, the meaning can't change. Here's the infallible teaching you the first Vatican council quote himself. So that understanding of sacred dogmas must be perpetually retained, which holy mother church has wants declared with the same dogma, the same sense and the same understanding.
Speaker 1 08:21 Close quote and quote, if anyone says that it is possible that some time given the advancement of knowledge, a meeting may be assigned to the dogmas proposed by the church, which is different from that meeting which the Church has understood and does understand. Let him be anathema. Close quote. What are we saying? We're saying that the deposit of faith, those of those truths handed down by God to the apostles can't change. It can never increase. It can ever decrease. It can never change. We're also saying that wants a particular truth that's contained in this deposit of faith has been officially explained by the church. The meaning of that explanation, she can never change. Okay. For example, the council of Trent gave a very clear and official explanation of holy communion, including the statement that if someone has committed a mortal sin, he must go to confession before he goes to communion.
Speaker 1 09:25 It's a done deal. It can never change. Doesn't matter what you've heard elsewhere. It's just the way it is. That can never change. Okay? Now, some other day we'll take a closer look at the contents of the deposit of phase, okay? A closer look at the scripture and the tradition, but today everyone needs to burn into his mind. The deposit of faith can't change either in terms of its content, on terms of the meaning of the contents. Okay? Now that we've briefly considered the unchangeable nature of the deposit of faith, let's consider the second major common misunderstanding, which is the actual relationship between a Catholic Church and this deposit of faith. Here's the infallible teaching, the first Vatican Council on this very point quote so that we could fulfill our duty, our duty of embracing the true faith and a persevering unwaveringly in it. God, through his only begotten son founded the church and he had endowed his institution with clear notes to the end that she might be recognized by all as the Guardian and teacher of the revealed word, close quote and quote by divine and Catholic faith.
Speaker 1 10:45 All those things that have he believed which are contained in the word of God is found in scripture and tradition which were proposed by the church as matters to be believed as divinely revealed close quote in shallow teaching of the first Vatican Council. Okay, fine. Let's make sure we understand just what you're saying here. Are we saying that God found the Catholic Church you heard preserve and teach and explain the contents of the deposit of faith in order to preserve and teach the true faith until the end of the world? Yes, that's exactly what we're saying. Okay. Father, you just quoted that it can one and that concept took place in 1870 how do we know those claims are true in the Catholic Church? Ashley teases the two favorite Christ and how do we know that's not just something they made up 1718 centuries into the program? That is a good question.
Speaker 1 11:40 It's a really good question. There's a lot of people that have lost the faith because they'd go realize the answer to it. It's not a stupid question at all, but let's St Nas answered for us and Hussein do your an ass senior Nass is a bishop. Leo was born about one twin and he's martyred in the year two oh two as young man, if disciple of a bishop made Saint Polycarp, saint Polycarp was the bishop of Smyrna. Saint Polycarp was a disciple of Saint John The apostle. So senior Nas was taught by saint who was taught by apostle. Okay. She probably carts actually in in scripture, although you wouldn't know because he, they don't quote a by name. In the second chapter of the apocalypse when Saint John and pastas writing the angel, the Church of Smyrna, that's who's writing to the Angela churches. Smyrna is the bishop of Smyrna. That's Bishop Saint Polycarp.
Speaker 1 12:38 Okay. Anyway, say your names is taught by saint polycarbon who's taught by Saint John now because of all the terrible heresies that are breaking out in the lifetime of <inaudible> around the year one 80 he wrote a book entitled against the Heresies. I remember he's writing only about 80 years after the death of the last apostle and he had been trained by a man who was trained by that last apostle will crow from a protestant translation. It's, you don't think I'm making this seven for the sake of time, we'll edit it slightly, compress it. I'll make a few comments as we go. Okay. Against the Harris, he's booked. Three Chapter Three Sandy or day is quote a refutation of the heretics from the fact that in the various churches, a perpetual succession of bishops was kept up. It is within the power of all who may wish to see the truth to contemplate clearly a tradition of the apostles manifested throughout the whole world and we are in a position to reckon up those who were instituted by the process as bishops in the churches and we are in a position to demonstrate the succession of these man to our own times.
Speaker 1 13:50 Those men who need to talk to knew anything of what these heretics rave about. Since however, it would be very tedious correcting up the atman stocks and sessions of all the churches we do put the confusion, all those in whatever manner was I by vainglory or blindness or perverse opinion, assembling unauthorized meetings, meetings not authorized by the bishops established by the apostles. We do this, I say by indicating that tradition derive from the apostles of the very great, the very ancient and universally known church founded and organized at Rome by the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul. I'll read that again. We do that by indicating the tradition derived from the past and the very great, the very ancient universally known church founded and organized at Rome. By the two most glorious apostles, Peter and Paul for each is a matter of necessity that every church should with this church.
Speaker 1 14:53 He may use the church in Rome founded by Peter and Paul on a condom. It's preeminent authority that is the faithful everywhere and as much as the app install club tradition has been preserved continuously. Sandra, Nancy's telling people about the one eighties if you're wondering what the true teaching is, if you're wondering who to listen to, just are these guys in line with wrong sound familiar at should the bus and apostles. Then having founded and built up the church committed into the hands of Linus, the office of the piss committed. Linus is the second bishop in Rome, also known as the second poke. Tim seeded, succeeded antiquated and a Cletus is sometimes called <inaudible>. He's the third Polk after him and the third place when they pastas Clement, it was a lot at the bishop. Rick <inaudible> is a fourth poke. You may have noticed these names in the Canada as a mass there in there.
Speaker 1 15:48 This man climate as he had seen the bus deposits and had been conversing with them, like said to half the preaching across the still echoing his ears and their traditions before his eyes there was he alone in this for there are many still remaining who received instructions and they possibly save your nas continues listing the popes from that time right up to his time. We could do it right to now of course, but he then he says in this order and by this succession, the ecclesiastical tradition from the apostles and the preaching you, the truth have come down to us and this is most abundant proof that there is not one and the same life giving faith which has been preserved at church and apostles until now and handed down the truth. Coast code senior year they is, what did you say? DNA is just too, he said, if anyone wants to know the true faith of Jesus Christ, all he had to do was check with the teachings of the church in Rome, fronted by the apostles, Saint Peter and Paul, and which was ruled by the successor of St Peter that they shook of Rome.
Speaker 1 16:50 That was true in the time of Saint Peter. It's true at the time of savior. Nas is true of the time of the first that I could console. It's true today and it'll be true right until the end of the world. Now listen to what saying your Nass rights next against the Harris's book. Three Chapter Four Sandy Renee is quote, the truth is to be found nowhere else, but in the Catholic church, the sole depository of Ab historical doctrine, Harris Cesar of recent formation, it cannot trace their origin up to the apostles. For she, the Catholic church is the entrance to life. All others are thieves and robbers. On this account, we're bound to avoid them. Dot Dot. Dot. The tradition from the apostles does, does exist to the church and its permanent among us. Close, quote San Diego, Nas. The Catholic church is the entrance to life. There's a thieves and robbers I this account or we bound avoid void.
Speaker 1 17:52 Then the tradition from the process does best in the church and his permit among us. Let's summarize, we briefly considered two fundamental misunderstandings that produce a lot of confusion in the minds of modern American Catholics. One misunderstanding is about the unchangeable nature of the deposit of faith and one misunderstandings about the actual relationship between the Catholic Church and the deposit fee. We've seen that the deposit of faith, which are those truths handed down by God, do they process, can't change, can never increase, can never decrease, it can't change. We've also seen that once a particular truth has been officially explained by the church, then that media of that explanation can never change. Okay. We briefly consider the actual relationship between the Catholic Church and this deposit of faith. We've seen that nothing essential has changed since the time of seniorness as he tried in the second century. The truth is to be found only in the Catholic church, which is the custodian of the deposit of faith given to the apostles.
Speaker 1 18:58 Heresies couldn't trace their origin back to the apostles land and they still cannot. We've seen that God fond of the Catholic church in order to preserve and teach and explain the contents of this deposit of fe in order to preserve and teach and explain the true faith until the end of the world. Let's be really clear about what we believe the Catholic Church makes some outrageous claims. The Catholic Church right from the beginning has boldly and publicly claimed, had been founded by God himself while he was visibly present here on earth and only founded by him, but by conditioned by him to teach the one true faith tall man time in his name. She claims to have the authority to teach the truths revealed by God in his name and by his authority. Today we've seen those claims go right back to the beginning. We've heard those very clients from a bishop who was taught by this ship who was taught by Saint John The apostle. Now even those claims are true or they're false, if they're false, if the Catholic church wasn't actually founded by Lord in the process, if the Catholic church doesn't actually teach the truth revealed by God and his name buys authority. If the church claims to speak for God, but as lying about it, the Catholic church is the most blasphemous, evil, diabolical, positively satanic organization that has ever existed. It's completely demonic and we should treat it that way and run away screaming.
Speaker 1 20:44 But if those claims are true, if the Catholic Church was actually funded by Lord Jesus Christ sent me positive and she was, and if the Catholic Church does actually teach the truth revealed by God and his name Advising Authority, and she does. And if the Catholic church is the one true church and she is, and if there's no salvation outside of the church and there isn't and we better listen up and we better believe all the truth, which the holy Catholic Church teaches all every last one of them, whether they make us feel comfortable or not, it's all or nothing. There's only one true church, the holy Catholic Church. There's only one true church and ate a giant Burger King and we don't get to have it our way.
