The Catholic Defender: The Catholic Church is ONE, Holy, Catholic, Apostolic

"And for their sake I consecrate myself, that they also may be consecrated in truth. "I do not pray for these only, but also for those who believe in me through their word, that they may all be one; even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. The glory which thou hast given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and thou in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that thou hast sent me and hast loved them even as thou hast loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom thou hast given me, may be with me where I am, to behold my glory which thou hast given me in thy love for me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, the world has not known thee, but I have known thee; and these know that thou hast sent me. I made known to them thy name, and I will make it known, that the love with which thou hast loved me may be in them, and I in them." John 17:19-26

This is very troubling to the Non-Catholic who seeks to find an invisible unity among 45,000 denominations when clearly there is none. Jesus clearly finds a visible Church with a visible head.

St. Paul was given a great grace by the Lord that brought about his own conversion to the young Catholic Faith. In fact, St. Paul was on his way to persecute it when the Pharisees reached out to him with this mission:

"But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Now as he journeyed he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven flashed about him. And he fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?" And he said, "Who are you, Lord?" And he said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting; but rise and enter the city, and you will be told what you are to do." The men who were traveling with him stood speechless, hearing the voice but seeing no one. Saul arose from the ground; and when his eyes were opened, he could see nothing; so they led him by the hand and brought him into Damascus. And for three days he was without sight, and neither ate nor drank." Acts 9:1-9

With this experience, one could say that St. Pail could find his own way, but not so, consider 1 Corinthians 1:10, "I appeal to you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree and that there be no dissensions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment."

The enemies of Christ seek division to fight against the cause of Christ. There are good people who seek to do the right things, they try to work themselves through things they feel they have little control. That is what the enemy wants you to think.

Religion has been minimized to be a taboo only to be opposed by those who do not want to be seen as "religious"? But of the One, True, Religion, St. Paul defends, "But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of stress. For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, inhuman, implacable, slanderers, profligates, fierce, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, holding the form of religion but denying the power of it. Avoid such people." 2 Timothy 3:1-5

These are the ones who will humanize the Sacraments as to reject them especially the Eucharist and Confession, both so important for spiritual growth. St. Paul believed the Eucharist was what made us one, "The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?17 Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread." 1 Corinthians 10:17

The rejection of the Eucharist is the first step out of the Church so it shouldn't be any surprise that the enemies of Christ will place this attack to the top of their list. They will masquerade as teachers who will tickle peoples imagination with human invention.

Jesus is clear on the importance of receiving the Eucharist, "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:51-54

Consider the following:

"On February 16, 1266 in Santarém, a young woman overcome with jealousy for her husband, consulted a sorceress who told her to go to the church and steal a consecrated Host to use for a love potion.

The woman stole the Host and hid the Holy Eucharist in a linen cloth that immediately became stained with Blood. Frightened by this, she ran home and opened the kerchief to see what had happened. To her amazement, she saw that the Blood was gushing from the Host. The confused woman stored the Particle in a drawer in her bedroom.

That night the drawer began to emit brilliant rays of light which illuminated the room as if it were daytime. The husband was also aware of the strange phenomenon and questioned his wife, who was obligated to tell him everything. The next day, the couple informed the pastor, who went to the home to remove the Host and return the Blessed Sacrament to the Church of St. Stephen in solemn procession, accompanied by many religious and lay people.

The Host bled for three consecutive days, and was then placed in a beautiful reliquary made of beeswax. In 1340 another miracle occurred. When the priest opened the tabernacle, he found the beeswax vase broken into many pieces: in its place was a crystal vase containing the Blood mixed with the wax."

As Catholic, we should never yield to false instruction regardless if it is insane like above or it is given with a simple smile and a hand shake. The enemies of Christ will use the usual weapons; pride, power, sex, money, as lures to get you to cross the fence into dangerous pastures where we are vulnerable.

Christ established the Church to be one and to share the sign of His Presence in a fallen world.

Compromise and indifferentism for the sake of pretended unities are only a deception and a false rabbit trail. Yes, as Catholics we are to love and respect others, that is what true Ambassadors do, but we must remain steadfast and contend for the Faith. Jude Verse 3