There are not over a hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church. There are millions, however, who hate what they wrongly believe to be the Catholic Church—which is, of course, quite a different thing. These millions can hardly be blamed for hating Catholics because Catholics “adore statues”; because they “put the Blessed Mother on the same level with God”; because they say “indulgence is a permission to commit sin”; because the Pope “is a Fascist”; because the “Church is the defender of Capitalism.” If the Church taught or believed any one of these things it should be hated, but the fact is that the Church does not believe nor teach any one of them. It follows then that the hatred of the millions is directed against error and not against truth. As a matter of fact, if we Catholics believed all of the untruths and lies which were said against the Church, we probably would hate the Church a thousand times more than they do.
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world hates. My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He was on earth in the flesh. If you would find Christ today, then find the Church that does not get along with the world. Look for the Church that is hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world. Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times, as Our Lord was accused of being ignorant and never having learned. Look for the Church which men sneer at as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from Nazareth. Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil, as Our Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils. Look for the Church which, in seasons of bigotry, men say must be destroyed in the name of God as men crucified Christ and thought they had done a service to God. Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because He called Himself the Truth. Look for the Church which is rejected by the world as Our Lord was rejected by men. Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its members love as they love Christ, and respect its Voice as the very voice of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is unworldly, it is other worldly. Since it is other-worldly it is infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ Himself. But only that which is Divine can be infinitely hated and infinitely loved. Therefore the Church is Divine.
If then, the hatred of the Church is founded on erroneous beliefs, it follows that basic need of the day is instruction. Love depends on knowledge for we cannot aspire nor desire the unknown. Our great country is filled with what might be called marginal Christians, i. e., those who live on the fringe of religion and who are descendants of Christian living parents, but who now are Christians only in name. They retain a few of its ideals out of indolence and force of habit; they knew the glorious history of Christianity only through certain emasculated forms of it, which have married the spirit of the age and are now dying with it. Of Catholicism and its sacraments, its pardon, its grace, its certitude and its peace, they know nothing except a few inherited prejudices. And yet they are good people who want to do the right thing, but who have no definite philosophy concerning it. They educate their children without religion, and yet they resent the compromising morals of their children. They would be angry if you told them they were not Christian, and yet they do not believe that Christ is God. They resent being called pagans and yet they never take a practical cognizance of the existence of God. There is only one thing of which they are certain and that is that things are not right as they are. It is just that single certitude which makes them what might be called the great “potentials,” for they are ready to be pulled in either of two directions. Within a short time they must take sides; they must either gather with Christ or they must scatter; they must either be with Him or against Him; they must either be on the cross as other Christs, or under it as other executioners. Which way will these marginal Christians tend? The answer depends upon those who have the faith. Like the multitudes who followed Our Lord into the desert, they are as sheep without a shepherd. They are waiting to be shepherded either with the sheep or goats. Only this much is certain. Being human and having hearts they want more than class struggle and economics; they want Life, they want Truth, and they want Love. In a word, they want Christ.
Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen
Preface to Radio Replies Volume One
TAN Books, Rockford, Illinois
I tried very hard to write a brief introduction to explain why men should become Catholic. I must have written 20 of them. In the end I hit the backspace key as often as I hit any other key. The words simply would not come. Then I remembered this passage from the great three-volume work entitled “Radio Replies” by the late Bishop Fulton J. Sheen. Bishop Sheen wrote it all, in a short, concise, and clear manner that I, frankly, am incapable of. I honestly believe that if every Christian of my generation would read this short passage the inherited prejudices toward Rome would pass away.
I, at one time, despised the Catholic Church. After all, they worshipped Mary and the Pope. They taught Salvation by Works. They believed that souls could be bought out of hell. The list went on and on. The simple fact is that all of these assumptions, these preconceived notions, are lies and blasphemies. How is it that I hated something so deeply? Something that I knew nothing about? I had condemned the Catholic Church, out of hand, before I even knew what it was. The Church absolutely does not teach, nor has it ever, the things that I accused them of. So where did all this loathing come from? I suppose parts of it were inherited views from my upbringing. We didn’t actually know any Catholics, but we had heard of the horrors. But there must have been more to it than that. My elders believed a lot of things that I disagree with; so why did I agree to this hatred? I can only come up with one theory that suffices. The Devil. Who else could it have been? Satan doesn’t waste much time chasing the lost, they do a fine job of damning themselves already. He does, however, seek to corrupt and destroy truth. He knows no limits when it comes to distorting the facts, and denying the honest seekers of God the one thing that they seek.
My journey, such as it is, has been long and hard. Every time I thought I had found Catholicism’s Achilles Heel, after further prayer and study, God proved me wrong, thankfully. The Hound of Heaven, when He is on your scent, is more relentless than every single devil in hell combined. There is no denying Him. As Saint Augustine said, “our hearts are restless until they rest in You”.
I have decided, with much prayer and study, that I can no longer deny the truth. If it costs me everything, I must stand for what is right. To quote, of all people, Martin Luther, “Here I stand, I can do not else, so help me God”.
I can sense the “mighty cloud of witnesses” from the book of Hebrews rejoicing with me. Thankfully I am not the first to undertake such a journey. Becoming Catholic was the last thing I ever wanted to do! And yet, Christ in His mercy is making me whole. I have decided to follow Jesus, no turning back, as the hymn sings. I honestly do not feel like I am rejecting my Baptist upbringing. It instilled in me a great and mighty love for Sacred Scripture. Now I stand at the gates of the Church that gave us the bible! And all those years I thought that Catholics were afraid of the bible! O’ foolish man that I was! I have never set foot in a Church that uses or believes in the Bible more than does the Holy Catholic Church! I o longer have to skip verses that fly right in the face of my beliefs. I can accept them all, and see that the all fit right into place with the ancient faith. The faith that I did not make; the faith that is making me.
As I stand here, at the door to life more abundantly I am reminded of all my Holy Siblings who have gone before. Saint Francis, Saint Thomas Aquinas, Saint Augustine, Saint Ignatius, Saint Polycarp, Mother Teresa, Pope John Paul II, and millions of others who have walked the path toward Heaven. To say that I am unworthy would be too massive an understatement.
I am starving for the Eucharist, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of our Lord. That Holy Sacrament given for the life of the world! That medicine of immortality! How long, my God, have I denied You? All along You have been there, calling unto me. Happy are those who are called to the Lamb’s supper!
Virgin Mother of God, pray for me! Saints Peter and Paul, pray for me! Saint Michael the Archangel, pray for me!
The demands of our Lord are simple really. He calls each and every one of us to be a saint. That is His whole purpose for becoming man, and the summary of all of His teachings. Being a saint is a choice that we have to make, and make it we must. He will never deny us the grace we need to be such. It is His Holy will that we accept it. Beginning now, and henceforth, I will try to do just that, God help me.
Pax Christi.
