are the very same Truths
taught by Jesus Christ and His Apostles?
Do they then think that The Church is not advancing with the times?
Sadly, the critics, or at least a great number of them, no longer believe in unchanging Truth!!! Indeed, they can only think and speak of change, change, change!
But The Truth taught by Christ and which is Christ Himself - He Who is Truth-personified - is unchanging. It is everlasting.
Thank you Mother Church, for Your absolute consistency in holding fast to The Truth concerning Jesus. (Apocalypse 12)
Unfortunately the false criticism of Her critics is not only directed at The Universal Church from beyond, but in recent times, also from within! - another thrust by the defunct heresy of modernism - which lingers on like a bad smell in our own region of South East Queensland, and even, the whole state!
So, I thought I'd venture down this road of common sense as regards The Catholic Church founded by Jesus Christ; whose Bishops directly succeed the Apostles down the generations; whose Pope is the successor of Peter the First of the Apostles;
Peter, the first Catholic Pope.
If we ponder upon The Last Supper for example, and upon Christ's words This is My Body …. This is My Blood, we observe that Catholicism takes these words seriously; very seriously!
While many Christians reduce Christ's meaning to a sign , such as This is (a symbol of) My Body, (a symbol of) My Blood, ignoring Christ's forthright threats and promises:-
P 50 6 54 Then Jesus said to them: Amen, amen I say unto you: Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood,
you shall not have life in you.
50 6 55 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and
I will raise him up in the last day.
50 6 56 For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is drink indeed.
50 6 57 He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood,
abideth in me, and I in him.
50 6 58 As the living Father hath sent me, and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me, the same also shall live by me.
50 6 59 This is the bread that came down from heaven. Not as your fathers did eat manna, and are dead.
He that eateth this bread, shall live for ever. PJohn
On hearing this many of those people who were following Jesus could not accept this incredible teaching.
They, like present-day disciples found this doctrine too hard.
P 50 6 67 After this many of his disciples went back;
and walked no more with him.
50 6 68 Then Jesus said to the twelve: Will you also go away?
50 6 69 And Simon Peter answered him: Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life. P
Some might think that it is not common sense to take Christ seriously in this matter of His Flesh and Blood!
(Is it really possible not to take Christ's words seriously, in any matter? To me, that would lack common sense!)
Yet most Christians take it as a serious Doctrine Christ's claim that He is God-made-man.
If they take this incredible claim seriously, I contend that it is only common sense to take everything else Jesus said, seriously - especially This is My Body.
Because the Sacrament of Christ's Body
is the ultimate centre of Christianity.
It is the Central Issue of Catholicism.
It is the Reality
around which Catholicism exists;
around which Christianity exists;
around Which creation has claim to existence.
The New Testament, as can be seen by Christ's words above regarding the manna from Heaven (John 6:59), follows from and issues out of the Old Testament and numerous events and things of the Old Testament were types of things to come - things particularly relating to the Messiah.
We observe in the Sacrament of Christ's Body - that the manna in the desert was a type of this new Manna from Heaven.
This seems common sensical to me.
To whom shall we go?
The great Catholic, Peter the Apostle, made this fabulous statement. He may not have fully understand the momentous intention of The Lord's words Except you eat the flesh of the Son of man but he replied in these immortal words!
