On Christian Unity--- and the Catholic/protestant "thing."

I posted a little note my hubs wrote on his frustration with protestants recently and it occurred to me that a lot of my protestant friends might read it and feel offended or frustrated by his language-- after all, my husband 's strongest points are not always diplomacy and sensitivity :P
That being said, I totally enjoyed his article and thought it was hysterical-- having been in that same position SO MANY TIMES-- the position of having to "explain myself" to a well-meaning but totally off-track Christian in order to secure my own salvation in their eyes. We can and should always have a sense of humor about it, because if we don't laugh, we will cry.
Particularly in the case for Christian unity, when people see Catholics as being so "hard-headed" and unwilling to budge an inch, while the Catholic position is actually far more all-encompassing.
As a whole, the protestant position seems to be: "You must be saved, thus you must do things exactly as I do them or you will miss my boat and heaven will be closed to you." (and remember-- been there! Guilty as charged!)

The Catholic position, on the other hand, is: "Come over here, we have perfect hope that we will see the Salvation of the Lord and that we're doing it right, but if you don't get in our boat, we hope to see you there anyways. You aren't going to get there without Jesus, so we hope you meet Him along the way."

But it got me thinking that I need to do some clarifying about my own position and in my own words so that people don't misunderstand me (or him!) because good communication is always important. Then I got to Mass today and apparently, this is the week we are supposed to be praying for Church unity with protestants and orthodox (irony!) That meant it was definitely time to do some heavy blogging. :)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church has this to say about protestants:

817
In fact, "in this one and only Church of God from its very beginnings there arose certain rifts, which the Apostle strongly censures as damnable. But in subsequent centuries much more serious dissensions appeared and large communities became separated from full communion with the Catholic Church—for which, often enough, men of both sides were to blame."269 The ruptures that wound the unity of Christ's Body—here we must distinguish heresy, apostasy, and schism270—do not occur without human sin:

Where there are sins, there are also divisions, schisms, heresies, and disputes. Where there is virtue, however, there also are harmony and unity, from which arise the one heart and one soul of all believers.271


818
"However, one cannot charge with the sin of the separation those who at present are born into these communities [that resulted from such separation] and in them are brought up in the faith of Christ, and the Catholic Church accepts them with respect and affection as brothers . . . . All who have been justified by faith in Baptism are incorporated into Christ; they therefore have a right to be called Christians, and with good reason are accepted as brothers in the Lord by the children of the Catholic Church."272

819
"Furthermore, many elements of sanctification and of truth"273 are found outside the visible confines of the Catholic Church: "the written Word of God; the life of grace; faith, hope, and charity, with the other interior gifts of the Holy Spirit, as well as visible elements."274 Christ's Spirit uses these Churches and ecclesial communities as means of salvation, whose power derives from the fullness of grace and truth that Christ has entrusted to the Catholic Church. All these blessings come from Christ and lead to him,275 and are in themselves calls to "Catholic unity."276

Toward unity

820
"Christ bestowed unity on his Church from the beginning. This unity, we believe, subsists in the Catholic Church as something she can never lose, and we hope that it will continue to increase until the end of time."277 Christ always gives his Church the gift of unity, but the Church must always pray and work to maintain, reinforce, and perfect the unity that Christ wills for her. This is why Jesus himself prayed at the hour of his Passion, and does not cease praying to his Father, for the unity of his disciples: "That they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be one in us, . . . so that the world may know that you have sent me."278 The desire to recover the unity of all Christians is a gift of Christ and a call of the Holy Spirit.279

821
Certain things are required in order to respond adequately to this call:

* a permanent renewal of the Church in greater fidelity to her vocation; such renewal is the driving-force of the movement toward unity;280

* conversion of heart as the faithful "try to live holier lives according to the Gospel";281 for it is the unfaithfulness of the members to Christ's gift which causes divisions;

* prayer in common, because "change of heart and holiness of life, along with public and private prayer for the unity of Christians, should be regarded as the soul of the whole ecumenical movement, and merits the name ‘spiritual ecumenism;'"282

* fraternal knowledge of each other;283

* ecumenical formation of the faithful and especially of priests;284

* dialogue among theologians and meetings among Christians of the different churches and communities;285

* collaboration among Christians in various areas of service to mankind.286 "Human service" is the idiomatic phrase.


822
Concern for achieving unity "involves the whole Church, faithful and clergy alike."287 But we must realize "that this holy objective—the reconciliation of all Christians in the unity of the one and only Church of Christ—transcends human powers and gifts." That is why we place all our hope "in the prayer of Christ for the Church, in the love of the Father for us, and in the power of the Holy Spirit."288

However, lest we all start singing Kumbaya, it also reminds us of who and what Luther and Calvin really were: heretics.

406 The Church's teaching on the transmission of original sin was articulated more precisely in the fifth century, especially under the impulse of St. Augustine's reflections against Pelagianism, and in the sixteenth century, in opposition to the Protestant Reformation. Pelagius held that man could, by the natural power of free will and without the necessary help of God's grace, lead a morally good life; he thus reduced the influence of Adam's fault to bad example. The first Protestant reformers, on the contrary, taught that original sin has radically perverted man and destroyed his freedom; they identified the sin inherited by each man with the tendency to evil (concupiscentia), which would be insurmountable. The Church pronounced on the meaning of the data of Revelation on original sin especially at the second Council of Orange (529)296 and at the Council of Trent (1546)

It is important to remember these two things. As Catholics, we know that we love and serve the SAME LORD Jesus Christ as Protestants. We also know that we will need to work towards unity of belief with these protestants without compromising our own faith. And we know that we must accept that these protestants are lacking in one thing and one thing only: sacramental grace. For example, though the protestant churches do not have the Eucharist, nor any of the graces that come with that, they have been given a special grace for worship, that enables them to be filled with the Holy Spirit in a very special way.
Where there is a lack, God can MORE than make up for what is needed by providing a different type of grace, and thus we find that many, MANY protestants, though they don't have the sacraments, are powerful examples of what a Christian, quite simply, IS.

For starters, I don't regret my time as a protestant. I am not sorry for it and I DO think that God called me TO it and out of the Catholic Church for a moment so that I would be able to appreciate all the better what I had in front of me when I returned. I definitely believe that God has guided this journey. Second, I have no ill-will towards protestants today. Nor do I "hate" any protestant churches-- I have nothing but goodwill and wishes for success -- if we share the definition of success, which in my view is "to accomplish God's will."---towards my previous churches and to any of the Churches in Christ around the globe. I may roll my eyes a bit or poke fun at some of them for the sheer predictability of what they are up to these days, but I do the same for Catholic Parishes, so don't feel like I'm being "hard on you" if you are a protestant reader.

So here's the deal.
One of the major things I DO regret-- and that I have had to repent of-- is the absolute arrogance that grew from my ability to read, internalize, know and teach the Word of God. Because I was my own personal interpreter of "God's Bible Truth" for years and years, I grew to feel entitled to tell others what was and wasn't God's Truth based on that interpretation. I was my own authority, even though I believed I was submitted to my pastor's authority, and in doing so I rejected ACTUAL spiritual authority-- the authority which, in the biblical and apostolic manner, was handed down from Christ Himself to his disciples and their own disciples not only spiritually but by the literal laying on of hands.

Instead I picked and chose a Church which I felt taught what I had decided was "Bible Truth" based on what other people told me it was (and eventually, after studying theology and apologetics, based on what I thought it was) and then expected other people to build and teach doctrine and theology based on what I felt the Bible said.

Now, there is some method to that madness. You will find, as I did, that MOST issues really ARE completely obvious to a person who regularly dives into the Word and that Bible-reading protestants AND Catholics across the board really DO agree on almost everything. And if they don't, it's usually because they haven't looked at their bibles correctly, which means, in light of the correct lens. Because we ALL wear lenses when we look at scripture-- some of us see it through our own experience, or another's. Others of us see it through the eyes of the Magesterium. Regardless of HOW we look at it, some-- even many-- issues are undeniable in light of Scripture. (abortion, or homosexual marriage, I'm looking your direction...) Protestants acknowledge that lens when they say things like "that's legalism," or "that's out of context."

That being said, since the fundamental goal of every person who knows Christ is to share Him with others who need to know Him in order to get into heaven, then we have a conundrum. Because how do we share Him? What do we say about Him? And, as the famous Charles Colson said: "How now shall we live?"

It might surprise you that Catholics and Protestants will tell you the same thing: you must build a personal relationship with Him through prayer and time in the Word. Catholics add another step: you must be part of His Church, because to be a member of the Church is to accept His salvation. Why do we say this? Because within the confines of membership in the Catholic Church are all of those things which are necessary for salvation:

we believe. we are baptized. we proclaim and meditate on the Word of God. We receive Communion. We confess our sins. We repent. We turn from our ways and do penance. We annoint our sick with oil. We die in His good graces.

To be a member of the Catholic Church is to be guaranteed salvation IF (and this is a big IF) we take our membership seriously. If we live our Catholic faith. Not only that, but Christ established a Church, which gives all the more reason to be a part of it.

Protestantism is structureless-- as evidenced by the two trillion different denominations who somehow "all believe the same thing." There are different branches which at their conception were created specifically to do things more or less differently than the Church they departed from. It is an organic movement of people's yearnings mingled with the Holy Spirit's call, and it is amazing to me to see the differences as they evolve. In my last six or so years as a protestant I was more or less a Catholic with protestant skin on: I was a part of the Family Integrated Church movement, the new apostolic reformation, and other groups which essentially BELIEVED virtually everything a Catholic believes with regards to what the scripture says, all the while staying firmly grounded in my reformation stance. But when I look at it objectively-- most of the "95 theses" Luther posted on the door were eventually integrated into the Catholic Church.

I DO believe that the Church was in need of renewal at that time, and in that sense, Luther was a much needed instrument. Renewal, yes, but not Reformation. I don't believe, from reading his writings, that Luther intended to remove himself from the Catholic Church. I think that he was to be used as a much needed instrument of renewal and that Satan was able to subvert his main purpose and that it got away from him too fast for him to really HEAR God's voice in all of it. He is not, then, a hero of the faith but a failure of the faith, for me... an example of how easy we can fall when we fail to discern God's voice from the devil's and from our own flesh.
That being said, the children of the reformation cannot be held responsible for their fathers' actions. Somewhere along the line these children began to seek Jesus for themselves and to build a Church that resembled his own. Since the Catholic Church was "off limits" to them, so to speak, as a source of Truth, they turned elsewhere.

Let me be clear: I do NOT believe that Catholicism is a denomination of Christianity. It is THE denomination. Anything else is a departure from the "Unity" that Christ intended, and one of the most glorious things about BEING Catholic is that you enjoy perfect unity of doctrine with literally hundreds upon hundreds of groups with different WAYS of living out that faith. It is an awesome thing.

On the other hand, this in no way negates the very real participation in the life of Christ that every protestant person is called to by virtue of his "personal relationship" with Christ. I am not denying the strong bond that a protestant person can build with Jesus and the exemplary fruit which can come of said bond.

I spoke earlier of my certainty that Catholicism is a completion of protestantism-- that it is, so to speak, the 'missing link' that so many, disheartened with seeking the face of God in Church, after Church, after Church, are looking for. Being a protestant, simply put, is only half the story, and that isn't because we Catholics add "works" but rather because we add bucketloads of grace which God desires to pour out through the sacraments, which are visible signs of grace instituted by Christ Himself. We don't baptize people because it is an ordinance (Because God said to do it) but because it is a SACRAMENT, because through it certain graces are conferred onto us that will later be used to build up our Spirit-man. It does something. And most protestants, when pressed, will realize that they believe this too-- that it places an indelible sign of grace on the person. They just don't KNOW they believe it, or if they do, they refuse to call it "Sacramental." That sounds "too religious."

Which brings me to the next thing: liturgy. Because "church isn't what we come away with but also what we do when we are gathered. And that's another thing I love about being a Catholic--we don't get together to fellowship. We don't need to, because through the grace conferred by the sacraments we find that we are fellowshipping all the time, only its a natural progression instead of what seems to me to be an artificial encouragement to "love each other" in like, a fifteen minute meet and greet. I see Catholics starting meet and greets in their own parishes and I get annoyed--- it's such an unCatholic concept. These things should naturally BE occurring because we have worshipped together and we will go out into the world and shelter each other... not because we "should" but because we want to.
Liturgy is the messy business of perfecting how we "do" Church, and while there is a vast difference in that all over the world as far as protestantism goes, Catholics have the advantage of being able to worship together in common whether they are on Galapagos or in India, in Cuba or ShangHai... Not only because the Order of Worship is the same but because all over the world Catholics hear and study the same verses from scripture and celebrate and observe the same holy days.
Also, there is no need for so many of the arguments that exist in the protestant world today. Predestination or Free will? Both. Evolution or Creationism? We don't know, both. And either. Church on Wednesday night or Sunday night? How about every day of the week?

At the end of the day, I know why most of my protestant friends don't want to be Catholic. It's usually not because they find it too religious (there's the whole "Traditions of men" thing, but anyone who actually takes the time to look into it understands from a biblical perspective why we do what we do) and it's not because they think Catholicism is unbiblical. It's because they don't want to get behind the Holy Father, our Pope. They don't want to adhere to the "rules" of Catholicism-- like going to confession before receiving communion, or believing in the authority of the priesthood. The thing is, in order to be a good Catholic one must really do all of the things it takes to be a good protestant:

Develop a relationship with Christ, be baptized. Reject sin. Reject Satan. Know and proclaim the Word. Be present at the altar of Christ to worship Him. Confess your sins. Submit to a spiritual authority.

The only difference is that as a Catholic you are consciously and visibly accountable to a higher authority other than yourself.

The biggest obstacle to Unity is the pope, because protestants don't realize that he is the servant of the Church, that we are behind him as leader but because he serves, not because he 'reigns.'

The second biggest obstacle to Unity is what protestants think/assume/have been told Catholics believe, as opposed to what ACTUAL Church teaching is. This leads to GREAT misunderstandings and/or disagreements that could be avoided. Some of the more common ones are confessing to a man, purgatory, "Mary worship" etc.

The third biggest obstacle to Unity is pride. Because of obedience, the Catholic Church does not condone the "celebritization" of persons with large, powerful ministries or individual parishes which are larger than others. We are One, and all glory goes to God and His visible Church on earth. Our monks and nuns give up all worldy possessions to live in community and serve people. They don't build golden toilets, own private "prayer jets" and take ten to fifteen vacations a year. Our heroes wear rope sandals or identical black shirts with a white collar. We don't tell you that you will have nothing but sunshine and rainbows when you give your life to God. We are honest. You will have penance, not parties, and you will have suffering and lots of it.

There are plenty of books that explain the vast theological "misunderstandings" protestants have about the Catholic Church. The four I always recommend are :

"Catholics and Christians."
"95 verses to confound protestants"
"Catholicism and fundamentalism."
"The Catholic answers survival guide."

I also recommend very, very highly anything you can get your hands on by Dr Scott Hahn, who is a brilliant genius when it comes to explaining all things Catholic in light of Scripture (and a former protestant!)

That being said, these books explain with great gusto what the Catechism of the Catholic Church (which no protestants I have found seem to want to read) teaches. So clearly, the best option is the actual source, the catechism.

It has been said that no one "hates" the Catholic Church for what she actually teaches, only for what they think she teaches. I couldn't agree more.

But it has been a devastatingly challenging experience going from die hard "nondenominational" Christian to Catholic. First, because it was a huge blow to my pride to acknowledge that I didn't know a thing about being a Catholic, even though I was raised one. And second, to acknowledge that a big part of what I was addicted to as a protestant was the EMOTIONAL experience of worshipping with other people. It's hard not to feel "God's presence" when you're around other hyped up people and the worship set is good and someone speaks a word to your heart. It's much harder to hear God in silence, like Catholics do in adoration, in liturgy, where responses are already mapped out, or in quiet, humble service for which you get no thanks. And yet in my own life, the fruit that has been produced has been tremendous-- so though I miss the extravagant worship experience very much, I can't say that this isn't better for my soul.

Lastly, it was hard acknowledging that I am not in charge of other people's salvation. As a protestant I AGONIZED over the salvation of souls, doing everything I could to tell people what they were doing right or wrong in order to "save them." I annoyed the heck out of people and quite frankly I judged them incorrectly, because I literally felt that I KNEW intellectually (not with my spirit, but with my mind) what God would say to them at all times. In the past two years since i have returned to the Church it has never ceased to amaze me how many times people assume something -- usually the worst-- about me based on whatever evidence is presented, and I am left only able to hang my head in shame at how many times I must have done the same thing to someone else. It needs to be said that St Francis had the best idea we've ever had when he said:

"Share the gospel always. Use words when necessary."

It bothers me to NO END when my nondenominational friends assure me that I'm part of the body of Christ (really? Gee thanks!) despite my Catholicism. Or that it's fine for me to FELLOWSHIP Catholics, so long as I know "the truth" which is that the Church is just one denomination among many (nope!) The thing that gets me the most is that I guess I feel that people are perpetually asking me one after another question about Catholicism because they want to know if they can count it as "Christian" or not. It seems to be the biggest underlying question: is Catholicism acceptable or not? I shouldn't have to defend myself and my theology to other Christians. After all, they are orphaned children of the Church. These same protestants who use the Bible to make claims that the Catholic Church is "unchristian," "a disunifying factor," the "antichrist" or "whore of babylon" etc have been GIVEN that bible they hold in their hand by the very same Catholic Church they want to denigrate. It's so frustrating. I don't need/want other people's approval to do what I know is right, so I'm not sure why protestants always seem to want to give it or withdraw it.

At the end of the day, though, I absolutely love my protestant brothers and sisters. I admire their enthusiasm and their dedication to the Lord, their willingness to go out and do ANYTHING for Him. I admire their zeal for truth and their passion for seeing hearts turn to Christ. We need more of that fire in the Catholic Church-- it has been sleeping! (which is why we need the Charismatic Renewal, but that's another story.) At the same time, I am so thankful every day that God didn't just make me a Christian, but a Catholic. It doesn't get any better than this. And I have enough common ground with my protestant brothers and sisters to keep us united in prayer. That, really, is the most important thing.