What is Unique About Being a Catholic Christian?

 

The major difference is authority. The Catholic Church has the ability to teach us and to establish doctrine. Why? Check out Matthew 16:18, where Jesus founds His church on Simon, whose name he changes to Peter to reflect the mission, (“petros” means “rock” in Greek). “Upon this rock I will build my church,” Jesus says.  The mission Jesus charges the apostles with is spreading the Gospel across the earth with the help of the Holy Spirit. Peter becomes the first Pope, and the Holy Spirit equips him to lead the early church. Amazing.

Fr. Mike Schmitz of “Ascension Presents” points out that when Jesus said to Peter, “I give you the keys to the kingdom,” (Mt. 16:19), He was referencing the prophet Isaiah. In a kingdom governing structure there is the role of the Prime Minister, who has authority over the kingdom if the King leaves.  Jesus gives the apostles the authority to teach in His name and the structure He establishes through Peter allows for the hierarchy we have today with Deacons, Priests, Bishops, Cardinals and the Pope as our guides and leaders.

Some Christians say that the Bible alone has the authority to teach us. As Catholics we believe that the Bible is the sacred word of God. We believe that word is infallible. The question is, are all of our diverse interpretations of the Bible infallible? There are some issues that the Bible does not specifically address. This problem came up for the early church leaders.  In Acts of the Apostles, we see the apostles grappling with the question of whether or not to share the Good News with Gentiles. What did they do? They discussed, debated and prayed to the Holy Spirit for guidance. Then they made an authoritative decision. Throughout the history of the Catholic Church, this is how our leaders of the faith have answered questions that Jesus never specifically addressed.  Jesus gave authority to the apostles and Peter as the head of the apostles and we should trust that, as fallible as some of our Catholic leaders have been over time. He gave them the Holy Spirit to guide their decisions.  Pope Francis stands in the shoes of the apostle Peter today, by the power of the Holy Spirit, who we believe as Catholics guided the church to choose him for that role.  That’s awesome.

Next, we have saints. Saints are the great heroes and heroines of our faith. They are our role models. The church takes great care in deciding who is made a saint, and we can count on the idea that these holy people are in the presence of God in heaven, and they are praying for us. How cool is that?

Catholics have the most beautiful way of venerating the Blessed Mother, Mary.  Mary has an awesome role as our spiritual mother given to her by Jesus as she watched Him suffer on the cross. If you recall Jesus said to his disciple, “Behold, your mother,” (Jn 19:25-29).  Mary’s mission is to bring us all closer to her Son Jesus. Mary is the Queen of Heaven.  Jesus gave His mother to us as a gift.  Catholics understand Mary’s role, and they reap the benefits of asking Mary to pray for them.

Finally, Catholics have the enormous gift of Mass, where Jesus is made fully present in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the ultimate spiritual food.  Everyone is invited and those who become Catholic can receive Jesus into their hearts and minds daily through the sacrament of Holy Communion. Mass happens around the world daily and it’s the same wherever you go.

We learn from the parable of the Wedding feast, (see Matthew 22:1-14), there are some invitations you just shouldn’t pass up.  Being Catholic is one of them.