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ASK YOURSELF THIS © :

SOME COMMONSENSE

PROOFS

FOR CHRISTIANITY

July 14, 2021 (begun)

(feast of St. Kateri Tekakwitha,

“the Lily of the Mohawks”)

Dedication

To all who pass on the True Faith

Table of Contents

Prologue

Introduction

Attraction, Archaeology, and the Apostles

Brains, “Bricks”, and the Bible

Charity, Conversions, and the Cross

Doubts, Details, and the Don’t-Tells

Embarrassment, Effects, and the Evil Spirits

Failures, Frankness, and the Faith

God, Gamaliel, and the Gospels

History, Holy Communion, and the Holy Spirit

Intention, Invention, and the Incorruptibles

Logic, Lewis, and “The Last Respectable Prejudice”

Motives, Miracles, and the Martyrs

. . . and the Our Father

Proximity, Pentecost, and the Persecutions

Risks, Relics, and the Resurrection

Truth, Timing, and the Ten Commandments

Virtues, Variations, and the Virgin Mary

Wisdom, Wonders, and the Women

Prologue

Where are you in your journey of faith? If you’re like many people, you’re somewhere in between “totally got it” and “totally don’t . . got it”. You want to completely believe (and a good part of you does), but still you long for some good ol’, stick-to-your-ribs, mentally tangible proofs that you can sink your soul’s teeth into.

They don’t have to be earth-shattering ones. You’re not looking for the Lord to put these on a billboard or sky-write His proofs on a perfectly blue sky. Just some facts that, taken together, amount to an intellectually satisfying foundation for believing in Him and in what His Scriptures profess.

And that, in a nutshell, is what this book’s purpose is: to kindle, to strengthen, and/or to inform your faith journey (depending on where you're at). Approach these pages as would a detective or a judge. Ask yourself this © : To where does this evidence lead? What would an open-minded, rational person conclude about the presented information? Are these “bricks” enough to build a solid house of faith with?

I believe they are. After decades of searching and struggling myself, I have finally arrived at a place where faith and reason coexist. On the following pages you’ll find evidence of His work in the world, both during and since His earthly life. And I daresay that among them you’ll find plenty of bricks strong enough to build your own solid house of faith.

Introduction

Jesus understands our faith struggle. He is amazingly gentle with sincere doubters (those who are genuinely searching for the truth about Jesus):

He went ahead and healed the boy whose father declared, “I believe -- help my unbelief”.

Post-Resurrection, He invited the doubting Apostle, Thomas, to probe His Crucifixion wounds with his fingers.

And when even John the Baptist doubted, Jesus answered his queries by pointing to His prophesied good works (which, by then, were common knowledge).

That said, those who remain stubbornly defiant, despite having been taught the Truth, are of a different ilk, and not dealt with in the same gentle way. For Our Lord expects us to use our gift of reason (which He uniquely gave to humanity at creation) to connect the evidential dots and see the Truth of Who He is.

An honest study of the evidence (both those presented here and the many additional ones presented elsewhere) shows that the preponderance of it is clearly on God’s side. As someone once wrote, “It would take more faith not to believe than to believe.”

Indeed, barely a month goes by nowadays that doesn’t see the publication of a new theory to explain away Christ’s divinity, or His saving sacrifice, or His Resurrection, or His . . . But these theories all seem to be illogical, outlandish, and self-contradictory. They rely on presumption after presumption.

But William of Ockham, an English Franciscan friar and theologian who lived around 1300, devised a philosophical tool (“Ockham’s Razor”) that can shed light here. Basically, Ockham’s Razor states that the simplest explanation is usually the correct one. For in contrast to those convoluted theories against Christ (which really aren’t so new but rather rebrandings of ancient ones), the arguments for the truth of Christ are beautiful, straightforward, and coherent. And they’ve stood the test of time. Ok, time to put on your investigator’s hat . . .

Chapter 1 -- Attraction, Archaeology, and the Apostles

“Come now, and let us reason together.” {Isaiah 1:18}

-- Attraction --

Ask yourself this © : How did the Early Church grow so rapidly?

As you chew on this question, remember three things:

There were no telephones, no emails, and no television networks with which to spread the word

Travel was slow and dangerous

Christians were being hunted down and killed on a regular basis

Nevertheless, the Early Church grew by leaps and bounds! How?

The single most attractive quality in a human being is goodness, especially when the person isn’t even aware that s/he is good. Such goodness can also abide in a group of people, and thus attract new members to that group. And that’s exactly what we see happening in Christianity. People of both genders, all ages, and multiple nationalities were (and are) welcomed with open arms by the Church.

And so the question becomes: Just what did these prospective members see in the Early Church, besides probable persecution and possible death? Well . . .

People readily noticed that there was something very different about the Christians. They were kind -- even to their enemies. They were joyous -- even amid murderous persecutions. They were holy -- keeping away from divorce, abortion, adultery, and all other serious sins that were dragging down the societies around them. Empowered by their unshakeable (and in many cases, eyewitnessed!) faith in the bodily Resurrection of Jesus Christ, the Christians resolutely lived The Way (as Christianity was first called) in everything they did. People noticed. And people joined.

-- Archaeology --

Ask yourself this © : If the Bible is incorrect, why hasn’t archaeology demonstrated that by now?

Well, it’s not for lack of trying. For example, St. Luke (widely regarded as an excellent historian) wrote that a certain structure had five porticos. Since the usual number is four, archaeologists investigated. Their finding? That there was indeed a fifth portico on that particular structure! And that’s just one such example.

To date, not a single archaeological find has ever refuted a Biblical reference. Surely such conscientious accuracy in the minor details lends credence to the Bible’s more important truth claims.

-- the Apostles --

Jesus’s twelve closest disciples (the Apostles) were a motley crew consisting of four fishermen, one tax collector, six who-knows-whats, and a traitor. They were slow to believe, self-centered, short-sighted, and, except for the youngest (!), too afraid to stick with Jesus through His horrific Passion and Death. Indeed, if Jesus could change the world through those men, He can do anything! Or, as the song Nobody, by the band Casting Crowns, puts it, “You picked 12 outsiders nobody would have chosen, and You changed the world!”

So just how did Jesus launch history’s greatest world-changing institution -- His Catholic Church -- with just eleven (not counting Judas the traitor) flawed, unreliable men? How, when so many other movements have come and gone throughout history?

Chapter 2 -- Brains, “Bricks”, and the Bible

“Greater minds than mine have accepted these things.” --- Monsignor F. Thomas Gallen

-- Brains --

Ask yourself this © : Am I really more intelligent than every single person (including some very intelligent people) who has accepted Jesus and the Christian Faith?

One of the most formidable barriers to conversion is the “not-wanting-to-be-duped” sentiment, whereby one feels that “giving in” to faith runs the risk of the person’s being made a fool of. So fence-sitters opt to not decide for nor against Christianity.

The problem with that strategy is that it doesn't answer the question -- it merely puts it off. And it thus runs the very real risk of eternal damnation if such indecision calcifies into stubborn refusal.

Yes, faith involves risk, but so does every other worthwhile undertaking. We are inundated with risks from the very moment we wake up each morning. But most people refuse to let that stop them. And we should apply the same commendable courage to this most important of undertakings -- our faith life.

The seventeenth-century French philosopher, theologian, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal formulated what has come to be called “Pascal's Wager”. Basically it states that not believing in God and being wrong constitutes a greater risk than does believing in God and being wrong.

Christians come in all colors, backgrounds, and IQ’s. Some are as simple-minded as this humble author, while others are among the most brilliant minds who ever lived. Take, for example, St. Thomas Aquinas (1224/1225 -- 1274), who was so quiet in school that classmates, thinking him a simpleton, called him “the dumb ox”. But in actuality he was stunningly bright, a fact soon realized by his mentor, St. Albert the Great (an extremely intelligent man in his own right). St. Thomas Aquinas wrote the Summa Theologica, a masterpiece still used (and still challenging) to this day. Or take St. Catherine of Siena, whose wisdom was repeatedly sought after by Pope Gregory XI. The list of smart Christians could go on and on.

In the non-saint column, the list of very intelligent Christian scientists includes Louis Pasteur, Marie Curie, and countless others. So instead of going on and on listing more smart and faithful Christians, suffice it to say that some extremely intellectual people have and continue to populate the ranks of those who have accepted the truth of Jesus Christ.

-- “Bricks” --

Ask yourself this © : If Jesus was nothing other than a simple, carpenter-turned-preacher, then why are we still so fascinated by Him? Why do His words still challenge, comfort, and resonate with billions of people the world over?

“Bricks” is a collective term I use for the many solid, foundational things Jesus said during His public ministry here on earth. Some prime examples include:

“Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you.”

“Be perfect, as your Heavenly Father is perfect.”

“Unless each of you forgives his brother from his heart, neither will your Heavenly Father forgive you.”

“The Truth will set you free.”

“It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the Kingdom of God.”

“The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”

“I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life ; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

No wonder “the people were astonished at His teaching, for He taught as one having authority and not as their scribes” They asked, “Where did this man get all this?!”

-- the Bible --

Ask yourself this © : If the Bible is just a run-of-the-mill publication, then why is it so feared by the tyrants of the world, who have tried numerous times to destroy it?

The word “Bible” means “the book”, and there are 30 billion copies of it in the world today. It is the best-selling book of all time -- by orders of magnitude. It has survived targeted campaigns against it. And it has been miraculously snuck into countries that outright ban it (read the amazing book, God’s Smuggler, by Brother Andrew).

Moreover, the Bible has come down to us through four millenia, multiple writers, numerous languages/translations, and countless miles. Yet, despite all this, today’s copies are 99.6% faithful to the oldest manuscripts we have of it. On the 0.4% that differs involves spelling and other minor details -- not matters of doctrine. I’m no mathematician, so I won’t pretend to calculate the astronomical odds against that being the case. Let’s just say, play a round of the “Telephone Game” and see how that goes.

Chapter 3 -- Charity , Conversions, and the Cross

“Never doubt that a small but committed group of people can change the world -- indeed, that’s all that ever has.” --- Marianne Williamson

-- Charity --

Ask yourself this © : How did the Church single-handedly invent organized charity, setting the example that is still the standard today?

The Catholic Church is the world’s largest church, the world’s oldest organization, and “the world’s greatest force for good”. Nothing else even comes close. And from her earliest days, she has ministered to those in need -- from plague victims to drug addicts, from the orphaned to the widowed, from the jobless to the mentally ill, from the disabled to the down-and-out -- she helps any and all, regardless of religion, seeing in all people the face of Christ.

She has built schools, hospitals, and orphanages. She has begun soup kitchens, homeless shelters, and prayer groups. She has championed civil rights, universal education, and subsidiarity. Without a doubt, the world would be a much more dangerous, limited, and miserable place were it not for the highly effective charity efforts of the Catholic Church.

-- Conversions --

Ask yourself this © : How did and does the Church -- persecuted, ostracized, and ridiculed -- manage to make so many converts (then and now)?

And . . .

Ask yourself this © : How did a murderous persecutor of the Early Church do a complete “180” and become her most effective missionary ever, if not for God’s intervention?

Throughout the centuries, the Church has been blessed with countless conversions of all kinds: famous and not, miraculous and not, individual and group. The sheer multitude of conversions and the substantial odds against them are enough to convince any rational seeker of Christianity’s authenticity.

For example, the Apostle Peter, who famously denied Jesus thrice just before His Crucifixion, recanted his apostasy and later died on a cross himself (requesting to be nailed upside down in deference to Christ). Or take the Apostle James, who was a skeptic. After Jesus’s Resurrection, he became a staunch believer. In fact, he was named Bishop of Jerusalem and died a martyr’s death soon thereafter.

But there’s one conversion that stands out from all the rest. Indeed it’s been called “the Church's greatest conversion”. Jesus Himself referred to this man as “a chosen instrument of Mine”. It is the conversion of Saul → Paul.

Saul was a Pharisee, well educated in Judaism and on fire for keeping the Jewish faith “pure”. He persecuted the Early Church, arresting Christians and consenting to their executions. He was widely popular among Jews and greatly feared among Christians. In short, he was the Early Church’s worst physical nightmare. Yet, the Risen Christ confronted Saul, showed him the error of his ways, and set him on a new mission. Now known by his new name, Paul, he became Christianity’s greatest missionary ever. Indeed, he said, “For [Jesus’s] sake I have accepted the loss of all things and consider them so much rubbish, that I may gain Christ . . .” {Phillippians 3:8}

Bart Millard’s dad -- “I Can Only Imagine” (song and movie)

-- the Cross --

Ask yourself this © : How did what was once only a dreaded symbol of torture and death become a beloved symbol of love and life, unless Jesus utterly transformed the Cross’s meaning by rising from the dead?!

The Cross is the most recognized symbol in the world. If you were to ask a first-century inhabitant of Roman-occupied Palestine what a cross stood for, they would probably answer, “oppression, pain, and death”. Crucifixion was the horrific way in which the Roman Empire (which militarily occupied Jewish lands at the time of Jesus’s earthly life) kept subjugated populations under its thumb.

But ask someone today what the Cross stands for, and you’ll likely hear that it is a sign of faith, hope, and love to billions of people the world over. It is where Jesus showed us the depth of His love for each one of us. And a Crucifix (a Cross with Jesus’s Body on it) is an even more poignant reminder. We display them in our homes and churches, carry them in our purses and pockets, and put them around our necks and our rearview mirrors. We even bless ourselves with the Sign of the Cross! Indeed St. Paul wrote that “we proclaim Christ crucified.” {1c Cor 1:23}

Chapter 4 -- Doubts, Details, and the Don’t-Tells

“Anyone who could walk through a forest and claim there is no God, could walk through a museum and claim there are no artists.” --- President Ronald Reagan

-- Doubts --

Ask yourself this © : If the Evangelists were merely trying to foist a new religion upon the world, then why would they feature their doubts so prominently in the Bible?

Jesus understands our faith struggles. He is amazingly gentle with sincere doubters (those who are genuinely searching for the truth about Him).

He went ahead and healed the boy whose father declared, “I believe -- help my unbelief”.

Post-Resurrection, He invited the doubting Apostle, Thomas, to probe His Crucifixion wounds with his fingers.

And when even John the Baptist doubted, Jesus answered him (through John’s disciples) by pointing to His prophesied good works (which, by then, were common knowledge): “‘Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind regain their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the good news proclaimed to them.’” {Lk 7:22}

-- Details --

Ask yourself this © : If the Gospel writers were making everything up, why were they so meticulous in the details?

The Gospels were written to pass on Jesus’s words and deeds (particularly His salvific Death and Resurrection). But they are not biographies of Jesus’s life -- at least not biographies as we know the genre. Back then, write-ups of people’s lives focused much less on the minutia and much more on the message. What did the person espouse? What did s/he accomplish?

Given the above, it is remarkable that all four Gospels contain plenty of details -- and not just names and places:

Jesus fed thousands with “five barley loaves and two fish”. {Jn 6:9}

“. . . the net [was] full of one hundred fifty-three large fish.” {Jn 21:11)

“Now there were six stone water jars there for Jewish ceremonial washings, each holding twenty to thirty gallons.” {Jn 2:6}

“. . . a woman came with an alabaster jar of perfumed oil.” {Mk 14:3}

One miracle recipient “had been ill for thirty-eight years”. {Jn 5:5}

These are just a few of the many details found throughout the Gospels, and they lend a great deal of credence to the more profound faith statements that accompany them. As C. S. Lewis put it, the Gospels have “that gritty feel of reality”.

-- the Don’t-Tells --

Ask yourself this © : If Jesus were just some power-hungry, celebrity-seeking fake, then why did He tell demons, disciples, and miracle recipients alike not to make Him known?

In a number of His healing miracles, “Jesus warned them sternly, ‘See that no one knows about this.’” {Mt 9:30}. Even when Peter declared Jesus to be “‘The Christ of God’, Jesus “rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.” {Lk 9:21} And in most of His exorcisms, the soon-to-be-displaced demon would verbally attest to Jesus’s divinity, eliciting a “be silent” admonishment from Jesus. On one occasion Jesus said, “If I glorify myself, my glory is worth nothing . . .” {Jn 8:54} On another occasion, Since Jesus knew that they were going to come and carry Him off to make Him king, He withdrew again to the mountain alone.” {Jn 6:15}

Chapter 5 -- Embarrassment, Effects, and the Evil Spirits

“All that I have seen teaches me to trust the Creator for all that I have not seen.” -- Ralph waldo Emerson

-- Embarrassment --

Ask yourself this © : If the Gospel writers were making everything up, why did they include many verses that were outright embarrassing to themselves?

Many people can tell you a good story. Some people can even humbly tell you about something that embarrasses themselves. But people don’t purposely embarrass themselves when trying to convince you to follow them into a radically new way of life.

Here is a sampling of such Gospel verses:

“ . . . the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” {Lk 17:5}

“When they saw Him [post-Resurrection], they worshiped, but they doubted.” {Mt 28:17}

“They had not understood the incident of the [feeding the 5,000 with the few] loaves. On the contrary, their hearts were hardened.” {Mk 6:52}

-- Effects --

The Catholic Church has been called “the greatest force for good in the history of the world”, and with good reason. Imitating the love of Christ, she inaugurated the very concept of organized charity. Thus she initiated soup kitchens, food pantries, hospitals, orphanages, religious schools, and much more. For example, during the plagues, when those who could afford to flee fled, her members stayed behind to care for the victims -- knowingly putting their own lives in jeopardy. A prime example of such self-sacrifice involved Fr. Damien of Molokai, who volunteered to minister to Hawaii’s leprosy colony despite the very high likelihood of dying himself from the dreaded disease (which he eventually did). Indeed “the Church has a history of stepping up and caring for the afflicted when others will not.” -- Msgr. Owen F. Campion, in Our Sunday Visitor

And to this day, every day, no other organization in the world serves more poor, ill, and otherwise needy people (both Christians and non-Christians) than the Catholic Church. In his wonderful book, Yours is the Church: How Catholicism Shapes Our World, Mike Aquilina delineates more of the numerous benefits to mankind fostered by the Catholic Church.

Everywhere that the Catholic Church is present, things improve. And everywhere that the Church is banned, things worsen. Case in point: Atheistic Communism’s terrible circumstances.

-- The Evil Spirits--

Ask yourself this © : Why would God-fearing Gospel writers relate stories about the evil spirits’ recognizing Jesus if they weren’t true? And why would evil spirits beg anything from a merely human Jesus -- unless Jesus isn’t merely human?

Jesus performed many miracles, most of which were either miracles of helping (turning water into wine, feeding the thousands, etc.) or miracles of healing (curing the sick, raising the dead, etc.). Among the healing miracles, some of the most dramatic involve Jesus’s casting out demons.

On more than one occasion He told the healer not to tell anyone about his/her cure. And when He asked His disciples Who they say He is, and Peter spoke up for the group in declaring Jesus to be “the Christ of God, [Jesus] rebuked them and directed them not to tell this to anyone.” {Lk 9:19 ; cf Mk 7:36}

Jesus’s inaugurating the Kingdom of God also dealt directly with those people who were possessed by demons -- and thus the demons themselves. And they knew it. In numerous encounters, the demons spoke to Jesus. “But He rebuked them and did not allow them to speak because they knew that He [is] the Christ.” (Lk 4:38-44} {see also Mk 1:21-28 ; Mk 3:7-12 ; Lk 4:31-37}

Chapter 6 -- Failures, Frankness, and the Faith

“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate the Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.” -- Bishop Fulton J. Sheen

-- Failures --

Ask yourself this © : After all this time, and after all the foibles that characterize every worldly enterprise, do we honestly think that the Church is merely a human endeavor?

The Catholic Church has been accused of some serious errors over the two millennia of her existence. (I stress the word “accused” because one could make a good argument for the Church in these cases.) From the Crusades to the Inquisition, from how she treated Galileo to how she dealt with Hitler -- her history includes some less-than-perfect scenes. Yet she is still here, still attesting to the truth of Jesus Christ, still charitably serving all men. And there inlies the proof: Surely she would have succumbed to her own errors were she not supported, defended, and guided by something (Someone) of infinite power, wisdom, and love.

-- Frankness --

Ask yourself this © : How is it that Christianity is the only religion that willingly bases its entire credibility on one single, historically verifiable event -- the Resurrection of Jesus Christ?

The Bible can be quite forthright in a great many of its passages. Jesus says, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword.” (Mt 10:34). Elsewhere, St. Peters declares, “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we had been eyewitnesses of His majesty.” (2 Pt 1 ; 16) But there is one passage in particular that is so stark, so strong, that it is a proof in and of itself. St. Paul states clearly that, “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is vain ; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17). This is a statement of confidence -- from a man who used to be a mortal enemy of the Church.

-- The Faith --

Ask yourself this ©: Why did good, conscientious, monotheistic Jews come to worship Jesus as God Incarnate, knowing that they risked eternal damnation if they were wrong?

Jesus’s Apostles were all Jews, as were most of His disciples. Few of them were scholars of the Law, but they all knew enough to realize that they risked hellfire if they worshipped anyone or anything other than the One True God. Yet they came to the belief that this Jesus, Whom they were following and listening to, is in fact that same One true God. And thus, being convinced of that fact, they worshipped Jesus.

Chapter 7 -- God, Gamaliel, and the Gospels

“Mr. Chesterton, you are a despicable human being. And you call yourself a Catholic?!

“Oh, Madam, I would be a much more despicable human being were I not a Catholic.” -- G. K. Chesterton

-- God --

Ask yourself this ©: If Jesus were lying, would God the Father have let us be so deceived about something as crucially important as our very salvation?

One of the many attributes of God is that He is true. He is the Author of Truth. He loves the Truth. He is all about the Truth. And He knows how very important it is for human beings to know the Truth.

Now, hold onto that thought as you read the following:

Jesus Christ makes some fairly bold statements, among them:

“The Father and I are one” {Jn 10:30}

“Whoever has seen Me has seen the Father.” {Jn 14:9}

“All power in heaven and on earth has been given to Me.” {Mt 28:18}

“ . . . the Son of Man has the power on earth to forgive sins.” {Mt 9:6} {Mk 2:10}

If Jesus were lying, would God the Father not have intervened? Well, God the Father did intervene -- on the confirming side. In the Gospels, God the Father speaks from Heaven, saying, “This [Jesus] is My beloved Son” {Mt 3:17}. Jesus’s miracles attest to His divinity. And the greatest validation of Jesus’s being God Incarnate is His Resurrection from the dead. Jesus Himself offered us a “side path” to faith in Him when He said, “Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me, or else believe because of the works themselves.” {Jn 14:11}

-- Gamaliel --

Ask yourself this ©: If Christianity is a false religion, why hasn’t it gone by the wayside, like other historical movements? How is it still thriving, 2000 + years later?

This section is based on the words of a certain Pharisee, Gamaliel, recorded in the New Testament. We’ll let the passage speak for itself:

“ . . . a Pharisee in the Sanhedrin named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, respected by all the people, stood up, . . . and said to them, ‘Fellow Israelites, be careful what you are about to do to these men [Jesus’s Apostles]. . . . I tell you, have nothing to do with these men, and let them go. For if this endeavor or this activity is of human origin, it will destroy itself. But if it comes from God, you will not be able to destroy them ; you may even find yourselves fighting against God.’ They were persuaded by him. {Acts 5:34-39}

-- the Gospels --

Let’s look at the heart of the Bible -- the four Gospels themselves. In them we find the words and deeds of Jesus Himself. They are written in an eyewitness style. Importantly, the four vary a bit in the details -- indicating that no collusion occurred in their composition. Even more importantly, they sometimes portray the Apostles (two of whom each wrote a Gospels) as selfish, slow, and doubting. In short, they tell the (pun intended) Gospel truth -- warts and all.

Now we humans are a vain lot, and when we concoct a story, we invariably make ourselves look good. But the Gospels don’t do that -- in fact, they do the opposite, as stated above. The Apostles write as if they had seen the very Person and power of God, and that they were thus bound to tell the truth, so help them God.

Chapter 9 -- History, Holy Communion, and the Holy Spirit

“The only way to approach the Savior is on your knees.” -- Fr. Gavin @ St. Meinrad

-- History --

Ask yourself this ©: With history’s worst always gunning for the Catholic Church, how has she survived? How is she still here, and still flourishing, if not for divine help and protection?

Throughout the Catholic Church’s 2,000-year history, she has been under siege. Besides the early Roman persecutions, there have been numerous systematic pogroms designed to destroy her. From Attila the Hun to the Soviet Communists, from the fascist Nazi’s to the radical Muslims, wave after wave of diabolical attacks have been aimed directly at the Bride of Christ. Yet she remains.

-- Holy Communion --

Ask yourself this ©: If Jesus were some power-hungry false messiah, why didn’t He water-down His stance on Holy Communion in order to keep as many followers as possible? If He is not truly present in the Holy Communion of the Church that He started, then why was He willing to risk losing His closest friends over it?

If there’s one thing that separates a Catholic church from a Protestant church, it is the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in Catholic Holy Communion. Reserved in each and every Catholic church’s tabernacle, Jesus's real Body is present in the Communion Hosts. (His Blood is not reserved, but is instead fully consumed at each Mass.)

Jesus promised His Apostles that at the consecration of the bread and the wine, those become His Body and Blood, respectively. And because only the Catholic Church continues in the line of Apostolic Succession (meaning that all her priests can trace their individual ordinations back to a particular Apostle, and thus to Jesus Himself), then Jesus’s Real Presence is continued forever in Catholic Holy Communion.

And here’s the clincher: Jesus told His disciples, “ . . . My Flesh is true food, and My Blood is true drink. Whoever eats My Flesh and drinks My Blood remains in Me and I in him. . . . Then many of His disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard ; who can accept it?’ . . . As a result of this, many [of] His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, ‘Do you also want to leave?’” (Jn 53: 55-56, 60, 66-67)

So why indeed did He risk losing His twelve closest friends over His teaching regarding Holy Communion being His very Body and Blood? For one simple reason: The truth is the truth.

-- The Holy Spirit --

Ask yourself this ©: How has the Church maintained the truth -- undiluted and unpolluted -- for over 2,000 years, despite the Devil’s 24/7 onslaught, if not for divine guidance?

The Holy Spirit (The Third Person of the Holy Trinity) has many names: the Consoler, the Companion, the Breath of God, etc. But one of His names is of particular interest to us here: The Spirit of Truth. Indeed, Jesus promised us that, “. . . when He comes, the Spirit of Truth, He will guide you to all truth.” {Jn 16:13}

Truth is hard to come by, and the Devil seems bent on confusing us. His interaction with our first parents in the Garden of Eden was based on a lie. Jesus Himself warned us that Satan “ . . . is a liar and the father of lies.” {Jn 8:44}

But an honest observer will admit that the Catholic Church has always gotten the important stuff right. From morals to charity, from Christ’s divinity to the salvation He offers, the Truths that the Church has taught ever since the beginning have not wavered. And she has often paid a price for that fortitude -- at least a worldly price. To wit: Until the 1930’s, every mainstream Christian denomination denounced contraception as contrary to God’s will. Then, as contraception became more accepted in secular society, one by one the Protestant denominations caved to it as well. But the Catholic Church remained steadfastly against it, always citing moral reasons. It cost her members, it cost her priests, and it cost her donations. But she held firm to the truth.

Chapter 10 --