A. One True Church
By Rev. John O’Brien, M.A., New York 1924
Foreword (By a Roman Catholic Bishop)
There is only one true God. He took flesh and became man only once. When man, He founded only on religion and one Church, the Roman Catholic Religion and the Roman Catholic Church. That Church is the divinely appointed guardian of the writings divinely inspired by God, known as the Bible. This Holy Bible is like no other book, because no other book has God for its principal author. Nevertheless, the Bible is not the foundation of the Church, but the Church is the foundation of the Bible. That is why Catholics need Mother Church as the guardian and interpreter of the Bible. Alas, Protestants have sown much confusion in the domain of Bible translations and Bible Studies, and in our own time their errors have been renewed by the pseudo • Catholics known as modernists. With the simplicity and clarity of a Catholic Catechism, this “Catechism of the Bible” re-establishes the mind of the Catholic Church on many a vexed point. May it help many Catholics graze safely in the divine pastures of Holy Scripture.
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I
have commanded you and behold I am with you
all days even to the consummation of the world.”
(Saint Mathew 28 :20)
“Whom do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar–Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father Who is in Heaven. And I say to thee: Thou art Peter; and upon this Rock I will build My Church, and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it.”
“And Jesus coming, spoke to them, saying: All power is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.”
- Can you learn to save your soul just by reading the Bible ?
No, because some of the things in the Bible can be misunderstood and because the Bible does not include everything that God taught.
“Understanding this first, that no prophecy of scripture is made by private interpretation.“ (2 Peter 1:20)
“As also in all his [St. Paul’s] epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are certain things hard to be understood, which the unlearned and unstable wrest [twist], as they do also the other scriptures, to their own destruction.“(2 Peter 3:16)
- What did Jesus do to make sure that His teaching would never be misunderstood? He established a church.
“The house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.“ (1 Timothy 3:15)
- When did Jesus establish His Church? Nearly two thousand years ago.
- How many churches did Jesus establish? Only one.
a) “Upon this Rock I will build My church.“ (Matthew 16:18)
b) “There shall be one fold and one shepherd.“ (John 10:16) - How long did Jesus plan His Church to last? Until the End of the World.
“I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world.” (Matthew 28:20)
- How did Jesus establish His Church? By giving His authority to the Apostles to rule and to teach.
“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.“ (Matthew 28:20)
- Did the people have to obey the Apostles?
Yes, because they spoke with the authority of Jesus, and therefore, to disobey them would be a sin.
“He that heareth you, heareth Me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth Me; and he that despiseth Me, despiseth Him that sent Me.“ (Luke 10:16)
- Did the authority of the Apostles die with them?
No, they handed down their authority to others, since Jesus instituted His Church to last until the end of the World. Some of the men who received authority from the Apostles: - Matthias (Acts 1:22),– Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:2), –Timothy, Silas, Sylvanus, Titus, Luke, –Mark (Acts 17:14; 2 Corinthians 1:19;– 2 Timothy 14:11)
- Which Church today has the same authority? The Catholic Church, because it is the only Church established by Jesus Christ.
- How do you know the Catholic Church is the only true church? History shows that it is the only church that can be traced back to Christ.
- Does everyone have to obey the Catholic Church? Yes, because She alone has the authority of Jesus to rule and to teach.
13.To disobey the Catholic Church knowingly is just as much a sin as to disobey Jesus Christ or His Apostles.
Where did the Protestant churches come from?
They were established by men who had no authority to start churches of their own.
PRACTICAL POINTS
- A non-Catholic who suspects that the Catholic Church is the one true Church of God and does not investigate Her claims with a mind to join if Her claims prove to be true, cannot be saved, because outside of Christ’s Mystical Body {the Catholic Church}, there is no salvation.
- You should try to bring others “to the knowledge of the Truth“ by prudently suggesting that they take instructions in the True Religion. (1 Timothy 2:4)
CONVERSION TO THE TRUE CHURCH
1) Bella Tower: I thought one may find this interesting it concerns Carol’s mother. Carol and I left the local Church here in Amherst around the year 1999. Since leaving, Carol tried for 6 months and her tried hardest to get her mother to leave and come with us. She mentioned to Carol “I brought my up 15 children here at St. Charles and they received the Sacraments, it seems hard for me to leave. Then one day she called Carol and wanted to come to visit. She told Carol that she had a dream she was up at the altar with others having a meal.
2) Fr. Pancras Christanand: I received a phone call from Father Christanand (81 years old and died in the year 2001) when he was in Hamilton Ont., at one of Fr. Gruner’s conferences. He mentioned to me that he wanted to visit us here in Nova Scotia, so Carol and I went up to get him as he wanted to vacation with us for a week. He was doing the new mass at the time, but not at our Chapel. We mentioned to him about the problems with the new mass. He then asked me for a book to look at to study. After reading, he said that he wanted to Celebrate Mass, after Mass he told Carol that he had a dream about Celebrating Mass, he said that he was underground doing the True Mass, our home was a split-level and is partially underground. He then told Carol after Mass that he knows now what is the True Mass.
3) Dr. Roger White: http://www.drbo.org/conversion.htm
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