{"id":1303,"date":"2011-03-03T10:13:33","date_gmt":"2011-03-03T16:13:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/?p=1303"},"modified":"2011-03-03T23:08:22","modified_gmt":"2011-03-04T05:08:22","slug":"what-you-need-to-know-about-the-catholic-gospel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marccardaronella.com\/blog\/2011\/03\/03\/what-you-need-to-know-about-the-catholic-gospel\/","title":{"rendered":"What You Need to Know About the Catholic Gospel"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"catholic<\/a>
It's like apples and oranges when you understand the differences! <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

[This is a part of the\u00a0Evangelization Basics<\/a> Series. Have you read the other parts?]<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, how are you saved in the Catholic Church?\u201d one of the candidates asked.<\/p>\n

I was taken aback by the question. We were deep into the RCIA when it came. Wasn\u2019t that what we\u2019ve spent the last few months talking about? Wasn\u2019t it obvious? Apparently not!<\/p>\n

On the surface this seems like an easy question. The answer is lots of things, everything! But can you clearly articulate them? Can you tell people why they should be a member of the Catholic Church and what benefit they get?<\/p>\n

In other words, do you know and can you tell people the Catholic Gospel<\/a><\/strong>? The answer is significant for Catholic evangelization.<\/p>\n

Here are some of the distinctive elements and benefits of Catholic Church. Many of these ideas are from my friend Aimee Cooper, who taught on online course on the Catholic Gospel.<\/p>\n

Trinitarian-Christocentricity<\/h2>\n

In the Protestant gospel, the central figure of salvation is Christ. That\u2019s true of the Catholic gospel as well. However, Christ is the Second Person of the Trinity and the Trinity is the central mystery of the Faith. All of Christ’s actions flow from his relationship to the Trinitarian Persons.<\/p>\n

The inner life of God is an eternal outpouring of self-giving, self-sacrificing love.<\/strong> This exchange of love between the Persons of the Trinity is the fundamental pattern of the universe. The Cross is ultimately a Trinitarian event–the Son’s offering of self-giving love to the Father in and through the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Everything in the Catholic Faith flows from this central truth and is ultimately explained by it.\u00a0A distinctively Catholic gospel should emphasize the Trinity’s role in salvation and Christ as the “action player” in that role.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Sacramentality<\/h2>\n

A sacrament makes the invisible, hidden God visible, touchable, receivable. Creation is the first sacrament of God. God created everything on the pattern of himself. So, in creation you can see and know something of God.<\/p>\n

Sacramentality is a huge part of what makes Catholicism different.<\/strong> The material world is capable of being charged and infused with grace, God\u2019s own divine life! Material things can therefore be the channels of divine power. That is huge!<\/p>\n

In the Protestant world, there is a disconnect between the material and the spiritual.<\/strong> Salvation doesn\u2019t come through material things, it comes from spiritual things that are invisible and unseen.<\/p>\n

The Sacramental Character of Christ<\/h2>\n

Christ is the ultimate sacrament of God.<\/strong> He is the divine made visibly manifest in material form–the divine united with the material.<\/p>\n

Because divine power flowed through the human body of Jesus, the Seven Sacraments are possible.<\/strong> Supernatural life can be transmitted though water. A person with Jesus\u2019 authority can forgive sins.<\/p>\n

The human body of Jesus is the basis of the Catholic Sacramental system, which is the essential element of salvation in Catholic understanding.<\/p>\n

The Essential Nature of the Church<\/h2>\n

Here\u2019s where most Protestant gospels fall completely short. Salvation comes through Christ and it ends there. However, the Church is essential for salvation. <\/strong>It\u2019s not just an add-on or a nice afterthought.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s through the Church that the divine life of Jesus is transmitted to the broken world.<\/strong> In the Mass, through the priest, by the power of the Holy Spirit, the grace won on the cross is made present again in the memorial of Christ\u2019s saving death. Here, the life of the Trinity is poured out into our broken world. This life is transmitted to us through the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

Most Protestants don\u2019t recognize the fundamental importance of the Church or the sacraments.<\/strong> Sacraments don\u2019t exist in Protestant faiths. Some churches baptize but it isn\u2019t necessary. It doesn\u2019t do anything.<\/p>\n

Protestants also don\u2019t have a real category for the Church. It is merely a support system or fellowship network. It\u2019s nice to have but it doesn\u2019t play an essential role in salvation.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, many Catholics adopt this idea.<\/strong> Even some Catholic evangelization apostolates minimize the essential nature of the Church in this way.<\/p>\n

Transformation in Christ<\/h2>\n

In the Catholic Church, it is possible to be made like God–to be transformed into an Alter Christus<\/em> or \u201cOther Christ.\u201d Baptism reconfigures the soul to receive God\u2019s own divine life within it.<\/p>\n

The sacraments continue to increase the life of God within the soul. The Holy Spirit is not inert. When you have contact with God, it changes you. It is possible to become so throughly infused with God’s life that you can say with St. Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).<\/strong> You can actually attain a measure of God’s own holiness.<\/p>\n

In Protestant theology, there is no actual transformation in Christ.<\/strong> That\u2019s one of the things Luther rejected. Sure, Christians grow in their relationship with Christ and they act more like Christ but it\u2019s all just a spiritual thing.<\/p>\n

Think about it, how can you have actual reconfiguration of your soul and be made really holy like God if there\u2019s no sacramental reality?<\/p>\n

Catechetical Takeaway<\/h2>\n

What\u2019s the upshot of all these differences? There is a real advantage in the Catholic Sacramental system! <\/strong>Real union with God takes place in the Sacraments.<\/p>\n

The same divine life that flowed within the Trinity, overflowed in creation and poured out on the Cross at Calvary is continually pouring out into the world to heal the wounds of sin. That divine life also pours out into the heart of every believer when they receive the Eucharist.<\/p>\n

These differences may not seem like much but they are extremely significant. The Christian life is hard, and the Catholic Church has more help for living it out than any other church in the world.<\/strong> It\u2019s there for the taking!<\/p>\n