I’m sure that I am not the only one who has had this conversation:

1.

“Where do you go to church?”

“St. Benedict’s, I’m Catholic.”

“Oh okay, I’m a Christian.”

I’m going to stop you right there.

The Catholic Church is the original Christian Church founded in 33 A.D. by Jesus Christ. Yes, Christ, as in CHRISTian. My faith in Jesus Christ is the foundation, soul, and meaning of my religious beliefs.

And yes, I have a relationship with Him. My personal relationship with Jesus, my Lord, and Savior has brought me through many hard times, taught me the value of suffering, and taught me how to love.

2.

“I’m Catholic.”

“Yeah Julia, you’re Catholic, but you’re different.”

Though I am far from perfect, there is nothing about my Catholicism that deviates from the Catholic Church. You say I’m not snobby, I’m happy and nonjudgmental, but those are attributes that all Catholics are supposed to have!

Also, a lot of Catholics aren’t as passionate about their faith because it is a tradition they grew up following; going to Mass on Sunday is just a part of their lives, like going to a yoga class on Thursday nights. But this is not how it is supposed to be.

In the book of Psalms, it says “You make known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.”

Catholics are supposed to be filled with joy! I think Catholicism over the last century has been seen as an overbearing authority that takes away our freedoms. Far from removing our freedom, faith offers true freedom by offering the truth.

"The TRUTH will set you FREE!" (John 8:32)

3.

“All those traditions make everything too complicated…”

The Catholic Church has a lot of rules, heck, we have a whole book of them, and hundreds of books talking about all the rules. Too complicated for me, too much work, too much TRADITION.

Here’s the breakdown:

All the teachings of the Catholic Church are derived from the Bible and the actions of the early Christians. Protestants view the Bible as the only authority while the Catholic Church has a Magisterium (n. the teaching office of the Church) which helps the faithful understand the Bible.

There are over 30,000 Protestant denominations. Have you ever wondered why? It’s because each Protestant individually interprets the Bible. No wonder there are 30,000 churches, I’m surprised there aren’t more!

Just like how the Catholic Church compiled the original books of the Bible, it calls on the Holy Spirit’s divine inspiration to lead it to the correct teachings to draw from Holy Scripture.

“Therefore, go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:19-20)

This is what makes the Catholic Church ONE. In a Protestant church, the highest authority is the guy at the front of the church with the Bible in his hand, whereas in the Catholic Church the priest is held to the teachings handed down by the Apostles through the Magisterium.

And something to keep in mind while we jump from church to church is: are we in Church to hear exactly what WE want to hear? Or are we there to be transformed? If we are there to be transformed than there will be things that are HARD to hear, but isn’t that the way it always is when something really changes us?

4.

“How can you believe that a man [the Pope] is infallible?!”

The Pope is a human being, which means that he is a sinful being. The Pope himself is not infallible in his daily actions, but only in regards to proclaiming the teachings that the Magisterium has put forth. So, sadly, if Pope Francis tells you that “YOU’RE THE BEST,” sorry bruh, it’s not infallible. And, he would only say that about me anyway, so ;)

The first Pope was St. Peter, and we learn this from the book of Matthew when Christ said:

I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 16:17-20)

And the chain of Popes has never been broken since then!

5.

“Why did the Catholics add books to the Bible?”

The Bible was compiled by…you guessed it, the Catholic Church. The Bible was in use for 1500 years before the Protestants revolted from the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church called on the Holy Spirit to guide their choosing which books were inspired by God and which were not. Then in 1517, Martin Luther (with his own authority) removed books from the Bible which did not correspond with his teachings. That’s the story on why Catholics have more books. By the way, I’m sad that Protestants don’t have the book of Tobit, for it is my favorite.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” (Tobit 3:16)

In closing, there are a lot of misunderstandings about the Catholic Church. And this article only scratches the very surface of a very big and beautiful story. This was just a short explanation of why Catholics are indeed Christians and clearing up a few things. There is material for 5000 articles on this topic alone, and over the centuries much has been written, so there is lots of material for further research :)

A little disclaimer: some of my dearest friends and relatives are Protestant, so this in no way was written to offend, but only to clarify.

“Let all you do be done in love.” (1 Corinthians 16:14)