Why am I a Catholic?

Everyone has a concept of Divine, keeping each and every person worship the one we call God. Whether the religion we are into practices polytheism, monotheism, or theism, what puts us in the same point is that we have that concept of Divine. With 4200 different kinds of Religion in the world, indeed, one will surely keep boggling his mind which religion is right.

I am a born Roman Catholic. It is a choice which I myself did not opt to. I am a Catholic since before my reason grows into fonder. It's the choice that might be a blessing from God which my parents passed to me. However, now that I have the decision to choose the religion I really want to be into, what keeps me here, firm and strong to the faith I received 24 years ago?

As one which runs in the list of the main religions in the world, Roman Catholic remains tough for over 2016 years. Even though it battles from humiliation and down-striding accusation, Roman Catholic still remains standing tough and holy.

Faith seeks understanding. Do you question yourself why you are in that particular religion? If you don't, I do. I was wondering when I was still in my high school years why I have to be a Catholic. So, I entered the seminary under the Order of the Augustinian Recollect wishing to know more about God and the Church He founded. I want to understand the faith I once vowed to profess.

So, why am I still a Catholic? What are my reasons? How do I understand the faith I received 24 years ago? Here are the reasons why I am still a Catholic, happy and proud.

1. Roman Catholic retains the apostolic succession.
History proves it. Began from St. Peter up to today's successor Pope Francis, apostolic succession is the transmission of spiritual authority from the Apostles through the successive popes and bishops.

I have the reason to profess my faith to the One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church with this fact. The twelve chosen Apostles handed over the teachings and authority they received from our Lord Jesus Christ and retained it up to this present age through their successive popes and bishops.

2. Roman Catholic is the unswerving source of sanctification.
My brows were crossed when I learned that other Christian denominations believe that they are already saints by just professing their faith to Jesus Christ. They claim that since you accept Christ as your Lord and the source of Salvation, you have the assurance of entering the kingdom of God.

I have no issue with this actually. However, faith is not the sole key to salvation. It is not the right answer to the question, "Are you sure you can enter heaven?" Why? It is because faith must be countered part with charity.

So, why do I say that Roman Catholic is the unswerving source of sanctification? Here's my answer then. Roman Catholic teaches one and all to profess Jesus Christ as the One, True Lord and Son of the Living God, but one and all, at the same manner, have to practice what they believe through charity.

We have to make the word sanctification clear. Sanctification from its etymological root comes from the Latin word sancire, sanctus which means to be separated. Now, let's put it in the context of a person who lives a saintly life. A saint has lived a life separated from what the common folks do. What does it mean? Imagine there are 99 persons who say that masturbation is not a sin since science tells it to be healthy and that it gives pleasurable benefits to man and woman. But, here is one who says that masturbation has indeed beneficiary effects to man, but since he knows that masturbating is indulged with ungodly thoughts, he does not practice it. Which is then among them is separated? Which is then among them is a saint?

Roman Catholic teaches man to follow not the pattern of the world. Roman Catholic teaches man to live a life separated from what is not right in order to gain life eternal. It is unacceptable to claim that one is saved, one is already a saint if and only if he accepts Christ as his Lord and his source of Salvation. The Bible says, not all who say Lord, Lord can enter the kingdom of heaven. It is on the other hand, by faith that works by charity that one can be saved.


3. Roman Catholic is the guardian of the Bible.
Many of Christian denominations use the Bible to hurl down the Catholic Church.  In their view, the whole Christian truth is found within Bible pages. But, do they really know how the Bible has come into existence?

In the year 325 AD, in the Council of Nicea, the Roman Catholic Church decided what canon must be accepted for teaching the faith and what should be set aside. Canon refers to the books inspired by God and authoritative for faith and life. And so therein came the Bible with 39 books in the Old Testament and 27 books in the New Testament.

Yet, it does not suffice its being the guardian of the Bible. There are thrown questions to the Catholics regarding on why we don't read the Bible, and why the Catholic Church prohibited the proliferation of the Bible and be translated to the common folks' language. These are definitely mistaken accusations.

First of all, We, Catholics, don't just get information from the Bible. We don't read just to flourish our mind, and that we can counter bat what other denominations disparage against us. We pray the Bible. How? First is through the Liturgy of the Hours. Secondly is through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Sorry for being mean, but to discuss more this would take a length.

Secondly, the reason why Catholic Church limits the translations of the Bible to different languages before Luther raised his reformation was to protect its profound meaning from the incorrect interpretations. Only the Magisterium of the Church has the authority to interpret the Bible. A single mind which has no background of the Bible's history and its corresponding Tradition will surely be amenable to how it is interpreted by someone else. Our mind is so playful that when it reads a phrase in the Bible, it immediately interprets it as something advantage to him.

In order to guard ourselves with wrong interpretations of the Bible, referring the Magisterium of the Church is the best advice. Remember that interpretation murders the meaning of the word.

4. Roman Catholic teaches two sources of faith: Tradition, and Scriptures.
Sola Fide is what distinguishes other Christian denominations, Eastern Orthodox Church, and some part of Restoration movement from the Catholic Church. Sola Fide means that faith alone is the only source of justification and that it contains all the materials needed for theology. In the other words, it does not need apostolic tradition or the magisterium of the Church.

The One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic Church teaches a contrary view to what Sola Fide claims. In fact, Sola Fide is unscriptural. Does the Bible really teach about Sola Fide?

The Council of Trent declared,

“For faith, unless hope and charity be added to it, neither unites man perfectly with Christ nor makes him a living member of His body. For which reason it is most truly said that faith without works is dead (James 2:17, 20) and of no profit, and in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but faith that worketh by charity. (Gal 5:6, 6:15)2

In the Second Vatican Council’s document on divine revelation, Dei Verbum (Latin: "The Word of God"), the relationship between Tradition and Scripture is explained: "Hence there exists a close connection and communication between sacred Tradition and sacred Scripture. For both of them, flowing from the same divine wellspring, in a certain way merge into a unity and tend toward the same end. For sacred Scripture is the word of God inasmuch as it is consigned to writing under the inspiration of the divine Spirit. To the successors of the apostles, sacred Tradition hands on in its full purity God’s word, which was entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

It is not only in the Scriptures that our faith must be based of. We have unwritten traditions that the Apostles of Christ handed over to their successors.

Source:
             http://www.catholic.com/tracts/scripture-and-tradition
             http://www.calledtocommunion.com/2009/09/does-the-bible-teach-sola-fide/

5. Roman Catholic is vested with authority.
There is only one source of authority - our Lord Jesus Christ. However, as Jesus ascended into heaven, he founded his Church to be the vehicle of his continuing mission.

“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock, I will build My Church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” (Mt 16:18-19)

But, even this passage has been treated with disputation. Plus, other denominations claim that the authority over the salvation of souls is in the acceptance of Jesus as the source of salvation. As what I have said, faith is not enough since even though you claim Jesus as your Lord, this cannot make an assurance that you will be saved. A person with true faith does what he/she believes.