Many of our pilgrimages begin with a desire to get into Heaven. Some come to believe in God, seek forgiveness for their sins, and are saved.
There is one reason for belief: The prophets were told about things that would happen. These predictions were carefully written down in the Old Testament. They came to pass in that Testament and in the New.
In life, everyone runs into The Catholic Church. It can’t be helped. Some are drawn to Her. Others, repelled. There are three reasons for choosing Catholicism:
First, Jesus said to Peter, and no one else, “Thou are Peter and on this rock I build My Church.” It’s hard to quibble with that. We see that there has been an unbroken chain of command linking Christ, Peter, and the present Pope, the sixteenth named Benedict. No other religion has the validity inherent in this miraculous Apostolic Succession.
Second, Jesus said, “If you do not eat My Body and drink My Blood, you do not have life in you.” The only place that has provided His Body and Blood in an unbroken chain from The Last Supper until now is the Roman Catholic Church, through the Sacrament of Communion.
Third: Jesus said to those who didn’t like what He said, “Stop murmuring.” That simple command may be augmented by a reasonable thought: “He is the God Who made us and will painfully die for is. Intellectually, we should have some idea of what we are, compared to Him, Who raises the dead, heals the sick, walks on water, and drives demons out of people. Just do what He says and stop quibbling.”
Some pilgrims reach a point where things are just that simple. It’s a happy place along the way. Peaceful, too, undisturbed by those clamoring to have their separated cash flows augmented. “Stop murmuring.” was a direct order, from God, Himself. Disobedience is dangerous.
We may consider those three reasons for choosing Catholicism. There are others. If we stop murmuring, we will better understand the three reasons for choosing Catholicism.
