Eucharistic Reflection - Different From Every Other Place In The World

(Image Source: Wikimedia Commons)

"The Blessed Sacrament is that Presence which makes a Catholic Church different from every other place in the world; which makes it, as no other place can be, holy."

Blessed (soon to be Saint) John Henry Newman

Worth Revisiting - Help Me Understand

Thank you Allison Gingras  (Reconciled To You) and Elizabeth Riordan (Theology Is A Verb) for hosting Worth Revisiting.

Be sure to stop there every Wednesday. You will enjoy your visits.

Here is my contribution:

Help Me Understand! Should Not the Salvation of Souls Be Our Primary Concern? 

[Originally published July 3, 2012 - We may have dodged a bullet temporarily. But sadly, nothing much has changed since I first posted this.]

I understand that in a democratic society, the Catholic Church and its members must try to shape social and political policies and to have their voices heard on the pressing moral issues of the day. There is no doubt that an increasing number of recent actions (beyond the HHS contraception and sterilzation mandates) taken by the Obama administration pose real and imminent threats to our God given and constitutionally recognized fundamental right - freedom of religion. Freedom loving people of all religious persuasions and those of no religious affiliation must stand up and defend this fundamental principle – one which no man, no government, no nation has the right to restrict.

 

Nonetheless, I am at a loss to understand how political strategizing and judicial skirmishes, no matter how well-intentioned and necessary they both may be, should take precedence over the Church’s primary duty - the sanctification and salvation of souls. 

 

The Catholic Church has a duty to preach Christ’s Truths in their completeness, not just the more palatable and less controversial ones, to all peoples, not just those who identify themselves as Catholic. The fact that many if not a majority of Americans, Catholic and non-Catholic, may not believe abortion, contraception, sex outside a sacramental marriage, sterilization and in-vitro fertilization are intrinsically evil acts – neither changes those Truths nor exempts the Church from explaining and teaching those Truths to everyone. Jesus charged us to “make disciples of all nations” did He not?

Why Is The Catholic Church Hated?