Dei via est íntegra
Our Lady of the Rosary, 144 North Federal Highway (US#1),
Deerfield Beach, Florida 33441 954+428-2428
Authentic
Catholic Mass, Doctrine, and Moral Teaching -- Don't do without them --
Don't accept one without the others!
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Q&A Question: Who are the Catholics? There are so many people, holding such varied opinions, who claim to be Catholics. How can we distinguish those who are genuine from those who are not? (P.L. Chicago) Answer: There are four "marks" of the Catholic Church, identified in the Creed, which distinguish It from all others. The true Church is "One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic." Its true members possess characteristics as individuals that enable the Church to display her "marks" as a society. The Church is One. Catholics must seek the truth and profess it to those
around them. Only unity of belief in the truth can bring about unity of purpose
and unity of action. Our Lord describes Himself as the Truth, the Word of God
who became flesh and dwelt among us.1 Without truth there is no Christ; without
Christ there is no Church. The Church is Holy. But, by nature, we are sinful people. The Church offers
us many avenues to holiness, many forms of life that lead to God, and many ways
to receive His graces. But central to any attempt at holiness is the virtue of
humility. Those that perceive themselves as somehow better than others are
destined to sin, just as the devil was able to tempt Adam and Eve through their
pride.2
The Church is Catholic. For the Church to be Catholic, simply the Greek word
for "universal," Her members must have charity, the Greek word for
"love." We will unite all nations under the rule of Christ the King,
only if we love God and only if we love our fellow man for the love of God.3
"Charity is not envious, is not pretentious, is not ambitious, is not self
seeking"; it has no room for making others look bad so that we can look
good.4 The Church is Apostolic. Our Faith goes back to the Incarnation and the
Public Life of Christ. Catholics hold the Faith that has come down to us from
the Apostles, as though it were a jewel wrapped in silk. "Even if an angel
from heaven should preach a different Gospel, we would not believe him."5
They "stand firm and hold the traditions they have learned from the
Apostles."6 Pope Saint Pius X is said to have quizzed a group of seminarians studying in Rome as to how the Church might be identified. They all responded with the traditional four "marks," but Pope Pius demanded another. One bright student added that "the Church must be Roman." Another quickly added, "and loyal to the Popes." The Saint smiled, perhaps condescendingly. "Yes, of course, both the good and the bad, but what else." No hands were raised. The Pontiff himself supplied the answer: "The Church is Persecuted." This we learn from our Lord Himself at
the first Mass: "If you had been of the world, the world would love its
own: but because you are not of the world ... the world hateth you. If they have
persecuted Me, they will also persecute you."7 But, our Lord would have us
cherish this persecution as a beatitude: "Blessed shall you be when men
hate you, and when they shut you out, and reproach you, and reject your name as
evil because of the Son of Man. Rejoice on that day and exult, for behold your
reward is great in heaven.... bless them that curse you and pray for those who
lie about you."8 NOTES:
1. John xiv: 6; i: 1, 14, 17.
2. Genesis iii: 5 "and you shall be as Gods.
3. Mark xii: 30, 31. The two great commandments.
4. 1 Corinthians xiii: 4-6.
5. Cf. Galatians i: 8, 9.
6. Cf. 2 Thessalonians ii: 14 (15).
7. John xv: 19, 20. But John xiii through xvii are as much a consolation as a
forewarning of persecution. Everyone should read them once in a while.
8. Luke vi: 22, 23, 28.
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