IS IT POSSIBLE TO LOVE CHRIST BUT NOT HIS CHURCH?TO BELIEVE IN GOD BUT NOT IN WHAT GOD REVEALED (RELIGION)?
POPE FRANCIS ON THE INSEPARABILITY BETWEEN
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST AND HIS CHURCH.

 

Some people say that they “believe in God but not in religion”. To this INCOHERENT AFFIRMATION we can say:

1. If one believes in a One True God (two Gods are a contradiction for God, by essence is the Absolute, Supreme Being), then one has the grave obligation to seek the Truth which the One True God has revealed.

2. God made man a rational being and as such capable to seek, know, love and follow the Truth revealed by God, and God Himself.

3. The One True God, to facilitate man’s search of the Truth, revealed Himself in the Person of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Perfect God and Perfect Man, who in turn, founded and established the Only One True Church, the Catholic Church, during His Life on earth, and sent the Holy Spirit to prolong His Work of Redemption until its consummation, i.e., till the end of time, with the Apostles and their successors receiving with the Holy Spirit the apostolic mission to go, preach the Gospel and baptise all people of all nations.

4. To say that one believes in God, without searching for the Truth God has revealed could be a manifestation of love of comfort, if not laziness, among other things.

5. And if a person has discovered the truth, then he must adhere to it till the end of his life, for it is the path through which he will attain his true and eternal happiness.

6. That truth which God revealed, according to Divine Revelation, is found in Jesus Christ and His Church, which are inseparable; and, the body of truths to which God revealed and calls man to adhere to and live with all his love, heart, soul and strength is the ONE TRUE RELIGION. TO SAY THAT ONE BELIEVES IN GOD BUT NOT TO THE TRUTH HE REVEALED, IS NOTHING BUT PLAIN INCOHERENCE IF NOT A MERE CLICHÉ UTTERED PERHAPS DUE TO HEARSAY OR/AND LACK OF FORMATION.

Pope Francis, citing Blessed Paul VI, after underlining the relationship between Blessed Virgin Mary and her Son, Jesus Christ, reminds us that:

 

LIKEWISE INSEPARABLE ARE CHRIST AND THE CHURCH – because the Church and Mary are always together and this is precisely the mystery of womanhood in the ecclesial community – and THE SALVATION ACCOMPLISHED BY JESUS CANNOT BE UNDERSTOOD WITHOUT APPRECIATING THE MOTHERHOOD OF THE CHURCH. TO SEPARATE JESUS FROM THE CHURCH WOULD INTRODUCE AN “ABSURD DICHOTOMY”, as Blessed Paul VI wrote (Evangelii Nuntiandi, 16). IT IS NOT POSSIBLE “TO LOVE CHRIST BUT WITHOUT THE CHURCH, TO LISTEN TO CHRIST BUT NOT THE CHURCH, TO BELONG TO CHRIST BUT OUTSIDE THE CHURCH” (IBID.). FOR THE CHURCH IS HERSELF GOD’S GREAT FAMILY, WHICH BRINGS CHRIST TO US. Our faith is not an abstract doctrine or philosophy, but a vital and full relationship with a person: Jesus Christ, the only-begotten Son of God who became man, was put to death, rose from the dead to save us, and is now living in our midst. WHERE CAN WE ENCOUNTER HIM? WE ENCOUNTER HIM IN THE CHURCH, IN OUR HIERARCHICAL, HOLY MOTHER CHURCH. It is the Church which says today: “Behold the Lamb of God”; IT IS THE CHURCH, WHICH PROCLAIMS HIM; IT IS IN THE CHURCH THAT JESUS CONTINUES TO ACCOMPLISH HIS ACTS OF GRACE WHICH ARE THE SACRAMENTS.

(Pope Francis, Homily, Jan. 1, 2015)

N.B.  DEFINITION OF “RELIGION” ACCORDING TO MERRIAM-WEBSTER
1: the service and worship of God or the supernatural: commitment or devotion to religious faith or observance
2: a personal set or institutionalized system of religious attitudes, beliefs, and practices
4: a cause, principle, or system of beliefs held to with ardor and faith

SEE AS WELL:

TOP 10 REASONS WHY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IS THE ONE TRUE CHURCH FOUNDED BY JESUS CHRIST in https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2016/01/26/top-10-reasons-why-the-catholic-church-is-the-one-true-church-founded-by-jesus-christ-other-christian-groups-derive-their-elements-of-truth-from-the-fullness-of-the-catholic-church/

I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY SPIRIT. I BELIEVE IN THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH in https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2016/05/08/summary-of-catholic-teaching-topic-12-i-believe-in-the-holy-spirit-i-believe-in-the-holy-catholic-church/

PRAY FOR THE PHILIPPINES, ITS PRESIDENT AND THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN THE PHILIPPINES. ON THE HYPOCRISY OF CATHOLICS AND THE DIVINITY OF THE CATHOLIC CHURCH in https://catholicsstrivingforholiness.com/2016/05/25/pray-for-the-philippines-its-president-and-the-filipino-catholic-church-the-hypocrisy-of-catholics-is-a-very-strong-argument-of-the-infallibility-of-the-catholic-church-peter-kreeft/

QUOTE SOURCE: https://w2.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/homilies/2015/documents/papa-francesco_20150101_omelia-giornata-mondiale-pace.html

 

ORIGINAL PHOTO CREDIT: REUTERS/Max Rossi