As I think about God's grace in bringing me out of the Catholic Church as a child, I can't help but grieve over those who are still involved, especially the ones I know. These people are so rooted in their traditions that they do not realize the Truth. Jesus Christ says he is the Way, Truth, and Life..and that no one comes to the Father except through Him.
Here is my letter to my Catholic friends: (My letter is not to bash anyone, but the Holy Spirit would use His truth to open eyes to the reality of Jesus Christ and the false nature of tradition that so entangle men.)
Dear Friend,
I know what it is like to play religion- constantly bombarded with the thought and duty of 'earning' your salvation. I know what it is like to have no clue of the various rituals practiced every Sunday, yet still walk away hopeless and empty. I understand being dragged into Mass out of love for deeply-rooted family tradtions. I totally get it! "I, too, was ritualistic..until I found the One who became the Ultimate Sacrifice."
What if I told you that you were actually grieving Jesus Christ! You've been in the Catholic Church your whole life and never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, least not the true gospel that does not add man's filthy works.
What if I told you that you can NEVER earn your salvation and ALL your constant sacrifices and praise to Jesus, Mary, and the other saints are meaningless...and sinful!. Yes, sinful! Although you were convinced to believe that a priest can forgive your sins and stand as a mediator between you and God; this is folly. "Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins" (Hebrew 10:11). (Yes, your priest needs forgiveness for his sins through Jesus.)When you say that Jesus is one of the ways for salvation ( a right relationship with God).. or believe that you are responsible for your salvation, according to Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) #2021, "Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons…" then you are totally contradicting Scripture, which says: "God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure" (Ephesians 1:5). You see.. it is only through JESUS Christ; not your works, that you have been chosen to become a child of God.
Before I came to know Jesus, I struggled greatly with trying to please God on my own. I tried so hard to follow sermons and other rituals I was told to do, but I found myself falling back into sin. Until God opened my eyes and showed me how filthy I was and the condition of my soul was stained with SIN, I felt so hopeless in that moment- because for once, there was NOTHING I could do make myself clean. Then, Praise God!! I got a glimpse of the Cross and how Jesus Christ had already paid the price for my sins. I NEEDED A SAVIOR!!!!! I had been trying to be my savior for so long, yet always fell short. I can't begin to tell you what freedom it was to finally know and confess that I didn't have to pay for my sins. That weight have been lifted off my shoulder. Because I have repented of my sins and COMPLETELTY trusted in Jesus, He has made me a new creation. The life I now live is totally in FREEDOM to worship my Savior with my entire life! I continually praise Him for what He has done and daily accept His grace!
As I write this and think about you, my friend, who is in bondage with tradition, my heart utterly aches for your soul. You have been under false pretense by an unbiblical doctrine that has made your soul weary and grieved the One. Mary, Joseph, priest, sacraments, and everything in between cannot save YOU! ONLY JESUS! "For by one sacrifice he, Jesus Christ, has made perfect forever those who are being made holy" (Hebrews 10:12).
I know this is a hard truth, and one that will take the HOLY SPIRIT to open your eyes from rooted false doctrine. I know it's so grippling for someone to tell you that what you have been working for your whole life is vain. BUT.. it's so freeing to know you no longer have to. (I'm talking about Salvation here!) I think that is why Jesus was so frustrated with the Jews, because they were trying to earn their salvation by doing all these ritauls..(he even rebuked them, proclaiming, "Why do you not understand what I am saying? It is because you are unable to accept My message. You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out his desires. He was a murderer from the beginning,refusing to uphold the truth, because there is no truthin him. When he lies, he speaks his native language,because he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me!"...( John 8:44-45). Even to the point of Jesus' death, these people were still trying to make sacrifices (atone) for their sins, when Christ death became the sacrifice once and for all!
Will you accept what Jesus has done on the Cross, completely? With open hands and humility, receivethe gift of salvation. "For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is the free gift of God, not by works, so that no man can boast.." (Ephesians 2:8).Repent from the idols you have been worshipping your whole life and trust in Jesus alone. Ask Him to show you His truth and then walk in it. I am sincerely praying for you!
In Christ,
Angela
Catholics believe that Jesus is their savior. There is no arguing this. If someone tells you differently, they're mistaken. We do not "praise" or worship anyone besides God. Asking saints and Mary to pray for you is far different than worship and too complex to get into now. We know priests must repent for their sins, as well. They, too, attend confession led by another priest. Confession not only grants people the ability to confess their sins but also speak about their deepest troubles and gain advice on how to reduce their tendencies to commit certain sins. The priest doesn't forgive your sins, God does. The rituals that you claim are so deeply stained by sin and "man's filthy work" (which I'm assuming you're mainly talking about the prayers and Eucharist) are taken directly from the Bible itself, along with all the scriptures studied at mass everyday and basically everything the Catholic Church does/teaches. If you attend a Catholic church with an open mind and open ears, you will repeatedly hear the words of God coming to life. If you go on to actually study why the Catholic Church does what it does in context instead of just picking and choosing the most simplistic explanations, you may find the "rituals" more fitting, and mass will make a lot more sense. Most importantly, no true Catholic EVER believes that good works alone will grant them eternal life. We know Jesus has saved us. Do you not do good works? This arguement always confuses me. I don't help my neighbor because that'll be an extra brownie point with God.. I do it because I know Jesus is in all of us, because it's the right thing to do, because Jesus told us to treat others with the love He has shown, because I like to help.. to name a few reasons. The "extras" you find in Catholicism (rituals, sacraments, etc.) have purpose and help you to grow closer and closer to God. The basis of the Catholic Church cannot be summed up in this short blog. This is missing so many true facts about Catholics. I'm truly sorry that your experience with the church led you to so much confusion and misleading beliefs, but this is no where near what catholicism is. It's also very disheartening that you admit to know little about Catholicism yet have such strong words against it. Maybe sit down with your Catholic friend and try to learn more about it before posting something like this?
ReplyDelete