On Being Catholic
If I were not a Catholic, and were looking for the true Church in the world
today, I would look for the one Church which did not get along well with
the world; in other words, I would look for the Church which the world
hates.
My reason for doing this would be, that if Christ is in any one of
the churches of the world today, He must still be hated as He was when He
was on earth in the flesh.
If you would find Christ today, then find the
Church that does not get along with the world.
Look for the Church that is
hated by the world, as Christ was hated by the world.�
Look for the Church which is accused of being behind the times as Our Lord was accused
of being
ignorant and never having learned.
Look for the Church which men sneer at
as socially inferior, as they sneered at Our Lord because He came from
Nazareth.
Look for the Church which is accused of having a devil as Our
Lord was accused of being possessed by Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils.
Look for the Church which the world rejects because it claims it is
infallible, as Pilate rejected Christ because he called Himself the Truth.
Look for the Church which amid the confusion of conflicting opinions, its
members love as they love Christ, and respect its voice as the very voice
of its Founder, and the suspicion will grow, that if the Church is
unpopular with the spirit of the world, then it is unworldly, and if it is
unworldly, it is other-worldly.
Since it is other-worldly, it is
infinitely loved and infinitely hated as was Christ himself....
The Catholic
Church is the only Church existing today which goes back to the time of
Christ. History is so very clear on this point, it is curious how many
miss its obviousness...
