Who is Catholic
Bishop Hodur, the founder and first Prime Bishop of the Polish National Catholic Church said
When a person travels across the wide world he notices pratically everywhere, especially in large cities, splendid churches erected to the glory of Jesus Christ. Some are in the Greek style or basilicas, others are Gothic or Baroque.
These churches claim that they believe in God and Jesus Christ, that Christ the Lord is their master and Savior, but nevertheless they hate each other…
Are all of these priests, all these votaries, truly worshipers of the same God, adherents and disciples of the same Master, Jesus Christ?
If Christ should find Himself once again on earth, He would deny those who have hatred, who turn away from a brother only because he folds his hands differently in prayer or prays from a different book.
When Christ gathered His disciples before the bloody Passion, He said to them these memorable words: A new commandment I give you, that you love one another …. By this will all men know you are My disciples, if you have love [for] one another.
Already the prophet Malachi called: Have we not all one Father? Has not one God created us? And St. John in the thought of Christ says, that God is love and whosoever loves his brother, humanity, is a child of God, and anyone who says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar.
It is necessary to love not only those who are of the same political, social, religious conviction. We have proof in the parable of Christ about the Samaritan, a person hated by Jews, but who brings help to his neighbor attacked by robbers.
And today?
Today it is not love that characterizes the various Churches and the people of the various Churches, but hatred and contempt…
In Bishop Hodur’s words I see both a condemnation of our weakness and our sinfulness, and at the same time a call to rise above that weakness.
Many are condemning the Roman Church’s recent proclamation (really just a restatement of what it has always believed), that it is the one, true Church, all others beginning either defective or not Churches at all
The condemnation is uncalled for. Condemnation cannot affect change, and even greater charity is called for. The Roman Church can declare what it pleases without affecting one hair upon anyone else’s head.
Imagine (hehe…) I condemn them, they condemn me, we condemn those over there. Then we bring John Lennon’s silly song to reality.
What we must do is continue to witness the fact that Christ lives in His Church in the manner the Spirit provides for. We must witness our faith, not in documents and pronouncements, but in a life lived in accordance with the teachings of Christ.
We do that by dialog, we do it by immense charity, we do it by lives lived in, for, and with Jesus.
May it ever be so.
May the Lord have mercy on us, for we are weak.
Lord send forth Your Spirit and renew the face of the earth.