Dear Parishioners,

St. Peter tells us, “Always be ready to give an explanation to anyone who asks you for a reason for your hope.” (1 Peter 3:15) So, we always have to be prepared to answer the big questions in life like, “Why are you Catholic?” While it is impossible to know all the possible responses to all objections to the faith, it is possible to explain why you personally believe the faith. So, in order to help you formulate your own answer to the question, I would like to answer this question myself.

I am Catholic because I believe that Jesus Christ is the only begotten Son of God and that He founded the Church to be His visible witness throughout all of time. To be joined to Christ requires not only belief and conforming your life to His ways, but also requires membership in His Body which is the Church. I believe this because the resurrection is the only possible explanation for why the apostles were willing to give their lives in witness to the faith and when we examine the writings left by them (the New Testament), we see that it bears witness to the Church which it calls the pillar and bulwark of truth. (1 Tim 3:15) When we look at the testimony of the early Church from Fathers like St. Ignatius of Antioch we see that the early Church was unmistakably Catholic and all differences are a matter of development over time. Furthermore this Church has existed as a continuous body since the founding of the apostles, has been a means of unity for all Christians, and has not contradicted itself in doctrine. For whatever historical faults it has (and Christ never promised there would be no bad Catholics, even bishops), it has authentically passed down the faith.

There are so many different ways to answer this question because there are so many different reasons to believe the faith. I certainly don’t believe my intellectual reasoning by itself is enough to convince anyone. The point is that we should be able to answer this question even if it is not asked of us because we ought to have confidence that the faith is true. Also, it is good to be prepared if asked. We never know who we affect by our good works and we never know when someone needs to hear the saving message of the Gospel.

God bless!

Fr. Carter