5 Reasons To Be Catholic

Have you ever wondered why someone would want to be a Catholic? Here are 5 reasons to be Catholic:

1. Because Jesus Christ Founded The Catholic Church.

We see in Matthew 16:18 that Christ establishes His Church on St. Peter the Apostle.

Matthew 16:18-19 "And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.”

St. Peter is the first Pope of the Catholic Church. For 2000 years there has been a line of Popes from St. Peter to Pope Francis today teaching the same teachings for 2000 years. The word Pope means Papa or Father. 

The very first Christians during the times of Christ wrote about this fact as shown here:

St. Ignatius of Antioch (Student of John the Apostle) "Wherever the bishop appears, there let the people be; as wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church. It is not lawful to baptize or give communion without the consent of the bishop. On the other hand, whatever has his approval is pleasing to God. Thus, whatever is done will be safe and valid.(Letter to the Smyrnaeans 8, J.R. Willis translation, A.D. 107)

St. Augustin of Hippo “If the very order of episcopal succession is to be considered, how much more surely, truly, and safely do we number them [the bishops of Rome] from Peter himself, to whom, as to one representing the whole Church, the Lord said, ‘Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not conquer it.’ Peter was succeeded by Linus, Linus by Clement. … In this order of succession a Donatist bishop is not to be found” (Letters 53:1:2 [A.D. 412]).

St. Jerome “I follow no leader but Christ and join in communion with none but your blessedness [Pope Damasus I], that is, with the chair of Peter. I know that this is the rock on which the Church has been built. Whoever eats the Lamb outside this house is profane. Anyone who is not in the ark of Noah will perish when the flood prevails” (Letters 15:2 [A.D. 396]).

St. Irenaeus  “The blessed apostles [Peter and Paul], having founded and built up the church [of Rome] . . . handed over the office of the episcopate to Linus” (Against Heresies3:3:3 [A.D. 189]).

Tertullian “[T]his is the way in which the apostolic churches transmit their lists: like the church of the Smyrneans, which records that Polycarp was placed there by John, like the church of the Romans, where Clement was ordained by Peter” (Demurrer Against the Heretics 32:2 [A.D. 200]).

Christ founding the Catholic Church is a historic fact. Simply google "who founded the Catholic Church?" or ask Siri on your iPhone "who founded the Catholic Church?" The Search engine artificial intelligence gathers the most credible sources in the world, encyclopedias, historical documents, the bible and more. This is a simple fact.

As a Christian, do you want to be part of the Church Christ founded in the Bible or a Church with traditions founded by men?

2. Because Other Christian denominations and doctrine are Man Made.

When we look at other Christian Churches, they are all founded by men. Yes they use scripture but they use their own interpretation of scripture. Whether it is Non-Denominational Christian, Baptist, Evangelical and all Non-Catholic or Orthodox Christians. All of these are man made using their own personal interpretations of what scripture says. That is why there are thousands of different protestant denominations that all disagree on doctrine.

You can trace your own Churches roots and see who the founder is with a simple google search.

By the way, Non-denominational Christian is a protestant denomination.

Now ask yourself when logically selecting a Christian Church with true doctrine, would you prefer the Christian Church with true doctrine founded by God or men?

3. Because Christ inspired the Catholic Church to write and compile the New Testament.

When dialoguing with our protestant (Non-Catholic) Christian brothers and sisters they always turn to the Bible. This is a great thing. The only problem (for them) is that the New Testament is a Catholic Document. The New Testament was written and then compiled (Canonized) by the Catholic Church by inspiration of the Holy Spirit. This same Holy Spirit also interprets the scriptures.

Now would you prefer to follow the interpretations by the same Church that wrote and compiled the New Testament or follow men that came thousands of years later and use their own personal interpretation of what the Bible says?

4. Because Non-Catholic Christians are Missing 7 books from their Old Testament.

Non-Catholic Christians are missing 7 books from their Old Testament. These books are Baruch, Sirach, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Tobit, Judith, and the Wisdom of Solomon, plus portions of Esther and Daniel.

Jesus Christ and the Apostles handed these books to the first Christians to preach and teach others. It was 1500 years later that Martin Luther and the reformers decided what Christ did by passing these books to the first Christians was no longer valid and removed these books.

The question is, who do you follow regarding these 7 books? Christ or Martin Luther?

5. The Eucharist / Communion

At the Last Supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, "Take and eat; this is my body." Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins." (Mt 26:26-28, Mk 14:22-24, Lk 22:17-20, 1 Cor 11:23-25)

Our fellow Non-Catholic Christian brothers and sisters are taught that it is not Christs body or blood, but merely a symbol or spiritual which is not what Christ taught. As we see in scripture, Christ clearly teaches it is His Body and Blood in the form of Bread and Wine.

The first Christians believe in the Real Presence in the Eucharist as shown here:

St. Ignatius of Antioch “Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes” (Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2–7:1 [A.D. 110]).

St. Ignatius of Antioch “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ . . . and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible” (Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).

St. Justin Martyr  “For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our Savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus” (First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).

St. Augustine of Hippo  “Christ was carried in his own hands when, referring to his own body, he said, ‘This is my body’ [Matt. 26:26]. For he carried that body in his hands” (Explanations of the Psalms 33:1:10 [A.D. 405]).

Do you believe Jesus in the Bible or men today that disagree with Jesus?

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Please comment below and let us know your reasons for being Catholic or not being Catholic. God bless.