In
the Gospel, Jesus told His apostles, “The
Son of Man is to be handed over to men and they will kill Him, and
three days after His death the Son of Man will rise.”
Our Lord just told them He was going to suffer and die,
and now they are discussing among themselves who was the greatest.
Can
you imagine the apostles standing around talking to one other saying,
“I am greater than you.” Another one says, “No, I’m the
greatest.” So that Jesus would end their one up-man-ship, He
said,
“...the Son of
Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a
ransom for many.” (Matt.
20:28)
He
wanted them to know the one who serves the most is the greatest. Our
Lord was
willing
to suffer and die for all of us, and
by doing so,
He serves us
and
can save us.
There
are some who are objectively greater than others. Jesus, is greater
than all of us, because He is God and He serves us, by giving His
life to save us. I
suppose we could make the argument that Peter was the greatest of the
12 because He was the leader of the apostles, and also the leader of
the Church. Peter, as the first pope, was the servant of the apostles
and the whole Church. Pope Gregory, the great referred to himself as
the servant of servants.
Is
one religion greater than all other religions? Are
all religions the same? Are all religions pathways to God?
Pope
Leo XIII said
“….
the great error of this age-that a regard for religion should be held
as an indifferent matter, and that all religions are alike. This
manner of reasoning is calculated to bring about the ruin of all
forms of religion, and especially of the Catholic religion, which, as
it is the only one that is true,
cannot, without
great injustice, be regarded as merely equal to other religions.”
Humanum
Genus #16
To
say all religions are the
same and all religions are pathways
to God, denies Jesus and the need for Him to save us to get to
heaven.
Jesus
said, “I am the
way, the truth and the life, no one comes to me, except the Father.”
All
religions are not a pathway to God, because some religions do not
have Jesus as the pathway to the Father and not all Christian
religions
have
the same beliefs
about Jesus.
Judaism,
Buddhism, Islam and Hinduism can’t save anyone. Buddha,
Confucius, Mohammad aren’t
gods and they can’t bring others to the Father, like Jesus. They
are not pathways to God. They didn’t die for anyone and even if
they would have died for others, they still could not have saved
anyone from their sins because only God can do that. Only Jesus, who
is both God and man, can reconcile us to the Father.
Mormons,
Jehovah Witnesses and Muslims don’t believe Jesus is God. All
religions other than the Catholic religion are false religions.
Every
religion cannot be a pathway to God if they
differ on who
God
is and how
God can save us.
St.
Paul said,...”(God
wills)
all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
For there is one God, and one mediator between God and
men, the man Christ Jesus. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to
be testified in due time.” (1
Timothy 2:4-6)
Only
Jesus, as God, could offer Himself as a ransom for all by His
suffering and death on the Cross. That
is why He is the only mediator between God and man. Jesus' mediation
as
God and man,
ransoms
us from our sins.
Jesus
said, “I am the
way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except
through me.” (John
14:6)
The
pagan religion
worshiped
idols and those
in Judaism,
who
did
not accept Jesus,
are not pathways to the Father, because only
Jesus
came to save us and reconcile us to the Father by His suffering,
death, resurrection and ascension into heaven. Only
Jesus is the Savior. Only Jesus is the way to the Father.
Two
Christians (one Catholic and one Protestant) were discussing among
themselves each
saying
their religion is greater
than the other. There is one religion everything God has given to
mankind to be saved. And that
religion
is the Catholic religion.
There
are many different Christian religions such as Lutherans, Methodists,
Baptists, Episcopalians, Catholic, Christian, Congregationalists,
etc…. Most
believe Jesus is God and Savior. But,
all don’t have the same beliefs. If
all don’t have the same beliefs, all religions can’t be the same.
The
Methodist church was founded by Charles Wesley. Lutherans
were founded by
Martin Luther. Baptists
were founded by John
Smyth. The Catholic faith
is
greater
than all
other
religions
because Jesus Himself founded our
Church.
He
gave our Church all
7 sacraments and our
Church has the
fullness of revelation
(God’s
truth)
revealed
through Jesus Christ.
The
Catholic Church’s mission is to bring all mankind into salvation
through Jesus Christ. And because the Catholic Church was given
everything by God to bring men to salvation, our Church serves
everyone
and therefore, our Church is the greatest.
We
come to know who God is and how He can save us by Sacred Scripture
and Tradition only found in the Catholic Church. Non-Catholic
Christians don’t have Sacred Tradition, so they are missing a lot
of what God revealed.
Church
councils and popes through the centuries clarified who God is and how
God can save us. Councils
proclaimed Jesus
has two natures, human and divine. And
there
are
three persons
in
the Trinity and they are
equal and
have
the
same substance. God
uses Church councils to help us to resolve questions about God and
what God desires of us.
The
very first Church council is Council of Jerusalem found
in the bible in
Acts 15. Back
then Christians
wondered if they can eat meat sacrificed to idols. They also wondered
if new Gentile (non-Jew) converts to Christianity were
obligated
to be circumcised, a Jewish tradition. How would they resolve these
issues?
The
12 apostles gathered together in Jerusalem to discuss the
controversy. Scripture
tells us that once Peter spoke, all fell silent. By Peter leading the
first Church Council, it
was decided Christians should not eat meat sacrificed to idols, so
as to not appear
that
they
believe in false idols. And it was decided non-Jewish converts were
not required to be circumcised,
but the Jewish converts could.
It
was through Church
authority by
way of the Councils
all
came to know the truth.
Jesus
left us 7
sacraments
(outward signs that
bestow grace). Most Christian religions have 2
sacraments Baptism and the Eucharist.
But
they don’t believe the same things Catholics
believe
about Baptism
and the
Eucharist.
For
example, Baptists
don’t believe original
sin and personal sins
are washed away through baptism. Lutherans
believe baptism forgives the guilt
of original sin, but the sinful nature that remains is real sin.
However,
Catholics
believe original sin, personal sin and the punishment due to sin
is washed away at baptism. We believe God comes to dwell within the
temple of heart, we become children of God,
we
enter into the very mystery of God’s divine life and
baptism opens the gates
of
heaven.
Non-Catholic
religions believe the Eucharist is only a symbol. They
don’t believe the Mass is a sacrifice. They don’t believe the
Eucharist is the real and true flesh of Jesus.
But,
Catholics believe the sacrifice of Calvary becomes present on the
altar at
Mass. We
believe the bread is totally and completely changed into the
resurrected person of Jesus. We
believe that we eat the true flesh and blood of Jesus.
Most
Christian religions reject Church authority. But,
Catholics
have always accepted Church authority.
Jesus
promised to protect the teaching of the Church, He
told
the Apostles:
"He who hears
you, hears me; he who rejects you rejects me, he who rejects me,
rejects Him who sent me"
(Luke 10:16)
Catholics
believe Church Councils and Popes have the gift of infallibility when
proclaiming a specific doctrine on faith and morals binding all the
faithful to believe it.
We
Catholics
believe Jesus gave us 7 sacraments (Baptism, Confession, Eucharist,
Confirmation, Anointing of the Sick, Marriage and Priesthood).
Through sacraments Jesus bestows grace to sanctify us and help us to
obtain heaven.
Most
every
Christian religion has different teachings and morals. So all
religions are not the same, especially if they contradict each other.
If
one so
called “Christian” religion
believes abortion, homosexual
marriage, and euthanasia
is okay and another Christian
religion
believes these
are wrong, which religion is right?
The
Catholic Church is
right-
because only our Church has
the authority
by God for all of humanity.
We
don’t follow a religion
that makes us feel good or
one that has the least rules and obligations.
Rather,
we take up our cross and
follow Jesus, because we love
Him, want to please Him and be with Him in heaven.
There
were many martyrs in the first three centuries and through all the
centuries up to today. They
died for Jesus and their belief that He is the way, the
truth and the life.
Many
Gentiles gave up their pagan practices and many Jews gave up their
religion to become Christian. But,
they knew they would die because they were followers of Jesus.
St.
Paul said, “I consider the sufferings of the present to be
nothing compared with the glory to be revealed in us.” “Who will
separate us from the love of Christ? Will anguish, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? As it
is written: For thy sake, we are put to death all the day long. We
are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. But in all these things we
overcome, because of him that hath loved us.… For I
am certain that neither death nor life, neither angels or
principalities, neither the present nor the future, nor powers,
neither height nor depth nor any other creature, will be able to
separate us from the love of God that comes to us in Christ Jesus,
our Lord.” (Romans 8:18-39)
There
is a wide path and narrow path to heaven. The narrow path is full of
sufferings, persecutions, pain and crosses. While the wide path is
easy. All
other religions don’t fully
embrace the Cross. They don’t have the full deposit of faith handed
down to us from Jesus and the Apostles. They are not true pathways to
God. It
is our duty as Christians to proclaim Jesus is Savior and
help
as many as possible come to the fullness of truth found in the
Catholic Church, because those who accept it find
the
most sure pathway to heaven.
We
want everyone to come to know and love Him. He died for us on the
Cross, that we may have life abundantly with Him in heaven. Today,
and every day, make
Jesus, the Lord of your life. Give yourself to Him and allow Him to
lead you. Confess your sins to our Savior, so He can save you from
them. Though you may fall on that narrow hard and arduous road, Jesus
will be there to pick you up, encourage you, help you to carry your
cross and give you peace.
If
we love our family and
friends,
we will help them to become Catholic, the best and greatest religion,
because it is the only
religion
with
the
fullness of truth.
And
let us pray the Holy Rosary for fallen away Catholics and
non-Catholics, that Our Lady will touch their hearts and bring them
to Jesus Christ, Her Son, Our Lord and Savior in
the one, holy, Catholic and apostolic Church founded by Jesus Christ,
who
is the way, the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father,
except through Him.