I was raised Catholic – You too? Maybe Time to Reconsider
by Mike Cousineau
Christian denominations speak to knowing the Truth, and rightly so! All Christian denominations have, at least, some truth. For instance, every denomination is in total agreement with, “The purpose of man is to know, love & serve God.” However, with over 35,000 so-called Christian denominations, is it possible that some of them teach in error, even though there is no intent to mislead?
Many people enjoy pondering “deep things.” Are you, perhaps, one of them? Take, for instance, this philosophical adage, “There are none so blind as those who will not see.” Haven’t we all thought something to be true, only to find out we were misled?
When someone is nearing the end of life, typically, the family doctor will say, “it’s best you get your house in order.” What, exactly, does that imply? Of course, he is confirming there is not much time left. If final arrangements haven’t yet been addressed, get busy! Say your last goodbyes, tell your friends and loved ones how much you love them, and if you have not made a last will & testament, don’t put it off any longer. Finally, the doctor may be implying if you haven’t made peace with God, now would be a good time.
It would be great if all of us were given those final days to get it all squared away. Unfortunately, experience, otherwise known as real life, has shown, over and over again, that unexpected tragedies frequent every day life all too often. We could even make a case that far too many die young.
Because tragedy and unexpected suffering will visit all of us, many may “shake their fist at God.” Going through the stages of grief, they will probably say, “If you really are a loving God, why did you let this happen?” When this happens, it does not surprise God, nor does it get Him angry or upset. Believe it or not, He will use this suffering in a way to work it all out in the end.
Nearing the end of life…that’s where we started this, didn’t we! The Doctor was telling us to get our house in order. Christians believe God is constantly calling us to get our house in order. Keep in mind, Jesus would prefer we always have & keep our house in order. Yet, He understands we struggle in our battle with the very real desires of the flesh. Because He understands how intense the battle can be, He orchestrated a plan, put it in place & gave it a name.
The name He gave it is The Church. Scripture specifically says, “The pillar and foundation of truth is The Church.” However, with so many denominations to choose from, what church is Jesus talking about? Remember, all denominations believe they speak & teach truth. Common sense tells us, if there are that many churches, all claiming correct interpretation of truth, they all can’t be right. Some of them are in error, not intentional mind you, but nonetheless in error.
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Our first full day in Galilee was a hot one! But everybody was excited and ready to get on with our pilgrimage. We started with an outdoor Mass at Beatitudes (homily here) then drove north to the Lebanese border and went to Caesarea Philippi where Jesus said “You are Peter in on this rock I will build my church.” I gave one of my favorite talks in titled “Peter, the Rock and the Keys.“
All the folks on our sold-out pilgrimage for Legatus arranged their own airline flights to Tel Aviv. We picked everyone up at the airport and started our drive north to Galilee at 5 PM today (Thursday). No luggage lose and everyone is excited!
This group sold out so fast that we had to arrange a second Legatus trip for March 2020 which also sold out in three weeks. Legatus Executive Director Stephen Henley is with us and we are all making a great Pilgrimage team.
