Hundreds of Catholics each year are led to doubt their faith because they do not know the biblical basis of it. What is the biblical basis of our faith? Why are we Catholic?

The first reason to be Catholic is Jesus Christ.

WHO WAS/IS JESUS CHRIST?

Jesus of Nazareth is the only founder of a religion who was pre-announced hundreds of years before his birth. In Isaiah 53, written several centuries before Christ, we read:

(v5)…he was pierced for our offenses, crushed for our sins, Upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.

(v12)…Therefore I will give him his portion among the great, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death and was counted among the wicked; And he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.

Also, see Is 49:1-7; 50:4-11; and the rest of Is 53.

In Psalm 22, written as early as 980 BC, we find what could pass for an eye-witness account of the crucifixion of Jesus (the opening words of which he quotes in Mt 27:46).

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me… All who see me scoff at me… “He relied on the Lord; let him deliver him…” They have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones… They divide my garments among them; for my clothing they cast lots…

Also, Jesus is the only person ever to predict and carry out his own rising from the dead. But, could the apostles have fabricated the resurrection? Not likely. The apostles, who were clearly hard-nosed skeptics would hardly have endured martyrdom one by one—-all but John died as martyrs—-for a religion founded on a hoax.

So, clearly, Jesus was sent by God. But, was there more to him than that? Infinitely more. He said in the clearest Semitic way (i.e., indirectly) that he was God. In Mk 2:5 he forgave sins on his own authority. The Jews knew well what he was saying by this and responded, “He commits blasphemy! Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

In Jn 8:58 Jesus said, “Before Abraham came to be I AM.” This “I AM” is the same name God used for himself when he sent Moses to the Israelites to say: “I AM sent me to you” (Ex 3:14). So Jesus was not only saying he pre-existed, even before Abraham who lived almost 2,000 years prior to him; he was also saying by a play on words that he, Jesus, was “I AM,” or God. Again, the Jews knew well what Jesus was saying; they picked up rocks to throw at him (Jn 8:59). Stoning (Lv 24:16) was the penalty for such blasphemy.

Finally, in Jn 10:30 Jesus said, “The Father and I are one.” Again, upon hearing this the Jews reached for rocks to stone him saying, “You who are only a man are making yourself out to be God.”

In none of these three cases did Jesus avoid trouble by telling them he did not mean to say he was God. He knew very well what he was saying, and so did the Jews.

But, you might ask, what about passages such as “The Father is greater than I” (Jn 14:28), and regarding the end time, no one, not even the son knows the day and the hour, “but only the Father” (Mk 13:32), and in Gethsemane, praying to the Father, “not my will but yours be done” (Lk 22:42)? All of these quotes merely point to the human nature of Christ which was united to his divine nature. Had he not said these things, his human nature might have been doubted by the references to his divinity. (All of this was debated and sorted out by the early Church: Christ’s divinity was defined in 325, his two natures, in 451 AD.)

So, either Jesus was divine, as he said clearly enough that the Jews accused him of blasphemy, or he was crazy, totally deranged. Either he was all he said he was, or he was nothing.

Now, what about the Catholic Church? Is it true to Christ and His Sacred Scriptures?

THE REAL PRESENCE IN THE EUCHARIST

First, consider the Eucharist. Christ said:

I myself am the living bread come down from heaven. If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever; the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (Jn 6:51).

When the Jews balked at this he went on (v 53):

Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you… for my flesh is real food, and my blood real drink (6:55).

This really set them off, since drinking blood was unthinkable to a Jew. To even touch blood required ritual purification. All Jesus had to say here to eliminate their fears was, “No, no, no. This is merely a symbol!” but he didn’t. He said:

Does it shake your faith? …What then if you were to see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before…? (Jn 6:61, 62)

What was the result of all this? Many of his disciples left him (Jn 6:66).

Now we must ask, would Jesus have given up “many” of his disciples for a “symbol” of his body and blood? This hardly seems likely. No, he knew that what he was going to institute, namely the Eucharist, was going to require a radically new way of thinking for his followers.

But, what about Jn 6:63?:

It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless. The words I spoke to you are spirit and life.

Doesn’t this imply merely a symbol? Not at all. It simply means that Jesus was speaking of something which would not be visible by the physical eyes of the flesh (thus allaying any accusation of cannibalism), but only spiritually, by faith.

So, the Catholic Church is being faithful to the Scriptures in believing in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. It’s radical, but fully biblical.

THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS

Consider next the Mass. Catholics (and the Orthodox) hold the Mass to be, “above all else a sacrifice” (Pope John Paul II, 2/24/80).

In Mt 26:26-28 Jesus said of the bread at the Last Supper, “Take this and eat… This is my body…” and of the cup, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is my blood, the blood of the covenant, to be shed for many for the forgiveness of sins.” Giving one’s body and shedding one’s blood for the forgiveness of sins are biblical expressions which speak of a true sacrifice. It is this divine, timeless sacrifice of Jesus’ death which we “re-present” in the Mass: “his body and blood are both really present; the species under which he is present symbolize the actual separation of his body and blood… on Calvary” (Pius XII, Mediator Dei, 11/20/47).

Also, in Psalm 110, clearly referring to the Messiah, Christ is called a priest according to the order of Melchizedek (see Heb 5:5-10 as well). Melchizedek (Gen 14:18) offered bread and wine as a sacrifice to God for a victory celebration. Christ offers his body and blood under the appearance of bread and wine as a sacrifice to God.

Finally, in Mal 1:10,11 the prophet predicts that everywhere the Gentiles will bring incense and a pure “food-offering” for God. The only “pure” offering sacrificed “everywhere” in this, the “Messianic Age,” is the body and blood of Christ at Mass.

CONFESSION

Jesus said to his disciples whom he sent forth in Jn 20:23, “Whose sins you shall forgive they are forgiven; whose sins you shall retain they are retained.” The Catholic Church fulfills this by both forgiving and retaining sins (depending on the case) in the sacrament of Penance. It would be impossible to “retain” sins if the penitent’s disposition were not known to the priest, acting in the name of Christ.

THE POPE

In Mt 16:18, 19 Jesus said to Peter, “You are ‘Rock,’ and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of Hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in Heaven; whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in Heaven.” Catholics believe that Jesus gave these powers not personally, to end with Peter’s death (hardly worth mentioning if he did) but in his office as leader of his church. Peter’s church leadership was also established in Jn 21:15-17. Did Christ intend the Church to be leaderless, and without a source of doctrinal unity, without even an authority to establish which books belong in the New Testament (the Catholic Church did just this from the 4th century onward)? Not likely.

Thus, in claiming the successor of Peter as its leader, and central source of doctrinal authority, the Catholic Church is being faithful to Scripture.

THE SAINTS

Christ said in Mt 7:17, 20 “Every sound tree bears good fruit… Therefore from their fruits you shall know them.” The “fruits” of the Catholic faith are the saints. Has any other religion besides our own been able to produce the likes of St Francis of Assisi, St Teresa of Avila, St John Vianney or St Thérèse of Lisieux? (Read their stories: they will amaze you!) And, if Jeremiah and Onias were, after having died, able to pray for their people (2 Mac 15:11-16), and the saints offered “the prayers of God’s holy people” before God (Rv 5:8), does it not make sense for us to seek the saints’ intercession?

MARY, MOTHER OF GOD

There can be no doubt that Jesus lived perfectly the fourth commandment: Honor your father and mother. If Christ lives in us as he did in Paul (Gal 2:20) ought not we venerate Christ’s mother as he did, especially since veneration was offered to angels in Josh 5:14 and Dan 8:17? How much greater than the angels is Mary! The Catholic Church honors Mary in imitation of her Son.

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Granted, of course, the Catholic Church has had its scandals, as has every church, but these are the wounds in the body of Christ, put there by the sins of mankind. How wondrous, that despite these wounds, the Church has continued on, and has produced saints in every age.

So, why embrace Catholicism? Because it was founded by the Son of God, it has the Eucharist, and it is eminently biblical. Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise!

Today there is an unfortunate combination of two extremes: a blasé attitude toward sin, and a certain despair of forgiveness. Both are radically wrong.

THE HORROR OF SIN

The Old Testament is filled with references to sin and the need to have God take it away; not just forgive it, but take it away. “Happy the sinner whose fault is removed, whose sin is forgiven. Happy those to whom the LORD imputes no guilt” (Ps 32:1,2); “My iniquities overwhelm me, a burden beyond my strength” (Ps 38:4, 5); “Have mercy on me, God, in your goodness; in your abundant compassion blot out my offense. Wash away all my guilt; from my sin cleanse me. For I know my offense; my sin is always before me” (Ps 51:3, 4, 5); “Who can say, ‘I have made my heart clean, I am cleansed of my sin’?” (Pr 20.9). Also see Ps 32:5, Pr 5:22, Pr. 14:34 among others.

The New Testament is no less concerned with sin. Jesus came for one primary purpose: to make up for our sins by dying on the cross. It is crucial that we recover a biblical sense of the horror of sin. The saints and other holy people had this sense.

St. Ignatius of Loyola said:

“I would not for the sake of all creation, or for the purpose of saving my life, consider committing a single venial sin.”

St. Catherine of Genoa wrote:

When I had the vision in which I saw how much the shadow of the smallest act against God matters, I do not know why I did not die. I do not wonder that hell is so horrible, seeing that it is made for sin. But, horrible as it is… I think … that even there God shows mercy, so terrible does even the shadow of a venial sin seem to me.

St. Francis of Assisi said:

Had I committed but one little sin I would have ample reason to repent of it for the rest of my life.

St. Teresa of Avila put it:

Follow the advice [to please God] until you find you have such a fixed determination not to offend the Lord that you would rather lose a thousand lives, and be persecuted by the whole world, than commit one venial sin.

Cardinal Newman wrote:

The Church holds it better for sun and moon to drop from Heaven, for the earth to fail, and for all the many millions on it to die of starvation in the most extreme agony… than that one soul… should commit one single venial sin, should tell one willful untruth or should steal one poor farthing…

What is so terrible about sin? Why the fuss? Because we are called to an intimate life of love with God, a kind of marriage (Ez. 16; Is. 52, Hos. 1-3). If we are to be in this marriage, we must be holy, and every act that brings us away from that goal is a terrible tragedy.

…THE MERCY OF GOD

The Old Testament spoke abundantly of the mercy of God. For example, “Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever… Who alone does great wonders, for his mercy endures forever…” (Ps. 136:1,4). The litany goes on for 26 verses. One of Pope John Paul II’s earliest encyclicals was Dives in Misericordia, literally “[God, who is] rich in Mercy” (Eph. 2:4). It was about the infinite mercy of God. St. Faustina’s divine Mercy Chaplet is aimed at our becoming more aware of the infinite mercy of God. God told her it was his greatest attribute.

ST. MARGARET OF CORTONA

Nothing speaks more of God’s mercy than the life of St. Margaret of Cortona. She was born in Laviano, Tuscany (present-day Italy) in 1247. Her mother raised her with great love and tenderness, and taught her to love God and strive for virtue. Thus, her mother’s death when Margaret was only seven was a tragic blow.

Her father, a small-time farmer, remarried two years later. He was weak and indulgent at times_spoiling Margaret in the process_and excessively violent at others. His new wife had no use for his high-spirited, pleasure-loving daughter, and attempted with harshness to undo the spoiling her husband had accomplished. Caught between her parents’ extremes, neither of which provided the love she had known and which she desperately sought, she looked for love outside her home, to the boys of her town. Her striking beauty, combined with her spirited nature, made her irresistibly attractive to them. She loved the attention, and to keep it gave in to their lustful desires. Before she was 17 the whole town knew of her sexual adventures.

At 18 she ran off with a nobleman to live in his castle in the hills of Montepulciano. Though he promised to marry her, he never did, so she lived openly as his mistress for nine years. Her sinful life shocked the entire region. She added insult to injury by often riding a magnificent horse defiantly through the streets of Montepulciano dressed in expensive jewels and fancy clothes. When she gave birth to an illegitimate son, Margaret gave up on the hope of marriage and resigned herself to the situation.

Not surprisingly, in spite of her somewhat glamorous life, Margaret was often unhappy. She would find an out-of-the-way room and say to herself, “How good it would be to pray here! In such peace I might become sincerely repentant!” She cried over her sins, hoping one day to reform and receive God’s forgiveness and mercy. Once a friend pleaded with her, “You wretch, how much lower will you bring yourself?” She covered her face with her hands and groaned. Then as if she saw the future, she cried out, “Don’t worry! The day will come when you will call me a saint, because I will have become so holy!”

Margaret continued her sinful life, torn between pleasure and guilt, comfort and disgust. She felt trapped. She hid her agony from everyone. It was only through tragedy that she was set free.

When she was 27 her nobleman failed to return from a business trip on time. After days of searching, she was led by his dog to his murdered body, covered with leaves in the woods. She screamed and fainted.

When she recovered she faced squarely the issue of her own death, her destiny? Where was her lover’s soul now? Where would she end up for all eternity?

She resolved to go home to her father. Dressed as a penitent, she and her young son walked to Laviano. There, she threw herself at the feet of her father and asked forgiveness and shelter. He gave her both.

However, trouble brewed almost immediately. Margaret would often kneel at the door of the local church with a penitential rope around her waist and arms outstretched for all to see she was a repentant sinner; once she even confessed publicly her past sins in the church. All this, combined with the continued bad blood between her and her stepmother brought things to a head. She and her son were driven out.

She walked away leading her crying son, uncertain where to go. She thought of returning to the comfort of her past sinful life. The devil tempted her: “You still have your beauty, your youth, your wit… Why not go back?” But God spoke to her heart, inspiring her to go to Cortona and seek refuge with the Franciscans.

At the city gate she met two kind women who brought her to the Franciscan house. She humbly asked entry into the Third Order of the Franciscans, that she might do penance for the rest of her life. She was accepted on a trial basis to see if her conversion would last. She attended Mass each day, spent long hours in prayer, worked as a midwife and cared for the poor. Finally, after three years, her spiritual director agreed she was ready. In 1277, at the age of 30, Margaret entered the Third Order of St. Francis.

She began to live a life of deep penance, wearing rags for clothing, sleeping on the ground with a stone or piece of wood as a pillow, and seeking to humiliate herself in every way. She returned to Montepulciano one Sunday and asked pardon of the congregation.

Her beauty, which had been the occasion of her ruin, and which still turned the heads of the men in Cortona, she proposed to destroy by cutting and scarring her face. Her spiritual director said no. When she asked God to remove any grace or beauty that others might admire in her, He said to her, “By your beauty I wish to encourage sinners to come to you, to be converted, and thus to give me greater glory.”

When she entered the Third Order she sent her son to the Franciscan school in Arezzo and moved to a shack near the church. There she began to have visions of the Lord. When she was at prayer the Lord seemed to speak plainly to her. For some time He called her, “my poor little one,” but after she had asked Him for a more intimate title through much prayer and penance, He began to call her, “My daughter.” This filled Margaret with great joy, and an ever greater zeal for prayer and penance. She ate only a slice of bread and some water with raw vegetables and nuts. She denied herself all comforts, wearing a hair shirt and whipping herself. She spent most nights contemplating the sufferings of Christ and weeping for her sins.

Once Our Lord said to her, “My daughter, I will place you among the Seraphs, among the virgins whose hearts are flaming with the love of God.”

“How can that be,” she asked, “since I have spoiled myself with so many sins?”

“My daughter, your many penances have purified your soul from all the effects of sin to such a degree that your contrition and sufferings will reintegrate you into the purity of a virgin.” For her love of chastity she would be “placed among the virgins.”

Margaret prayed for the grace to humble herself before all creatures for the love of God. The Lord agreed, saying, “This… will exalt you among the blessed in heaven… You are the third light of the Franciscan Order” (After St Francis, and St Clare).

Margaret was indeed humbled, as many in Cortona began out of jealousy to spread scandalous rumors about her. Even the Franciscans began to suspect her. Her response to her slanderers was to pray for them and even to ask their forgiveness. For seven years she lived under suspicion, deprived of her spiritual director, her ecstasies and special graces. However, this trial was followed by a period of great grace.

After raising her to the title of “my daughter,” the Lord gave Margaret many other titles, including, “mother of sinners,” “lily of innocence,” “rose of charity,” His “sister,” and “pearl of his heart.” However, her most treasured title was “spouse.” She received this one day in August, after holy communion. She was given a white robe, a wedding ring and a crown from the Lord’s angels. Then Jesus declared, “You are my spouse.” This “mystical marriage,” is the highest spiritual state possible, in which the soul is constantly aware God’s presence and love.

People came from miles around to seek Margaret’s advice and prayers, and many miracles occurred at her intercession. She showed great love for the poor, depriving herself of almost everything_including her coat in mid-winter_to provide for them. She founded a hospital in 1286 and worked there as a nurse, preferring to serve those with the most repulsive diseases. She founded two groups: “The Little Poor Sisters,” to serve at the hospital, and the confraternity of Our Lady of Mercy, to serve the City’s poor.

The Lord revealed to Margaret a month in advance, when she would die. For the final 17 days of her life her only nourishment was the Holy Eucharist. She died peacefully on February 22, 1297. She was 50 years old. Almost immediately miracles began to occur at her grave, including the raising to life of twelve persons. Her body is incorrupt to this day, visible beneath the main altar of the Basilica of Cortona, “St. Margaret’s.” She was canonized in 1728.

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What an awesome, merciful God it is who can raise us from the depths of sin to the heights of holiness as he raised Margaret and others such as St. Augustine and St. Mary Magdalene. No one is beyond God’s endless mercy.