For my Catholic Christian friends: my prayer is that you will be encouraged to share and defend your faith by being better equipped to spread the truth about Christ and His Bride, the Church (1 Pt.3:15).
We often can take our Catholic faith for granted and even leave the faith for something else or lose faith entirely if we are not well-grounded in the truth and are not taught "why" we believe what the Church teaches.
It is also important and even an obligation to be able to know why you believe in the one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic Church - otherwise, you and those you know may be in danger of not receiving the graces of the sacraments and benefiting from all the treasures the Catholic Church has to offer, which was given to us by our Lord for our salvation. We need ALL the graces Christ makes available to His Body (Eph. 4:5).
Because of all the attacks on the Church and the fact that some leave out of discouragement, hurt, ignorance, hypocrisy, scandals or thinking that there is something more or better in another denomination, we now more than ever, need to know the truth and become informed.
It is also essential to know church history. If so, we would see that the only church that can be traced all the way back to Jesus and the Apostles is the Catholic Church - we would also come to the realization that it was the Catholic Church and it's Councils that have determined which books are inspired and belong in the bible. Jesus entrusted His Catholic (or "universal") Church by the power of the Holy Spirit to safeguard the truth for 2,000 years now (Mt. 16:18).
Sadly, even too many Catholics are not aware of how blest they are by being a Catholic Christian. They simply do not know what they have and are unaware of the Catholic Church as the original, historical church. The early church fathers back up this claim in the earliest writings.
To my non-Catholic brothers and sisters in Christ: my prayer is that by addressing the many misconceptions you may have heard about the Catholic Church and by giving you good, reasoned and biblical answers, you will come to know and love the Catholic Church for what it really is...the pillar and foundation of truth (1Tm. 3:15). In spite of its faults and failings, the Catholic Church was founded by Christ 2,000 years ago. It is only by the working of the Holy Spirit that this can be accomplished.
I pray that by keeping an open mind, studying the early Church Fathers and through prayer, you will gain a greater appreciation and understanding of the Catholic faith and see not only the differences between Catholics and non-Catholic Christians, but also where we agree and then build on that. Christ must always be at the center.
Praise be our Lord, Jesus Christ
now and forever. Amen.
