Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Thu Feb 21, 2008 6:17 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 3

Christ is not continually put to death, and I want to make something very clear. As Catholics we do not believe that Jesus dies again and again and again in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the altar. We believe, rather, that this is an un-bloody sacrifice. It doesn't mean that he is being killed, only without any bloodshed. It means that he is not being killed at all. It means that Jesus Christ, raised in heaven and glorified, continually presents himself to the Father in a perfect sacrifice, the once for all sacrifice. The sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ was once for all and he sat down at the right hand. Now when somebody takes that to mean that there is no longer any continuation of his sacrifice, they run into problems because in Revelations 5, verse 6, we see a difficulty. John in his vision of the heavenly throne room is told to look and he will see the Lion of the tribe of Judah who is conquered. He looks expecting to see a royal figure. The lion is a royal figure of the tribe of Judah which is David's tribe, and so he expects to see a king. Instead, it says in Revelations 5, verse 6, "He turned and beheld a lamb, looking as though it had been slain in the center of the throne." Jesus Christ was sacrificed on the Cross, raised from the dead and yet that resurrected body bears the wounds; ascended into heaven and glorified so that those wounds are not removed but glorified; so that when we behold our King in heaven at the right hand of the Father, what does he look like? A lamb, looking as though he had been slain. Why? Because the Passover Feast continues on into eternity. Christ is priest and victim. He is the Passover Lamb. No wonder St. Paul can say in 1st Corinthians 5, verse 7"Christ, our Passover, has been sacrificed for us, therefore, let us keep the feast." What feast? The Eucharistic Banquet, the covenant Passover. But why? Because sacrifices are never complete until the sacrificial victim is consumed! It's the consuming of the victim that really signifies the purpose and goal of the sacrifice, because God ordained and commanded sacrifices in the Old Testament for sin, but not simply to kill animals. What happened to the animals after they were slain? They were eaten because to have that meal, to share communion is the purpose and goal of the sacrifice. It signifies the restoration of family bonds, because who do you eat your meals with? Family members. So the ultimate, final stage of a sacrifice is communion. Back in Egypt, 1400 years before Jesus, if you had sacrificed the Passover lamb and sprinkled his blood on your doorpost to preserve your firstborn son, and then you went to bed and that's all you did, you would wake up in the morning and your firstborn son would be dead, because you had to eat the lamb. You had to commune upon the victim. You had to consume the sacrifice. You had to eat the lamb!!!!!!!

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Thu Feb 21, 2008 5:57 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 2

Every Jew in the audience thinks of Leviticus. Oh no, you don't eat flesh. If you eat flesh and if you drink blood, you are cut off from your kindred, according to the Old Testament law of Moses. "So the Jews then disputed among themselves saying, 'How can this man give us his flesh to eat?'" So does Jesus say, "Well stop, guys, it's just a teaching device. It was just a little illustration to help get a point across." No, He ups the ante; He intensifies their crisis of faith. So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His Blood, you have no life in you."
That's the first thing he says. Then he states it a second way: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up at the last day." Then he says it a third way: "For my flesh is food indeed and my blood is drink indeed." And then to top it off, he has to say it a fourth time: "He who eats my flesh," and that word in the Greek means chew, munch down on my flesh, "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me and I in him." I can almost feel the dizziness of the Jews in the audience, and many of his disciples when they heard it said, "This is a hard saying. Who can listen to it?"
They don't say, "Well, who can understand it?" They don't say, "Who can believe it?" They say, "We can't even stand to listen to it. That's how offensive it is." But Jesus, knowing himself that his disciples murmured at him and at the saying, said to them, what? "Oh guys, come on, come on. Relax. It's just a metaphor, just a symbol, just a sign." He doesn't say that, does he? He says, "Do you take offense at this? Then what if you were to see the Son of Man ascending where he was before? It is the Spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life."
What is Jesus meaning? He is saying, "Look, I am not saying here is my arm. Why don't you guys just stand in line and take a bite." Right? Well, what is he saying? He is saying that it's the Spirit that gives life and so my flesh and my blood are not quite ready for the communion meal. When will they be? When the Spirit takes the Passover Lamb in the tomb and revives and resurrects and glorifies and infuses the fullness of the infinite Holy Spirit to that flesh and to that blood, so that Christ's flesh and blood is perfectly united to the eternal spirit of God. At that point, Christ's flesh and blood will not be mere flesh and blood. It's the Spirit that gives life. The flesh alone is of no avail.
"The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life." What does he mean? The words that Christ speaks are what cause his flesh and his blood to be transformed. Those words are spoken over bread and wine and that is what causes the great communion meal to take place.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:59 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

Sorry I meant note! Thank you for you note Chris! :)

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Wed Feb 13, 2008 7:58 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 0

Thank you for your not Chris. Have you ever tried explaining the power of the Holy Spirit to a militant atheist before? You and I know how incredible the power of the Holy Spirit is to the believer. But to an atheist who never experienced such an incredible act will always think you’re insane! How can you explain the spirit to someone who is unwilling to believe in such a transcendent mystery? God calls us to have faith to experience the power of God and if atheists are unwilling to believe then they will never know truth of the Lord because of there refusal!

The Eucharist has the same power and mystery!!! In fact words cannot express the over flowing grace that comes from receiving the Lord through communion. But how can I explain to you if you’re unwilling to believe in the power of the bread of life? I can’t, because it’s the same scenario as I mentioned above.
The most humbling experience in my life is when I receive my Lord’s body and blood. His death, resurrection and love over power me to the verge of tears. Remain open brothers and do not be like the unbelieving Jews. John 6:52-56 52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him.
I will say no more and will I continue to pray on your behalf that the Master will open your eyes and see the truth! You and I can reason theology for the rest of our lives but like everything else faith has to be a personal experience to understand the Lord’s fullness. The Catholic Church is not perfected by man; the Catholic Church is perfected by Jesus Christ who promised that he would never leave us or forsake us! He also promised that the Gates of Hell would not conquer the church! I believe in that promise and no false prophet will lead me astray because I put all of my faith, hope and charity in Christ the Lord. The Master leads and I will follow.
God Bless,
Jon Matthew Greenier

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:47 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Matthew16:24-25 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25For whoever wants to save his life[h] will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will find it.

Eleven of the twelve blessed Apostles all followed Christ to the cross and were martyred for their Master to choose the cross then there own lives including Peter!!! In the end Peter and the Apostles gave their lives for us.

John 15:12-14 12My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. 13Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. 14You are my friends if you do what I command.

Thank you Peter and the Apostles for your sacrifice for us and our Master Lord Jesus Christ!

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Wed Feb 13, 2008 4:30 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Good morning Chris, that's really not the topic that we are discussing at the moment but if you insist! That is true. Peter was acting on his human emotions rather then trusting in the Lord that he had to suffer greatly. I think most of us probably would have said the same thing to Christ if we heard that he going to die horribly. If you love someone you never wish to see them suffer!

Later in Rome Peter and Paul both showed there unwavering beliefs in there Master when Paul was beheaded. Peter told the Romans that he was not worthy to die like his master so he was crucified upside down. These men loved Christ! You should admire what they have done for our church rather then try to disgrace them by there human faults.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:51 pm Agree: 0   Disagree: 1

John 6: 51I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world."

The Orthodox and Catholic church both believe in the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. And it's sad that devout Christians like your self are allowing your bias of the Catholic Church to receive the Lord. I will pray for you brother.

The early Christians broke bread Acts 2:45-47 45Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. 46Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

The Romans used to think the early Christians were cannibals because they would hear about the Christians eating the flesh of Christ.

The Eucharist is the special nourishment for the souls of the Christian believers and is accepted only through pure faith in the Lord. St. Paul rebuked anyone who received the Eucharist without being in the state of grace.

To understand the mysteries of the Eucharist you must first understand the Melchizedek order and the relations of the passover lamb. Christ is in the order of the Melchizedek and he is also the passover lamb. Shed for the sins of all mankind and offering a pure offering to the Lord God.

I could never reject the body of my savior and I'm shocked to hear other Christians who do! What biblical support do you have for your position! The New Testament seems to favor mine if you believe in the literal intrepretation! Which I thought most Protestants believed in the literal intrepretation of the bible. Or do you pick which one best fits you?

Peace

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:16 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 3

Continued: 1 Cor. 10:20 - Paul further compares the sacrifices of pagans to the Eucharistic sacrifice - both are sacrifices, but one is offered to God. This proves that the memorial offering of Christ is a sacrifice.
1 Cor. 11:26 - Paul teaches that as often as you eat the bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death. This means that celebrating the Eucharist is proclaiming the Gospel.
1 Cor. 10:21 - Paul's usage of the phrase "table of the Lord" in celebrating the Eucharist is further evidence that the Eucharist is indeed a sacrifice. The Jews always understood the phrase "table of the Lord" to refer to an altar of sacrifice. See, for example, Lev. 24:6, Ezek. 41:22; 44:16 and Malachi 1:7,12, where the phrase "table of the Lord" in these verses always refers to an altar of sacrifice.
Heb. 13:10,15 - this earthly altar is used in the Mass to offer the Eucharistic sacrifice of praise to God through our eternal Priest, Jesus Christ.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:16 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 3

Continued: Heb. 9:23 - in this verse, the author writes that the Old Testament sacrifices were only copies of the heavenly things, but now heaven has better “sacrifices” than these. Why is the heavenly sacrifice called “sacrifices,” in the plural? Jesus died once. This is because, while Christ’s sacrifice is transcendent in heaven, it touches down on earth and is sacramentally re-presented over and over again from the rising of the sun to its setting around the world by the priests of Christ’s Church. This is because all moments to God are present in their immediacy, and when we offer the memorial sacrifice to God, we ask God to make the sacrifice that is eternally present to Him also present to us. Jesus’ sacrifice also transcends time and space because it was the sacrifice of God Himself.
Heb. 9:23 - the Eucharistic sacrifice also fulfills Jer. 33:18 that His kingdom will consist of a sacrificial priesthood forever, and fulfills Zech. 9:15 that the sons of Zion shall drink blood like wine and be saved.
Heb. 13:15 - this "sacrifice of praise" refers to the actual sacrifice or "toda" offering of Christ who, like the Old Testament toda offerings, now must be consumed. See, for example, Lev. 7:12-15; 22:29-30 which also refer to the “sacrifice of praise” in connection with animals who had to be eaten after they were sacrificed.
1 Peter 2:5-6 - Peter says that we as priests offer "sacrifices" to God through Jesus, and he connects these sacrifices to Zion where the Eucharist was established. These sacrifices refer to the one eternal Eucharistic sacrifice of Christ offered in every place around the world.
Rom. 12:1 - some Protestants argue that the Eucharist is not really the sacrifice of Christ, but a symbolic offering, because the Lord's blood is not shed (Heb. 9:22). However, Paul instructs us to present ourselves as a "living sacrifice" to God. This verse demonstrates that not all sacrifices are bloody and result in death (for example, see the wave offerings of Aaron in Num. 8:11,13,15,21 which were unbloody sacrifices). The Eucharistic sacrifice is unbloody and lifegiving, the supreme and sacramental wave offering of Christ, mysteriously presented in a sacramental way, but nevertheless the one actual and eternal sacrifice of Christ. Moreover, our bodies cannot be a holy sacrifice unless they are united with Christ's sacrifice made present on the altar of the Holy Mass.
1 Cor. 10:16 - "the cup of blessing" or Third cup makes present the actual paschal sacrifice of Christ, the Lamb who was slain.
1 Cor. 10:18 - Paul indicates that what is eaten from the altar has been sacrificed, and we become partners with victim. What Catholic priests offer from the altar has indeed been sacrificed, our Lord Jesus, the paschal Lamb.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 2:15 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 5

The Eucharist Makes Present Jesus' One Eternal Sacrifice; it's Not Just a Symbolic Memorial
Gen. 14:18 - remember that Melchizedek's bread and wine offering foreshadowed the sacramental re-presentation of Jesus' offering.
Luke 22:19; 1 Cor. 11:24-25 - the translation of Jesus' words of consecration is "touto poieite tan eman anamnasin." Jesus literally said "offer this as my memorial sacrifice." The word “poiein” (do) refers to offering a sacrifice (see, e.g., Exodus 29:38-39, where God uses the same word – poieseis – regarding the sacrifice of the lambs on the altar). The word “anamnesis” (remembrance) also refers to a sacrifice which is really or actually made present in time by the power of God, as it reminds God of the actual event (see, e.g., Heb. 10:3; Num. 10:10). It is not just a memorial of a past event, but a past event made present in time.
In other words, the “sacrifice” is the “memorial” or “reminder.” If the Eucharist weren’t a sacrifice, Luke would have used the word “mnemosunon” (which is the word used to describe a nonsacrificial memorial. See, for example, Matt. 26:13; Mark 14:9; and especially Acts 10:4). So there are two memorials, one sacrificial (which Jesus instituted), and one non-sacrificial.
Lev. 24:7 - the word "memorial" in Hebrew in the sacrificial sense is "azkarah" which means to actually make present (see Lev. 2:2,9,16;5:12;6:5; Num.5:26 where “azkarah” refers to sacrifices that are currently offered and thus present in time). Jesus' instruction to offer the bread and wine (which He changed into His body and blood) as a "memorial offering" demonstrates that the offering of His body and blood is made present in time over and over again.
Num. 10:10 - in this verse, "remembrance" refers to a sacrifice, not just a symbolic memorial. So Jesus' command to offer the memorial “in remembrance” of Him demonstrates that the memorial offering is indeed a sacrifice currently offered. It is a re-presentation of the actual sacrifice made present in time. It is as if the curtain of history is drawn and Calvary is made present to us.
Mal. 1:10-11 - Jesus' command to his apostles to offer His memorial sacrifice of bread and wine which becomes His body and blood fulfills the prophecy that God would reject the Jewish sacrifices and receive a pure sacrifice offered in every place. This pure sacrifice of Christ is sacramentally re-presented from the rising of the sun to its setting in every place, as Malachi prophesied.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:29 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 2

Council of Ephesus - "We will necessarily add this also. Proclaiming the death, according to the flesh, of the only-begotten Son of God, that is Jesus Christ, confessing his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into heaven, we offer the unbloody sacrifice in the churches, and so go on to the mystical thanksgivings, and are sanctified, having received his holy flesh and the precious blood of Christ the Savior of us all. And not as common flesh do we receive it; God forbid: nor as of a man sanctified and associated with the Word according to the unity of worth, or as having a divine indwelling, but as truly the life-giving and very flesh of the Word himself. For he is the life according to his nature as God, and when he became united to his flesh, he made it also to be life-giving" (Session 1, Letter of Cyril to Nestorius [A.D. 431]).

Cyprian of Carthage - "He [Paul] threatens, moreover, the stubborn and forward, and denounces them, saying, ‘Whosoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily, is guilty of the body and blood of the Lord’ [1 Cor. 11:27]. All these warnings being scorned and contemned—[lapsed Christians will often take Communion] before their sin is expiated, before confession has been made of their crime, before their conscience has been purged by sacrifice and by the hand of the priest, before the offense of an angry and threatening Lord has been appeased, [and so] violence is done to his body and blood; and they sin now against their Lord more with their hand and mouth than when they denied their Lord" (The Lapsed 15–16 [A.D. 251]).

Aphraahat the Persian Sage - "After having spoken thus [at the Last Supper], the Lord rose up from the place where he had made the Passover and had given his body as food and his blood as drink, and he went with his disciples to the place where he was to be arrested. But he ate of his own body and drank of his own blood, while he was pondering on the dead. With his own hands the Lord presented his own body to be eaten, and before he was crucified he gave his blood as drink" (Treatises 12:6 [A.D. 340]).

Augustine - "I promised you [new Christians], who have now been baptized, a sermon in which I would explain the sacrament of the Lord’s Table. . . . That bread which you see on the altar, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the body of Christ. That chalice, or rather, what is in that chalice, having been sanctified by the word of God, is the blood of Christ" (Sermons 227 [A.D. 411]).

Apostolic Teaching - True Body and Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
Catholicism - True Body and Blood of Christ under the appearance of bread and wine.
Biblical References - Matthew 26:26, Mark 14:22, Luke 22:19, John 6:35,41,51-58, 1 Corinthians 11:27-29.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 12:07 pm Agree: 1   Disagree: 2

Theodore of Mopsuestia - "When [Christ] gave the bread he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my body,’ but, ‘This is my body.’ In the same way, when he gave the cup of his blood he did not say, ‘This is the symbol of my blood,’ but, ‘This is my blood’; for he wanted us to look upon the [Eucharistic elements] after their reception of grace and the coming of the Holy Spirit not according to their nature, but receive them as they are, the body and blood of our Lord. We ought . . . not regard [the elements] merely as bread and cup, but as the body and blood of the Lord, into which they were transformed by the descent of the Holy Spirit" (Catechetical Homilies 5:1 [A.D. 405]). Ignatius of Antioch

Justin Martyr - "We call this food Eucharist, and no one else is permitted to partake of it, except one who believes our teaching to be true and who has been washed in the washing which is for the remission of sins and for regeneration [i.e., has received baptism] and is thereby living as Christ enjoined. 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]).

Clement of Alexandria - "’Eat my flesh,’ [Jesus] says, ‘and drink my blood.’ The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours out his blood, and nothing is lacking for the growth of his children" (The Instructor of Children 1:6:43:3 [A.D. 191]).

Tertullian - "[T]here is not a soul that can at all procure salvation, except it believe whilst it is in the flesh, so true is it that the flesh is the very condition on which salvation hinges. And since the soul is, in consequence of its salvation, chosen to the service of God, it is the flesh which actually renders it capable of such service. The flesh, indeed, is washed [in baptism], in order that the soul may be cleansed . . . the flesh is shadowed with the imposition of hands [in confirmation], that the soul also may be illuminated by the Spirit; the flesh feeds [in the Eucharist] on the body and blood of Christ, that the soul likewise may be filled with God" (The Resurrection of the Dead 8 [A.D. 210]).

Origen - "Formerly there was baptism in an obscure way . . . now, however, in full view, there is regeneration in water and in the Holy Spirit. Formerly, in an obscure way, there was manna for food; now, however, in full view, there is the true food, the flesh of the Word of God, as he himself says: ‘My flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink’ [John 6:55]" (Homilies on Numbers 7:2 [A.D. 248]).

Food for thought! :)

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 9:36 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 3

The Eucharist (CCC 1322–1419)
Once we become members of Christ’s family, he does not let us go hungry, but feeds us with his own body and blood through the Eucharist. In the Old Testament, as they prepared for their journey in the wilderness, God commanded his people to sacrifice a lamb and sprinkle its blood on their doorposts, so the Angel of Death would pass by their homes. Then they ate the lamb to seal their covenant with God.

This lamb prefigured Jesus. He is the real "Lamb of God," who takes away the sins of the world (John 1:29). Through Jesus we enter into a New Covenant with God (Luke 22:20), who protects us from eternal death. God’s Old Testament people ate the Passover lamb. Now we must eat the Lamb that is the Eucharist. Jesus said, "Unless you eat my flesh and drink my blood you have no life within you" (John 6:53).

At the Last Supper he took bread and wine and said, "Take and eat. This is my body . . . This is my blood which will be shed for you" (Mark 14:22–24). In this way Jesus instituted the sacrament of the Eucharist, the sacrificial meal Catholics consume at each Mass.

The Catholic Church teaches that the sacrifice of Christ on the cross occurred "once for all"; it cannot be repeated (Heb. 9:28). Christ does not "die again" during Mass, but the very same sacrifice that occurred on Calvary is made present on the altar. That’s why the Mass is not "another" sacrifice, but a participation in the same, once-for-all sacrifice of Christ on the cross.

Paul reminds us that the bread and the wine really become, by a miracle of God’s grace, the actual body and blood of Jesus: "Anyone who eats and drinks without recognizing the body of the Lord eats and drinks judgment on himself" (1 Cor. 11:27–29).

After the consecration of the bread and wine, no bread or wine remains on the altar. Only Jesus himself, under the appearance of bread and wine, remains.

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 8:51 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 3

The commandments are not from men but from Christ Lord.

John 6:51-59 I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." 52Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" 53Jesus said to them, "I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. 54Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. 56Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him. 57Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. 58This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your forefathers ate manna and died, but he who feeds on this bread will live forever." 59He said this while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

The Eucharist is no man made tradition!!!

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:27 am Agree: 0   Disagree: 0

Jesus Christ ushered in the reign of the new church that supercedes the old. Matthew 12:6-7 6I tell you that one[a] greater than the temple is here. Mark 14:58 "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this man-made temple and in three days will build another, not made by man.' The resurrection of Jesus Christ on third day brought the new seed of the church to light. Since that day the church has been in the world teaching the gospel of Christ for nearly 2000 years in perfect succession. Many attempts have been made to bring the Church to destruction but as governments collapse and the world continue to change the church remains the same spreading love, mercy and charity for all who seek Christ. “As his armies were swallowing up the countries of Europe, French emperor Napoleon is reported to have said to Church officials, "Je détruirai votre église" ("I will destroy your Church")." When informed of the emperor's words, Ercole Cardinal Consalvi, one of the great statesmen of the papal court, replied, "He will never succeed. We have not managed to do it ourselves!" If bad popes, immoral priests, and countless sinners in the Church hadn't succeeded in destroying the Church from within, Cardinal Consalvi was saying, how did Napoleon think he was going to do it from without?”

Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years

Jon Matthew »

Tue Feb 12, 2008 6:14 am Agree: 1   Disagree: 4

The Catholic Church will always remain the same as it has been for the last 2,000 years; unaltered and not giving into heresy! Jesus promised the Church would never fail and I believe in that promise... In 3,000 A.D. my brothers will still be breaking the bread and giving thanks to the Lord God with perfect unity with the Bishop of Rome.