My wife and I often invite Mormon missionaries into our home. Invariably these clean-shaven young men will show up knocking at our door immaculately adorned in a white dress shirt and tie, a black name tag reading “Elder So-And-So,” and a book bag over their shoulder. They are always genuinely kind and well-mannered. Sometimes they will stay for an hour − sometimes more − and sometimes we will even have them stay for dinner. These encounters consistently prove themselves to be gratifying evangelization experiences – and often it is the missionaries’ first time hearing about Catholicism from a Catholic.
Why do Catholics call their priests “Father” when Jesus says in Matthew’s Gospel:
“Call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father—the one in heaven.” (Matt 23:9)
This question can become a point of contention between Catholics and evangelical Christians. Not a few non-Catholics take this verse in its most literal sense, and so they contend that Catholics are acting in disobedience to Jesus by calling their priest named Jim, for example, “Father Jim”.
In objection to this Catholic discipline, Matthew 23:9 is quoted. Of course, Catholics recognize that Jesus is speaking with hyperbole here, and is making it clear that the Almighty Father is the eternal prototype of all fathers, the eternal Giver of Life (Consider also in this passage that Jesus also says to call no man “teacher”, so to be consistent…).
In his conversion story the renowned Catholic philosopher and author, Dr. Peter Kreeft, recalls one fateful day in college. He was in “Church History” class. To stimulate thought-provoking discussion amongst his Calvinist students, the professor provocatively lamented at how absurd it would sound to the early Christians if they were to respond to the question “Who founded your Church?” with “John Calvin.” This controversial reflection stirred the mind of young Kreeft into a state of deep inquiry.
That day in class, Dr. Kreeft was compelled to ask a profoundly bold question; and that question catapulted him in the direction of the Catholic faith. His question went something like this:
If two Christians, a non-Catholic and a Catholic, could travel back in time to the earliest centuries of Christianity who would be more “at home”? The non-Catholic or the Catholic?
After a thorough critical investigation, the answer became clear. The early Church was Catholic, through and through. Although it was in a more primitive form, he found that the early Christian Church had a shocking resemblance to the Catholic Church of modern times. So he became Catholic. He had to. He loved Truth too much.
Have you ever wondered how in the world the early Christians endured such suffering at the hands of their persecutors — and with joy?
What was their secret?
Read More The Secret of the Early Martyrs
Almost five years ago I re-committed my life to Jesus Christ after a powerful experience in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and returned to the Catholic Church after a several years of absence and skepticism.
One afternoon, not long after my re-version to Catholicism, I found myself in a conversation trying to defend Catholic tradition and in particular, the papacy, to an evangelical Protestant friend. I failed miserably. Although I was still filled with a kind of “new convert zeal” I just couldn’t find the words to answer his questions and objections sufficiently on the spot. It was a deflating experience.
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