Why Be Catholic?

There have been volumes written on this topic, but to be concise I will just mention a few points. I begin with the words of Jesus himself,

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:18-19).

Jesus gave his own authority to Peter, the first pope, and that same authority has been passed down through an unbroken line of popes to this very day in union with the bishops that are successors of the Apostles.

At the last supper, Jesus instituted the priesthood and the Holy Eucharistic so that those who believed in him could be one with him in a supernatural way when bread and wine are changed into his body and blood and received sacramentally. We see the importance of this message in the writings recorded in the early years of the Church and continued to this day.

A Positive Impact

There is no institution in the history of the world that has made a greater contribution to the development of education, medicine, music, science, social reform, and care of those in need than the Catholic Church.

There is no other religious organization that has a history of producing as many world-renowned saints as the Catholic Church. These women and men have been heroic in their love of God who worked untold numbers of miracles through them. Because of their powerful witness, many other women and men became saints.

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the Mother of God, has a special place in the Catholic Church because it is the Catholic Church that was founded by her Son, Jesus. Through the centuries she has appeared to believers in every country encouraging them to be faithful followers of her Son and to pray for the conversion of sinners.

And yes, in spite of the sin of some in the Church, the good work of the Holy Spirit continues through those who live and share their faith.

More to Consider

God loves all his people and it is his desire that all be saved. There are multitudes of people from all different religions who believe in God and their eternal destination is known to God alone. However, it is a historic and religious reality that Jesus Christ was born of the Virgin Mary, thus being both God and man. It is a reality that he had a public ministry through which he taught with authority and performed miracles while teaching about the love of God. It is a reality, as stated above that before he entered into his passion, he founded his church on Peter. It is a reality that he died on the cross for our sins, rose from the dead, ascended into heaven and the Father sent the Holy Spirit upon the Church at Pentecost.

This Church, through the Holy Spirit, has been a major influence in the world for over two thousand years and will continue until the end of time.

The Catholic Church welcomes anyone who wants to be formed in the faith through formal instruction. To be a member of the Church is to believe what the Church teaches and to live and share what we believe.

Why would you not want to be Catholic?

Deacon Tom Fox, K.H.S. is Co-Founder & Co-Director of Pilgrim Center of Hope with his wife, Mary Jane Fox. The two left their careers after a profound conversion experience and began working full-time in ministry at their parish in 1986. After several years and having impacted tens of thousands of families, the Foxes founded Pilgrim Center of Hope in 1993 as a response to the Church’s call for a New Evangelization. Deacon Tom is an invested member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem, a Knight of the Holy Sepulchre.

Answering Christ’s call, Pilgrim Center of Hope guides people to encounter Him so as to live in hope, as pilgrims in daily life. See what’s happening & let us journey with you! Visit PilgrimCenterOfHope.org.