Postscripts From The Catholic Spitfire Grill

On a forum that I frequent, the ideas of praying in communion with the Saints, Mary as the Mother of God, and the Real Presence have all come up in the last week or so.  and I have found myself grieving for my separated brothers and sisters because of the greatly diminished presence of the miraculous in their lives. I have also mused on how what we believe colors what we can receive from Our Lord. Let me explain what I mean. In my anti-Catholic past, I was firmly convinced that the rosary was a repetitious, idolatrous prayer to Mary. Statues and icons were idols period. There might be a FEW Christians in the Catholic church but they were few and far between. (And if they were really Christian, they'd get themselves out of that place toute suite. Can I get an "Amen"?) Marian apparitions were probably the raving imaginations of women and children and more likely schemes to extort money from the deluded Catholic faithful. Eucharistic miracles? Who are you kidding? Haven't you read about all the fakes in the Middle Ages? And if they weren't fakes perpetrated by the Catholic Charlatans in league with the corrupt bishops and  priests looking to extort a little money and sell a few more indulgences; then, we all know that Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light. Frankly, it was all a lot of hooey in my opinion. In charity, I must say that I am writing from my own personal perspective and that if Protestants reading these words do not see themselves and are (justifiably) horrified at my past uncharitable opinions, please know that I am grateful for the charity you extend to Catholics that I most assuredly did not.

Now as a Catholic I am in the presence of the miraculous all of the time and I am profoundly grateful that God called me home to Rome (over my vociferous objections I should add). Every Mass I receive the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord. Every time I step into our Adoration chapel, I kneel in the living presence of my risen Lord. (I was pondering the other day how to explain the difference between the ordinary presence of Jesus because of his omnipresence and His Sacramental presence. The best I could come up with was that it is like the difference between being wet from standing in the rain and being wet from standing in front of an open fire hydrant.) I draw on a rich heritage of the miraculous. Our Lady of Lourdes, Our Lady of Fatima, Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of La Vang and more and it encourages me to persevere in service to Our Lord.

But what if you don't think Catholics are Christians?

Well then the unmistakable stamp of the Holy Origin of the apparitions and image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, that 10,000,000 Indians converted to Catholicism in the 10 years following the apparition (page 80, A Handbook on Guadalupe) causing the collapse of a pagan religion steeped in the blood of human sacrifice means nothing! You aren't even going to be interested enough to look at the other less miraculous aspects of the miracle (See Mark 2:8-11 where Jesus says what is easier? Forgiving sins? or healing?) Like the fact that the tilma stays at body temperature no matter what the temperature of the surroundings. The cactus fiber cloth on which the image of the Blessed Virgin should have decayed about 400 years ago? That when an ophthalmoscope is shined into the eye, it fills with light like a real eye? That the image itself defies reproduction under any circumstances by human artists? There's more but it doesn't matter. If you can say that Catholics aren't Christians, then the divine meaning of the image which is like a gospel tract written specifically for the Aztecs, which caused them to convert by the MILLIONS is lost.

What if you think that the rosary is an idolatrous prayer to a pagan goddess (I'm sorry but I was told by a Protestant this week that The Queen of Heaven in Catholic Theology is "really" an Egyptian goddess.) instead of a scripture-filled meditation on the gospel? (She's mother to the King of Heaven, that's why we call her Queen btw)

Well then, the central message of Fatima, that meditating and praying on the gospel (aka "saying the rosary") is the secret to world peace is LOST! The details, that the children were beaten and jailed rather than recant, that Portuguese Catholics that were suffering horrendous persecution were given comfort, that Catholics worldwide have been encouraged in the practice of their faith, and that even the New York Times publishes a picture of the "miracle of the sun" means nothing.

What if you think Holy Communion is just a symbol and that Catholics have been "blindly following" the Catholic doctrine and denying what they can "plainly see" isn't true?

Well then, the miraculous confirmation of what the Apostles themselves called a "hard teaching" is lost and so is your invitation to partake of the Body and Blood of Our Lord who said that "unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink." And you completely write off the miracle of the Catholic Mass, every single one of the for the last 2,000 years, and you don't even give a second glance to Eucharistic miracles. (and this book).  The miraculous reception of the Eucharist by Blessed Imelda who then died of joy is meaningless.  Hosts that have bled or miraculously turned to visible flesh are written off as pagan, or cannibalistic, or wishful thinking, or lies or who knows what else. But the truth is this. The miracles that the Roman Catholic Church has declared are genuine are very thoroughly documented. This isn't the witness of one hysterical priest looking to make a buck for his parish. In many cases, even in the case of extremely old miracles involving the presence visible blood and flesh, the RC has been able to type the blood involved. It's type AB in ALL approved miracles. Amazing how even in the 7th, 12th  or 18th centuries, those Catholic charlatans knew to get (the rare) type AB blood for their hoaxes. When was the last time you heard of someone who embraced an only-symbolic understanding of Holy Communion received commuinon from the hand of an angel? Or was healed upon reception of the symbol? But if you aren't willing to even concede the possibility that the Roman Catholic Church might be right and the Eucharist IS the Body and Blood of Our Lord, you have cut yourself off from even the possibility of the witness these miracles provide and worse the soul-feeding life-giving Sacrament of the Eucharist.

All that said. I want to state plainly that miracles and apparitions are considered private revelation and as such are not binding on ANY Catholic. While they may provide miraculous confirmation of Catholic dogma and doctrine, dogma and doctrine are NEVER drawn from it. Contrary to rumors from the Middle Ages that persist to this day, the Catholic Church rigorously investigates claims of the miraculous including the possibility that the source may be diabolical before considering a miracle "official." Nevertheless, where are the claims of the Protestant traditions of the Divine stamp of approval (by the presence of the miraculous) on the distinctly Protestant doctrines? The miraculous surrounds the Eucharist as through the centuries miracles large and small have been associated with it. The miraculous surrounds Mary and over and over those who see her in visions spectacular and not are told to repent, and confess, and turn from their sin. To pray and to meditate on the gospel. (Sound like Satan?) And the miraculous is infused with the Catholic doctrine of the Communion of the Saints. Not just healings and the little things but repentance and conversion which are the real miracles. But if you don't believe that Catholics are Christians, then the door is slammed shut to all of it.

If you're Protestant, I'd like to challenge to put aside some of your notions about Catholics, Catholic practice, and Catholic doctrine and look at the way God, through the miraculous, has confirmed those Catholic doctrines and practices you thought were so terrible. Take some time to learn the difference between Catholic vocabulary and Protestant vocabulary and ask yourself, "If I assume that Catholics are Christians, what is the message here and is it consistent with increasing God's Grace in the world?" And if you're Catholic and haven't looked at the miraculous way that God has blessed His Church with abundant miraculous graces from heaven, then DO IT! Maybe it's a good project for Lent so that you can prepare for Easter with renewed gratitude for all God has done for us.