CALLED TO COMMUNION - Dr. David Anders - November 19 , 2019

at news.com call to communion with dr. David Anders starts down what's stopping you from becoming a Catholic why can't women become priests one eighty three three two eight eight EWTN I don't understand why I have to earn salvation one eighty three three two eight eight three nine eight six why do I need to confess my sins to a priest what's stopping you this is called to communion with dr. David Anders on the EWTN global Catholic radio network hey everybody welcome to the Tuesday edition of call to communion here on EWTN what is it well I'm glad you asked it this is a program for non Catholics on a Catholic radio network if you've got questions about the Catholic faith and you yourself are not a Catholic we invite you to give us a call eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six if you're listening to us outside of North America and I know we've got listeners literally all over the world please dial the u.s. country code and then two oh five two seven one two nine eight five you can also text the letters EWTN to five five zero zero zero wait for our response it'll be real quick take you about two seconds to get that and then enter your first name and your brief question message and data rates may apply and of course you can email us any time of the day or night CTC at ewtn.com CTC at ewtn.com Charles berry is our producer Ryan Penney is our phone screener glad to have Jeff Burson back on the J OB today he will handle all of our social media stuff which means for those of you watching us today on Facebook or YouTube if you want to pose a question via the comments section you can certainly do that he'll pass it on to us here in the studio I'm Tom price along with dr. David Anders Tom how are you today excellent I'm really good I'm so glad how about you I'm doing pretty decent thank you glad to hear that we're gonna lead off today with an anonymous text that came in very interesting we'll have to go back to the era of the Council of Trent for this one here's the text if the apocryphal books are authoritative and canonical why weren't they officially stated as such until the 16th century at the Council of Trent prior to Trent there is no official record of the acceptance of these writings as authoritative Scripture what say you you know thanks I appreciate the question so the fact that something hasn't been formally defined by an agent of the church's Magisterium uh-huh may mean because it was never called into question like everybody said well yeah we all know that there there are lots of things in Catholic faith that we believe and hand on that have never been formally defined because there was no need to let me give you a good example okay not until the 20th century did the Pope's find it necessary to teach explicitly on the doctrine of the male-only priesthood because for 2,000 years in every corner of the globe that there was ever a Catholic Church only men were always in everywhere and only ordained it was no I I mean nothing in the historical tradition of the church the liturgy canon law practice sacraments presumed any other possibility not until the advent of modern feminism somebody asked hey maybe we should ordain women and the church said sorry no and has kept saying that since the question got raised but it didn't get defined in that way because it had never been raised as a question before right and in the same way prior to the Nicean council in 325 there had never been a formal dogmatic declaration officially teaching the divinity of Jesus why because people were adoring and venerating and praying to and worshipping Christ as a god or as God I should say and they had made a question it's part of the deposit of faith and not until somebody like arias explicitly denies the full divinity of Jesus is the church then required to kind of turn around and specify okay well this is what we mean when we say God capital G the period god with a full stop you know like the guy who made the universe god that's what we mean by God and that's what Jesus is okay thank you very much and in the same way the church has always read the the not apocryphal the deuterocanonical text the canonical scriptures of the Catholic Church have been read and proclaimed and commented upon and taught and venerated as the Word of God from the very beginning from the very beginning when the Reformers explicitly denied the inspiration of the deuterocanonical texts it was necessary for the Council of Trent to turn around and say uh sorry guys you're wrong we're going to continue to proclaim that which has always been believed and held and confessed and prayed and taught and venerated in the Catholic Church okay and we thank you so much for that text we do appreciate it here is a question from Kendall checking in right now on YouTube hey Kendall he says when the consecration occurs at Mass why are the hosts to be distributed to the churchgoers not also present on the altar that is so like why is it okay to take consecrated hosts out of the tabernacle and distribute those for Holy Communion I think that's correct well because you can never have like a mathematically precise number of communicants you have to make allowances for for having consecrated hosts so distributing holy communion you may not have enough present I mean what if what if ten times more people come than you anticipate right or half as many and then you have leftover now unconsumed hosts well we this is Christ we're talking about here you can't just dispose of unconsumed hosts as if it were some sort of common food it has to be worshipped you have to preserve the Blessed Sacrament in the most hallowed space and then what are you going to do with it well you're gonna hand it on a communion when you have opportunity to do so okay oh very good and we have time for just one more real quick here iemon currently in our CI a another anonymous text currently in our CAA I pray the rosary and of course to God but when and for what should you pray to the Saints or the angels yes always and for everything right for any for any you would make to God really except maybe directly for the forgiveness of sins or something but all of your daily needs the spiritual needs may reasonably be presented to the Saints as items of petition seeking their intercession so you know if I'm if I'm sitting down to write a chapter of my book which is something I really need to do I might I might ask st. Francis DeSales who is a patron of Catholic writers to assist me and to and to pray to God for me on for that particular intention maybe I'm struggling with an area of weakness or sin in my life and I want grace for healing it be appropriate to ask a particular Saint who I knew struggled with and overcame that same temptation to seek grace for me there's just about almost nothing that you could ask for in prayer that cannot where you cannot benefit from also bringing that to the intercessory power of a saint why because their prayers are more powerful than ours no doubt about that so why not associate with their merits and prayers and while we're on the subject has that book coming I'm trying to work on today actually excellent glad to hear that in a moment we'll be talking with Michael in Lincoln Nebraska listening to us on spirit Catholic radio couple lines open for you right now if you have a question for dr. David Andrews eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six it is called to Communion prepare your heart for the coming of the Christ child with Advent reflections a collection of meditations by priests and bishops from the United Kingdom and Ireland take a journey through Scripture to discover the deeper reality of the season with Advent reflections meditations for a holy Advent the latest release from EWTN publishing now available at ewtn our c-calm or call one 800 850 four six three one six and this is an EWTN bookmark brief I'm Doug Keck I just had the pleasure of speaking with Abbie Reese about her book dedicated to God an oral history of cloistered nuns available through our religious catalogue Abbie tell us why did you write this book and what's it about it's about women who have made a vow of enclosure as well as poverty chastity and obedience I wrote it because I was unfamiliar with cloistered nuns and it seemed like there weren't that many stories although you know we have Mother Angelica and all of her work but there aren't that many stories in the public record of the lives of cloistered nuns right knees and Poor Clares as well in Rockford Illinois right yep dedicated to God an oral history of cloistered nuns available through our religious catalog EWTN our c-calm is the place look for the entire interview coming soon this has been a bookmark briefing we appreciate you stopping by [Music] hey tomorrow morning on the sunrise morning show Annie Mitchell and Matt Swain invite Gary Simic to discuss the benefits of gratitude plus more important details on the beatification plans for Fulton sheen don't miss it it's going to be a great show tomorrow morning at 6 a.m. Eastern here on EWTN radio the sunrise morning show did you hear about Fulton Sheen's beatification coming I heard about that I think that's pretty neat stuff it is wonderful it'll be right there in Peoria at the very church where he was ordained a hundred years ago in 1919 how cool is that's pretty cool better believe it all right well if you're ready now let's get to the phones at eight three three two eight eight EWTN we begin with Michael in Lincoln Nebraska listening on the Great Spirit Catholic radio Michael what's on your mind today yes I have a friend who's asking questions about Catholicism but he can't bring himself to bite the bullet and convert because he sees the simplicity of the gospel as contradicting what he calls the Leviathan top-heavy complexity of what Catholicism has become now I know that the church and matures over the centuries but here it's the alleged extra-biblical accretions argument what can I tell my friend yeah thanks I really really really appreciate the question I wish I had him with me and I could dialogue with him directly I'd like to ask him several questions one of them is first of all this this this alleged simplicity of the gospel that he finds in Sacred Scripture that he thinks is contradicted by the organizational structure and history of Catholicism I'd like to explore that story a little bit more because I don't think the New Testament represents itself to us in precisely that way so for instance the New Testament teaches very explicitly that the doctrine of the Old Testament is unintelligent on its face only when it is read in light of Christ when Saint Paul says when anyone turns to the Lord the veil is taken away but those who read the Old Covenant scriptures without that point of view to them it is hidden right and it's the truth of the allegorical presence of Christ in the Old Testament Paul says in 1st Corinthians 10 but we drank from the same spiritual drink same spiritual rock that accompanied them in that rock was Christ right but that truth is only revealed to those to us in the New Testament Paul again says talks about the mystery made known to him by revelation that the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel these are things that are not evident on the face of the Old Testament but only unfold in the full revelation of the New Testament Jesus speaks in the same way and a much more striking idiom when he is asked why do you teach in parables now in a paraphrase his answer what he says is because I don't want people to understand me so he says you look a look at Matthew chapter 13 March after for the disciples said why do you speak to the people in parables in Christ said because the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you but not to them not to them whoever has will be given more and they will have an abundance whoever does not have even what they have will be taken from them this is why I speak in parables though seeing they do not see though hearing they do not hear or understand seems cryptic to me right and and this undergirds a practice that was very prominent in christian antiquity called the discipline of the secret or the discipline of our connie we're in the the secrets of the kingdom if you will especially the truth of the sacraments was not revealed to outsiders but only to those who were initiates with a bosom of the Catholic faith okay sure and and there you can see hints of this disciplina our Connie even in the doctrines of the New Testament think about the book of Hebrews that says we need to move on from the foundations about the washing and in purifications and so forth and move on to deeper things and st. Paul says again in the Corinthian correspondence I only fed you milk and not spiritual food because you weren't ready for it yet right there are there's there's advanced degrees in the Christian life that I can't present to you so I I actually when I pick up the New Testament or the old for that matter I see an extremely layered book that has sort of wheels within wheels of meaning and the text itself presents itself as a bit of a conundrum not not evident in a in a very sort of wooden literal surface way one that has to be plumbed and in light of the church's tradition to be properly understood that's that's what the New Testament says about itself okay now let's consider that with this claim of simplicity again and look at what the Catholic Church actually says about the content of the gospel compared to other Christian denominations that reject the authority of the Christian Church let me excuse me the authority the Catholic Church the heart and soul of the entire Bible from the Catholics point of view is the Sermon on the Mount Christ unfolds force in one simple sermon the disposition of heart necessary to be in union with God it's essentially the contents of the Ten Commandments there's those external precepts reworked as interior motivations you got that you got the whole show everything else is just commentary I mean everything else is how do we actually imprint that character on our lives and of course we do so by the imitation of Christ and by being born again into his image and likeness through the sacraments but that that's the Magna Carta of the Christian life that's Sermon on the Mount now that's that's Catholicism in a nutshell that's pretty simple everything else is just architecture to bring that change about in a man's interior life it's hard to get simpler than that even though you can elaborate it endlessly as long as you want to all right now let's compare that to the alleged simplicity of our competitors if you will Martin Luther who's probably the most famous anti Catholic theologian in history evolved an entire hermeneutical system her is the science of interpretation around the thesis that Jesus did not mean what he said and that the alleged simplicity of Christ's words when he says hey you know you want to be wall to him to enter into eternal dwellings feed the hungry clothe the naked give drink to the thirsty Luther says that he didn't really mean that he didn't really mean that all of that is just that's to intimidate you and frighten you Luther has these three uses of the law that he talks about one of them is to is to frighten you so that you will repent and turn and recognize God's grace right and be saved by faith alone and so all this hortatory language all these legal precepts that you find in the gospel Luther says well Jesus doesn't really mean those but you can't really get that you have to actually go to Luther and his little idiosyncratic methods to see the real picture that's why Luther wrote commentary after commentary after commentary on the Bible lest people actually make the mistake of believing what Jesus said right you have to believe Luther's idiosyncratic interpretation of you know so that wasn't very simple if you have a Rudd Luther on the law gospel hermeneutic it can become quite complicated um how simple is it to have you know 40-plus thousand Protestant denominations that disagree on almost everything when it comes to ecclesiology sacramental theology moral theology even the way of salvation they agree on virtually nothing that's not very simple at all it's quite complicated and the reason it's complicated is because they're misusing the Bible because the Bible never presents itself as an adequate resource to guide us in our thinking about the Christian life it's an extraordinarily important document it's an inspired text given to us by God but it's not a rule of faith for the church is not the unique rule of faith for the church and misapplication of the Bible rather than simplifying the course of Christian life grotesquely confuses it so if you if you want the simple gospel you actually have to receive the gospel as it's been handed down to us in Catholic tradition again kind of grounded in the simplicity of the Sermon on the Mount but endlessly elaborated because human life is complex and and multifaceted and so we have this magnificent tradition of interpretation and of life and of liturgy and of prayer and of moral thought and human action elaborated over the centuries in Catholicism as this tremendous resource to help us access that that that pure stream of saving grace that we receive in Jesus is teaching Michael we hope that's helpful for you thank you so much for your call that opens up a line for you right now at eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six looks like three lines open right now a golden opportunity for you to get in on this edition of call two communion here on EWTN let's go to a Tony now in Herndon Virginia listening on Sirius XM 130 hey Tony what's on your mind today yes I think you've to take my call so recently I got into a discussion with a fellow at work and I don't can't remember how we got on it uh on the topic of the rock you know and I remember saying to him that Peter himself was the rock and and we can see that in 1618 Matthew 16:18 but then he referred he says to me no they can't be ready says he Jesus was referring to himself and then he gave me other references like Psalm 18 to the Lord as my as my rock my fortress and and and so on and so forth so I mean but there wasn't just that one verse there were several different verses and I really didn't know how to come back from that okay thanks yeah absolutely so by by citing instances in Sacred Scripture where God is with it with the authority and foundational nature of God's relationship to us is is is expressed through the metaphor of a rock and that's what Psalm 18 does God is a rock god is our rock gods our foundation no argument here is that the only way the metaphor of Iraq is used in the Bible no it's a metaphor it you can apply it in different instances what indication do we have from Matthew that the metaphor is is is applied to the exact same object namely God none not the grammar of the sentence itself is explanatory Jesus says to Peter actually to Simon your name will now be Peter Peter means rock hey you're rock and on this rock I'll build my church it's fairly evident on the face of it what Jesus is talking about and and Protestant interpreters have also come to that conclusion because it's hard to avoid the plain sense of the words it doesn't matter what the psalmist said in Psalm 18 he wasn't talking about the Petra office in Psalm 18 he was talking about God but here Jesus is talking about Peter different context different context there's a is a very famous Protestant evangelical biblical scholar named da Carson who wrote an article about st. Peter in a little book published by Moody press moody press one of the most anti-catholic publishers around edited by John Woodbridge book was called great leaders of the Christian Church I would invite anybody go read what da Carson who is no friend of Catholics says about the grammar of that sentence in that anti-catholic book published by an anti-catholic publisher he says look if you know Greek you don't know Greek rock means Peter in this instance you can't get away from the grammar of the sentence but that's not the only basis we have for believing in Petra and authority keep in mind that in many instances that Jesus describes a special role in authority to st. Peter of course the classic text is this passage right here where Peters not only the rock but Peter is also given the keys to the kingdom of heaven which is a sign of executive authority and given the power of binding and loosing so three distinct metaphors he sets Peter apart being the rock foundation having the keys having the power of binding and loosing of course in in Luke's Gospel he's also given the charge of strengthening the Brethren and in John's Gospel he's given the charge of feeding the Sheep and we know from Paul's correspondence especially his letter to the Galatians that when Paul was converted and called to be an apostle he goes up to Jerusalem to meet with Saint Peter he didn't meet with anybody else he met with Peter and then received from him and then later James and John also what he calls the right hand of fellowship so that he would have public approbation public acceptance of his ministry whenever when the rest of the Christian world saw that Peter had approved him right so and then beyond Sacred Scripture we have unbroken tradition of the church on this question as well I mean there's a reason why the church fathers recognized Rome as a seat as the seat of authority in the Catholic Church because of the preeminence of the founder of the Church of Rome st. Peter all right and thank you so much for your call Tony it's called a communion here on EWTN or phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six here is Clement a in san antonio listing on SiriusXM 130 clement a what's on your mind today hi good afternoon thank you for taking my call so recently on social media I read an article which I found rather disturbing we're a Italian news writer haenyeo scarf le wrote that Pope Francis during an interview indicated that Jesus was just a man it didn't become God died you can you expand on that I I really need some clarification because I I put stock in our Pope because he is after all our leader and okay okay thanks yeah so so yeah I appreciate the question I understand your your concern I was not present at this interview and of course this is something that an Italian journalist has said it's not something the Pope has represented publicly and so we're this is hearsay evidence right and and so it I'm not gonna put any stock in it whatsoever at all because it's not something that Pope Francis has taught in any kind of official or public way this is something that someone is saying about him and you know that's where the question ends for me right there but let me let me deal I think with another question that's related that may be of more help I've only got a second left before the break so if I have to carry over to the next sure to break Oh will should should individual Catholics be worried in the sense that their faith is at stake about the prudence or good judgment of their leaders whether it be your parish priest or your bishop or your Pope all right and keep in mind we've had hundreds of popes we'll have maybe hundreds more may have thousands more right bishops galore and you're always gonna have a situation where you have somebody who's a site you have somebody is a center you have someone who's a good judgment you have somebody who's got bad judgment even about how they express the the doctrine of the faith should we get really worried about that fact let me come back after the break and I'll talk about it all right sit tight Clemente we'll talk about that we'll also talk with Elizabeth and Hamden Connecticut we have a line open for you right now eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six father Benedict Groeschel no Catholic can support abortion and the Catholics are responsible to take serious action against legalized abortion the leading Catholic voices are on EWTN radio now not only can you watch EWTN anywhere but any time with EWTN on-demand get on-demand access to more than 12,000 EWTN programs including live shows and specials all in one place all free just go to ewtn.com forward slash on-demand there's nothing to fill out no memberships required and no fees to pay all you need is an internet connection and you're good to go EWTN on-demand easy and free Bishop Robert Baron when you say well my ego is the center of my life my freedom okay it sounds great what I can envision what I can desire in the immediacy of the moment I mean what a dull prospect but to say that God's purposes are now my purposes well that opens up as Paul says in Ephesians you know this power already at work in me they could do infinitely more than I can ask or imagine or the Lord saying to Peter you know when you're a young man you tied your own belt and where you want it to go that's what young people do but don't get stuck there cuz then Lord says well you're an old man someone else will tie you and take you where you don't want to go well that's the Holy Spirit's you know don't read that as something terrible that's liberating that's wonderful some greater power will tie you up and take you maybe where you never imagined you'd go when you get beyond that little narrow space of your own ego and your open up now into the great space that's what happens when Jesus becomes Lord now you're living EWTN live truth live Catholic does your spouse resent your relationship with God we want to hear your story on tomorrow's take two with Jerry and Debbie now back to more of call to communion with dr. David Anders [Music] we welcome you here to call to communion on ewtn our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN before the break David we were talking with Clement a regarding the papacy and leadership in general sure so basically the point I wanted to raise was that the papacy is part of the constitution of the churches founded by Jesus so it's an essential and integral part of of the Catholic Church and of a Catholics identity right belief in the papacy is one of the marks of our catholicity yes what do we believe about the Pope well we believe he's the Vicar of Christ on earth we believe he's the successor to st. Peter we believe that he has a universal jurisdiction over the church so the Pope can tell a bishop you're out here bud you know the Pope is where the buck stops for validating Catholic doctrine if there's a dispute about some matter the Pope is the final Court of Appeal the Pope can can promulgate a code of canon law that Pope can make a change to the Catechism the Pope can promulgate a a creed write an expression of the Catholic faith to which we have to give assent right Pope can teach infallibly on matters of Christian faith and morals Pope can do all those things and we confess and believe that about our about this Holy Father and all Pope's that have ever served in the Catholic Church we are not obligated to believe that any of them in particular have done it well we're not obligated I'm certainly not obligated to believe that in that that that some particular pope or bishop or priest whoever is necessarily doing it well you don't have you're not obligated to hold that opinion right meaning like the Pope doesn't govern doesn't exercise his papal ministry primarily using the tools of like political policy the way a policymaker would work in government now obviously the Pope has policies that he has in place for his own bishopric for his and for the governance of the universal church but but that's not really where his supernatural charism is is activated in a way that he's guaranteed to do the thing right right you know he hasn't responsibility guarantee they don't necessarily do it well folks can make mistakes you know it was a boat right to go to war militarily to defend the borders of the papal States neither Pope used to have a pretty large geographical Dominion he was a European monarch and he raised taxes and armies and you know went and fought battles and killed people and not was he right to do that I don't know but you could make a pretty good case that maybe the Pope should have done something else other than you know like mount a horse and lead a bunch of knights and run out and fight with the King of France I mean maybe he could have spent its time doing something better right could have talked catechism instead of going to war he went to war should I defend that not interested in defending that right that was a policy decision could have been good could have been bad probably bad and you could multiply endless examples in in papal history of popes who have made political or policy decisions about the conduct of their office that were questionable here's one that's really interesting should pious 1/9 have called the first Vatican Council I don't know I'll tell you a Cardinal Newman st. John Henry Newman who Pope Francis just canonized yes Newman said no Newman said calling a first Vatican Council was a mistake Newman said that he thought it was very inopportune wasn't a prudent thing to do did Newman believe the council of course he did he was a Catholic council made a dogmatic infallible declaration knew and believed it he said would have been left better left unsaid I believe it but you shouldn't have said it he thought it was imprudent was Newman right I don't know my point is simply that the act of Catholic faith in the papacy doesn't require you to have an opinion about the prudence or good judgment or the conduct Pope's conduct of his office and st. Paul talks about this in Sacred Scripture speaking of the Apostles in general he says how are men to regard us he says as servants of Christ those entrusted with the mysteries of salvation and then Paul goes on to say I don't really care if you Corinthians judge me because I know that God will judge me God will judge me and I'll receive reward or punishment from him that's what kind of every every Pope every bishop every priest will stand in judgment before God and God will pass a verdict on that man's job either you did it well or badly and it could be it's not a foregone conclusion that it's going to be one answer sure someone will do it well some will do it that way as Catholic faithful in what is our hope not in the clergy but in Christ Christ who speaks to us through the clergy who comes to us sacramentally through the clergy yes but our hope is in Christ and when my priest does a good job or a bad job he still mediates Christ to me and I look to the Saints you know can you imagine st. Francis getting worried about the conduct of his of his bishop no he would have like done 16 more years worth of penance and fasted on bread and water and like done a pilgrimage around the world or something crazy right that's what he would have done to respond to to Episcopal ineptitude not get worried about it he just would have done more penance and preached harder sure okay do you know Clement a thank you so much for you a call we do appreciate that it is called a communion here on EWTN our phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN that's eight three three two eight eight three nine eight six here is the Elisabeth now in Hamden Connecticut checking us out online EWTN comm hey Elizabeth what's on your mind today yes I have a question I was baptized Catholic and I made my First Holy Communion and Confirmation to the our CIA program in 2007 and I became Catholic in Connecticut and I did that for a few years and then in 2015 I had a tragic event happen my father had a hemorrhagic strokes in front of me and he passed away shortly they are out there and make a long story short my sister and I and my mom had to move and we moved in 2015 and then and my sister met a friend who was a Mormon and my sister thought that this friend could help me because I was suicide about my dad and wasn't doing he wasn't it wasn't doing well we decided well I should talk to this first and we talked to this person we started going Mormon Church and make a long story short we became Mormons in 2017 and so we gathered by two days after I did that I realized it was a big mistake and I didn't want to do that any team back to the Catholic Church and we came back to the Catholic Church everything was fine for a while that my sister changed her mind again and we went back to Mormon and this past summer my sister passed away from Bloomington pneumonia and I'm trying to find out how I go about becoming captain again because that all I want oh god I wanted wow wow well the first thing I want to say thank you for calling is I am so sorry because it sounds like you've had a really really rough patch a very rough patch and you found a lot of tragedy I can imagine so my heart goes out to you and and our prayers go with them I mean so that's just very very tough and I'm so sorry for what you've gone through take heart and and and have hope from the point of view of the Catholic Church you you have been and remain and are and always will be a Catholic so you didn't stop being Catholic because you went and received putative sacraments from some other ecclesial organization that doesn't do anything to unravel your Catholic identity you are a Catholic you belong to Christ you belong to the catholic church which is his body and and you're safe and welcome here so all you have to do is simply pick up where you left off and begin practicing again you haven't sounds like you have probably and been to confession in a while you'll need to go to confession right and one of the things that you'll confess is you know that you kind of ran off with the Mormons for a while because you you know you should have been in Mass and you weren't but you'll be forgiven it's not a problem and and then you're back that's it that's all there is to do you are still Catholic you're just a Catholic who hadn't been a mass yeah that's the way the church views you you are you are still Catholic you're still a member of the body of Christ everything that the Catholic Church has to offer is for you it is for you and for your salvation because you belong to Christ so just start practicing again begin with confession if you can go today go today yeah that should give you some comfort Elizabeth thank you so much for your call and welcome home called a communion here on EWTN or phone number eight three three two eight eight EWTN here is Tom now in stand or of Connecticut my wife says there are no bad Tom's so Tom you must be a good guy what's your question today hey Tom Tom and Connecticut are there theological differences between the roman catholic church and the orthodox church that are using intellectual honesty that are irreconcilable yes but that doesn't mean that they can't be reconciled right okay they are there are serious doctrinal divisions that currently are at the heart of the ecclesial rupture and and but to say that they're irreconcilable well I mean God would say otherwise right because Christ desires so that the church be one so we're gonna find a way we're gonna find a way the the the one at present that is the big rock is the nature of the Pope's ministry and the Catholic claim is that the Pope enjoys universal jurisdiction over the church that's that's that that's the sticking point that is the big big sticking point really almost everything else has been nuanced to the point where you know well-meaning parties can agree I mean there are other differences of expression of course that have been argued theologically over the years but the really big big rock is what is the nature of the Pope's jurisdiction and the Catholic Church says the Pope has a universal jurisdiction and the Orthodox Church by large says that the Bishop of Rome has jurisdiction over his own Episcopal see and over the Latin West but he does not enjoy jurisdiction over there over their diocese and that he has a primacy of Honor but that he can't call the shots on what they're doing and the church says otherwise well that's that's a tough one Roger this now that doesn't mean that we can't find a nuanced path forward and I think we will and you know and there are people who are engaged in those kind of dialogues and seeking that path forward but that's kind of the big rock you bet all right Tom thank you so much for your call it is called a communion here on eat DTN if you're looking for news that you can trust let me as you say three words to you catholic news agency around here we call it CNA I can tell you it's the only fast reliable and free Catholic news source that brings blogs stories opinions and so much more to your fingertips every day for the latest Catholic news that you can trust visit catholic news agency calm catholic news agency calm it's a free online service from EWTN news back to the phones right now here is carl in kansas city listening on catholic radio network a first-time caller hey Carl what's on your mind today thank you for taking my call sure the questionnaire here is the genealogy of natural talks about Mary Joseph and being husband of Mary now if Christ was born of Mary which he was where's the genealogy at noon right well some interpreters believe that Luke gives us Mary's genealogy okay and but from the point of view of Matthew what he's interested in teaching is that Jesus was regarded legally as the son of Joseph even though we know that biologically he was not and but his contemporaries regarded him as Joseph's offspring and so we've kind of got it covered from both ends right he's got it from from the legal patrilineal side and biologically from the matrilineal signs okay very good Karl thank you so much for your call here's Peter now Peters in Chicago listening on Sirius XM 130 hey Peter what's on your mind today just a heartfelt for for a close friend a gal who went in to have her third child baby five days ago her baby was born mom had a c-section complications she hemorrhaged and blood clot to the brain and and she didn't make it she passed away is yesterday and it's just kind of really she's barely in her 30s never saw her little young daughter and just everybody's trying to make sense of it especially the loved ones to the lady and her family just not sure we're you know but he says you know the disconnect between God and humanity and you know heaven did not respond why would he allow this lady to deprive her little baby girl who went home so there's a whole lot of confusion you know I mean now know theologically intellectually however you going to try to spin it and talk about it it just doesn't really I mean for the faithful we keep the face and it's pretty hard to stand in front of the unfaithful and the faith will tell you we told you so yeah thanks Peter I'm so sorry and this is this is incredibly difficult and you're right I can give you a theological answer and I will before I'm done I'll talk a little bit about the theology is suffering but that's poor comfort intellectual answers are poor comfort to someone who's in the midst of a tragedy what comforts when you are in tragedy is not arguments but presents when someone who cares is their present with you and so you can be present to this woman's family if you're a friend and you can be the face of Christ's mercy to them right and that's incredibly important and incredibly valuable if we have faith that's critically important if we have faith then we can be conscious of God's presence with us in the midst of our own sufferings so much so that he was willing to send His Son Jesus to enter into suffering with us so apart from all of the sort of rational argument God actually sent Christ not to inform people about the proper ends and purposes bring so much as to suffer and to come alongside them and accompany them in their suffering now if someone has faith that they are in Christ and that Jesus is with them then in the midst of their sufferings they have that presence not only the presence of friends and family and church members but the presence of Christ and that is a comfort the because in and it requires faith and trust and trust in something that we don't see trust that there are reasons that we don't know and that Christ Himself who suffered will be there helping us and accompanying us along the way um and so that's that's the the most important answer to suffering is not an argument but a person in a presence your your personhood right there friends and family and then Christ present in those people and then Christ present to them by faith now from the theological point of view why does God allow suffering because he has a reason and it may be one that we don't know sometimes we know the reason sometimes we don't but if we have faith and we and we have we have also a conviction based on evidence that God exists that he's good then we trust that this will work out for a good even though we may not see how we no way we can figure out how this is gonna work out for good and we may not know until the next life we may not know until eternity how this worked out ultimately for good but because God is good and God is in control we can trust that this will this some good will come of this even one that we do not presently see but again it requires a deep and abiding faith to have that point of view it's easy intellectually to just say a suffering is real so God's not that's an easy move to make it doesn't really answer anything and it certainly provides no comfort trust when the evidence seems otherwise is difficult it's really the only meaningful way forward you know Peter again we are so sorry for your loss thank you so much for your call it is called a communion here on EWTN let's go to Dale now in a beautiful part of our beautiful country Grand Forks North Dakota listening on real presence radio hey Dale what's on your mind today hi good afternoon I had a question I had an uncle that passed away six years ago and he you yeah he actually was a Lutheran theologian he taught at Lutheran seminary and I won't give his name but I was reading some of the things that he wrote online and and and I have a couple of his books so I kind of know some of his spot but what I read online he actually said he disputed whether the Apostle John was actually the author of the Gospel of John which I found kind of startling is there some some what are you about that whole question I mean I believe John wrote the Gospel of John but is there a dispute about that okay yeah thanks I appreciate it so so that's the common critical opinion your your uncle wasn't doing anything particularly innovative or original and making that claim almost almost all modern biblical scholars especially secular biblical scholars deny that John wrote John last very very common opinion I mean it's almost cliche to hold that opinion right now what does a Catholic think about that well look the the church tells us that these documents are divinely inspired and that this is the Catholic point of view right you understand and and that they are given to us for our edification and our salvation right and and so every text in the Bible has a human history behind it there are human authors human contributors redactors editors as a tradition that hands this text down or is responsible for its composition it's all hidden from us like I wasn't there or when when the the sacred writer took you know took stylus two papyrus I wasn't there I wasn't there when that manuscript was rolled up and handed on to somebody else I wasn't there when it was copied and circulated among the churches that whole history is hidden from me and doesn't matter I mean it's massive it's a historical interest because of no theological significance to me because what the church pronounces upon is the text that I now have and whatever the process of its composition I have the verdict of God's holy church guaranteed by Christ's and fallible authority that this what I'm holding in my hand is reliable okay secondly John the Gospel of John doesn't name its author there's no author named so the the tradition of associating Apostle John with the text is just that it's a tradition that comes down from Catholic authorities it's not nothing in the text itself necessarily requires that judgment it you said is there a dispute about it yeah there is a dispute about it and there are some voices in the Catholic Church they say well John did write John we think that's the most reasonable opinion to hold I'm gonna give you a resource that will help you if you are interested in defending the claim that John wrote John and and the book it's a book by Brant Petrie and the title is the case for Jesus the biblical and historical evidence for Christ and dr. Petrie makes as stronger claim as anybody for the traditional authorship of the Gospel accounts okay very good and Dale thank you so much for your call here is Tony now Tony is in Owensboro Kentucky listening on the Savior radio Tony what's on your mind today every human being is living somewhere then you know why don't I say that the chief either God or hell somebody wants to take you down the life and you hear them that's what he's interested in he's what you want me to go away that means that don't you know come back the more that's it so I was wondering what yeah yeah thank you so you're talking about the prudence of of the phrase choose life like would it would it have more rhetorical force if we said choose God or choose heaven rather than choose howl or Satan now that's a Prudential choice and I mean it you know what you put on your bumper sticker is up to you if you want to put cheese heaven not hell that's fine by me I think that I think from from a sort of public relations point of view the reason why a lot of pro-life advocates use the phrase choose life is there's more agreement not total agreement I think there's more agreement in the world that life is in itself a good thing then there is agreement about whether or not there's a heaven so I imagine a lot of the people who are involved in murdering babies and abortion clinics probably don't believe in heaven or hell but it's very difficult to not believe in the existence of the life right in front of you that you're snuffing out yeah so you appeal to at least that part of their sanity that they have not utterly destroyed in the hopes that they might have a change of heart appreciate your call Tony here is Kathy and Huron Ohio listening on annunciation radio hey Kathy what's on your mind today hi there thanks for taking my call I've been watching a series that I recorded on TV and we put on by CNN called Pope and it's about the history and succession of all the Pope's however I don't really trust an ends reporting and even though I find it interesting I don't not sure good choice good choice so I was wondering if you could recommend a book about popes in general I know Patrick Madrid Rhoda don't fiction sure Steve Ray's book upon this rock steve ray upon this rock which is a doctrine in history of the papacy a great book i remember reading that when i was on my way into the catholic church adrian Fortescue's the early papacy to the council of chalcedony is another one so yeah they're all those would be good books okay very good Kathy thank you so much for your call we have time for one real quick one here this is an email from Heather in Texas I'm desperate to return to full communion with the church after leaving in college but I am divorced I did not want my original divorce and remarried three years later the man I remarried also wants to become a Catholic do I need to get the first marriage annulled to be able to get partake in the fullness of the mass desperate to come back home to my faith and I want to do things correctly yeah thanks appreciate the question yes you will need to secure an annulment yep you needed to that because he represented yourself as married and then another husband and we can't have two husbands so we got to figure out which one is the right one okay and the annulment process will we'll take care of that that's what marriage tribunal does they pass judgment they pass a judgement it's just it's just a fact-finding mission to determine whether that first marriage was in fact valid if they find for nullity they find that it wasn't valid then you will be able to have your present relationship validated con validated within the Catholic Church and make it a valid marriage all right very good Heather thank you so much for your email by the way if you would like to send us an email for a future show obviously we can't do any more today here comes the music but for a future show absolutely ctc at ewtn.com CTC at ewtn.com I think we blitz through more phone calls this show than any in the past couple of months David good job well either that or I didn't have enough to say you've always got things to say and that's why we're glad to have you on our team thank you so much for hey thanks Tom do you appreciate that we do the program Monday through Friday here on EWTN radio at 2:00 p.m. Eastern with an encore at 11:00 p.m. Eastern and a best of show on Sundays at 2:00 p.m. Eastern on behalf of Charles Ryan and Jeff I'm Tom price along with dr. David Andrews see you tomorrow right here on EWTN s called to Communion god bless [Music] hello friends this is father Wade moniece's I'm here to take your calls about faith family and fellowship open line Tuesday is next on EWTN radio a lot of people listen to Catholic radio and get great information to help build their faith and support their faith but there are also people out there who haven't yet built a relationship with God and Catholic

Channel: EWTN

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Keywords: Catholic, EWTN, Christian, television

Id: C1qipR2ssSM

Length: 54min 33sec (3273 seconds)

Published: Tue Nov 19 2019