4. It produces the best artists and inspires the 5. It is truly “catholic”. best art. Though the titles “Roman Catholic” or 5 One cannot look at the great Medieval cathe- “Catholic” were used more after the Prot- drals of Europe, their stained glass or Renais- sance masterpieces depicting the life of Christ estant Reformation, the adjective ( m o r e ) Good or lives of the Saints without being moved by “catholic,” which means universal, has their overwhelming, awe-inspiring, beauty. been used to describe the Church since Reasons to its inception. We see this in the letter of It is the Catholic Church who inspired, commis- sioned and produced these artists or works. St. Ignatius of Antioch to the Ephesians, stay in, o r written all the way back in 107 AD . He This fact has often been used against the said. “wheresorever Christ is, there is the Church with claims that it hoards these wonder- j o i n , the ful treasures. However, the Church is actually Catholic Church.” the steward of these works of art. Many cathe- As Jesus ascended to heaven, He told His Catholic drals contain pieces worthy of the finest muse- Apostles to “make disciples of all na- ums and galleries, yet no church charges admis- Church sion to enjoy these treasures. tions” ( Mat. 28:19 ). St. Paul writes in Gal. 3:28 that “ all are one in Christ Je- • Some examples of the many great artists sus”. This means that to be a Christian is who identified with the Church include: not to be simply part of a nationalistic or Michelangelo , painter of the Sistine Chapel common interest group, but to be one of and sculptor of David and Moses . many parts in “one body” ( 1 Cor. 12:12 . Blessed Fra Angelico , Domincan friar who is Only in the Catholic Church is this idea a patron Saint of Catholic artists. of “catholicity” realized. The Catholic Church has also helped produce Only in the Catholic Church are there other works of art. For example: members from six continents, all wor- Caryll Houselander , profound English spiri- shipping the same God and believing the tual and devotional writer. same thing. G.K. Chesterton , prolific journalist, essayist Only in the Catholic Church can bishops and mystery writer from Algeria, China, Canada, France, India, Mexico and the United States J.R.R. Tolkien , author of world renowned fantasy novel, The Hobbit , and Lord of the meet and discuss, and then agree, on mat- A continuation of the original ters of faith generation after generation. Rings series “5 Good Reasons...” pamphlet Flannery O’Conner , one of the foremost Finally, consider the fact that the past writers of Southern American Literature. four Popes, elected leaders of the • Church, have come from four different Did you know? countries (John Paul I, Italy; John Paul Faith Formation Department There is a Catholic Artists Society, which was II, Poland; Benedict XVI, Germany; 1380 Lancer Blvd. established in 2009. Francis, Argentina). La Crescent, MN 55947 3. It turns sinners 1. It is unified. 2. It has upheld its moral standards. into Saints St. Peter went from being the model In one of the last prayers Jesus said be- Even if one disagrees with the morality of fore His arrest and crucifixion, He the Catholic Church, one cannot deny that for anger (he attacked the servant of asked that the Church “be one ” like He the Church has upheld its beliefs on moral- Caiaphas) and cowardice (he denied ity since its inception. even knowing Jesus) to powerfully and His Father ( John 17:21 ). For example: preaching and dying for the Gospel in The Roman Catholic Church is actually Male Priesthood: Always part of Christi- the face of the hostile Roman Empire. the longest surviving unified faith , anity, this was upheld by Popes John Paul St. Paul went from “breathing murder- even Judaism was split into three II, Benedict XVI and Francis, and is a “closed matter”. ous threats” against Christians to being groups by the time of Jesus (the Phari- Homosexual activity : Unquestionably de- the foremost missionary of the early sees, Sadducees and Essenes). nounced in the Bible, the Catechism de- Church and writing much of the New When Jesus gave Peter the keys to the scribes them as “acts of grave depravity” Testament. Kingdom of Heaven, He founded His Slavery: It was Catholic Franciscan monks St. Monica struggled with alcohol in and priests who stood against the mistreat- “church” on the rock, not ment of indigenous peoples in America. her youth and her son, St. Augustine , “churches” ( Matthew 16:18 ). struggled with lust, fathering a baby Contraception: Early Christians spoke A common image for the Church in the against contraception. This was reaffirmed out of wedlock. by Pope Paul VI in Humane Vitae (1968). Bible is the Bride of Christ ( 2 Cor. St. Mary of Egypt lived a life of prosti- Abortion: The Old & New Testaments tution until a conversion led her to a life 11:2; Eph. 5:23 ). Jesus told us God’s have always believed that life begins before intention for marriage is one man and birth. of asceticism. one woman ( Gen. 2:24; Mat 19:5 ). This is not meant to prove that the Church St. John of God became addicted to is correct, but only to show that the alcohol in his life as a soldier. After a Church’s morality is consistent across time and culture. If something is wrong, it’s dramatic conversion, he worked to im- Why would God’s principle not apply wrong 10,000 years ago, wrong today and prove healthcare for the poor and men- when it came to His Son’s own Bride? will be wrong 10,000 years from now. tally ill in 16th Cent. Spain. Did you know? St. Mark Ji Tianxiang developed an A number of Catholic bishops, priests and The idea of multiple, scattered churches other religious spoke out against the Nazi addiction to opium. He also stayed is not only unbiblical, but completely regime and were killed for it, including: faithful to the point of martyrdom in impractical. • Sts. Maximilian Kolbe & Edith Stein the “Boxer Rebellion.” • Bld. Titus Brandsma Ven. Matt Talbot helped battle his al- Today, there are approximately 20,000 Also, Pope Pius XII, in spite of enormous different Protestant denominations, dif- pressure from the fascist Italian govern- coholism with prayer and daily Mass, also becoming a Third Order Francis- ferent “churches,” and this number con- ment, protected and saved thousands of Jewish people from the Nazis. can. tinues to grow. .