Finding
the true Church of Christ today
The first thing to say is that you have a 1 /40,000 chance of selecting the right Christian Church at random as there are that many new ones and the list is growing all the time as new divisions are created. Consider this touching short story about a young man’s journey back to the true Church of Christ and then you decide for yourself!
One day I was pondering the question
of how to find the true Church of Christ in this crazy world. All at a sudden I
heard the beautiful voice of a wise man in my heart say “Seek and ye shall
find!” Intrigued, I enquired further “Tell me how can I find the true Church of
Christ among so many?” The voice paused for a moment. Then I heard him reply
reassuringly “I could tell you myself my child but I won’t. You will tell
me” he said confidently. I could almost detect a twinkle in his eye as if
he were stood before me. “How can that
be?” I asked. The voice went on, “Have you ever heard of the 7 marks of the
Church of Christ?” “I haven’t.” I said curiously. “They are all in the bible,”
He said. “If you read the bible with spiritual eyes you will be able to
recognize the Church Jesus Christ founded 2000 years ago” “Where should I
start?” I asked. “With the first mark, of course” he replied. “What is the
first mark?” I asked.
“Where Peter
is, there is the Church” he replied warmly. “where does it say that in the
bible?” I asked. “Matthew 16:18” He replied. “Jesus said to St. Peter “Thou art Peter;
and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hell shall not
prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven;
and whatsoever thou shalt bind upon earth, it shall be bound also in heaven:
and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven”. “Oh” I said sceptically. He then asked me “Where today will you find
the pope, the successor to St Peter? In the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian,
Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon, Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic Church? I
hesitated. “The Catholic Church, I guess…but, but…” He stopped me and smiled.
“Don’t worry, my child, all will become clear…Do you know what the second mark of
the true Church is?” “No” I said begrudgingly…
“Where there are bishops under the pope, there is
the Church.” He replied. “turn to Acts 20:28 in your bible and you will find it there” he said kindly. I looked and
he was right. There it was in the good book: “the Holy
Ghost has placed you bishops to rule to the Church of God, which he hath
purchased with His own blood” I read and I was amazed.
I always thought that the pastor ran the Church. I had never come across the
word bishop before in any of the
modern bibles. Then I heard him say to me again “In which Church today will you
find bishops under the pope - the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian,
Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon, Baptist, Pentecostal or Catholic Church? I
reluctantly replied “Well it would have to be The Catholic Church but that
doesn’t mean….” Again the voice softly interrupted. “Be at peace my child.
Would you like to know the third mark of the Church?” he asked sweetly. “Yes” I
replied interestedly.
“Where there are local priests under a bishop,
there is the Church” he replied. Now I could
only ever recall elders being mentioned in the bible but not priests. I
remembered that priests were required to offer sacrifices for sin in the Old
Testament but didn’t Jesus Christ put an end to all of this as High priest on
the cross? But before I could say anything the voice gently invited me to read
St Paul’s letter to Titus 1:5 which records the apostle as stating “You
shouldest ordain priests in every city” and in his letter to
Timothy 1 Timothy 1:14 which says this must be
done “by the imposition of the hands of the priesthood”. It
dawned on me that most of the churches I knew about had a big ministries, even
TV and radio shows, with laying on of hands, speaking in tongues and prophesy
but they did not have a priesthood which could be found in every city of the
world. Just at that point the voice sounded again in my heart “My child, in
which Church today will you find priests in every city, under a bishop, under the
pope - the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian….?” “The Catholic Church of course”
I interrupted sharply. By now the thought of Catholic priests and all the
scandals I had heard about was making me restless but the voice intuitively
asked me “Do you want to go on?” Dismissing my discouragement I replied bravely
“Yes, I do”. “Then pray, tell me, my son” the voice said “Do you know the 4th
mark of the Church?” “No” I answered.
“Where you can confess your sins to a priest of
God, there is the Church” he replied. For a moment
the words sat calmly in my heart. But then I felt some resistance and then
resentment grow in me. I lost my patience and burst out into protest. “But,
but, the bible says we have only one mediator between God and man Christ Jesus!”
The voice replied calmly “Have good courage my child and turn with me to the
Gospel of St John 20:22 - Behold there what is
written of Jesus’s words to His chosen ones “Whose sins
you shall forgive, they are forgiven them, and whose sins you shall retain,
they are retained” I had never read this
passage before and its words rendered me speechless. Suddenly I felt a knot
loosed in my heart. I felt His voice warm me from within. There was a peaceful
pause where I felt His hand take mine. Then the voice softly sounded in my
heart again “Tell me, my child, which of these Churches has shepherds who can
forgive you all your sins in the name of the Holy one who sent them- the
Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian….or the Catholic?” “The Catholic…” I replied
irritatingly “It would have to be the Catholic Church” Then He said to me “Be
at peace my child for the fifth mark will be of great comfort to you. Would you
like to hear of it ?” “Yes” I replied, wiping the tears away from my eyes.
“Where the bread and wine is changed into body and
blood of Christ on the altar, there is the Church” I heard
the voice say. I stopped and thought about this for a minute before asking “But
wasn’t the bread and wine supposed to be just a symbol of Christ giving up His
body and blood up for us on the cross? I asked him. “Turn to the Gospel of St John 6:51 to hear the Lord’s own loving explanation” said the voice kindly: “I am the bread that came down from heaven, and the
bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world…Except you eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, you shall not have life in you.
He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath everlasting life: and I
will raise him up in the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed: and my blood is
drink indeed” Suddenly my eyes were opened and I recalled
that after Jesus had said these words to his followers many of them walked away
because they knew He meant them to take it literally. After all he didn’t call
them back to explain He was only speaking symbolically. Did Christ not prove He
could change one thing into another when he transformed the water into wine at
the wedding feast of Cana? and what about the multiplication of loaves and
fishes He used to feed the multitude? Could he not distribute His own body in
form of bread? The voice then repeated its loving challenge “My child, in which
Church can you fulfil Jesus’s commandment to eat the flesh and drink the blood
of the Son of Man today - the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian, Episcopalian, Methodist, Mormon,
Baptist, Pentecostal, Catholic Church?” This time I let him finish his list;
for some reason it made my answer stand out all the more. “It is the Catholic
Church!” I replied affirmatively, almost triumphantly, before clearing my
throat and composing myself. “Are you now ready to hear about the 6th
mark of the Church” he said. “I am” I replied expectantly.
“Where Christians shall call the Virgin Mother of
Christ blessed, there is the Church” I heard him announce
lovingly. “Do you mean Mary?” I asked. “But wasn’t she just a woman like any
other, a vessel for the birth of the saviour - surely it would be wrong to
idolize a mere woman?” The voice sounded again in my heart but this time so
tenderly that I got a lump in my throat. “Walk with me my son to one of my
favourite places in scripture the Gospel of St Luke 1:48 and there you will find
God’s handmaiden announce a prophecy about Gods faithful ones: “For behold, all generations shall call me blessed,
because He that is mighty has done great things to me!” He
continued “And where, in what Church of Christians today will you find them who
have honoured the mother of Christ as blessed for generations –Could it be the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian….?” Before he
could finish I trumpeted gleefully “But everyone knows it’s the Catholics who
love Mary, right? “You have said it, my son” I heard him whisper. By now I
found myself excited and impatient for the next instalment. “Pray tell me, dear
guide, of the 7th mark!” I cried.
“Where the saints offer the incense of our prayers
to God, there is the Church” I heard him say
affectionately. “But isn’t praying to men a form of idolatry?” I asked
earnestly. His sweet voice sounded again like music in my soul “Turn to the
last book in your bible, my son, the book of the Apocalypse
8:3 for the
answer you seek: “And another angel came and stood
before the altar having a golden censer; and there was given to him much
incense that he should offer of the prayers of all saints upon the golden
altar, which is before the throne of God” The scales sort of fell
away from my eyes at this point and I understood that just as we can pray for
one another here on earth, how powerful the prayers of the friends of God in
heaven must be in our regard if we only ask for them. Then the voice in my
heart returned “Where, my child, will you find a Church which asks for the
prayers of the friends of God – the Lutheran, Anglican, Presbyterian… or the Catholic.?” I didn’t hesitate “The Catholic Church, my Lord” I
said. “You have spoken the truth, my child” said the voice lovingly. “Do any
doubts remain in your heart?”
“But what of the other 39,000 Churches that
don’t bear the seven marks?” I asked quizzically. He replied “turn with me to
St Paul’s letter to the Ephesians
4:5 and hear what the apostle cries out to all doubters – there is but “one Lord, one faith
and one baptism” I felt
my stomach drop. I wondered how today’s people could possibly recognize there
is but one true faith among so many competing churches. “It was all foretold in
the scriptures” the voice interrupted gently “Turn with me to hear the prophecy
of the first pope about what would happen to his Church 2
Peter 2:1 “There shall be among you lying teachers, who shall bring in sects of
perdition” Sects? Aren’t they like
splinter groups or breakaways? I thought to myself. Then the number 40,000
flashed before my mind’s eye. I felt discouraged. It occurred to me, that there
must be many good and sincere people in these other communities who really love
Jesus and don’t know any better. “But
they have less spiritual food to eat because they don’t have the seven marks of
the true faith!” I complained. “After all they do not have a loving pope to
settle disputes wisely, they don’t have real bishops to serve the Churches like
the apostles, they don’t have priests to shepherd the lambs, or the body and
blood of Christ with which to feed them, nor can they forgive sins in the name
of the one who sent them, and they are often hostile about honouring the Mother
of Christ and the saints?” The voice gently chimed again in my heart “Have
faith, my child, and walk with me to the Gospel of John
10:16 and hear what the good Lord Jesus says - “And other sheep I have, that are not of this fold:
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one
fold and one shepherd.” “But who will bring them back into the fold?” I cried anxiously.
Then I felt His beautiful words in the precincts of my heart again. “Turn with
me to the apostle’s letter to the Romans
10:13 and hear his mighty words “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord, shall be saved. How
then shall they call on him, in whom they have not believed? Or how shall they
believe him, of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear, without a
preacher? And how shall they preach unless they be sent.” The voice continued “Behold I am sending you
to preach the Gospel to the poor” he thundered in my heart. “Write what you
have heard” Then His voice faded leaving behind it a fiery glow in my heart for
those other sheep…..
To find out how to be SAVED
read the following short Catholic Presentations….
1. Does God believe in atheists?
3. Finding the
true Church of Christ (You are Here)
4. Are you going to Heaven or Hell?
5. Catholic Presentation on Hell
6. The Good News and the Bad News
If you are interested in becoming a Catholic contact
your nearest parish Church today