1a-Sacraments index
The Bible states in1 Timothy 3:15, "The church is the pillar and foundation of truth."
Cardinal Henery Neuman was a convert from Calvinism to the Anglican Church and finally to the Catholic Church. He stated “to be deep in the study of the History of the church is to cease to be Protestant”. Its Collary is also true, “to be deep in the study of the History of the church is to become Catholic”.
Rules for interpreting Scripture: Established by Pope Leo XIII in Providentissimus Deus (1893) seconded and confirmed by Pope Benedict XV in Spiritus Paraclitus (1920) and by Pope Pius XII in Divino Afflante Spiritu (1943) Pope Pius XII declared in Divino... that Leo’s encyclical Providentisisimus for interpreting the bible to "the supreme guide in Biblical studies"
Four rules for interpreting the Bible for the Catholic Church 1. Always pay attention to the Magisterium the authority of the Church 2. Beguided by what the early fathershad to say about a particular passage.
3. Always to be guided by what the Bible has to say as a whole (not key phrases here and there for defining ones theology and ignoring passages which do not fit one’s theology, see opening quote) 4. Always take the Bible Literally unless it is reasonably unattenable
I will maintain that a anyone who will follow the last three rules will well over 90% of the time arrive at the same truths as the Catholic Church!! The true church must be that church which follows the teachings of those immediate successors of the Apostles. These are the Apostolic fathers who learned the faith at the foot of the Apostles. The Catholic church teaches the same things as those taught by the Apostolic fathers. It has not veered to the left or ritght but teaches the same today. If a Church comes a long 1,500 years later and teaches something different how can they have the truth. They claim truth based on their own authority yet teach things that are in contradiction to the Apostolic fathers. While they maintain a portion of the same teachings as the Apostolic teachings professing Christ as redeemer and savior and hence have portion of the Catholic heritage never the less they only have a portion of the loaf of bread. For since the Catholic churche teaches the same as the Apostolic Fathers only they have the complete loaf of bread.
__________________________________________________________________________________________ Sacraments.: This section will examine the seven sacraments of the Catholic Church in the faith of the early Church Fathers. The sacraments include: Baptism, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction.
Infant Baptism: Documents illustrating the practice of infant baptism Pg6 Born Again: Documents illustrating the Fathers equated baptism with ’born again’ Pg9
Triune Baptism: Documents illustrating the Fathers belief in Triune baptism. According to the Fathers, the form of baptism includes a disctinct expression of God as One and Three. Pg13 ______________________________________________________________________________
Eucharist: The Real Presence:,--Pg 18 Documents illustrating the realist view of the Eucharist, Transubstantiation Documents illustrating the ancient belief in Transubstantiation Pg22 ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The Sacrament of Penance: Documents illustrating the practice of auricular confession Pg26 The Sacrament of Confirmation: Documents illustrating the practice of Confirmation/Chrism Pg29 The Sacrament of Holy Matrimony: Documents illustrating that Christ elevated Marriage to a sacrament Pg33 The Sacrament of Holy Orders: Documents illustrating the sacrament of Holy Orders. In addition to the royal priesthood possessed by all Christians there exists a ministerial priesthood. Pg36 The Sacrament of Extreme Unction(Anointing of the Sick) Documents illustrating that the Fathers affirmed the sacramental nature of anointing of the sick in light of St. James 5:14-15. Pg41