Catholics are the original Christians in that we trace ourselves in an unbroken line back to Jesus Himself. As such, we are disciples of Jesus Christ who, being fully God and fully human, is the Son of God and Savior of humanity.
We believe that the Scriptures are both inspired by God and form a foundation of our faith. We read Scripture and we follow Scripture.
We also believe that Sacred Scripture, made up of human words, cannot fully convey all that is holy about Jesus. Things like Jesus’ tone of voice, facial expressions, mannerisms, etc., could not have been fully captured by words but these too were passed on to the original disciples who knew Christ. All of these things, which most certainly contributed to the disciples’ own holiness of life and influenced how they formed the first Christian communities, form the basis of what we call Tradition. This Tradition was transmitted from generation to generation all the way to our own generation today. We believe that both Scripture and Tradition contain all that is necessary for salvation.
From Jesus’ words to Peter in Matthew 16:17-18, “You are Rock and upon this rock I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it,” and from Jesus’ final words at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, “I am with you always until the end of time,” the Christian community has always believed that the risen Lord would never abandon them, and that his Church would enjoy his presence and assistance until the end of time. This understanding was present in the earliest Christian communities when St. Paul refers to the Church as the Bride of Christ. In Ephesians, for example, Paul says, “If Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her,” how could he ever allowed her to be corrupted and lost to him?” (5:25) When the work that God the Father gave His Son was accomplished, God sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost in order that God might continually sanctify the Church. This sanctification continues today and does not depend on human behavior but on the power of God’s grace in the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit. God is always present with us and will remain present until the end of time.
From the Nicene Creed of 325 AD, Catholics profess our faith that the Church is “one, holy, Catholic, and apostolic.” Each of these marks are both gifts given by God and goals to be striven for. Even though we have disagreements within the Church, we believe that the Church is always united as One. Although individual members may not be living in a state of holiness at a particular time, holiness is always present somewhere in the Church. That the Church is Catholic means that it is universal — that it is open to men, women, and children of every culture, nationality and race. There are so many who do not know Christ even after 2,000 years of missionary work. Might you also be called at this time to the fullness of grace and peace that comes from Christ through His Church? That the Church is Apostolic means that the witness of the apostles, who knew Jesus personally, is central to our faith. Nothing can ever be accepted as an article of Christian faith which is in contradiction with this original witness, or does not, in some real sense derive from it.
The Magisterium refers to the teaching office of the Church and is made up of all the bishops around the world together with the pope. We trace the bishops’ three-fold role to lead, to teach and to sanctify back to these same roles which the original apostles played in the early Christian Church. We trace the role of the pope, as leader, teacher, and sanctifier — and also unifier -– to the particular role Jesus gave to St. Peter within the apostles. Throughout the New Testament the role of Petrine ministry grew and developed. It started with Peter being the chief witness to Jesus as Christ and Risen Lord. It continued with the leader of the Church of Rome, who is the Bishop of Rome (the pope), becoming the chief witness to the apostolic tradition, since Rome was the place where St. Peter in 64 AD and St. Paul in 67 AD gave the ultimate witness to the faith by being martyred. Gradually, whenever doctrinal questions regarding Christ or the faith arose, an understanding developed throughout the entire undivided Christian Church of the first 1,000 years, to look toward the Bishop of Rome to settle the dispute on behalf of the unity of the Church. They saw the pope as maintaining the genuine apostolic tradition whenever the faith was threatened by heresies.
The Catholic Church’s understanding of the intimate relationship between God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and us is so positive. From the Scriptures we know that God the Father created us and God the Father created us in God’s own image. Therefore, we are good. Although we are sinners, there is nothing that can ever take away this fundamental goodness of who we are as God’s creatures. Though our sins strain the relationship between us and God, God never abandons us. He wants nothing more than to help us get to heaven. All we have to do is open ourselves up to that ever-present love and God is there for us. There’s no sin that’s too great for God to forgive; nothing can ever take away God’s love for us.
So, at the center of the Catholic Church are the seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Reconciliation, Eucharist, Holy Matrimony, Holy Orders, and Anointing of the Sick. We understand each of these sacraments to be a special encounter between God and us. Each sacrament can be traced back to Jesus’ own ministry and is like a lifeline that Jesus throws to us to help us, when we need it most. We receive Baptism only once in our life but with it we receive the indelible mark of Christ, which is with us for the rest of our live. Some we are able to receive over and over such as the Eucharist (Jesus’ Body and Blood), Reconciliation (confession), and Anointing of the Sick, for ongoing strength and conversion as we go through life. Still others, such as Holy Matrimony and Holy Orders, we receive when we make a life-long commitment by professing marriage vows or vows to the priesthood.
Each Sunday (the first day of the week; the day of our Lord’s Resurrection) we gather at Mass to hear God’s Word in the Scriptures and receive Jesus’ Body and Blood in the Eucharist. The Mass renews our relationship with Jesus, who is with us always. Jesus is our strength and guide to help us fight the battles of daily life against sin and temptation. He helps us achieve the full potential of who God wants us to be. We believe that our Catholic faith helps us through this life all the way to our ultimate goal of everlasting life with God in heaven.
We welcome you as Christ Himself. It is a privilege for us to assist you with any questions you might have about our faith and to help you along your own path wherever you might be in your life. May all who enter here come to find Christ Himself.