Fr. Dwight Longenecker, Patheos – Are people welcome to the Catholic Church? What kind of Catholic Church? Why should anyone want to join the Catholic Church anyway? What would a liberal Catholic answer? Is it for their soul’s salvation? Is it to escape the fires of hell? Is it to worship and serve the Lord Jesus Christ King of the Universe? Is it to learn how to love God and his Son Jesus Christ, to venerate and love his Blessed Mother and worship in the communion of all the saints and angels?
It’s funny, but I don’t hear that sort of thing coming from this sort of Catholic.
Instead all we hear is the mantra, “All Are Welcome”.
See, without a full blooded, historic Catholic faith which preaches the need for repentance and seeking the face of the Lord for eternal salvation what are you welcoming people to? A luncheon club where they sing hymns and carry banners with trite slogans? A soup kitchen and shower facility where they hold Bible studies? A rehab center where they find their inner goddess? People aren’t dumb. They’ll soon ask, “Why bother with all that religious-spiritual stuff? We can do soup kitchens, rehab centers and shower facilities without all those dreary hymns, bad Christian pop music and dull homilies delivered by a fat, middle class half educated minister.
I agree that “All Are Welcome”. All are welcome to come face to face with the living Lord Jesus Christ in the fullness of the Catholic faith. All are welcome to fall on their knees in Eucharistic Adoration. All are welcome to be received into the Catholic Church, learn how to make a good confession and share the work and worship of Christ’s one flock under one shepherd. All are welcome to walk in the path of perfection, to learn how to emulate the saints, love the Sacred Scriptures and share the gospel of life with others, ministering Christ’s peace and justice to a starving world.
All Are Welcome to leave everything to follow Christ. All Are Welcome to repent of their sins, confess their faith and be baptized. All Are Welcome.
But the future church in which “All Are Welcome” is the new creed?
You’re welcome to it.
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About Fr. Longenecker
Welcome to Standing on My Head! I’m a former Evangelical, then an Anglican priest, now a Catholic priest. If you want to learn more about me click on the “Bio” tab in the header. The header tabs also contain my archived articles, with my conversion stories and writings on Catholic apologetics. You can have a look [Read More…]
