Intentional Discipleship, Renewed Daily
Christians are called to be intentional disciples who make a conscious decision ...
Christians are called to be intentional disciples who make a conscious decision ...
Dr. Italy, in this 14 minute podcast, discusses the central and constant role pi...
7 minute podcast by Dr. Italy focusing on the true meaning of the Sacred Heart of Jesus based on the chief scriptural text connected with this feast a...
The theology of the Body of John Paul II has challenged a fundamental assumption about the Catholic faith - that it considers the body and bodily plea...
The profound origin and meaning of the sign of the cross is just one example of the depth and richness of the Catholic Tradition. It invites us to re...
Isn’t Advent great? Welcome to the season where the only song we sing for four weeks is O Come, O Come, Emmanuel! It’s the best! Advent is...
28 November, 2016Most Americans tend to think of religion as something rather fluid. It’s very common for us to say things like “all religions are basicall...
12 February, 2016The Church is Universal, that means it’s cool to be different. So, be different.
But, isn’t that the opposite of Catholicism? Isn’t being different bad?
Most people in America – scratch that – most Catholics in America, when they hear the word “Catholic,” think: “American-style home parish Roman Catholic”. But, what we ought to think when he hear the word “Catholic” is: “Universal”. That’s what it literally means, right? We get so familiar with what we know that we forget just how BIG the church is. It’s literally the biggest tent in the world. There is room in the church for every (orthodox) style of prayer, every culture’s unique expression, and every person’s unique spirituality.
In the Protestant church, every time the Spirit moves and expresses itself differently in a church, the church splits and a new denomination is formed. The Methodists, with their methodological approach to spirituality; the Church of Christ, with it’s intense scriptural emphasis; and the Pentecostals with their emphasis on the gifts of the Holy Spirit…these approaches would not need to split in order to be included in the Catholic Church.
The Catholic Church isn’t a denomination with one approach to spirituality. It is the house in which all the other prayer rooms are contained. Just zoom the lens out and take a look at what the Catholic Church looks like from a distance:
C.S. Lewis shows great support on the universality of those who believe in Christ. Most people think that coming to Christ means abandoning individuality, but, actually, the opposite is true. We become more distinctly different when we approach Christ. He writes:
“The more we let God take us over, the more truly ourselves we become – because He made us. He invented us. He invented all the different people that you and I were intended to be. It is when I turn to Christ, when I give up myself to His personality, that I first begin to have a real personality of my own.” – C.S Lewis
Every person, every ministry, and every community has a unique charism, a gift of the Holy Spirit that equips and characterizes it for it’s purpose. What is yours?
From a colorful and varied background as a professor of theology, a father of five, business owner, and professional performer Marcellino D’Ambrosio (aka “Dr. Italy”) crafts talks, blog posts, books, and videos that are always fascinating, practical, and easy to understand. He is a TV and radio personality, New York Times best-selling author, speaker who has been leading people on a journey of discovery for over thirty years.
Benjamin Hobson
Posted at 17:18h, 30 JanuaryGod bless your soul. This is exactly what I needed to read right now. It feels like the body of christ is fracturing and he prayed that we would all be one as him and his father were one. Thank you! Revival of the Catholic church is coming to the state of Ohio.