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• “Why do you ‘worship’ Mary?”

• “Why do you have a Pope?”

• “Why do you have Priests?”

• “Why do you confess to a Priest?”

• “Why do you keep Jesus on the cross?”

• “Do you really believe you’re eating the Body and Blood of Jesus?”

Questions Catholics get asked:

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• Mary is not Divine. We venerate and honor Mary as our blessed Mother. We worship and adore God alone!• While dying on the cross, Jesus said to John, “behold

your mother… woman, behold your son…” (John 19:25:27)

• The 4th Commandment says: “Honor your father and your mother…”

• In the Old Testament, the Queen Mother had authority to help the King run his kingdom. (1 Kings 2:19-20)

“Why do you ‘worship’ Mary? Is she a goddess to you?”

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“Bathsheba went to King Solomon, to speak to

him on behalf of Adonijah. And the king rose to

meet her, and bowed down to her; then he sat

on his throne, and had a seat brought for the

king's mother; and she sat on his right. Then

she said, "I have one small request to make of

you; do not refuse me." And the king said to

her, "Make your request, my mother; for

I will not refuse you…”

1 Kings 2:19-20

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The Wedding Feast at Cana…

“When the wine ran short, the mother of Jesus

said to him, "They have no wine.”

Jesus said to her, “Woman, how does your

concern affect me? My hour has not yet

come.”

His mother said to the servers, “Do whatever

he

tells you…”

The Gospel recorded by John 2:3-5

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• “Pope” comes from the Latin word papa which means “daddy” or “father.”

• In early Christianity, all Bishops were called, papa.

• Beginning in the 11th century, the term papa was reserved solely for whoever was named Bishop of Rome which today is Pope Francis (the Holy Father).

• The Pope is the successor of St. Peter who was chosen by Jesus to be first Pope to lead his Church:

Why do you have a Pope?

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“And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this

rock I will build my church, and the gates of

hell shall not prevail against it. I will give

you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and

whatever you bind on earth shall be bound

in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth

shall be loosed in heaven...”

Matthew 16:18-19

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• Jesus quotes the prophet Isaiah who speaks of Eliakim being appointed by God to be a “steward” over the Kingdom of David. (Isaiah 22:20-23)

“In that day I will call my servant Eliakim the son of

Hilkiah… And I will place on his shoulder the key of the

house of David; he shall open, and none shall shut; and

he shall shut, and none shall open. And I will fasten him

like a peg in a sure place, and he will become a throne

of honor to his father's house. And they will hang on

him the whole weight of his father's house…” (Isaiah

22:20-23)

The “keys of the kingdom…”

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• “YES!” In St. Paul’s letter to the Ephesians he says:

• “…and he has put all things under his feet [Jesus] and has made him the head over all things for the church…”

(Ephesians 1:22)

• The Catechism of the Catholic Church says: “The Church is this Body of which Christ is the head: she lives from him, in him, and for him; he lives with her and in her.” (CCC 807)

• Jesus is, was, and always will be the head of his Church! That is why the Church is HOLY even when it’s leaders and followers are not!

“Isn’t Jesus the head of the Church?"

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• First priest mentioned in the Bible is Melchizedek who worshipped God with Abraham:

“And Melchizedek king of Salem (“Jerusalem”) brought out bread and wine; he was a priest of God Most High.

(Genesis 14:18)

• In the Book of Exodus, God commanded Moses’ brother Aaron and his sons to be Priests. (Exodus 28:1-5)

• Later, God commanded the Sons of Levi and their descendents to be Priests. (Exodus 32:22-35)

Why do we have Priests?

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• Later, God commanded the Sons of Levi and their descendents to be Priests. (Exodus 32:22-35)

• Priest performed sacrifices for the people, taught the people, prayed for the people and interceded to God for the people, same as our Priest do today.

• Priests wore brightly colored vestments so people knew they were trained to lead in worship, just as a Judge wears a robe to show they are trained to lead a courtroom.

Why do we have Priests?

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Exodus 28:1-5

"Then bring near to you Aaron your brother, and

his sons with him, from among the people of

Israel, to serve me as priests… And you shall

make holy garments for Aaron your brother, for

glory and for beauty…

These are the garments which they shall make: a

breast-piece, an ephod, a robe, a coat of checker

work, a turban, and a girdle… They shall receive

gold, blue and purple and scarlet, and fine twined

linen...”

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Ancient Jewish Priest Today’s Priest

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• In the OT, the Book of Numbers says God gave the priesthood as a "gift" to the people:

“And you [Aaron and Levi] and your sons… shall attend to your priesthood for all that concerns the altar and that is within the veil [Temple]… I give your priesthood as a gift....” (Numbers 18:7)

• The Twelve Apostles were the first Priest ordained by Jesus, the eternal High-Priest, to assist Jesus in his ministry by doing all things “in memory of him.” (Hebrews 4:14-15; Luke 22:19)

Why do we have Priests?

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• Because God said so!

• In the Old Testament, the book of Leviticus says:

“When a man is guilty in any of these, he shall confess the sin he has committed, and he shall bring his guilt offering to the LORD for the sin which he has committed… and the priest shall make atonement for him for his sin.” (Lev 5:5-6)

“Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’”

(John 20:21-23)

“Why do you confess to a Priest?”

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• “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that you may be healed...” (James 5:16)

• The Priest acts in the “person of Christ” (in Latin, In persona Christi), standing in the place of Christ.

• When we confess our sins to the Priest, we are confessing them directly to Christ.

• We also get to HEAR Christ say through the Priest, “I forgive you…”

“Why do you confess to a Priest?”

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• Question: If I commit a sin against someone, why do I have to ask God to forgive me? I didn’t commit the sin against God, I committed it against that person…”

• We all have a Soul that is made in the “image and likeness” of God. (Genesis 1:27)

• Because the essence of God’s life lives in all of us, when we sin against each other, or ourselves, we sin against God…

“Why do you confess to a Priest?”

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Matthew Kelly, Catholic Apologist• Matthew Kelly has dedicated

his life to helping people and organizations become the-best-version-of-themselves!

• Born in Sydney, Australia, he began speaking and writing in his late teens. Today he is an internationally acclaimed speaker.

• Raised Catholic, Matthew has been saddened by the lack of engagement among Catholics and founded DynamicCatholic.com to explore what it will take to establish vibrant Catholic communities in the 21st Century…

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“They love places of honor at banquets, seats of honor in synagogues, greetings in marketplaces, and the salutation ‘teacher.’ As for you, do not be called ‘teacher.’ You have but one Teacher, and you are all brothers. Call no one on earth your ‘father’; you have but one Father in heaven. Do not be called ‘master’; you have but one Master, the Messiah...” (Matthew 23:6-

10)

“I do not write this to make you ashamed, but to admonish you as my beloved children. For though you have many guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers. For I became your father in Christ Jesus through the gospel…” (1 Cor. 4:14-15)

“Call no man, ‘Father…’”

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• The crucifix is the greatest icon of love the world has ever known because it summarizes the sacrificial love Jesus has for us, and we are to have for each other…

Jesus said: "This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. (John 15:12-14)

• St. Francis said, “It is in giving of ourselves that we receive.” What do we receive? God’s Grace!

“Why do you keep Jesus on the cross? Didn’t he rise from it?”

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• Catholics don not pray to statues. We look at statues as we pray because the statue reminds us of the person we are asking to pray for us…

• “You pray to dead people!?”

To the Sadducees who did not believe in the afterlife, Jesus said, “He is not God of the

dead, but of the living; for all live to Him.” (Luke 20:38)

“Btw, why do you pray to statues? Isn’t that idolatry?”

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• “YES!” Jesus wants his supernatural life to live in us so we can live FOREVER with him in his Kingdom!

• This is why Jesus commanded us to feed our soul with his holy Word, his Holy Spirit and his Holy Eucharist.

“I am the bread of life!” (John 6:35)

“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.” (Matthew 4:4)

“In that day you will know that I am in my Father,

and you in me, and I in you.” (John 14:20)

“Do you really believe you’re eating

the Body and Blood of Jesus?”

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“Faith” and “obedience” unlocks our understanding!“I am the bread of Life…”

John 6:22-70

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• Transubstantiation (in Latin, transsubstantiatio) is when the bread and the wine used in the sacrament of the Eucharist become, not merely a sign or a symbol, but in reality the body and blood of Christ.

• The ancient Greek philosopher, Aristotle (c. 350 BC) described how the meaning (the substance) of something can change, even though the physical characteristics (the accidents or elements) do not.

• St. Thomas Aquinas (c. 1250 AD) applied this logic to the consecration of the bread and wine.

Transubstantiation: the “substance” changes, not the “elements”

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• A diamond engagement ring looks like a band of metal with a rock on it, unless you are the one who receives that ring. To you, the ring now means love, fidelity, marriage, children, happiness, joy!

• The physical properties of the diamond ring still look the same, it’s still a metal band with a rock on it, but the substance, the meaning behind it has changed. It is now YOUR ring and takes on a new meaning that changes your interior life, which is your Soul.

• It is the same when Jesus, speaking through the Priest, says “This is my body” and “This is my blood.” The wafer is consecrated into the Body and Blood of Christ. Why? Because Jesus said so!

• The wafer still looks like a wafer, but the substance, the meaning of it has changed; it is now the supernatural life of Christ who wants to feed and nourish your supernatural life—your Soul!

The example of a diamond engagement ring changing its substance

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The example of a diamond ring changing its substance…

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• When a man gives a diamond ring to a woman and asks her to marry him, that diamond ring becomes an engagement ring!

• It still looks like the same shiny rock on top of a metal band before the man gave it to the woman, however, the SUBSTANCE of that ring has now changed dramatically. The ring now means love, fidelity, family, till death do us part!

• The same thing happens when the unleavened bread is consecrated by the Holy Spirit of God. The substance of the host has been transubstantiated by God’s Holy Spirit to take on a new meaning.

• The host still looks like a piece of "unleavened bread,” however, the Presence of God is now alive in the host because the Holy Spirit has entered it.

• The host is now the Body and Blood of Jesus. And since Jesus proved he is eternal by his resurrection, it is also now the “Bread of Life!”

The example of a diamond engagement ring changing its substance…

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The example of a house changing its substance…

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• The house you live in is your home. However, if you were to sell your house and move to another, the house you left is no longer your home.

• The walls, the ceilings, the floor, the kitchen and bathroom still look the same in the old house, but the meaning of it has changed. It is no longer your “home” but just a “house” a “building.”

• You no longer feel the same way about your old house because it is no longer your home. The “substance” of it has changed even though the physical properties and characteristics of it, has not…

The example of a house changing its substance…

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“I am with you always, even to the end of time...” (Matthew 28:20)