Reasons to Return to the Catholic Church
Rome is Where the Heart is
If you once were a practicing Catholic and have been away from the Catholic Church for a while â no matter how long â youâre always welcome back. Your companion in this journey is our Lord Jesus Christ. He will walk alongside and guide you. Place your trust in Him; He will lead you home.
1. Reconciliation (Confession)
If youâre thinking about coming back, itâs very important to go to Confession (the âSacrament of Reconciliationâ or âPenanceâ). Jesus Christ Himself instituted Confession and He desired that His followers have a place to go to be absolved of their sins. He, in turn, gave authority to men to forgive sins.
âJesus … said to them, âReceive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retainedââ (Jn 20:21â23).
All parishes around the world have set times for Confession, and finding out these times is a Google search away. You also have the right under Canon Law to ask the parish priest for an appointment for Confession. You should explain to the priest prior to your confession that you havenât been to church for a while and havenât been attending Confession. If you need a refresher, the priest will happily guide you through the steps of Confession.
âIf we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousnessâ (1 Jn 1:9).
2. The Communion of Saints
You may remember from your childhood that if you lost something, youâd pray to St. Anthony of Padua. If you were studying for a test, youâd pray to St. Joseph of Cupertino or St. Thomas Aquinas. Whatever your intention is, there is a saint to call on to pray with you.
âTherefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before usâ (Heb 12:1).
This âcloud of witnessesâ cheers us on as we walk with Christ. The faithfully departed â the Church in Heaven â are ever concerned about the Church on earth.
âBeing more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness. … They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesusâ (Catechism of the Catholic Church [CCC], 956).
The communion of saints helps us by praying for us for we are joined in Christâs Body, the Church, and it is our joy to bear one anotherâs burdens (cf. Gal 6:2) and to encourage one another (cf. 1 Thess 5:11).
3. The Eucharist
The Eucharist is the âsource and summit of the Christian lifeâ (CCC 1324). The Eucharist is Jesus Christ: Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.
At the Last Supper, the final meal Christ shared with His beloved disciples, He left them the means in which He would be physically present in the world.
âWhen the Church celebrates the Eucharist, she commemorates Christâs Passover, and it is made present: the sacrifice Christ offered once for all on the cross remains ever present. âAs often as the sacrifice of the Cross by which âChrist our Pasch has been sacrificedâ is celebrated on the altar, the work of our redemption is carried outââ (CCC 1364).
The Mass makes present the one sacrifice of Christ on the Cross. As He took bread and gave thanks, He said, âThis is my body which is given for youâ (Lk 22:19). Jesus speaks of the same Body in John 6: âHe who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in himâ (Jn 6:56). The sacrifice of Calvary and the sacrifice of the Mass are one and the same sacrifice; only the manner in which they are offered differs.
Therefore, weekly Mass attendance is important. As outlined in CCC 2042, the three precepts of the Church are:
1. You shall attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation and rest from servile labor.
2. You shall confess your sins at least once a year.
3. You shall receive the sacrament of the Eucharist at least during the Easter season.
One must be in a state of grace in order to receive the Eucharist. This means we must not have any unconfessed mortal sin. The Eucharist is participation in Christâs Body and Blood (cf. 1 Cor 10:16). To receive Holy Communion in such an unworthy manner is to profane against the Body and Blood of Christ (cf. 1 Cor 11:23â29) and is objectively a mortal sin, as is deliberately not attending Mass.
âAnyone who desires to receive Christ in Eucharistic communion must be in the state of grace. Anyone aware of having sinned mortally must not receive communion without having received absolution in the sacrament of penanceâ (CCC 1415).
âThe Sunday Eucharist is the foundation and confirmation of all Christian practice. For this reason the faithful are obliged to participate in the Eucharist on days of obligation, unless excused for a serious reason (for example, illness, the care of infants) or dispensed by their own pastor. Those who deliberately fail in this obligation commit a grave sinâ (CCC 2181).
The Eucharist is food for the journey, through which grace is conferred. Through the Eucharist, we are also physically united with Christ. Therefore, we must walk and grow in holiness in order to become vessels that give a witness of Christ to the world.
4. The Joy of Salvation
The mission of the Catholic Church is to bring the reality of God and salvation to all.
âFor God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through himâ (Jn 3:16â17).
The Catholic Church offers to all the means of salvation, and the fullness of faith. She also unites the faithful with Christ. Godâs gift is freely offered to us; we donât deserve it, yet it is offered anyway. We must respond accordingly, in faith, to His free grace, so that we can be led by Him, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, to walk in faith and to do the will of God, so that we may be perfected by Him (cf. Mt 7:21; Jas 2:14â26; Mt 5:48).
âIn order to reach this perfection the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christâs gift, so that … doing the will of the Father in everything, they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighborâ (CCC 2013).
When Christ ascended into heaven, He left His disciples a final instruction.
âGo therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the ageâ (Mt 28:19â20).
No matter what youâve done (provided you truly repent of it, confess, and receive absolution), you have a home in the Catholic Church. By Christâs work on the Cross and through the Sacraments that Christ Himself instituted, your heart will be made new.
âTherefore, if any one is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, behold, the new has comeâ (2 Cor 5:17).
âFor it is through Christâs Catholic Church alone, which is the universal help toward salvation, that the fullness of the means of salvation can be obtained. It was to the apostolic college alone, of which Peter is the head, that we believe that our Lord entrusted all the blessings of the New Covenant, in order to establish on earth the one Body of Christ into which all those should be fully incorporated who belong in any way to the People of Godâ (CCC 816).
âEvery saint has a past and every sinner has a futureâ (Oscar Wilde).
5. The One True Church
What is it that sets the Catholic Church apart? Why not just go to the non-denominational church nearby? The answer is simple: no other church in the world (though they may possess much truth and a share of Godâs grace) can claim that their founder is God: Jesus Christ Himself.
âAnd I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death 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 heavenâ (Mt 16:18â19).
Jesus declared here with divine authority that the Catholic Church would teach all nations the Good News and would bring the hope of salvation to all. The Church would be a visible sign to the world that Christ remains with the world until the end of the age. When the Catholic Church teaches and speaks, it does so with the authority of Jesus Christ.
Christ bestowed upon St. Peter the authority to lead the visible church (thus setting in motion the office of the papacy), and the authority to (preeminently) âbindâ and âloose.â These ancient rabbinical terms mean to âforbidâ and âpermit,â that is, to interpret the Law in special circumstances. Jesus, in John 20:22â23 extended the Churchâs authority to include absolving sins or issuing penance for them.
The Church is known as the âpillar and bulwark of truthâ (1 Tim 3:15) because the Holy Spirit guides it into all truth (cf. Jn 14:26; 16:13). When the Church teaches, it does so because the Holy Spirit has enabled it to. Not all Christians have this special protection, and some are even counterfeit âChristians.â
âNot every one who says to me, âLord, Lord,â shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, âLord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?â And then will I declare to them, âI never knew you; depart from me, you evildoersââ (Mt 7:21â23).
So why should you consider returning to the Catholic Church? The Catholic Church is built on a rock-solid foundation and Christ Himself promised, âthe powers of death shall not prevail against it.â
âEvery one then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house upon the rock; and the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat upon that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rockâ (Mt 7:24â25).
Prayer of Consecration to Jesus
God our Father, I believe that you created me out of love. In a thousand ways I have sinned against you. I repent of all of my sins. Please forgive me.
Thank you for sending your Son to die for me, to save me from hell. I choose this day to renew my covenant with you and to place Jesus at the center of my heart. I surrender to Him as Lord over my whole life.
I ask you now to flood my heart and soul with your Holy Spirit and to grant me the gift of new life. Give me the grace and courage to live as a missionary disciple for the rest of my days. Amen.
Written by:Â Stephen Spiteri
Edited by: Dave Armstrong
Bible Version:Â Revised Standard Version
For more SPSE tracts: StreetEvangelization.com/tracts
Further Reading:
SPSE Tract: Confession
SPSE Tract: True Worship
SPSE Tract: Objections
SPSE Tract: Salvation
SPSE: Petrine Primacy and the Authority of the Pope
Dave Armstrong:Â Biblical Proofs for an Infallible Church and Papacy
Catholic Answers: The Eucharist
Catholic Answers: The Sacrifice of the Mass
Catholic Encyclopedia: The Eucharist
Scripture Catholic: The Eucharist
Catholic Answers Church Fathers: The Real Presence
EWTN: The Holy Eucharist
Printed With Ecclesiastical Permission. Most Reverend Earl Boyea. August 13, 2013.