Catholic Priest Explains Why You Should Become a Catholic | Bishop Barron

In this video, a protestant asks a catholic priest if he should become a catholic.

[benbauer]

Seems like there's a few points that need to be addressed here. I'm a Catholic catechist so I'll try to add some more context and texture made to the statements of Bishop Barron.

We are saved by the grace of God through faith. Full stop. To say that anyone outside of the Catholic church CAN be saved is a recognition of the supreme power of Our Lord. If your theological system forbids God from saving anyone, then you have created a system of rules that stands above God. We have learned from the scriptures that God is entirely free and has imparted that freedom to us as well. We are told by Saint Paul that we will encounter Gentiles that are 'a torah unto themselves' which means that there will be non-Jewish (and at that time non-Christian) people who have come to the fullness of faith in God, despite that fact that the fullness of revelation of the nature of God is hidden from them. In other words, they live a moral life (baring fruit) despite the fact that they do not have knowledge of the person of Jesus Christ. As we are told time and time again, if you love God, you keep is commandments. Thus these pagans who keep the Torah, without knowledge of it, love God in some way. We must continue to grow and foster our faith, such that we begin to bare fruit in the world. This is a slightly different thing that saved by faith and works. This is one of the key differences between old Christian beliefs and protestant beliefs. Catholicism and Orthodoxy do not require some kind of intellectual ascent to be saved; its not about thinking about God really really hard, its about being transformed in relationship with Him.

The second point: the Eucharist is dangerous to people who receive it in a state of rejection of God. We are told in 1 Cor 10-11 "So then, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord". What does it mean to be guilty against the Body and Blood of Our Lord? It means you are guilty of putting the nails into his hands and feet. You are guilty of murder. Therefore, you must make a public confession of sins and seek to be aligned fully with Christ prior to the reception of the Eucharist. If you have not repented of your sins, you are eating your own condemnation. This requirement stems from the revelation of death by holiness, requirements to confess your sins, and the overwhelming theme of God feeding his people in an act of communion.

The Eucharist is a very complicated doctrine so I would absolutely recommend doing a ton of reading on it. It pretty much begins with the Tree of Life itself and spans the either Bible. I would recommend reading Stephen Ray's Crossing the Tiber or Scott Hahn's Supper of the Lamb or if you like podcasts The Lord of Spirits talks about this in their episode "Thanksgiving". Just 2 years ago I was an atheist and this rabbit hole landed me firmly in the Catholic Church after a long long journey of discernment.

Well anyway I didn't think this post would be so long. Very happy to respond if I wasn't particularly clear or if you still have questions. You could also DM me, not sure if this site has that, and we could talk more if you want.

[irenegewinner]

I can tell you as a former Protestant now Roman Catholic, I knew I was missing something before. I had Jesus but I didn’t have His Church.

[Tp-ikvc]

I’m chiming in as requested. I came back to the Catholic Church in my 40s. I was Protestant in high school and early 20s. If anyone is curious, it’s not something we can prove through words. If you are curious just try praying a rosary. Do it every morning for one week. You will realize very quickly that Jesus exists. You don’t have to believe you will KNOW. Every experience u have after doing it will be your own that’s why we can’t explain it. Then you on your own will want to take part in worship on Sunday and want the Eucharist to be with with him every day and every week.

[polodude]

As a Protestant I dwelled in the first couple feet of the pool of Christianity. I did not realize the depth of Christianity until I became Catholic. The fullness and beauty of Christianity was revealed to me in the Catholic Church. I pray all who read this go on a journey to dive into the depth and fullness of the Church that Christ left us as we wait for His return.

If you like Bishop Barron, consider reading the Word on Fire Bible Volume I Gospels. The gospels are presented with a running commentary from 2000 years of the greatest Saints who have ever read the good news.

[ccbecker]

Truth is a light, and there are certainly degrees of truth just as there are degrees of illumination. In low light I can percieve vague forms and shapes, in brighter light additional detail, and in full illumination I can discern all the subtle shades and nuances of form, color, pattern, and so forth. So in a similar (not identical) way different religious traditions possess truth in differing degrees and portions. As a Catholic, I believe the Church possesses, as Bishop Barron describes, "the Fullness of Truth, " such that I would imagine that an agnostic might percieve that it is beautiful for a person to lay down his life for another, while a Christian would have the fuller awareness that God himself has done just that for us. Both of these are true, but one is a fuller, more encompassing truth than the other. Similarly, a Protestant might be part of a tradition that practices the Sacrament of Baptism in a way that Catholics would recognize as valid, and this is truth, and a participation in the sacramental economy of God. But if that individual were to become Catholic and accept all the Sacraments of the Church, of which there are seven, that would bring this person into a full participation in the truth of the Sacraments, such as partaking of the Eucharist, as Bishop Barron described.

[mikejohnsen]

A blind man's sense of reality is limited, but not necessarily wrong. Half truth is not about the truth but about the ability of the individual to understand and accept truth.

[philipmarchalquizar]

Study the early CHURCH fathers letters. They were taught by the Apostles.

[JasperOferral]

I really like Bishop Barron. He explains things in a way that I can understand them.

[sz]

You can’t participate in the Eucharist if you haven’t gone through the sacraments and BELIEVE in the body and blood of Christ, as he said in deference or protecting the non-Catholic from condemnation. You condemn yourself if you take it not believing and not in a state of Grace. Hope this helps.

[cmarinakys]

Protestants believe in Christ who is truth himself, but catholics also believe in the gifts He left us through the sacraments, tradition, seat of Peter and much more, thus the fullness of truth. Kind regards

[kylie]

I’m Protestant but seriously looking at Catholicism. Reading the church fathers and seeing the failure of sola scripture and sola fiede has led me to the truth. I believe there are some truths in Protestantism but unfortunately have rejected most of the apostolic teachings of the church.
“ The church is the pillar of truth “ 1 Timothy 3:15.
This was written when there was only one, Catholic apostolic church- the Catholic Church.

[marthacervantes]

I am a cradle Catholic. I recently read the book 'Stunned by Scripture' by Dr. John Bergsma. He tells of his journey as an evangelical pastor and his journey to the fullness of Catholicism. In his book he specifies the questions he had as a pastor and how learning what the Catholic Church teaches - in the Bible, helped him embrace the Truth. Not a big book, but a very good read.

[greggwoods]

I recently converted to Catholicism from being a confirmed Lutheran. During the Eucharist, it is perfectly acceptable to go forward and receive a blessing from the Priest conducting mass. However, Catholics believe that Jesus Christ is present during the Eucharist and also believe the Eucharist is a Sacrament. We believe that Jesus is present in the host just as he was for the last supper.

[nicolamustard]

Also to note, that only Catholics who are free of mortal sin and whose hearts are ready to receive Jesus are permitted to partake of the Eucharist.

In addition to what Bishop Barron says here, we also think of Paul writing to the Corinthians, "Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of profaning the body and blood of the Lord. Let a man examine himself, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For anyone who eats and drinks without discerning the body eats and drinks judgment upon himself."
So the Church can't allow anyone, including Catholics who are not in union with the Church, to receive the Eucharist. ❤

[jwilsonhandmadeknives]

the fullness of Christ is the Eucharist itself. Christ says "unless you eat my body and drink my blood, there is no life in you". The sacraments are God's graces and the tools he gives us, so that as we accept them we accept Him fully. It's always God moving first and then we participate in His grace by accepting those gifts. Our faith is a gift from God and that faith is enriched along the way as we fully recognize these gifts of grace- His roadmap for us.

[muddyo]

C.S. Lewis states in Mere Christianity that objective truth is found in math and in music. Like a right mathematical equation or a right musical note are both undeniably true. He points out that one can be closer to the truth in a math problem, by being closer to the correct answer than someone else. I imagine that this is what Bishop Barron is trying to point to. Some Christian denominations are closer to the truth.
Blessings

[Shawn-nqdu]

One must know Catholic teaching to know if they are worthy to take the Eucharist. The apostle Paul said that is why some of you are sick because you are taking the Eucharist in an unclean state

[jwilsonhandmadeknives]

As to salvation for non-believers- this would be considered possible but extremely extra-ordinary, but all things are possible for God. As scripture says, God is love and all love comes from God. Love is not an emotion, it is willing the Good for another, for their sake. Therefore if a person acts in true love they are acting in God through participation with the Holy Spirit. They may not intellectually understand that, but their actions transcend any intellectual assent. Intellectual assent is exactly the wrong idea of what faith is. What we live out is what we truly put our faith in.

Again, it's not a recipe for ordinary salvation. But through God's infinite grace it is possible.

[PrimeTimePaulyRat]

Catholic guy who practices philosophy here. Many people think something is either true or false. They are right when considering, say, premises that make up an argument. However, consider this: is it more accurate (or truthful) to say that a priest is unmarried or to say that he has taken a vow of celibacy? Or, consider this: is it more accurate (or truthful) to say that the earth is not the center of the universe or to say that the sun is the center of our solar system? Obviously, the latter in both cases. Remember, truth is being insofar as it is known. A sentence that contains more truth contains more knowledge of reality. The more true a sentence is, the more it reveals reality.

The above explanation is used by Fr. Ambrose Little in his explanation of St. Thomas Aquinas' fourth way of proving God's existence (the argument from degrees of being). This video can be found on YouTube. It is by the Thomistic Institute.

With this explained, you may understand what Bishop Robert Barron means when he states Catholicism has "the fullness of truth." A Catholic would say that, while most Protestant sects get most things right about Christianity, Catholicism gets it *all* right; thus, it contains more truth since it reveals more about reality.

Hope this helps!

[JuanArroyo-soit]

Here's my interpretation as a Catholic....keep in mind that Bishop Barron is speaking in a specific context and some of it is theology (philosophical opinion) and some of it is doctrine (straight up law of the faith)....

Bishop Barron's approach is to recognize, as most of the sensible Catholics out there, that many monotheistic religions proclaim the Truth is some aspect but not all of them.

Bishop's response is speaking into the idea that we agree with certain aspects of their theology but we find them incomplete. The Eucharist is the most relevant example of the discrepancy. Hence, the statement is not to be interpreted as Protestant proclaim x% of the Truth but to say that they get some things correctly and others not. Therefore, their theology is incomplete.


By "Fullness of the Truth" Bishop Barron is appealing to the claim that the Catholic faith and Traditional is the direct outcome of Jesus' teachings and the evolution of God's new covenant. It's a way to say our Doctrines represent the faith God wants humanity to uphold. Nevertheless, the attitude it's not supposed to be "my way or the highway".

The latter comes across in Bishop's later statement about salvation.

While the Catholic faith believes to be the true Church of Jesus Christ we have never claimed people need to be belong to our Church for salvation because that's a decision that only God can make in his full grace.

You will encounter Catholics fighting about salvation statements but that more theology than doctrine. The doctrine is clear, we believe God in his Mercy can save whoever he wants no matter which religion they followed. That said, we were called to evangelize and if we truly believe we have the "Good News" then by all means we should be sharing it and inviting people to join us but not force them or demand.

To me, the Catholic Church is the most complete and logical. We have the Eucharist and the sacraments. Regardless of all the debates out there...no other religious organization offers so many tools for a soul to find peace and connect with God once more.

Can someone speak to God directly? Absolutely. Can someone be holy without needing to be Christian? Possible.

But what a gift it is to have explicit and direct access to commune with the Trinity every day through the sacraments and the Eucharist.

John Chapter 6...is extremely difficult to deny.