Can Christian doctrine change?

in the 5th century, a Catholic monk said yes…but within limits.

It’s called “Development of Doctrine” and it follows strict rules (thread) 🧵 “But Patrick! Doctrine can’t change! We have to believe what the apostles believed!”

Correct, doctrine can’t change

It develops

Christ’s revelation to the apostles was a dense nucleus destined to grow over time

Much like a zygote develops into a fully grown adult.

“Separation of Church and State” was a mistake

Jefferson thought it would protect religion from state interference

But it did the exact opposite (thread) 🧵 The First Amendment never mentions “seperation of church and state”

The phrase appears in a letter Jefferson wrote in 1802 to the Danbury Baptist Association

He promised the federal government would not interfere with the church.

But the opposite happened

Every Christian is called to be perfect

But how do you get there?

500 years ago, a Spanish nun wrote about the journey (thread) 🧵 Teresa of Avila was a Carmelite nun who lived in the late 15th century.

She wrote a book called "The Interior Castle"

She said the soul goes on a journey through seven "mansions"

Only men can become priests in the Catholic Church

Many assume it’s out of sexism

But it has nothing to do with women, and everything to do with Jesus Christ... (thread) The Catholic Church doesn’t ordain women for one reason:

Jesus didn’t.

He only ordained the apostles at the Last Supper

“Why do I need to confess my sins to a priest?”

Well, you can confess your sins to God

But if you want your sins *forgiven*

Scripture says you should go through a priest. (thread) Consider John 20:22–23

After the Resurrection, Jesus breathes on the apostles and says:

“Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain them, they are retained.”

Many Christians think sacraments are just empty rituals

But they actually do something

The sacraments are symbols that do the thing they symbolize (thread) A sacrament is a “visible sign of an invisible grace.”

Baptism symbolizes washing away sins AND it actually washes them away

That is true about all seven sacraments

Should Catholics believe in evolution?

If you mean Darwin’s theory…then no.

But many faithful Catholics still feel nervous rejecting Darwin… so let’s talk about it. (thread) Here’s what the Church teaches:

God created the universe out of nothing.

All things exist because He willed them into being.

That means no theory of evolution that excludes God’s providence can ever be acceptable.

You can’t ignore Marian apparitions

There have been dozens over the last 5 centuries

Here are 10 times the Virgin Mary appeared to Catholics (thread) Our Lady of Guadalupe  (1531)

Our Lady appeared to St. Juan Diego on Tepeyac Hill, near Mexico City.

She spoke to him in his native Nahuatl and asked that a church be built in her honor.

Her image miraculously appeared on his tilma and remains intact to this day.

When I was a kid I learned the Hail Mary, Glory Be, and Our Father

But I had no idea there were dozens of traditional Catholic prayers

Here are 8 prayers every Catholic should know—but few do (thread) 🧵 1/ St. Michael’s Prayer

Written by Pope Leo XIII and used to be said at the end of every Mass

St. Michael the Archangel,
defend us in battle.
Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil.
May God rebuke him, we humbly pray,
and do thou, O Prince of the heavenly host,
by the power of God,
cast into hell Satan and all the evil spirits
who prowl about the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.

“The Eucharist is just a symbol!”

The early Church certainly didn’t think so

Here’s what the first Christians thought about the Eucharist (thread) 🧵 St. Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 110)

“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God... They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer, because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which the Father, in His goodness, raised up again.”

— Letter to the Smyrnaeans, 6–7

Catholic symbols are everywhere

But some are hard to recognize

Here are 10 Catholic symbols you may have seen but never really understood. 1. Pelican in Her Piety

The mother pelican was believed to pierce her own breast to feed her young with her blood.

For Christians, this became a profound image of Christ in the Eucharist

He feeds us with His own Body and Blood

Most Catholics think the parish is just the responsibility of the priest

But John Paul II diasgrees. He said you're responsible, too.

So if your parish sucks, here's how to fix it… (thread) A lot of parishes try to “involve” lay people by giving them jobs inside the liturgy.

They lector or distribute communion.

But we’re not priests. That’s not our job. Our job is more mission-driven.

Some people’s prayer life revolves around “the Jesus high”

They bounce from retreat to retreat trying to feel God’s presence

But St. Teresa of Avila warns: not all good feelings in prayer come from God. (thread)

Understanding this can change how you pray. In “The Interior Castle,” Teresa explains the difference between “sweetness” and “consolation.”

“Sweetness” is the “Jesus High”

It comes from good meditation on Christ and may include tears, good feelings, etc.

It’s not bad—but it’s not always from God.

“Mary is barely in the Bible!”

Sure, if you don’t know how to read it.

Here are 8 non-obvious places in Scripture to look for Mary (thread) 🧵 1/ Eve

Immediately after the Fall of Man, God promises Eve that her “seed” will overcome death. (Genesis 3:15)

This is the first prophecy of Christ and it includes His mother, Mary.

This is the strongest link between the Old Eve and Mary, the New Eve.

“Why are Catholics so focused on Mary?”

Well, because the early Church was.

Here is what the early Church Fathers had to say about the Blessed Virgin Mary (thread) 🧵 1/ St. Ignatius of Antioch (c. AD 110)

"For our God, Jesus the Christ, was conceived by Mary according to God's plan, of the seed of David, it is true, but also of the Holy Spirit; He was born and was baptized that by His passion He might purify the water."

— Letter to the Ephesians, 18

The Catholic Church preaches 4 dogmas about Mary

Every Christian is bound to believe them.

Here's what they are (+ how to defend them) 🧵 1. Mary is the Mother of God

The argument is simple:
1) Mary is the Mother of Jesus
2) Jesus is God, therefore
3) Mary is the Mother of God

"Who am I that the mother of my Lord should come to me?"
(Luke 1:43)

Mary is only mentioned in the Bible a few times

But those few times pack a punch

Here are 10 places Mary is mentioned in Scripture—and what they mean (thread) "Hail, full of grace" (Luke 1:28)

The Greek term kecharitōmenē denotes a perfected state of grace

Early Church Fathers, like St. Gregory of Nazianzus, interpreted this as evidence of Mary's unique sanctity

He emphasized that Mary was pre-purified in soul and body, making her a fitting vessel for the Incarnation

The Rosary is one of the most powerful prayers in the Christian tradition.

But many don’t know about its rich history.

Here’s how the Rosary became the Church’s spiritual weapon of choice… (thread) The Rosary didn’t drop out of heaven fully formed.

Its structure as we know it today came together in the 13th century, through the preaching of St. Dominic.

But its roots—repetitive prayer, meditating on Scripture, counting beads—go back to the early Church.

For centuries, the liturgical calendar shaped Christian life

But many Catholic feast day traditions have been largely forgotten

Here are 10 feast day traditions we’ve lost. (thread) 1. Holy Innocents (Dec 28)

This feast remembers the massacre of Bethlehem’s children by Herod

In medieval Europe, cathedrals would appoint a Boy Bishop to “rule” from Dec 6 to Dec 28.

He led processions, gave blessings, and sometimes even preached

For 1500 years, every Christian venerated Mary

But now almost no Protestants do… so what happened?

The answer lies with John Calvin. (thread) John Calvin affirmed *some* of the Catholic teaching about Mary

But he refused her any other honors.

Because for Calvin, any exaltation of Mary risked turning her into a rival to Christ.

When the Catholic Church makes a saint, they usually make them a patron of something

But other saint patronages are… weird.

Here are 10 strange patron saints + the stories behind them. (thread)

1. St. Drogo — Patron of ugly people Drogo was a Flemish noble who suffered a disfiguring disease

It made him so unsettling to look at, he lived in a cell with a small hatch for Holy Communion.

(tag your bro who needs to pray to St. Drogo 👇🏻)