Most people think Vatican II watered down Catholic teaching.

But that confusion didn’t come from the Council.

It came from what was written after — like the long-forgotten “Dutch Catechism” (thread) 🧵 In 1966, the Dutch bishops released "A New Catechism: Catholic Faith for Adults"

It was the first national catechism after Vatican II.

But instead of explaining the Council, it rewrote the faith.

Young Catholics have sacrificed everything to stay Catholic.

They’ve lost friends, faced mockery, and chosen truth over comfort.

So why do church leaders keep praising other religions? (thread) 🧵 The Church is still full of Boomer Catholicism

Optimistic, open-minded, and liberal.

You’ll hear them say things like

“All religions have something good to offer!”

Everyone knows the story of the Good Samaritan

But most people miss the hidden message

It’s a story about the Catholic Church (thread) 🧵 A man is robbed on the road from Jerusalem to Jericho and left half dead

His fellow Jews pass him by

But a foreigner, a Samaritan man, helps him

Most Christians in history never read the Bible.

But they didn’t have to — because they had the Catholic Mass.

Here’s how the Mass preserved the Bible for every Christian (thread) 🧵 The Mass has two parts: the Readings and Communion.

This structure comes straight from Scripture.

“The Word became flesh.”

In the first half of the Mass focused on the Word, in the second half His Flesh

Everything a Catholic priest wears has a spiritual meaning.

Here’s what each vestment represents

(including some rare ones you’ve probably never seen)... 🧵 1. Amice

A rectangular white cloth worn over the shoulders and neck.

Symbolizes the “helmet of salvation” (Ephesians 6:17), protecting the priest’s thoughts.

“If the Eucharist is Jesus, why doesn’t He prove it??"

He did.

Here are 12 of the most dramatic Eucharistic miracles ever recorded… (thread) 1. Lanciano, Italy (8th century)

A Basilian monk doubted the Real Presence.

But during Mass, the Host visibly turned into flesh and the wine into blood.

Scientists in the 20th century confirmed it was human heart tissue—specifically from a person undergoing severe trauma.

Does the Bible have historical errors?

Skeptics say yes but they keep getting proven wrong

Here are 12 times the Bible was vindicated... (thread) 🧵 1. Creation of the Universe

For centuries, modern scientists believed the universe was eternal.

But the Bible says the universe had a beginning, created by God.

Then in 1927, Georges Lemaître proposed the Big Bang Theory—confirming the universe had a beginning.

The Bible is the most important book of all time.

But how do we know it's real?

Here's the archeological evidence (thread) When we study ancient texts, we ask two key questions:

1. How many manuscripts survive?
2. How close in time are those manuscripts to the original writings?

The New Testament blows every other ancient text out of the water in both categories.

Lent starts today

But most Catholics are about to make a huge mistake:

Giving up the same thing they did last year. (thread) In 2022, I did Exodus 90 (an intense fasting regimen)

At the end, I asked our group leader if we should do it again next year.

He said: “Why? Did it not work this time?”

Moana is a deeply Catholic movie.

Her journey reflects the experience of young Catholics discovering tradition for the first time.

Here’s how Moana’s journey mirrors the rediscovery of the Church’s lost heritage… (thread) When the movie begins, Moana is taught the "tradition" of her people.

Her father tells her that the islanders have always stayed on the island and in the shallow water.

That this is their way of life.

But something tells her that something isn’t right.

The pope was dragged from his home, beaten, and thrown in prison.

He died weeks later, humiliated and broken.

It set the stage for a crisis that almost destroyed the Catholic Church: the Avignon Papacy… (thread) 🧵 Today, most Christians think of Church and State as two separate institutions

But in 14th Century Europe, the two were so intertwined people did not make that distinction

The kings were members of the Church, priests were his subjects, and the Pope was a source of unity across the continent

But that unity unraveled under Boniface VIII and King Phillip IV of France

The Catholic Church is the most pro-woman institution on the planet

It gives them strength to endure intense trials for the Gospel

Here are 10 women who paid the ultimate price for Jesus... 1/ St. Agnes (d. ~304 AD) was 12 or 13 and vowed celibacy

She refused a Roman official who denounced her as a Christian

She was arrested, tortured, and beheaded

Vatican II is the most significant (and controversial) event in recent Church history

But what did the council teach?

Here are Vatican II’s 4 major teachings…(thread) 🧵 Vatican II had 4 major documents:

1. Dei Verbum – On Divine Revelation
2. Lumen Gentium – On the Church
3. Gaudium et Spes – On the Church in the Modern World
4. Sacrosanctum Concilium – On the Liturgy

Communism pretends to be on the side of “compassion”

But it actually hijacks and distorts Catholic social teaching

Here’s how the Catholic principle of Solidarity differs from communism…(thread) Solidarity recognizes that all humans have God-given dignity

And that dignity unites every human being on earth regardless of race, nation, class, etc.

Communism has a different principle of unity

They entered the cathedral with swords drawn.

St. Thomas Becket stood at the altar, head bowed in prayer.

Here’s the story of his martyrdom... (thread) Thomas Becket did not begin his career as a priest

He began as a clever and ambitious clerk who caught the eye of King Henry II.

In 597 BC, the King of Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and ended Israel’s Golden Age

But the kingdom had no one to blame but itself

It was the darkest period in biblical history, known as the Babylonian Exile… (thread) The people of Israel had a penchant for worshipping false idols

Even the “faithful” part of Israel (Judah) set up temples to false gods

God sent prophet after prophet to call them to repent…but they often killed them

I did youth ministry for 5 years

And I made every mistake possible when trying to share the faith

Save this list so you don’t make the same mistakes… (thread) 1/ Using Catholic jargon

One time I was trying to explain the Eucharist to a teen.

She kept asking me to explain again and again and I was getting frustrated

Turns out she didn’t know “Eucharist” and “Communion” were the same thing

Most Christians believe John the Apostle wrote the Gospel of John

But some scholars believe the gospel of John was written by an entirely different person

Here’s why those scholars are wrong… (thread) The Gospel of John is unique in its structure, style, and theological depth.

This difference has led some to argue it wasn’t written by John the Apostle but by another “John” or a later Christian community.

Why is Christmas on December 25th?

It wasn’t always. Some celebrated it on January 6th

Here’s the story behind the date (thread) Christ’s birth was not a widespread celebration among early Christians.

Easter was much more important

Nativity scenes are everywhere

But have you ever wondered where they came from?

They started 800 years ago when St Francis of Assisi noticed a problem…(thread) In 1223, Christmas had become secular

The season was more about feasting than Christ

So St Francis hatched a plan to help people experience the feast in a new way

Want to become pope?

It’s harder than you think

Here's how you can become the Vicar of Christ… (thread) First you need to be a baptized man

Technically, you don’t have to be a cardinal or bishop or even a priest

But it’s been over 1,000 years since a non-cleric became pope… so it helps