Making everybody Catholic | Masters in Systematic Theology | Comedian turned theologian
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Aug 15 • 16 tweets • 4 min read
Mary was assumed Body and Soul into Heaven
Until about 500 years ago, every Christian believed this
These 5 things prove it actually happened (thread) 1. Mary appears bodily in Revelation 12
A woman appears with a crown of 12 stars and clothed with the sun
The Church has always interpreted this as Mary, appearing bodily in heaven.
Aug 2 • 13 tweets • 4 min read
Most people think Catholics can't interpret the Bible on their own
But they are WRONG
Catholics SHOULD interpret the Bible
And here's how you do it (thread):
Catholics can interpret scripture, but not in isolation.
We have to read the Bible in the context of the Christians that came before us
To learn how to do it, here are 3 lessons from the Church Fathers:
Aug 1 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
“Where is the Mass in the Bible?”
It’s in the book of Revelation
Here’s 7 references to Revelation during the Catholic Mass…
Biblical scholar Scott Hahn attended his first Mass when he was a Protestant pastor
He counted almost 30 references to Revelation during the Mass
The book of Revelation is a description of the perpetual heavenly liturgy
And the Catholic Mass is the earthly representation of that liturgy
Jul 30 • 10 tweets • 4 min read
Can a baby be baptized?
Most Protestants say baptism should come after you can make a profession of faith.
But that’s not how the early Church saw Baptism... (thread)
Catholics baptize infants because baptism is not (merely) about our public act of faith
Baptism is the Church imparting HER faith in Christ onto US
Baptism makes faith possible
It is not something you earn through faith.
Jul 7 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
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.
Jul 4 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
“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
Jul 2 • 12 tweets • 5 min read
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"
Jun 20 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
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
Jun 18 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
“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.”
Jun 17 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
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
Jun 14 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
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.
Jun 10 • 15 tweets • 5 min read
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.
Jun 3 • 11 tweets • 5 min read
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.
Jun 2 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
“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
Jun 1 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
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
May 31 • 12 tweets • 3 min read
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.
May 30 • 11 tweets • 4 min read
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.
May 29 • 12 tweets • 4 min read
“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.
May 28 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
“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
May 24 • 13 tweets • 5 min read
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)
May 22 • 15 tweets • 6 min read
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