Connecting with the Truth

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I just finished reading the article by Steve Clifford [From Utah with Love] and I was compelled by it. One of my very close friends is a Mormon missionary and every day I pray for his conversion to Catholism. I know that he believes in his church but I know that just like Steve, he hasn't looked into anything else because Mormonism is all he's been taught. I pray that he will see the truth just as Steve did.

Adrienne McCauley

Dear Adrienne:

We'll pray that your friend sees the light, Adrienne. You've probably put your finger on it by saying Mormonism is “all he's been taught.” The challenging part of evangelization, of course, is actually telling people like your friend what they need to hear about Catholic truth.

I just read an interesting piece in Lay Witness magazine wherein the editor, Leon Suprenant, wrote the following: “Connecting without ever summoning conversion is cowardly and weak; summoning to conversion without first connecting is foolhardy and harsh.”

Well put, I thought. It's up to us to find the right balance in connecting our wayward friends to what we, by the grace of God, already know.

God Bless,

Tom Allen

Editor

Catholic Exchange

Martin Luther & Mary

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I have been having a discussion with a Lutheran friend about Mary. I indicated it was my understanding that Luther's beliefs about Mary were very similar to the Church's. She was shocked that I would say such a thing.

In response to the question, “What did Martin Luther think of the Blessed Virgin Mary” In your Catholic Library, you say something very much like what I said. I know she won't accept this position without checking it for herself.

Could you give me specific references to the sermon(s) you refer to in which Luther references Mary?

Thank you,

Mike Mallinger

Dear Mike:

Thanks for your inquiry. While I cannot give you the specific footnotes to the sermon(s) in the article, the following links should give you more than enough information to convert your friend.

http://www.chnetwork.org/journals/mary/mary_5.htm

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/9450/links.html

http://www.mariology.com/sections/reformers.html

I should also recommend an excellent book entitled There We Stood, Here We Stand: 11 Lutherans Rediscover Their Catholic Roots, written by Tim Drake, a Lutheran convert to Catholicism who occasionally writes for Catholic Exchange. You can reach Tim at timd@astound.net and learn more about his book here.

We appreciate your support of Catholic Exchange.

In Christ,

Tom Allen

Editor

Catholic Exchange

Different Church, Same Readings?

Dear Catholic Exchange:

I know that every day the readings are the same in every Catholic Church around the world. Are there any other non-Catholic churches that have the same readings as we do and how long has this been going on?

Thanks! God is good, all the time!

Lyle

Dear Lyle:

Thanks for writing in. There are Eastern Catholic Churches that have different readings on Sundays and different Liturgical cycles. There are no non-Catholic Churches that have exactly the same selection of readings, as far as I know.

We appreciate your support of Catholic Exchange and we emphatically agree with your closing statement!

Fr. Tony Bakh

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