A Simple Explanation of the Catholic Faith

A very common and challenging question I often got in the RCIA program to encourage “reverts” to come back to the faith is, “Can you provide a simple explanation of the Catholic faith and what it teaches without all the doctrine, rules, creeds, and 800-page Catechism?” As products of the current culture, those raising that question want a quick answer that fits into a “sound bite”.  However, it is not such an easy task because life is not simple. The world and our experiences in it have infinite variations that we have to respond to.

I have found that many abandon the Church for different reasons too numerous to discuss here, however, there is one common denominator that I have found. That is – they never really knew nor were they instructed on all that the faith teaches or what it is all about. For most, they were given a superficial orientation (whether as kids or adults) to the doctrines and tenents of the faith and why they are important. As a consequence, they are susceptible to the anti-Catholic lies prevalent in our culture and have many false perceptions.

Having a grasp on a few of the basic tenants of the faith may not be enough when the complications, confusions, and sufferings of the world infringe on us. Consequently, there has to be a little bit more than a few “one-liners” to understand our belief and its necessary relationship to our living up to that faith in this world.  After reading what many apologists and clergy have said on the subject, here goes an attempt at a simple and concise explanation of what the Catholic Church proclaims.

A “Simple” Explanation of What the Catholic Church Proclaims

The Catholic faith is the Christianity originally handed down directly from Jesus Christ to his Apostles that he commanded to build his Church. The Apostles, in turn, handed down that faith (called the Deposit of Faith) to their successors (the Pope and Bishops) for the last 2000 years with unbroken continuity from Jesus Christ to you and me. So, What is that faith?  What does it basically proclaim and teach?  – To Love God and Love neighbor.

Love God = Practice through prayer/reverence/worship and belief in God as he revealed both who he is to us and what our relationship to him should be as disclosed through the Word (Holy Tradition and Sacred Scripture).

Love neighbor = Practice what he (God) taught and modeled through Jesus Christ and his commandments, again, through the Word (Holy Tradition and Sacred Scripture).

That’s it in a nutshell. However, there is a little more to explore to fully grasp the meaning of that simple proclamation that involves asking three additional questions: What is the Church’s purpose in fulfilling those faith proclamations? How does it meet that purpose? And, What does it mean to be a Catholic in light of that purpose?

The Purpose of the Catholic Church

Those two proclamations are based on the original words of Jesus in answering a lawyer’s question “How should I inherit eternal life” (Luke 10: 25). Jesus answered:

You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself (Luke 10:27).

Beyond those words, it is based on the original encounter with Jesus Christ as the Son of God. The Catholic Church is a sacramental faith facilitating a personal connection with God. We can experience that ongoing encounter through what Christ gave us through the Church and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist.  It’s all about that encounter with Jesus Christ, as the bridge that atones for the sins that caused a rupture between God and mankind.

At the most basic level, the Church’s purpose is to provide the “Way” to know and practice that faith to fulfill our obligations to God and neighbor. Simply put, I believe that the ultimate purpose of the Catholic Church is to help restore the unity between God and man which, because of sin, has become ruptured.  The Catholic Church, as the institution established by Christ, serves as the earthly vehicle to accomplish that end. In turn, the Church’s purpose can be further broken down into five elements:

To evangelize – To bring all into communion with God as Jesus commanded us. For some, the term used is salvation and “being saved”.

To reconcile – To aid in repairing our ruptures with God, with our true selves, with others and with creation – To fulfill our obligations as Jesus commanded us. To help sanctify us to be more holy.

To be a source of grace in the world. Grace is a free gift of God that invites us into a relationship with God, to transform us into an “adopted son” of God. The Church, especially through the provision of the sacraments that Jesus Christ instituted for the Church is the vehicle to help reconnect with God in a personal and spiritual manner.

To bring charity (love) to the world with the priority being the poor as Jesus commanded us.

To provide a way to understand and live out the faith which we are not able to do on our own because of our fallen and broken nature.

How the Catholic Church Meets its Purpose

In relation to the last purpose, the early Christian Church was called “The Way” because it served to answer four key questions about God and our relationship with him, that as humans, we are incapable of answering on our own. Those key questions are as follows:

What to believe? = Instruction on DOCTRINE/DOGMA = The formal Church provides instruction and direction as to the nature of God and our relationship to him which was taught by Christ to his Apostles and passed down by the Church for 2000 years. Without that instruction, would anybody have even known about Jesus?

What to do- how to act? = Instruction on A MORALITY = Besides Christ, the formal Church provides role models (the saints) and direction/instruction on how to apply what Christ taught and modeled to love God and love neighbor.  The Church teaches a “we” morality not a “me” morality.

How can we experience God? = Offering a means for GRACE and MERCY = The formal Church provides the sacraments, as a means to reconnect personally with God in a personal and spiritual manner. Going back to Christ’s commands and the Apostles, the Church (along with the Eastern Orthodox) have the authority to make Christ real in the Eucharist so that we may actually eat his body and drink his blood as he commanded in the Gospel of John chapter 6. It is the ultimate gift of grace that serves as our “soul food”. To all other Christians, the sacraments are but symbols and, as a consequence, a great loss for them in not being able to fully experience Jesus’ presence.

How to survive in a secular culture? = Providing A FAITH COMMUNITY = The formal Church provides a support system necessary to function in a progressively secular and relative culture where God is dismissed and faith is increasingly being persecuted.

What it Means to be Part of the Catholic Church

As Catholics, we are called to be part of the “The Body of Christ”. What that means is that Christ is the head of our Church. It is not the Pope. He is just the “steward” or caretaker of Christ’s Church here in earth. We, as the members of the Body of Christ, are his arms and legs.

By definition, to live up to that faith declaration requires commitments beyond just those pertaining to self or a belief. It is also about acting on those beliefs. Catholics are not expected to be on the sidelines but to be full participants in meeting the Church’s purpose participating in serving God and neighbor. It is about being Christ’s arms and legs on earth so there are duties and responsibilities just as we have in our families.

Catholicism is not a “feel-good” religion of faith and fun and being entertained or being prosperous. For some, the so-called “Church rules” get in the way of having a modern-day “obligation-free” spirituality. A common refrain heard is “Jesus yes – Church no”. However, to be Catholic is to not be obligation-free and we need help to follow Jesus’s commandments. The history of the world certainly verifies that need, so the Church serves a necessary purpose to help us believe, to be spiritual, and to act on the love God – love neighbor faith proclamation.

Jesus Christ did not put anything into writing or address all the conceivable problems and issues humans face or prescribe all the details of belief and behavior for loving God and neighbor. It was left it up to the Apostles and their successors to figure it all out with, as we believe, through the guidance of the Holy Spirit. While the core of our belief (the Word as expressed through Holy Tradition and Sacred Scripture) can be described in concise terms, there is a need for more detailed explanation/instruction on the many issues of life and in living the faith.

Therefore, is the reason for a Church and an 800-page Catechism (instruction and details on belief and practice). The Church, over the last 2000 years, has dealt with every conceivable question about our human nature, the nature of God, our relationship to him, our morality in following the model of Jesus Christ, our obligations to God and neighbor, and the multitude of questions that have arisen about what is the truth. The Church as an institution with all its documents, pronouncements, symbols, liturgy, and believer obligations acts to put “meat on the bones” of the love God, love neighbor simple proclamation.