Don't be fooled by Protestants they don't respect Catholics. If they have no respect for Jesus Christ, what on earth makes you think they respect Caholics???
The thing is, I respect Catholics. Well, most of my dad's side of my family is Catholic. My dad grew up Catholic but thought it was boring and figured out the Catholic Church just wasn't for him.
Asking for prayer requests from Saints in heaven, just as I have asked for prayer request from people living on Earth, has been one of the biggest game changers of my journey inside the Catholic faith. The amount of peace, and support I have felt from praying with our Blessed Mother, St Joseph, St Michael, St Anthony, St JP II, St Jean Vianney, and so many others is something I will always be thankful for. Praise God for the great cloud of witnesses!
1222 The beauty of man, created in the Living Image of God, is indescribable Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 @ 15:05 My dearly beloved daughter, just as My Beloved Mother was chosen by God to herald the Coming of the Messiah so, too, is she being called to prepare humanity for My Second Coming. She has been elevated into the highest Hierarchy in Heaven and has been accorded great powers by My Eternal Father. Nevertheless, she remains as was then, and as is now, and always will be, a devoted and humble servant of God. She serves Him in His Plan to raise man to the perfect state in which he was meant to be. The beauty of man, created in the Living Image of God, is indescribable. No man, woman or child on this earth can match that, which was created when God brought forth Adam and Eve. Sin was their downfall and Lucifer their enemy. Then, this perfect state was destroyed. Stained by sin, man will never regain this perfect state again until the serpent, and all those who worship him are banished. Until that day comes, the beauty of the human body and soul will remain tarnished. Man is God’s greatest love. The angels are His servants in that they, too, must show love for God’s Creatures. God’s Love for His family supersedes all that He created and, until He regains the souls of His children, He will never rest. God permits many sufferings, humiliations and tragedies, all of which are caused by the hatred of the one whom He held in the highest regard - the former Archangel Lucifier, who became Satan. Fallen because of his jealousy, pride and self-love, he caused My Father the greatest pain imaginable. And today, just as it was then, he still does the same. My Father’s loyal angels, all the saints and My beloved Mother, have formed a bond, which can never be broken. Whatever My Father dictates is carried out by His Elite Hierarchy. He is never questioned. Whatever My Father desires, is the correct way and the most powerful way. It is the way in which the human race can be saved from the curse of the evil one. That is His prerogative. No one would ever dare to question Him. In His Final Plan, the final stage in which He will bring His Plan of Salvation to an end, He will intervene in many ways. My Mother’s title, ‘The Mother of Salvation’, the final one given to her by the Eternal Father, God the Most High, is no accident. She was sent to warn the world and prepare it for the final onslaught against the human race by the evil one. She has been accorded this task and I ask that you accept this, and respond to her call for prayer at all times. The Holy Trinity will bring about many Blessings to those who respond to this, the final mission, from Heaven - the Mission of Salvation. Accept, with thanks that such favour has been shown to humanity with love and graciousness of heart. Your Beloved Jesus
Love the joy this gal has in her tour. While I'm not a Catholic, this channel has given me such a ecumenical appreciation for my other Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Love the quote "They don't have the power to change things, but they are with the One who does." That's a great explanation.
@@MrMarcodarko- I am not seeing what you are referring to. Do yourself (and the rest of the world) and resist the temptation to presume that different is wrong. ‘I don’t agree with you so something must be wrong with you’. ‘I don’t look like you so something must be wrong with you’. That attitude is appallingly ignorant and does a lot of harm to yourself and those who are different,that you encounter. Try again?
Very well done coming together of an evangelical pastor and a solid historical Catholic Church in Chicago. I was raised an Evangelical, and when I was 33, I joined the Catholic Church after asking a lot of questions and going to a lot of holy Masses- had profound experiences. The Catholic Church goes all the way back to Pentecost, the birthday of the church, and that’s part of the attraction.
It is interesting that Catholics lacking in faith go to the Evangelical churches to learn about Christ and Evangelicals with strong faiths go to the Catholic Church to further enrich their faith. We should send all Catholics to the Evangelical Churches for a few years.
@@keithpritz1347 Protestantism was created by a schizophrenic german in the 16th century. The true religion of Christ as is written in the bible is Catholicism passed down to peter to man the church and his successors the pope.
Amen - Matt shows his awesome respect and open mind to digest and learn from others - bringing us all closer to GOD with him no matter what your traditions 🫡
I’m a born again Catholic and I love Matt Whitman humility and honesty about his journey. He’s super charitable to all Catholics and denominations. I love his interpretation and commentary of church architecture
@MattWhitmanTMBH are you able to tell us about how you're thoughts on Catholics and our beliefs and church ⛪️ temples have changed your thinking since 2 years ago. Thanks your Catholic brother Robert from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
One other thing that occurred to me as your interlocutor was speaking that might be a bit pedantic of me but I think is important for precision: when a Catholic priest confects the Eucharist by calling down, in the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine and our prayers (our weaknesses, our joys, our intentions, etc.), they're not, strictly speaking, "transformed" because the form of these things remains the same to the outward eye. This is why the medieval Church devised the term "transsubstantiation" since the *essence* (i.e. the substance) is what changes even while the outward accidents remain. Similarly, in our own spiritual growth, there is often not any immediate outward manifestation of this inward change, but we still trust that the Holy Spirit is working interiorly so we might eventually be "transformed by the renewing of [our] minds."
Matt, thank you for your kindness and respectfulness towards the Catholic church. I'm a Catholic. I love our protestant brothers and sisters in Christ Glory to Jesus Christ 🙏☦️❤️
@@hisnameisiam808 We mock what we don't take the time to read, research 📓and understand🧠 - that is OK - you are on your journey and We still LOVE You and pray your heart softens.❤
From Vatican Collection Volume 1, Vatican Council II, The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents. General Editor Austin Flannery, O.P. New revised edition 1992; Costello publishing company, Northport, New York. 1992 pages 420-421 (par. 65) "Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith; and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father”
@@hisnameisiam808 I'm a Filipino Catholic but everytime Protestants and Muslims said to me that we Catholic worship Mary and I responded them to give me a legit evidences from authentic website or from Catechism of the Catholic Church that said to worship Mary and yet they cannot give me that claim.. I suggest you study and be an object researcher of faith.. remember the Roman Catholic Church could trace its history from the Apostles during the time of Jesus. God bless
Matt, wonderful work and great questions during your interview. I thought Keara did a great job of explaining Roman Catholic teaching in a very accessible way. One of the comforting things about being Catholic (at least for me) is that no matter where you are in the world, you can go into a Catholic Church and feel at home.
Hi Matt, I've only just discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago but love it. I'm a 33 year old as you would call "Reformedish" Christian who was born and lived up into my late teens on the Island of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland, which in the UK is classed as one of the last bastions of traditional Presbyterianism. Both my parent's were saved and found Christ in the Presbyterian Church Of Scotland before i was born. When I was around 4 / 5 years old, through their own faith journey, they moved to a more non-denominational church. I remember them both been baptised in the freezing Atlantic ocean. My parents then pastored a small house church for over 10 years, during which time the Lord gave them heart and vision for Romania, so they started a non profit charity ministry which is still going to this day. It was during my visits to Romania as a young boy that I became aware of other Christian faith traditions. Romania is a very religious country and I remember, you would see preists walking around everywhere, we would visit Orthodox churches, with all the chanting, incense and men which big hats and to me and all I knew was Western European Protestant strains of Christianity so this was all very eye opening, intriguing and a little confusing at times. But I remember my parents who were Evangelical Protestants instilling in my sister and I the unity we had in Christ with them. So finding your videos and seeing how you show the same respect and love to our brothers/sisters from other dominations had really encouraged me. I visited Chicago last year for the first time with my Wife, her family are all from Chicago and they are mainly Catholic. We visited Old St Patricks and St Peters in the city, and it never ceases to amaze me the peace I feel inside those churches. Every Blessing Brother. Sean
Honestly, you usually hear more scripture read in a Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran service than in many evangelical churches. And I say that as an evangelical. If you want to read the Bible consistently every day and cover virtually the whole thing, the common lectionary (used by liturgical churches of many denominations) is not a bad place to start. Same goes for the Book of Common Prayer. It's all available online, too.
That's true. Like she said, if you worship in all the Masses, daily and Sunday, you get most of the entire Bible over 3 years. Not just a verse or two to set the theme for the sermon, but a lengthy reading of Scripture.
@@teddyrextex790 Yeah it's like 10 minutes worth a day. Now, the problem with just listening to brother Bob or sister Alice merely read the scripture for several minutes is that the mind wanders much more easily and retention is usually relatively low when they read it. To an evangelical, the act of hearing words means nothing in itself. There is no value in it. There must be learning first and then application is paramount.
For what it is worth using the Catholic Lectionary we get around 30% of the Bible across any three years, with slightly more over time as this cycles (it is so complex!). This goes up significantly if you also read the first reading from the office of readings (yearly cycle). I am not sure on the numbers but likely over 50%. Some books don't feature at all in the main lectionary, and others have only one or two passages included. If you want to read the entire Bible you'll have to do some private reading, mainly in the Old Testament.
@@billstahlman ,ty bill for replying,, as far as i know trinity is an old worshipping for some an egyptians who have worshipped ezice,authorice&hurce ,later on the church has abducted the notion&also The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The much older Hindu Vedas had a holy trinity.Called the trimurti, it was Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, three individual deities that are also a single deity
This Church is beautiful and your tour guide was very good and knowledgeable to break down the faith. I love how every little thing is intentional in the architecture of the Church. ❤️
Thank you!! Speaking as a Catholic.. Cara was excellent!! What an outstanding ambassador to Catholicism! Please pass on my gratitude to Cara for doing such an excellent job. 🙂
Jesus’ transfiguration and the appearance of Moses and Elijah helped my understanding of the Catholic teaching on Saints. Peter, James and John saw them and even offered to build tents for them
I really enjoy your visit of different churches. It has expanded my knowledge too, from a Catholic view. It is so important to love each other in Christ, I think. Thank you for your work, you give me encouragement every time I watch your videos. Greetings from a little town in Italy ❤😊. God bless!
She covered things rather well. When it comes to the Liturgy of the Word, one part that I often used to forget to acknowledge when trying to list off the readings is the Psalms. After the 1st Reading (typically from the OT), Catholics sing a Psalm (also from the OT), then on to the 2nd Reading (anything from the NT that's not the gospel), then the Gospel Reading (also from the NT). Daily Masses usually lack 2nd Reading, although not always. Although I'm sure there are other areas of disagreement about matters of the faith, the one that stood out involved the Saints in heaven. With what was said about the cloud of witnesses and things like that, I think the main challenge I would leave you with is to read the parts of Revelation that involve incense and bowls, primarily in Rev 5 and Rev 8. In Rev 5, we are told the incense is the prayers. In Rev 8, we see the elders with the bowls and lots of additional incense (prayers) being added to them by those in heaven. And one finds that the prayers are still on their way to God. If I was in a cloud of witnesses and saw people needing God's help, they pray, and now I have a bowl containing their prayers, and I have a chance to add to what I see in the bowl, I would add to those prayers even more prayer regarding the stated needs. I wouldn't expect someone to convert because of a comment on RUclips, and people will certainly have other ways to interpret things, I'm sure. But I find many people who think of God hearing our prayers instantly because God is everywhere. Yet, Revelation reveals that those in heaven play a part in delivering those prayers and adding to them in ways most people seem to overlook or at least not think about too much.
I love this series, and as a religious studies and art history student this church and guide’s talk is an absolutely fantastic example of the role art can play in faith. The dense iconography and sense experience in Catholicism has always fascinated me. And those serpentine pews that create ribs and make the people literally the flesh/body of Christ, and shows the church structure as the body as well- SO SO COOL!
@@Compulsive-Elk7103 ,so the trinity is made made ,hence the catechism is man-made also because it based on trinity,, as far as i know trinity is an old worshipping for some an egyptians who have worshipped ezice,authorice&hurce ,later on the church has abducted the notion&also The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The much older Hindu Vedas had a holy trinity.Called the trimurti, it was Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, three individual deities that are also a single deity.peace
It is a Catholic tradition to put the patron saint of the parish in the center of the Sanctuary. It is not to take away from Christ but as a way for the parish to honor their particular saint and ask for their prayers and intercessions. Great video!
BEAUTIFUL church. Educational and respectful interactions with what seems to me to be an excellent example of a devout Catholic. Loved the way you represented the Protestant perspective (humbly, lovingly.) Thanks Matt!
As a Catholic living in Ireland it is wonderful to see that this Church is lovely Sacred space. A church is the sacred space where God and Humanity meet. God bless all those who look after this Church. The Celtic Cross as well as representing the Trinity as St Patricks puts it in his prayer (4th Century) is: "I arise today Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity, Through a belief in the Threeness, Through confession of the Oneness Of the Creator of creation"... Also later in the same prayer the idea of the Circular nature of life in the seasons, the moon, sun - the creation and strength of God, Of time (the circular nature) "I arise today Through the strength of heaven; Light of the sun, Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning, Swiftness of the wind, Depth of the sea, Stability of the earth, Firmness of the rock..." God the creator of the Heavens and the Earth and his closeness to us are very much part of Celtic prayer and spirituality. . When a person dies and the soul leaves the body, the Angels take that soul, people pray (at a wake) that God will accept that soul into Eternal life but that is not far away from where we live (earth and Heaven are one and souls are part of our spiritual journey with us). Our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Angels, the Communion of Saints are all in the spiritual world interceding for us as they spend their time before the Throne of God, giving praise and thanksgiving for his goodness to us. The silent apprition in Knock Ireland in 1879 is a wonderful apprition which is of the "Lamb of God" on the Alter surrounded by choirs of Angels, with a cross over the Alter. Before the Alter is Our Blessed Mother wearing a crown (Queen Mother Rev. 12) with St Joseph and St John the Evangalist who has a Bible open in his hand representing the Church teaching and the priesthood. That is the veil between heaven and earth lifted to the 15 people who witnessed the vision, yet available to us at every mass, which is the same mass said throughout the world in Catholic churches. "In the presence of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Angels, Martyrs and Saints we give all Glory, Praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity the Father who created us, Jesus Christ his Son - The Lamb of God who redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit (the breath of God) who Sanctifies us to the end of time.. God bless all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. 🙏
God's beauty is exemplified through the artwork in the church reminding us that we are his children. The Catholic church's artwork is really quite remarkable specially if you consider all the great works during the Renaissance period. The art and statues does not distract from God, but a reminder that God is the creator of all things beautiful. You know that God is present there because the Eucharist is in the tabernacle which is the center of any Catholic church.
I appreciate watching you and why you explore Catholicism as a Protestant. I was raised in a very traditional Mexican Catholic family which has some marked differences from what I might call mainstream Catholicism due to the mixing of indigenous Mexican customs with the Catholicism brought by the Spaniards. It might be interesting for you to explore that some time. Anyways, growing up as I did, I did not know anyone who wasn't Catholic until I went to college. In fact, my grandmother used to chase Protestant, Mormon, and Jehovah Witness missionaries away from our house with a broom. The only picture allowed on the same wall as the crucifix and the Virgin of Guadalupe was JFK. What I knew about Protestantism is what I learned in religion classes in the Catholic schools I went to back in the 70s. In other words, I didn't know much more than the Protestant Reformation and the war in Northern Ireland, which I can say prejudiced me against Protestantism until I also grew disillusioned with the Catholic Church. However, watching you learn about Catholicism also educates me on Protestantism which helps broaden my own perspectives. So, thank you for that. I have heard Protestants liken the saints to a form of idolatry and can take away from a focus on Christ. Well, I can see that to a certain extent, and yes, when I was a kid, I had a little chest on my dresser with various saints medallions in it and I would often look through them and take the ones that I thought could help me on that particular day. To me they served as "human" mediators to a God and Jesus, who seemed too powerful, important, and formidable for me to concern with my small meager life. The lives of the saints absolutely fascinated me and I saw them in the same vein as kids see Superman or Aquaman. That's one of the magical things about saints to little kids and that made religion kind of fun and exciting. I think they can humanize the Church and make the Church more relatable particularly to young people who need heroes and examples of people who did live the faith, because living the faith is not easy. This is the example I expect from priests, bishops, archbishops, and Popes, to risk martyrdom for the sake of their flock's faith. That might be a tall order, but that is what the example of the saints taught me to expect from our Church leadership. I also often hear Protestants say about Catholicism that the Catholic Church can seem so ritualistic and ceremonial that they can be out of touch with the people. YES, the Church can be stuffy and pompous and can often make us feel small and unimportant. I fought against that all of my life, making me a problem child in my Catholic schools and distancing me from the Church. They don't like to be vigorously questioned. However, as I grow old, I am often brought back to my old Mexican traditional childhood when I saw the Church as magical when I come across a figure of a saint or how the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, whom I wear around my neck everyday despite my distance from the Church, can bring me to tears. So again, thank you for showing that Catholics and Protestants are really brothers, all in the same boat going to the same place with the same important beliefs, just with small and quirky differences which I tend to characterize as like the differences between the British and Americans; same language, different words. Right side of the road vs left side of the road, but both taking us to the same place.
God bless you! The Church has Jesus in the Eucharist and He is good and True even when his followers aren’t. I am here for Him. And for His touch in the beautiful Sacraments!
I wouldn't call them small differences, I'm a Catholic who was first disillusioned and became Protestant, but then returned to Catholicism because of its far more coherent theology. The first thing I noticed coming back, as it comes to my spiritual life, was the fraternity of the saints. I almost instantly fell in love with a particular one, Saint Philomena. And her superior quality of spiritual life did not alienate me but in fact made me love God more *because I saw God acting in her.* My relationship with the Virgin Mary has also immensely increased my respect and love for God, because when I was a Protestant I *overestimated my own holiness* since I didn't have saints to compare myself to in my daily spiritual practice. So I've had somewhat of an inverse experience to yours, although I can sympathize in as much as the doctrine of mortal sin initially made me feel very far away from God, but God be thanked I overcame my scrupulosity and misunderstandings as I didn't realize God even in case of mortal sin does not abandon us but rather waits for us where we left off and still helps us. God bless you. Our Lady pray for you.
I think there's perhaps something about Catholic theology that time is not quite so linear. Blurrier lines between the living and the dead, the sacrifice of the Mass being identical to the sacrifice on the Cross, amillenial eschatology. It occured to me while watching this that there seems to be a certain sense that things in heaven are outside of time but also simultaneous with the world. I don't know if that makes any sense or if it's a helpful framework or not.
You're right! Protestantism being historically tied to Western thought at its root, that necessarily ties it to a linear logic. That's why when Western folks have tended to act like they own Catholicism at certain points in history, the popes have spoken out. Catholicism was born in the East (Holy Land) and was spread in both directions.
When you step into a Catholic church you leave the world behind and step out of time. You are present for the sacrifice of the Lamb in time immortal. Jesus died for YOUR sins. St. Justin Martyr described what happens in Christian worship to Marcus Aurelius in AD 150. This is what he said, "And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things. Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons (quoted in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1; Roberts, Donaldson, and Coxe, eds., p. 186). " This is exactly what a Catholic Mass is today. Steeped in the tradition of the early Christians; time immortalized.
That very much made sense….and is an ancient Celtic way of viewing life, faith and eternity, in pre Christian and especially Catholic Christian Ireland. Google the artwork of the Book of Kells, a manuscript of the Gospels that is over 1200 years old. Many circles/mazes in Celtic art are drawn with a SINGLE LINE.
As an Irish Speaker, I am happy to see the descriptions in the stained glass in Irish-Gaelic (Irish Speakers use the word IRISH to name the language in English. You will know who is an Irish-speaker because we always use Irish when referring to the language) Mike
@@Denis.Collins Yes that is how it is described in English. At heart both Gaeilge na h-Éireann and Gaeilge na h-Alban come from the same root, Old Irish; similar to Spanish and Italian coming from Latin. The word for the language in Gaelic is Gàidhlig (Gawlikg)
True ancient Christianity is so rich, so deep in meaning and symbolism, all pointing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, gotta Love it. This is one of many reasons why I love being Catholic.
Matt, I love the videos of your visits to all the different Catholic churches and your openness to learning and dialogue. If you ever find yourself in Chicago again, I'd be happy to set up a tour for you of my Polish parish the Basilica of St. Hyacinth which throughout the decades has served as the cultural center of the Polish community in Chicago. Much like the Irish and the Italians, Poles have had a tremendous influence on Chicago with our own unique history in the city. Happy to talk more about it if you're interested.
Evangelical Christian here. Some family members weren’t too happy when I converted from Catholicism years ago (and I continue to have some serious disagreement with Catholic theology). BUT I appreciate both the Catholic and Orthodox church’s appreciation of art and beauty in their buildings and sacred spaces. Thanks for this video. God bless.
I do love the fact that you still respect Catholicism despite becoming evangelical. Many evangelicals I've met who were raised Catholic label the Catholic Church as a pagan cult.
I like how she explained the Catholic relationship with the saints. It's not that we worship them but more so believe they are imperfect people (as we are) who have lived their lives in a way that allows the will of God to flow through them. And by doing so, and now existing in Heaven with God we go to them asking for them to pray for us and help us to live in the same way. Kind of like asking a fellow Christian to pray for you when you're maybe going through a hard time in your life, it's the same thing except we believe the saints are in Heaven and thus have an even more perfect connection with God so their prayer may be that much more effective. We don't pray to them asking them to do anything but pray for us. Everything about it is meant to lead us to a closer relationship with God.
Thank you for such an awesome video! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the humility and genuine curiosity in your approach to the tour. I too am protestant (Lutheran) but have always felt a certain admiration for Catholicism due to its gorgeous cathedrals and the many similarities between our brands of Christianity. I find the rituals and traditions of Catholicism and mainline protestantism beautiful and helpful for drawing my heart and mind closer to God, and, respectfully, the lack of them in Evangelicalism has in the past made it difficult for me to connect to that flavor of Christianity in any meaningful way
As a Catholic, thank you for bringing the Christian unity that Jesus asked of the Father. Let them be one as we are One. Paraphrasing the late Bishop Sheen , there are millions of people who hate what they think the Catholic Church is but only a hundred who hate what it truly is or something like that. The Catholic Catechism is online to see exactly what we Catholics should believe and yet too many Protestants don't take the time to read it argue on the facts. Maybe they are afraid of bursting into flames by reading it? I suspect that some pastors turn their people away from it because it is very coherent. To be fair many Catholics don't know their faith and/or aren't good examples of it. Anyway, may God bless you for being the peacemaker in Jesus' beatitudes (Matthew 5-7).
Thank you for creating this video. Old St. Pat’s has been on my filming list for a few years now but I haven’t gotten around to it. It’s even more special than I thought! Keara was a wonderful docent of the church!
I love the explanation between these two people. I wish there were more of these kind of simple explanations about the Catholic & Protestant religions.
I have watched a number of your videos with various denominations, but one thing struck me about this segment. You were both good listeners. Almost no mid-phrase interruptions (even inquiries). I wish there were more of you. I also wish such discourse was more common in many different fields.
Just discovered this video, absolutely beautiful! Thanks for being so respectful and open about your personal beliefs. Not sure if it was mentioned, the three year cycle of readings at the church covers the entire Bible. Since we know what reading will occur everyday in the three day cycle, the church provides a book that has the readings for each day so when you attend mass you only have to open the book to the date you’re in and it’ll have the readings there for you. You’re welcome to bring your bible if you prefer.
Matt, I love the spirit of your work. Love all your videos. But I love the ecumenical dialogue. We need it desperately. Keep it going please. God bless you.
Matt, thank you for these videos. I was raised Protestant, became atheist or apatheist for a long time, and then eventually became Catholic when I came back to Christ and couldn't figure which well-argued interpretation of Christianity to favor without an apostolic authority. When you sensed the importance and had reverence for the sanctuary, the tabernacle, the lectionary book, and asked whether you could touch this or that, it reminded me of how I felt visiting Catholic churches, and the sense of importance a lot of elements take on. I also want to apologize for my fellow Catholics making comments about Protestantism being evil and how you all should join the one true Church etc. I think they are likely young converts and reverts, like myself, who found purpose in a very certain, aggressive form of the faith, that is sort of exciting and purpose giving for the novice. Church doctrine on Protestants is clear you are part of the Church and are separated brother Christians who have access to God's grace through Christ as well. Peace.
Long time subscriber and Catholic and have always enjoyed your videos. Even learning things from your visits to churched that I had zero knowledge about (i.e. Coptic and others).
I pray for the unity of the churches everyday. I know it’s going to happen not too far in the future but not before the church goes into a lot of suffering bc of the pride and lack of love for each other. I love and respect Matt. He’s so humble and respectful.
I feel like a ton of cultural perceptions of us Catholics root from people in the media and pop culture that already don’t like us or respect out tradition so general public has no clue how we function as Christian’s. Thank you for giving us a chance as Catholics to explain to you a Protestant how this all works and to help you wrap your head around some of our ideas. This is the dialogue and discussion we need more of as Christian’s and hopefully start to reunify as the body of Christ.
Just wanted to add some clarifications to the motifs of labyrinths and knots within Christian art: The labyrinth isn't a knot, per se, and it's definitely different from a maze because a maze is full of dead ends, and you can get lost within it. A labyrinth is simply a path with one way in and one way out. It's a continuous journey from outside to a center in which the Christian meditates on some mystery of God, and their path symbolically represents a coming close to the inner life of the Trinity or the mystery of God himself before returning back out to the world with the new insight gained from one's prayer. Knots within Celtic art often represent the interconnectedness of all things, but they're also representative of conflict or paradox. One of Our Lady's titles is "Our Lady, Undoer of Knots" since we see her as an archetype of the new Eve, undoing humanity's fall through her obedience to God's will in exactly the inverse of Eve's binding of humanity to the consequences of sin through her disobedience.
I went to be godfather for my god child about 19 years ago and (since I was not a parishioner of that parish), I gave the parish priest the "I'm a Catholic" card from my parish priest. I then asked him, "So, where is the mikvah in this Schul?" He looked thunderstruck, and then said, "The parents told me you are a wiseass! They do tend to be perceptive!""
Agreed! I filmed St. John Cantius since it was voted in a publication a few years ago as the most beautiful church. I hope he goes there as I enjoy his filming style.
There is another Catholic English liturgy in America where the priest faces the altar and not the congregation. Look into visiting an Ordinariate parish, perhaps Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston, Texas in The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. (Fully Roman Catholic- but with roots n Anglican tradition) the Mass uses "high English" in the liturgy. Very beautiful. Our visit my lovely parish in the Ordinariate, St. Thomas Becket in Fort Worth.
Many kudos to Kara(?) or Kiera(?) I hate to not get her name right. WHAT AN AWESOME tour and explanation. This was a wonderful melding of the head and heart of our timelessness and beautiful faith. Thanks again Matt for your curiosity and openness into the varying expressions of the Christian faith.
Ah! My mom grew up on the old South Side. OLD south side. Her parish was Little Flower, her high school was Mercy, and my uncles went to Ignatius. Her college was Xavier. I was fortunate, Chicago sent an amazing contingent of Christian Brothers from Brother Rice to teach at my high school in Arizona.
Matt, have you ever been to Saint John Cantius Church in River West? Austin from Gospel Simplicity has gone there to take a tour. It's my parish. Go and check out that church. Fr. Joshua is my pastor and Superior General of the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius. It's a grand church. 🙏🏽
Not mentioned during the intro outside the church, the majority of Catholic churches have three main entrance doors to honor the Blessed Trinity. And the cloth we always see covering the altar is made out of linen to reflect the linen of Christ's shroud.
I love how respectful you are of different viewpoints. When God looks down upon all the different denominations he only sees brothers and sisters. I would also love to see you exposed to some of the eucharistic miracles within the Catholic church and share similar amazing works of God from others 🙂
The Baptismal font is at the entrance of the church ... which is scriptural and based on Aaron and his sons being washed at the door of the tabernacle.
I think there could be some adjustments for specific local traditions. F.ex. in Italy the Ambrosian Church (Catholic Church of Milan and Lombardy) has a Mass ritual slightly different, a different Liturgical Calendar and order of lectures.
I love this whole interaction. I ESPECIALLY love Kara's comments at the very end, at 32:20. I grew up Catholic and ultimately became Protestant in high school because of the emphasis on history, rather than scripture, that I saw in the Catholic church. Thank you, Matt, for sharing this and for the way you interacted with Kara. Thank you, Kara, for sharing the history and beauty of the church with the world and for the hospitality you showed Matt!
The day in a vision i met Apostle Peter & John , the hug & peace i felt with them, and later i met Apostle Paul & James , the peace they bring to you. This was on my journey struggling with my protestant faith when i discovered the catholic church.
It’s so nice to see Protestants who respect us Catholics. That is true Christianity.
Vice versa.
Don't be fooled by Protestants they don't respect Catholics. If they have no respect for Jesus Christ, what on earth makes you think they respect Caholics???
The thing is, I respect Catholics. Well, most of my dad's side of my family is Catholic. My dad grew up Catholic but thought it was boring and figured out the Catholic Church just wasn't for him.
@aidenrandall9279 If your father found the Catholic Church boring, it is because he found the truth boring.
@aidenrandall9279 Forget respecting Catholics. Do you respect God Jesus enough to do what He asked.
The young lady providing the tour did an incredible job! Just amazing job to represent her faith! WELL DONE!
Asking for prayer requests from Saints in heaven, just as I have asked for prayer request from people living on Earth, has been one of the biggest game changers of my journey inside the Catholic faith. The amount of peace, and support I have felt from praying with our Blessed Mother, St Joseph, St Michael, St Anthony, St JP II, St Jean Vianney, and so many others is something I will always be thankful for. Praise God for the great cloud of witnesses!
The bible does not teach that saints are alive in heaven, hearing and answering prayers.
The hope of the believer is in the physical resurrection.
The bible calls born again believers saints
Verse?@@johncronin5311
@@geordiewishart1683so that means you wont be alive in heaven as well? Seems to kinda dilute Christianity
1222
The beauty of man, created in the Living Image of God, is indescribable
Wednesday, September 24th, 2014 @ 15:05
My dearly beloved daughter, just as My Beloved Mother was chosen by God to herald the Coming of the Messiah so, too, is she being called to prepare humanity for My Second Coming.
She has been elevated into the highest Hierarchy in Heaven and has been accorded great powers by My Eternal Father. Nevertheless, she remains as was then, and as is now, and always will be, a devoted and humble servant of God. She serves Him in His Plan to raise man to the perfect state in which he was meant to be.
The beauty of man, created in the Living Image of God, is indescribable. No man, woman or child on this earth can match that, which was created when God brought forth Adam and Eve. Sin was their downfall and Lucifer their enemy. Then, this perfect state was destroyed. Stained by sin, man will never regain this perfect state again until the serpent, and all those who worship him are banished. Until that day comes, the beauty of the human body and soul will remain tarnished.
Man is God’s greatest love. The angels are His servants in that they, too, must show love for God’s Creatures. God’s Love for His family supersedes all that He created and, until He regains the souls of His children, He will never rest. God permits many sufferings, humiliations and tragedies, all of which are caused by the hatred of the one whom He held in the highest regard - the former Archangel Lucifier, who became Satan. Fallen because of his jealousy, pride and self-love, he caused My Father the greatest pain imaginable. And today, just as it was then, he still does the same.
My Father’s loyal angels, all the saints and My beloved Mother, have formed a bond, which can never be broken. Whatever My Father dictates is carried out by His Elite Hierarchy. He is never questioned. Whatever My Father desires, is the correct way and the most powerful way. It is the way in which the human race can be saved from the curse of the evil one. That is His prerogative. No one would ever dare to question Him. In His Final Plan, the final stage in which He will bring His Plan of Salvation to an end, He will intervene in many ways.
My Mother’s title, ‘The Mother of Salvation’, the final one given to her by the Eternal Father, God the Most High, is no accident. She was sent to warn the world and prepare it for the final onslaught against the human race by the evil one. She has been accorded this task and I ask that you accept this, and respond to her call for prayer at all times.
The Holy Trinity will bring about many Blessings to those who respond to this, the final mission, from Heaven - the Mission of Salvation. Accept, with thanks that such favour has been shown to humanity with love and graciousness of heart.
Your Beloved Jesus
Love the joy this gal has in her tour. While I'm not a Catholic, this channel has given me such a ecumenical appreciation for my other Brothers and Sisters in Christ. Love the quote "They don't have the power to change things, but they are with the One who does." That's a great explanation.
❤❤🤗
I dare to say, converts who wrestle the most are / will be the best witnesses when they come home.
Praying for the likes of you, Matt.
From a catholic, thank you for disagreeing with catholic theology in such a humble and respectful manner .
No one's burning anyone at the stake here.
@@FalconOfStorms I am roasting beef.
Bro thats like someone saying FU to your face but says please and you thanking them for saying please. Whats wrong with you
@FalconOfStorms some will still get burnt.
@@MrMarcodarko- I am not seeing what you are referring to. Do yourself (and the rest of the world) and resist the temptation to presume that different is wrong. ‘I don’t agree with you so something must be wrong with you’. ‘I don’t look like you so something must be wrong with you’. That attitude is appallingly ignorant and does a lot of harm to yourself and those who are different,that you encounter. Try again?
Being an Irish Catholic I appreciate how you go about visiting different churches. I’ve watched your show for years because of it
Very well done coming together of an evangelical pastor and a solid historical Catholic Church in Chicago. I was raised an Evangelical, and when I was 33, I joined the Catholic Church after asking a lot of questions and going to a lot of holy Masses- had profound experiences. The Catholic Church goes all the way back to Pentecost, the birthday of the church, and that’s part of the attraction.
It is interesting that Catholics lacking in faith go to the Evangelical churches to learn about Christ and Evangelicals with strong faiths go to the Catholic Church to further enrich their faith. We should send all Catholics to the Evangelical Churches for a few years.
I am protestant
But now i am catholic ❤
Another win for Jesus.
❤🎉
Labrynth is sign of Christ the vine, we are the branches. Converted to Catholicism from Presbyterianism in 2015, best thing I ever did!
If you enjoy paganism go for it!
@@keithpritz1347 lol paganism is only in your mind. ahaha
@@keithpritz1347 cuál paganismo ?
@@keithpritz1347 Protestantism was created by a schizophrenic german in the 16th century. The true religion of Christ as is written in the bible is Catholicism passed down to peter to man the church and his successors the pope.
Always get excited when I see Matt Whittman visited a different church.
Amen - Matt shows his awesome respect and open mind to digest and learn from others - bringing us all closer to GOD with him no matter what your traditions 🫡
I’m a born again Catholic and I love Matt Whitman humility and honesty about his journey. He’s super charitable to all Catholics and denominations. I love his interpretation and commentary of church architecture
This woman is amazing, knowledgeable and engaging.
I love these "visits" you do. ...and the smile on your boy's face. Special times.
Matt, you would make a good Catholic as your love for Christ is present.
Had the pleasure of going to an Ash Wednesday service there while I was at Moody. Beautiful church!
He still introduced it as the ten minute Bible hour and that made me happy
Nice catch. I filmed this one nearly two years ago and I decided to just leave that as it was.
@MattWhitmanTMBH are you able to tell us about how you're thoughts on Catholics and our beliefs and church ⛪️ temples have changed your thinking since 2 years ago. Thanks your Catholic brother Robert from Puerto Rico 🇵🇷
One other thing that occurred to me as your interlocutor was speaking that might be a bit pedantic of me but I think is important for precision: when a Catholic priest confects the Eucharist by calling down, in the person of Christ, the Holy Spirit upon the gifts of bread and wine and our prayers (our weaknesses, our joys, our intentions, etc.), they're not, strictly speaking, "transformed" because the form of these things remains the same to the outward eye.
This is why the medieval Church devised the term "transsubstantiation" since the *essence* (i.e. the substance) is what changes even while the outward accidents remain. Similarly, in our own spiritual growth, there is often not any immediate outward manifestation of this inward change, but we still trust that the Holy Spirit is working interiorly so we might eventually be "transformed by the renewing of [our] minds."
Matt, thank you for your kindness and respectfulness towards the Catholic church.
I'm a Catholic. I love our protestant brothers and sisters in Christ
Glory to Jesus Christ 🙏☦️❤️
Thank you for being one of the few that give the glory to God instead of Mary.
@@hisnameisiam808almost went an entire comment without besmirching the faith
@@hisnameisiam808 We mock what we don't take the time to read, research 📓and understand🧠 - that is OK - you are on your journey and We still LOVE You and pray your heart softens.❤
From Vatican Collection Volume 1, Vatican Council II, The Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents. General Editor Austin Flannery, O.P. New revised edition 1992; Costello publishing company, Northport, New York. 1992 pages 420-421 (par. 65)
"Having entered deeply into the history of salvation, Mary, in a way, unites in her person and re-echoes the most important doctrines of the faith; and when she is the subject of preaching and worship she prompts the faithful to come to her Son, to his sacrifice and to the love of the Father”
@@hisnameisiam808 I'm a Filipino Catholic but everytime Protestants and Muslims said to me that we Catholic worship Mary and I responded them to give me a legit evidences from authentic website or from Catechism of the Catholic Church that said to worship Mary and yet they cannot give me that claim.. I suggest you study and be an object researcher of faith.. remember the Roman Catholic Church could trace its history from the Apostles during the time of Jesus. God bless
Love it! She is such a great communicator.
Matt, wonderful work and great questions during your interview. I thought Keara did a great job of explaining Roman Catholic teaching in a very accessible way. One of the comforting things about being Catholic (at least for me) is that no matter where you are in the world, you can go into a Catholic Church and feel at home.
Same readings everywhere each day
Hi Matt,
I've only just discovered your channel a couple of weeks ago but love it.
I'm a 33 year old as you would call "Reformedish" Christian who was born and lived up into my late teens on the Island of Lewis off the west coast of Scotland, which in the UK is classed as one of the last bastions of traditional Presbyterianism. Both my parent's were saved and found Christ in the Presbyterian Church Of Scotland before i was born. When I was around 4 / 5 years old, through their own faith journey, they moved to a more non-denominational church. I remember them both been baptised in the freezing Atlantic ocean. My parents then pastored a small house church for over 10 years, during which time the Lord gave them heart and vision for Romania, so they started a non profit charity ministry which is still going to this day.
It was during my visits to Romania as a young boy that I became aware of other Christian faith traditions. Romania is a very religious country and I remember, you would see preists walking around everywhere, we would visit Orthodox churches, with all the chanting, incense and men which big hats and to me and all I knew was Western European Protestant strains of Christianity so this was all very eye opening, intriguing and a little confusing at times.
But I remember my parents who were Evangelical Protestants instilling in my sister and I the unity we had in Christ with them. So finding your videos and seeing how you show the same respect and love to our brothers/sisters from other dominations had really encouraged me.
I visited Chicago last year for the first time with my Wife, her family are all from Chicago and they are mainly Catholic.
We visited Old St Patricks and St Peters in the city, and it never ceases to amaze me the peace I feel inside those churches.
Every Blessing Brother.
Sean
Honestly, you usually hear more scripture read in a Catholic, Anglican, or Lutheran service than in many evangelical churches. And I say that as an evangelical. If you want to read the Bible consistently every day and cover virtually the whole thing, the common lectionary (used by liturgical churches of many denominations) is not a bad place to start. Same goes for the Book of Common Prayer. It's all available online, too.
Then you are defenetly in the wrong church
@@johncronin5311 Am I though? What church are you in?
That's true. Like she said, if you worship in all the Masses, daily and Sunday, you get most of the entire Bible over 3 years. Not just a verse or two to set the theme for the sermon, but a lengthy reading of Scripture.
@@teddyrextex790 Yeah it's like 10 minutes worth a day. Now, the problem with just listening to brother Bob or sister Alice merely read the scripture for several minutes is that the mind wanders much more easily and retention is usually relatively low when they read it. To an evangelical, the act of hearing words means nothing in itself. There is no value in it. There must be learning first and then application is paramount.
For what it is worth using the Catholic Lectionary we get around 30% of the Bible across any three years, with slightly more over time as this cycles (it is so complex!). This goes up significantly if you also read the first reading from the office of readings (yearly cycle). I am not sure on the numbers but likely over 50%.
Some books don't feature at all in the main lectionary, and others have only one or two passages included.
If you want to read the entire Bible you'll have to do some private reading, mainly in the Old Testament.
Great tour of a wonderful piece of architectural history. Keara was a great guide and loving soul in how she communicated the Catholic faith.
Why does the Trinity not appear in the Bible?peace,,.;
@@lufhopespeacefully2037 "Trinity" is just a doctrinal word used to describe how God is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
@@billstahlman ,ty bill for replying,, as far as i know trinity is an old worshipping for some an egyptians who have worshipped ezice,authorice&hurce ,later on the church has abducted the notion&also The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The much older Hindu Vedas had a holy trinity.Called the trimurti, it was Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, three individual deities that are also a single deity
St Joseph has become my go to Saint. I am so happy to know I have access to his nudge because its true.
This Church is beautiful and your tour guide was very good and knowledgeable to break down the faith. I love how every little thing is intentional in the architecture of the Church. ❤️
Thank you!! Speaking as a Catholic.. Cara was excellent!! What an outstanding ambassador to Catholicism! Please pass on my gratitude to Cara for doing such an excellent job. 🙂
I really want to see Matt go to his first ever Latin Mass, if he hasn't already.
I wonder if he's interested in touring a Fraternité Notre Dame church.
Visiting St. John Cantius would be ideal!
Jesus’ transfiguration and the appearance of Moses and Elijah helped my understanding of the Catholic teaching on Saints. Peter, James and John saw them and even offered to build tents for them
I really enjoy your visit of different churches. It has expanded my knowledge too, from a Catholic view. It is so important to love each other in Christ, I think.
Thank you for your work, you give me encouragement every time I watch your videos.
Greetings from a little town in Italy ❤😊. God bless!
She covered things rather well. When it comes to the Liturgy of the Word, one part that I often used to forget to acknowledge when trying to list off the readings is the Psalms. After the 1st Reading (typically from the OT), Catholics sing a Psalm (also from the OT), then on to the 2nd Reading (anything from the NT that's not the gospel), then the Gospel Reading (also from the NT). Daily Masses usually lack 2nd Reading, although not always.
Although I'm sure there are other areas of disagreement about matters of the faith, the one that stood out involved the Saints in heaven. With what was said about the cloud of witnesses and things like that, I think the main challenge I would leave you with is to read the parts of Revelation that involve incense and bowls, primarily in Rev 5 and Rev 8. In Rev 5, we are told the incense is the prayers. In Rev 8, we see the elders with the bowls and lots of additional incense (prayers) being added to them by those in heaven. And one finds that the prayers are still on their way to God. If I was in a cloud of witnesses and saw people needing God's help, they pray, and now I have a bowl containing their prayers, and I have a chance to add to what I see in the bowl, I would add to those prayers even more prayer regarding the stated needs.
I wouldn't expect someone to convert because of a comment on RUclips, and people will certainly have other ways to interpret things, I'm sure. But I find many people who think of God hearing our prayers instantly because God is everywhere. Yet, Revelation reveals that those in heaven play a part in delivering those prayers and adding to them in ways most people seem to overlook or at least not think about too much.
I love this series, and as a religious studies and art history student this church and guide’s talk is an absolutely fantastic example of the role art can play in faith. The dense iconography and sense experience in Catholicism has always fascinated me. And those serpentine pews that create ribs and make the people literally the flesh/body of Christ, and shows the church structure as the body as well- SO SO COOL!
Why does the Trinity not appear in the Bible?peace,,.;
@@lufhopespeacefully2037 the word isn't their but the concept can clearly be found
We were forced into it by the triune God.
@@Compulsive-Elk7103 ,so the trinity is made made ,hence the catechism is man-made also because it based on trinity,, as far as i know trinity is an old worshipping for some an egyptians who have worshipped ezice,authorice&hurce ,later on the church has abducted the notion&also The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The concept of a trinity predates the Bible. The much older Hindu Vedas had a holy trinity.Called the trimurti, it was Brahma the creator, Vishnu the preserver, and Shiva the destroyer, three individual deities that are also a single deity.peace
Aww man... i was wondering why the pews were curved! well spotted... you learn something new every day thank you.
What a lovely invitation into her house of worship! Thank you all for your efforts and grace.
It is a Catholic tradition to put the patron saint of the parish in the center of the Sanctuary. It is not to take away from Christ but as a way for the parish to honor their particular saint and ask for their prayers and intercessions. Great video!
Wow. Keara is a joy! And what a beautiful building.
Matt I love these videos. And she was an incredible tour guide and voice of Catholicism.
Love watching these. And love how you inquire about the theological differences.
Beautiful church indeed. Greetings to all our Irish brothers from France.
BEAUTIFUL church. Educational and respectful interactions with what seems to me to be an excellent example of a devout Catholic. Loved the way you represented the Protestant perspective (humbly, lovingly.) Thanks Matt!
She did a wonderful job showing and teaching! ❤
You had over a million views the last time you visited a Catholic Church! Hope you have the same success with this video as well!
As a Catholic living in Ireland it is wonderful to see that this Church is lovely Sacred space. A church is the sacred space where God and Humanity meet. God bless all those who look after this Church.
The Celtic Cross as well as representing the Trinity as St Patricks puts it in his prayer (4th Century) is:
"I arise today
Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,
Through a belief in the Threeness,
Through confession of the Oneness
Of the Creator of creation"...
Also later in the same prayer the idea of the Circular nature of life in the seasons, the moon, sun - the creation and strength of God, Of time (the circular nature)
"I arise today
Through the strength of heaven;
Light of the sun,
Splendor of fire,
Speed of lightning,
Swiftness of the wind,
Depth of the sea,
Stability of the earth,
Firmness of the rock..."
God the creator of the Heavens and the Earth and his closeness to us are very much part of Celtic prayer and spirituality. .
When a person dies and the soul leaves the body, the Angels take that soul, people pray (at a wake) that God will accept that soul into Eternal life but that is not far away from where we live (earth and Heaven are one and souls are part of our spiritual journey with us). Our Blessed Mother Mary, Queen of Heaven and Earth, the Angels, the Communion of Saints are all in the spiritual world interceding for us as they spend their time before the Throne of God, giving praise and thanksgiving for his goodness to us.
The silent apprition in Knock Ireland in 1879 is a wonderful apprition which is of the "Lamb of God" on the Alter surrounded by choirs of Angels, with a cross over the Alter. Before the Alter is Our Blessed Mother wearing a crown (Queen Mother Rev. 12) with St Joseph and St John the Evangalist who has a Bible open in his hand representing the Church teaching and the priesthood. That is the veil between heaven and earth lifted to the 15 people who witnessed the vision, yet available to us at every mass, which is the same mass said throughout the world in Catholic churches.
"In the presence of our Blessed Mother Mary, the Angels, Martyrs and Saints we give all Glory, Praise and thanksgiving to the Holy Trinity the Father who created us, Jesus Christ his Son - The Lamb of God who redeemed us, and the Holy Spirit (the breath of God) who Sanctifies us to the end of time.. God bless all our Brothers and Sisters in Christ. 🙏
God's beauty is exemplified through the artwork in the church reminding us that we are his children. The Catholic church's artwork is really quite remarkable specially if you consider all the great works during the Renaissance period. The art and statues does not distract from God, but a reminder that God is the creator of all things beautiful. You know that God is present there because the Eucharist is in the tabernacle which is the center of any Catholic church.
So happy to see this video. Haven't received any notifications for a long time. Beautiful church, and the youth are in good hands with this lady.
I appreciate watching you and why you explore Catholicism as a Protestant. I was raised in a very traditional Mexican Catholic family which has some marked differences from what I might call mainstream Catholicism due to the mixing of indigenous Mexican customs with the Catholicism brought by the Spaniards. It might be interesting for you to explore that some time.
Anyways, growing up as I did, I did not know anyone who wasn't Catholic until I went to college. In fact, my grandmother used to chase Protestant, Mormon, and Jehovah Witness missionaries away from our house with a broom. The only picture allowed on the same wall as the crucifix and the Virgin of Guadalupe was JFK. What I knew about Protestantism is what I learned in religion classes in the Catholic schools I went to back in the 70s. In other words, I didn't know much more than the Protestant Reformation and the war in Northern Ireland, which I can say prejudiced me against Protestantism until I also grew disillusioned with the Catholic Church. However, watching you learn about Catholicism also educates me on Protestantism which helps broaden my own perspectives. So, thank you for that.
I have heard Protestants liken the saints to a form of idolatry and can take away from a focus on Christ. Well, I can see that to a certain extent, and yes, when I was a kid, I had a little chest on my dresser with various saints medallions in it and I would often look through them and take the ones that I thought could help me on that particular day. To me they served as "human" mediators to a God and Jesus, who seemed too powerful, important, and formidable for me to concern with my small meager life. The lives of the saints absolutely fascinated me and I saw them in the same vein as kids see Superman or Aquaman. That's one of the magical things about saints to little kids and that made religion kind of fun and exciting. I think they can humanize the Church and make the Church more relatable particularly to young people who need heroes and examples of people who did live the faith, because living the faith is not easy. This is the example I expect from priests, bishops, archbishops, and Popes, to risk martyrdom for the sake of their flock's faith. That might be a tall order, but that is what the example of the saints taught me to expect from our Church leadership.
I also often hear Protestants say about Catholicism that the Catholic Church can seem so ritualistic and ceremonial that they can be out of touch with the people. YES, the Church can be stuffy and pompous and can often make us feel small and unimportant. I fought against that all of my life, making me a problem child in my Catholic schools and distancing me from the Church. They don't like to be vigorously questioned. However, as I grow old, I am often brought back to my old Mexican traditional childhood when I saw the Church as magical when I come across a figure of a saint or how the image of the Virgin of Guadalupe, whom I wear around my neck everyday despite my distance from the Church, can bring me to tears.
So again, thank you for showing that Catholics and Protestants are really brothers, all in the same boat going to the same place with the same important beliefs, just with small and quirky differences which I tend to characterize as like the differences between the British and Americans; same language, different words. Right side of the road vs left side of the road, but both taking us to the same place.
God bless you! The Church has Jesus in the Eucharist and He is good and True even when his followers aren’t. I am here for Him. And for His touch in the beautiful Sacraments!
Enjoyed your post. I pray you give the Catholic Church another try, find a good priest and community. It’s an amazing place!!!
I wouldn't call them small differences, I'm a Catholic who was first disillusioned and became Protestant, but then returned to Catholicism because of its far more coherent theology.
The first thing I noticed coming back, as it comes to my spiritual life, was the fraternity of the saints. I almost instantly fell in love with a particular one, Saint Philomena. And her superior quality of spiritual life did not alienate me but in fact made me love God more *because I saw God acting in her.*
My relationship with the Virgin Mary has also immensely increased my respect and love for God, because when I was a Protestant I *overestimated my own holiness* since I didn't have saints to compare myself to in my daily spiritual practice.
So I've had somewhat of an inverse experience to yours, although I can sympathize in as much as the doctrine of mortal sin initially made me feel very far away from God, but God be thanked I overcame my scrupulosity and misunderstandings as I didn't realize God even in case of mortal sin does not abandon us but rather waits for us where we left off and still helps us.
God bless you.
Our Lady pray for you.
I like listening to father Chris alar and grow in faith 🙏
I love these videos, I can’t believe you were sitting on this one for so long!
I think there's perhaps something about Catholic theology that time is not quite so linear. Blurrier lines between the living and the dead, the sacrifice of the Mass being identical to the sacrifice on the Cross, amillenial eschatology. It occured to me while watching this that there seems to be a certain sense that things in heaven are outside of time but also simultaneous with the world. I don't know if that makes any sense or if it's a helpful framework or not.
You're right! Protestantism being historically tied to Western thought at its root, that necessarily ties it to a linear logic. That's why when Western folks have tended to act like they own Catholicism at certain points in history, the popes have spoken out. Catholicism was born in the East (Holy Land) and was spread in both directions.
When you step into a Catholic church you leave the world behind and step out of time. You are present for the sacrifice of the Lamb in time immortal. Jesus died for YOUR sins.
St. Justin Martyr described what happens in Christian worship to Marcus Aurelius in AD 150. This is what he said,
"And on the day called Sunday, all who live in cities or in the country gather together to one place, and the memoirs of the apostles or the writings of the prophets are read, as long as time permits; then, when the reader has ceased, the president verbally instructs, and exhorts to the imitation of these good things.
Then we all rise together and pray, and, as we before said, when our prayer is ended, bread and wine and water are brought, and the president in like manner offers prayers and thanksgivings, according to his ability, and the people assent, saying Amen; and there is a distribution to each, and a participation of that over which thanks have been given, and to those who are absent a portion is sent by the deacons (quoted in The Ante-Nicene Fathers, Vol. 1; Roberts, Donaldson, and Coxe, eds., p. 186). "
This is exactly what a Catholic Mass is today. Steeped in the tradition of the early Christians; time immortalized.
That very much made sense….and is an ancient Celtic way of viewing life, faith and eternity, in pre Christian and especially Catholic Christian Ireland. Google the artwork of the Book of Kells, a manuscript of the Gospels that is over 1200 years old. Many circles/mazes in Celtic art are drawn with a SINGLE LINE.
As an Irish Speaker, I am happy to see the descriptions in the stained glass in Irish-Gaelic (Irish Speakers use the word IRISH to name the language in English. You will know who is an Irish-speaker because we always use Irish when referring to the language) Mike
@@Denis.Collins Yes that is how it is described in English. At heart both Gaeilge na h-Éireann and Gaeilge na h-Alban come from the same root, Old Irish; similar to Spanish and Italian coming from Latin. The word for the language in Gaelic is Gàidhlig (Gawlikg)
I'm so glad here in the USA our ancestors preserved the beautiful language that their former authorities tried to take away.
She is a lovely soul :)
True ancient Christianity is so rich, so deep in meaning and symbolism, all pointing to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, gotta Love it. This is one of many reasons why I love being Catholic.
Matt, I love the videos of your visits to all the different Catholic churches and your openness to learning and dialogue. If you ever find yourself in Chicago again, I'd be happy to set up a tour for you of my Polish parish the Basilica of St. Hyacinth which throughout the decades has served as the cultural center of the Polish community in Chicago. Much like the Irish and the Italians, Poles have had a tremendous influence on Chicago with our own unique history in the city. Happy to talk more about it if you're interested.
Evangelical Christian here. Some family members weren’t too happy when I converted from Catholicism years ago (and I continue to have some serious disagreement with Catholic theology). BUT I appreciate both the Catholic and Orthodox church’s appreciation of art and beauty in their buildings and sacred spaces. Thanks for this video. God bless.
I do love the fact that you still respect Catholicism despite becoming evangelical. Many evangelicals I've met who were raised Catholic label the Catholic Church as a pagan cult.
Do check out Saint John Cantius in Chicago
That's exactly what I was gonna say!
“So this is the Bible?” Yes, Catholics read the Bible. ❤❤❤
Yes and the "cloud of witnesses" is biblical (Hebrews 12:1)
The Bible is a Catholic Book lol
He knows that 😊
I like how she explained the Catholic relationship with the saints. It's not that we worship them but more so believe they are imperfect people (as we are) who have lived their lives in a way that allows the will of God to flow through them. And by doing so, and now existing in Heaven with God we go to them asking for them to pray for us and help us to live in the same way.
Kind of like asking a fellow Christian to pray for you when you're maybe going through a hard time in your life, it's the same thing except we believe the saints are in Heaven and thus have an even more perfect connection with God so their prayer may be that much more effective. We don't pray to them asking them to do anything but pray for us. Everything about it is meant to lead us to a closer relationship with God.
This church is beautiful
Thank you for such an awesome video! I can't tell you how much I appreciate the humility and genuine curiosity in your approach to the tour. I too am protestant (Lutheran) but have always felt a certain admiration for Catholicism due to its gorgeous cathedrals and the many similarities between our brands of Christianity. I find the rituals and traditions of Catholicism and mainline protestantism beautiful and helpful for drawing my heart and mind closer to God, and, respectfully, the lack of them in Evangelicalism has in the past made it difficult for me to connect to that flavor of Christianity in any meaningful way
As a Catholic, thank you for bringing the Christian unity that Jesus asked of the Father. Let them be one as we are One. Paraphrasing the late Bishop Sheen , there are millions of people who hate what they think the Catholic Church is but only a hundred who hate what it truly is or something like that. The Catholic Catechism is online to see exactly what we Catholics should believe and yet too many Protestants don't take the time to read it argue on the facts. Maybe they are afraid of bursting into flames by reading it? I suspect that some pastors turn their people away from it because it is very coherent. To be fair many Catholics don't know their faith and/or aren't good examples of it. Anyway, may God bless you for being the peacemaker in Jesus' beatitudes (Matthew 5-7).
She’s a great representative of the Church. 👍🏼
What she said about honouring the past without becoming it - wow! As you noted, well said!
Thank you for creating this video. Old St. Pat’s has been on my filming list for a few years now but I haven’t gotten around to it. It’s even more special than I thought! Keara was a wonderful docent of the church!
I love the explanation between these two people. I wish there were more of these kind of simple explanations about the Catholic & Protestant religions.
I have watched a number of your videos with various denominations, but one thing struck me about this segment. You were both good listeners. Almost no mid-phrase interruptions (even inquiries). I wish there were more of you. I also wish such discourse was more common in many different fields.
Beauty certainly matters. What an amazing church.
Why does the Trinity not appear in the Bible?peace,,.;
It does.
Just discovered this video, absolutely beautiful! Thanks for being so respectful and open about your personal beliefs. Not sure if it was mentioned, the three year cycle of readings at the church covers the entire Bible. Since we know what reading will occur everyday in the three day cycle, the church provides a book that has the readings for each day so when you attend mass you only have to open the book to the date you’re in and it’ll have the readings there for you. You’re welcome to bring your bible if you prefer.
Matt, I love the spirit of your work. Love all your videos. But I love the ecumenical dialogue. We need it desperately. Keep it going please. God bless you.
Matt, thank you for these videos. I was raised Protestant, became atheist or apatheist for a long time, and then eventually became Catholic when I came back to Christ and couldn't figure which well-argued interpretation of Christianity to favor without an apostolic authority. When you sensed the importance and had reverence for the sanctuary, the tabernacle, the lectionary book, and asked whether you could touch this or that, it reminded me of how I felt visiting Catholic churches, and the sense of importance a lot of elements take on. I also want to apologize for my fellow Catholics making comments about Protestantism being evil and how you all should join the one true Church etc. I think they are likely young converts and reverts, like myself, who found purpose in a very certain, aggressive form of the faith, that is sort of exciting and purpose giving for the novice. Church doctrine on Protestants is clear you are part of the Church and are separated brother Christians who have access to God's grace through Christ as well. Peace.
What a beautiful Church. Thanks for the video
Here in Ireland -- across the whole country, as far as I know -- O'Shaughnessy is pronounced O'SHOCK-nessy. Great video, as always.
Long time subscriber and Catholic and have always enjoyed your videos. Even learning things from your visits to churched that I had zero knowledge about (i.e. Coptic and others).
I support your efforts to visit the many Catholic Churches.
As a relative protestant myself, SPECTACULAR. Is this located in Riverdale, Gondor or??..
Matt, you should tour the Basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception in Washington DC. It is so beautiful
I pray for the unity of the churches everyday. I know it’s going to happen not too far in the future but not before the church goes into a lot of suffering bc of the pride and lack of love for each other. I love and respect Matt. He’s so humble and respectful.
Thank you Matt. I am catholic I enjoy your video's They help me understand the mechanisms of my faith.
I feel like a ton of cultural perceptions of us Catholics root from people in the media and pop culture that already don’t like us or respect out tradition so general public has no clue how we function as Christian’s. Thank you for giving us a chance as Catholics to explain to you a Protestant how this all works and to help you wrap your head around some of our ideas. This is the dialogue and discussion we need more of as Christian’s and hopefully start to reunify as the body of Christ.
Just wanted to add some clarifications to the motifs of labyrinths and knots within Christian art:
The labyrinth isn't a knot, per se, and it's definitely different from a maze because a maze is full of dead ends, and you can get lost within it. A labyrinth is simply a path with one way in and one way out. It's a continuous journey from outside to a center in which the Christian meditates on some mystery of God, and their path symbolically represents a coming close to the inner life of the Trinity or the mystery of God himself before returning back out to the world with the new insight gained from one's prayer.
Knots within Celtic art often represent the interconnectedness of all things, but they're also representative of conflict or paradox. One of Our Lady's titles is "Our Lady, Undoer of Knots" since we see her as an archetype of the new Eve, undoing humanity's fall through her obedience to God's will in exactly the inverse of Eve's binding of humanity to the consequences of sin through her disobedience.
Original sin is passed on through Adam, not through Eve.
Excellent videos. You learn so much from looking at praxis.
Can't wait to watch this in full!
Best wishes and God bless your ecumenism, Matt.
Patiently awaiting the day we see a "conversion to the Catholic faith" video from Matt lol.
Don't hold your breath.
So timely, thank you for this peak into a world I've always been aware of but never got to look into
I went to be godfather for my god child about 19 years ago and (since I was not a parishioner of that parish), I gave the parish priest the "I'm a Catholic" card from my parish priest. I then asked him, "So, where is the mikvah in this Schul?"
He looked thunderstruck, and then said, "The parents told me you are a wiseass! They do tend to be perceptive!""
I suspect it might have been better if I had asked in Yiddish . . . .
😂😂😂
You should check out St. John Cantius, which is also in Chicago.
Agreed! I filmed St. John Cantius since it was voted in a publication a few years ago as the most beautiful church. I hope he goes there as I enjoy his filming style.
There is another Catholic English liturgy in America where the priest faces the altar and not the congregation. Look into visiting an Ordinariate parish, perhaps Our Lady of Walsingham, Houston, Texas in The Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. (Fully Roman Catholic- but with roots n Anglican tradition) the Mass uses "high English" in the liturgy. Very beautiful. Our visit my lovely parish in the Ordinariate, St. Thomas Becket in Fort Worth.
Many kudos to Kara(?) or Kiera(?) I hate to not get her name right. WHAT AN AWESOME tour and explanation. This was a wonderful melding of the head and heart of our timelessness and beautiful faith. Thanks again Matt for your curiosity and openness into the varying expressions of the Christian faith.
Ah! My mom grew up on the old South Side. OLD south side. Her parish was Little Flower, her high school was Mercy, and my uncles went to Ignatius. Her college was Xavier.
I was fortunate, Chicago sent an amazing contingent of Christian Brothers from Brother Rice to teach at my high school in Arizona.
Matt, have you ever been to Saint John Cantius Church in River West? Austin from Gospel Simplicity has gone there to take a tour. It's my parish. Go and check out that church. Fr. Joshua is my pastor and Superior General of the Canons Regular of Saint John Cantius. It's a grand church. 🙏🏽
Not mentioned during the intro outside the church, the majority of Catholic churches have three main entrance doors to honor the Blessed Trinity. And the cloth we always see covering the altar is made out of linen to reflect the linen of Christ's shroud.
Thank you for sharing this! I’ve filmed several Catholic Churches, grew up Catholic, yet never knew this.
she was so high energy!
I love how respectful you are of different viewpoints. When God looks down upon all the different denominations he only sees brothers and sisters. I would also love to see you exposed to some of the eucharistic miracles within the Catholic church and share similar amazing works of God from others 🙂
Matt your doing great work my friend. You are ending strawmen and hate and bringing peace and respectful disagreement.
Thanks Matt. I’ve been jonesing for a new episode.
The Baptismal font is at the entrance of the church ... which is scriptural and based on Aaron and his sons being washed at the door of the tabernacle.
Another thing I never knew about the Catholic Church! Thank you for sharing.
Love watching the church tour video series! Excited to see more!
- Joel Blevins
This is one of the most fascinating series on youtube
Wow. That stained glass IS glorious!
Matt, it's the same Bible reading throughout the whole world. I'm in NZ. It's the same reading.
I think there could be some adjustments for specific local traditions. F.ex. in Italy the Ambrosian Church (Catholic Church of Milan and Lombardy) has a Mass ritual slightly different, a different Liturgical Calendar and order of lectures.
I love this whole interaction. I ESPECIALLY love Kara's comments at the very end, at 32:20. I grew up Catholic and ultimately became Protestant in high school because of the emphasis on history, rather than scripture, that I saw in the Catholic church.
Thank you, Matt, for sharing this and for the way you interacted with Kara. Thank you, Kara, for sharing the history and beauty of the church with the world and for the hospitality you showed Matt!
The day in a vision i met Apostle Peter & John , the hug & peace i felt with them, and later i met Apostle Paul & James , the peace they bring to you. This was on my journey struggling with my protestant faith when i discovered the catholic church.
I wish it could have been longer- beautiful church. You have done an amazing video.
Thanks for sharing. I went to mass there visiting my son whom is now living in Chicago. I felt at home being from a Latin American Catholic tradition.