A Word to Pastors and Teachers outside the Mother Church

For two thousand years, the Catholic Church has carried scars.

The Crusades.
The Inquisition.
The scandals.
The betrayals.

Every generation raises its voice to cry out:
"Look how broken they are!"
"Surely God has abandoned them!"

But what many do not realize is this:
the scars of the Church are not a sign of Christ’s absence —
they are the proof of His Mercy.

The Church is not perfect because her members are not perfect.
She is wounded because we are wounded.
And still, by the grace of Christ, she stands.

The Church’s Wounds Are the Wounds of Her People

When we strike the Church, we strike the Body of Christ.

The mockery, the slander, the accusations —
they echo the ancient cries of "Crucify Him!" heard on the road to Calvary.

The slings and arrows hurled today at the Catholic Church
are not new.
They are the same spirit that spit upon Christ, that tore His flesh, that mocked Him in His suffering.

Those who wound the Church inside and out often do so without realizing who it is they are truly wounding.
They see only human failings.
They miss the divine mercy that has carried the Church through every storm.

At First, They Do Not Know

Many who attack the Church believe they are defending truth.
They believe they are protecting souls.

But once the truth is seen — once the full reality comes into view —once there is an epiphany a choice must be made:

To cling to pride, position, and the fragile kingdoms they have built.
Or to lay everything down, pick up the Cross, and come home to the fullness of Christ.
There can be no middle ground once the truth is revealed.
There can be no neutrality once the light has come.

It was the same at Calvary.
The crowds who mocked Christ could either fall to their knees in repentance,
or walk away hardened.

The same choice stands before many today.

Christ Died for a Broken Church — and Still Does

Christ did not found His Church for the perfect.
He founded it for sinners.

The corruption, the betrayals, the scandals —
these do not prove that the Catholic Church has failed.
They prove why she was needed from the beginning.

Without grace, we are lost.
Without truth, we drift into confusion.
Without the sacraments, we starve for the life of God.

The Church is not a museum for the righteous.
She is a hospital for the broken.
And her wounds have not destroyed her — they have revealed her mission.

Christ’s mercy shines brightest where human weakness is most visible.

The Spirit of Accusation Is Not the Spirit of Christ

The voice that condemns without mercy,
the voice that mocks and slanders,
the voice that rips the Church apart in bitterness and pride —

that voice is not from Christ.

It is the voice of the accuser,
the spirit that delights in destruction.

Christ builds.
Christ heals.
Christ forgives.

The spirit of division and accusation comes not from God but from the enemy of souls.

If we find ourselves speaking only condemnation over the Church Christ founded,
we must ask ourselves honestly:
Whose voice are we echoing?

A Word to Pastors and Teachers

Some have gathered flocks by tearing down the Church.
Some have built ministries on accusations and division.

This was not always their intent.
Many began out of zeal for truth.

But zeal without mercy becomes pride.
And pride blinds the heart to Christ’s presence.

Every true word preached, every real grace experienced outside the visible boundaries of the Catholic Church —
came through the Church, by the mercy of Christ flowing outward from His Body.

No soul finds Christ apart from the grace He pours out through His Church — even when they do not see the source. The ocean on the other side of the pond.

The Catholic Church is not your enemy.
She is your Mother.

She bleeds because she still bears the marks of human frailty.
But she also stands because she bears the mark of Christ.

There is still time to come home.

To All Who Love Christ Outside the Visible Church

If you have found Christ in a small congregation,
if you have prayed, worshiped, loved Him with all your heart —
then praise God.

You have been nourished by streams of grace that flow from the great ocean that is the Church.

You are not outside Christ’s love.
But He calls you to more.

Not to destroy what is good,
but to fulfill it.
Not to lose your faith,
but to complete it.
Not to forsake your love,
but to bring it into the full embrace of the Body He established.

The Catholic Church is not a betrayal of the Gospel.
She is the fulfillment of it. The Gospel is her diary.

Come home.

Not to an institution of men,
but to the living Heart of Christ — beating still in His wounded Body.

Over 2,000 Years of Glory

For over two thousand years, the Catholic Church has been a beacon of hope in a broken world.

It was through this Church that the Scriptures were preserved.
It was through this Church that the martyrs gave their lives.
It was through this Church that hospitals, orphanages, and universities were born.

This Church has raised up saints like the starts in the sky beyond number:

Do you know their stories?

Peter, who wept after his denial.
Augustine, once lost in sin, now a mighty voice for truth.
Francis of Assisi, who gave up wealth for a life of holy poverty.
Teresa of Calcutta, who saw Christ in the dying and forgotten.
Joan of Arc, who stood for God's will against the powers of a jealous Bishop.
And above them all:
Mother Mary — the lowly handmaid of the Lord.
Joseph — the silent guardian of the Redeemer.
The Holy Family — the model of love for all the world.

Through plagues and wars, through revolutions and disasters,
the Catholic Church has never ceased to preach the Gospel,
to forgive sins,
to bring Christ’s real Presence to the altar,
to baptize the lost,
to heal the brokenhearted,
to set the captives free.

The Church has known the Cross —
but she has also known the Resurrection.

The tomb is empty.
Christ is alive.
And His Church, scarred but radiant, still rises.

The Joy of Coming Home

You are not too far.
You are not too broken.
You are not too late.

Christ calls for the lost sheep — not to shame them — but to carry them home rejoicing.

The prodigal son returns,
not to be scolded,
but to be embraced, clothed, celebrated and dearly loved.

Heaven rejoices over one soul that comes home.

Come back to the sacraments.
Come back to the feast.
Come back to the mercy that never stopped flowing.

The Catholic Church — scarred, humbled, but gloriously alive — waits for you.

Christ waits for you.

The Church still stands.

Christ still reigns.

Heaven still celebrates.

Come home.

Lost Sheep Prayer

Heavenly Father,
You are the Shepherd who never tires,
the Light that never fades,
the Mercy that never stops flowing.

Today, I lift up every lost sheep —
every soul who reads these words,
every heart tangled in pride, fear, or wounds.

Break the thorns that entangle them.
Shatter the chains that bind them.
Whisper to their hearts louder than the voice of shame.

Give them courage to rise,
faith to trust,
and humility to come home.

Let them see Your Church not as a graveyard of failures,
but as the living Body of Your Son —
wounded, yet alive in love.

Lead them back, Lord.
Carry them if they cannot walk.
We are ready to rejoice with Heaven.

Amen.

www.LibertyBuildersUSA.com