The Soul of America Is Catholic — and Under Attack
Who carried America from the first colony in 1607 until the Constitution was ratified in 1787? They weren’t just names on paper — they were real men and women who bore hunger, wars, persecution, and hardship before the documents were finalized.
Now, who carried Christianity from 33 A.D. until 397 A.D., when the canon of the Bible was first recognized as complete? They weren’t shadows. We have their writings. Real men and women kept the faith through martyrdom, persecution, and underground worship. Handwritten copies of the Gospels and letters were preserved by the Church, passed from bishop to bishop, century to century.
And here’s the point:
The first time the word Catholic appears is around 107 A.D., when St. Ignatius of Antioch (a disciple of John the Apostle) wrote: “Wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church.”
Before the Bible was compiled, Christians already described the Mass. The Didache (c. 90 A.D.) speaks of confession before the sacrifice, and St. Justin Martyr (c. 155 A.D.) wrote:
“On the day called Sunday… the memoirs of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read… then we all rise together and pray (we do this)… bread and wine mixed with water are brought, and the president offers prayers and thanksgiving (we do this)… There is a distribution and participation of that over which thanks has been given, and to those absent a portion is brought by the deacons (we do this).”
What Justin described in 155 A.D. is exactly what Catholics still do every Sunday today.
Scripture itself points to this:
“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.” (Acts 2:42)
“The Church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15)
So, the question is simple: Who carried the treasure until it was written down and bound together? It was the Catholic Church — the same Church that gave us the Bible we all hold in our hands today.
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