Preface to “The Poor Catholic”

Wouldn’t it be wonderful to know without a doubt what Heaven is all about? Wouldn’t it make our lives so much easier? It would help remove the anxiety and uncertainty many of us feel concerning our eternal futures and regardless of how tough things may get in this life, we could always confidently look forward to that day when we would enjoy eternal peace, forever.

As these words are being written, there are many places a person can go to discover how things will be in the afterlife. The problem with many of these sources is that they are based on someone’s thoughts and study which may not necessarily be rooted in the supernatural truth of the Scriptures. And since many of these sources come from people, then aren’t they speculative at best? Consider this: if we want to know more about our future supernatural and eternal home, don’t we need a supernatural source to inform us?
The 21st century has just begun and in addition to questions such as these, we are already faced with an important series of additional related questions such as:

-Who will be the source of all truth in this new millennium?
-Where can we go as Catholics and Christians to secure truthful answers about all of the difficult questions we are encountering every day?
-When our children, friends, family members, co-workers and others ask us important life questions, whom shall we quote or to what source can we direct them?
-Who can consistently tell us what is right and what is wrong in all cases?
-Does such a source even exist any longer?

For Catholics, the standard answer to these questions would refer us back to the tenets of the Catholic Church and the Catechism. But, if one looks at the behavior of Catholics, as a whole, over the last 40 years or so, it becomes obvious that many do not agree with a good number of the teachings of the Catholic Church and even the statements of the Pope himself.

So I would suggest we backup to the first question of all spiritual questions and decide whether we believe there is a God or not. If there is not, then the source of all truth must come from a natural or human place, namely people. At this point we must look to people like our government leaders, state police, IRS, FBI, the court system and similar organizations to tell us what we should believe and what we can and cannot do.

But if there is a God, such as the God of the Bible and the Christian faith, then it makes every bit of sense to look to Him as the source of all truth. If He truly does exist, then He must be the cause of all that we know and experience. As the Creator of all things, He would be the very best place to go to seek answers. Since He would be our one and only supernatural source, logically then His wisdom would “trump” the wisdom of any person or body of people.

I have written The Poor Catholic in the hope that people could understand sensibly and simply that it is the God of the Bible who holds all answers (both temporal and eternal) for us. Without any doubt, I have found this to be very true in my own life.

More and more Catholics today are leaving traditional ways of thinking and behaving behind them and are trading those ways for new untested theories about life and personally attractive lifestyles. Proof of this movement is readily available in every news report and in every media outlet. Helping this movement progress along are the many people who still hold to those traditional mores and values. The vast majority of this group have chosen to remain silent in the defense and promotion of these time-honored ideals.

Now more than ever we need to rediscover the home base for all truth. It’s not only that we no longer agree on the issues, but more importantly, we no longer agree on the principles. The core values and foundational principles that helped establish our nation and even our Christian faith have changed, at least from an application point of view. Whatever has replaced those values has taken root in too many peoples’ thoughts and lives.

In a very logical manner, The Poor Catholic will help redirect your attention to the one reliable source of truth and salvation which is found in the Trinity of God the Father, God the Son (in the form of Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit.

Over the last 40 years or so, it seems we as a culture have decided that truth can be discerned and developed by each person. In this new age, we each have the ability to create our own personal truths with which we can live our lives. Truth no longer springs from an absolute source. It comes from each person as they deal with their desires and perceived needs. We also have the ability to modify those truths to fit our needs of the moment which could differ greatly from the needs of just the day before. Truth for the new millennium is very personal, conveniently adaptable and anti-absolute.

For Catholics especially, this development has been most unsettling. This fact alone can account for the “drift” of Catholics away from the core values of their Christian Faith and it has left scores of them in a moral and spiritual vacuum. Many of us grew up learning and believing in God as the absolute source of all truth and all that is good. The world is now demonstrating that this foundational belief has changed and is no longer true. Consequently, many issues in society, both at the local and national levels, are becoming nearly impossible to solve. In some cases, compromise can still occur in order to settle certain problems, but the parties involved will likely see it as a setback since their personal truth did not prevail and they will carry the memory of that to the next issue they confront. They may eventually yield in future cases, but they will probably do so grudgingly and without a sense of love or concern for the greater good of the community. Yielding in successive issues and contests will therefore become more and more unlikely.

When truth springs from an individual and personal source, we end up with as many versions of truth as we have people. While this may work in the privacy of our own homes, it will create great strife and disagreement when experienced anywhere out in a public setting. Relatively common tasks, such as driving a car, can become dangerous.

For example, people may begin to determine for themselves what the speed limits should be and whether or not they will stop at red lights or stop signs. What will we do then?
There is no such thing as versions of the truth. All truth that does not spring from the same source will eventually collide and compete. It will create chaos and if left unchecked could lead to anarchy. And in the spiritual world, there is nothing worse than spiritual anarchy.

Beyond these issues, there lies the greatest of all threats which concerns even the most nominal of all Catholics and Christians as well. If there is a God who controls all things temporal and eternal, then it is He whom we will ultimately have to deal with in the end. If we believe in an afterlife, then there must be a border between this life and the next. What will you do when you get to that border? Who will you find there in charge of the border crossing? Who will you gamble on meeting, Jesus Christ or the god of your own personal truths? What will happen when you find out it is the God of the Bible who controls the afterlife and entrance into it? It will be at this moment when His truth will prevail over our own self-created truths. The Poor Catholic lays out many of the eternal truths given to us by God in the hope that you, the reader, will allow God to convince you of their veracity and applicability to today.

As you read The Poor Catholic, please keep these thoughts in mind. You will find answers to these questions as you move along. You will also find in this book the encouragement to seek out the one true God, His Son Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit. Not only will you discover them to be the source of all truth, but you will realize this fact with the aid of a most special tutor, the Holy Spirit. As I put this book together, it is my personal prayer that the Holy Spirit will accompany every copy that’s printed and act as a tutor to all who read it. I pray that the Holy Spirit will help you truly seek to know God in order to develop a close personal walking faith with His Son, Jesus Christ. In this way, when you arrive at the border, Jesus will already recognize you and you Him. At that point, crossing into eternal life will be an easy task.

If you will commit to read this book slowly and thoughtfully, with the intention of becoming His Disciple (student), you will begin to receive answers to many of your questions, such as the ones we spoke of earlier. I can then promise you that He will reveal to you truths that concern not only this world but those that involve the next.
“With many such parables he spoke the word to them as they were able to understand it. Without parables he did not speak to them, but to his own disciples he explained everything in private.”
(Mark 4:33-34)