I used this on two Jehovah's witnesses about a year ago, after I heard you talk on air about it.
The Jehovah's witnesses tried giving me a tract of theirs. They tried telling me that Jesus wasn't God, but He is a King. That He's the archangels Michael.
I told them that I don't follow the JW way of interpretation, which is erroneos.
I'm sure one of them, said I can interpret how I please.
I replied that I trust in the magisterium of the Church, passed down from it's beginning. Early Church fathers who understood the use of language and customs of that time, better than we do today.
I then moved on to your great idea.
"I never said you stole money"
I had to speak it though, so had to control my voice that each word had a natural tone. They fell for it, they said "it means just as I said it". Then, I gave examples of the different interpretations, within the sentence. They seemed a little flustered. I then expressed my trust in the magisterium of the Catholic Church, whom I believe has it all within context.
One of the two then held up the tract saying "I guess you won't be needing this?".
Thank you, you have been a credit to my growth in faith.
I loved hearing you speak of the faithful being like three masted ships. I've meditated on it a lot. I've even used it in a class with young children using toy cars with sails added on top. Only one was perfect, the others either had bent axils or inefficient sails. When the cars were blown along the table only one reached the sacred heart plushie at the end of the table.
I wanted to show that we must pray, read scripture, listen to God, trust is God. Most importantly, obey!
Last week I was thinking more deeply over the course of a few days.
I wrote this. I did put my draft the chat GPT, just to improve flow and grammar.
All imagery, voice and theology is mine. My question is. Is it still honest if it's been edited only for flow and grammar.
I was never great at writing things, I only improved after finding my faith and surrendering myself to our Lord.
Here goes...
The journey to holiness
The journey to holiness reminds me of a three-masted sailing ship.
It needs a watertight hull, strong sails, and the wind to move it forward.
In our lives, we often damage our hulls and sails and try to rely only on our rudder—doing things our own way. But when the hull is cracked, the ship slowly takes on water.
By reading and studying Sacred Scripture, we repair our hulls. As Saint Jerome said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Without a solid foundation, without a sound hull, we begin to sink.
The sails also must be in good condition. They represent our ears—listening for the voice of God. Pride can tear holes in those sails. Only humility allows us to hear God clearly and respond to His will.
The Holy Spirit is the wind that fills the sails and moves us forward. He is the divine energy that carries us when we surrender control.
To surrender to God, we must loosen our grip on the rudder and place our trust in Him. Regular confession keeps our ship seaworthy, repairing the damage we accumulate along the way. It sharpens our intellect and strengthens our will, preparing us for victory in every spiritual battle.
As Saint John Bosco taught, we must guide our ship between the two great pillars: the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. Between them, we find safety, direction, and the sure path to holiness.
I can’t tell you just how much I loved this writing, Patrick! I can’t wait to show it to Mark.
I’m not sure I ever told you this, but Mark’s brother is a very committed Calvinist. He’s a brilliant man—an MD—and far smarter than I could ever hope to be. Still, when I talked about becoming Catholic, he would tell me I’d lost my way and my faith, that I had turned to a man-made religion. He believed that bowing before the Eucharist was bowing to an idol, since he saw it as only bread and wine. In his view, I simply wasn’t among the predestined.
It hurt more than I can say. I would get upset, angry, and yes—sometimes I cried. I could never seem to say the “right” thing, and I often felt like I was constantly being told how I fell short of the glory of God
Later on, I came across information about the Dead Sea Scrolls and learned—just as the Catholic Church has always taught—that the Hebrew canon of Scripture wasn’t settled until after the destruction of the Temple. Even more striking was the discovery that several Old Testament books later removed by Protestants were found not only in the Greek Septuagint, but also written in Hebrew. I shared this with my brother-in-law and simply said, “Calvin didn’t live long enough to know these Scriptures would one day be found.” He replied that our conversation was finished.
He hasn’t become Catholic—mostly out of stubbornness—but he has been much kinder to Mark and to me since then. Calvinists are often very intelligent, and if they were willing to return to the Church Fathers, they might see things differently.
Merry Christmas Blessings to you, Nancy and your beautiful family
When I was in seminary if we came to, say, John 8, it was simply stated that it was a metaphor or some such, that we didn't heed to worry about. But look at this verse... So we were taught selective reading and interpretation of the Bible while stating that "we believe everything in the Bible".
My particular breaking point was in a class on one of the Old Testament books, I've forgotten which one. The instructor was saying that "we" believe it means this. However, the Baptists think it means thus. And the Catholics, well they have a completely different idea. This caused the very loud thought in my mind, "If we cannot know for sure what it means, how can I be a pastor and responsible for souls?" And so I left.
I recall you actually telling this fascinating story, and it's still as fresh and powerful in written form today as it was in spoken form back then. Thank God you helped a lapsed Catholic return to the faith! No doubt the Holy Spirit works through you, Patrick.
More evidence, that Jesus Christ is living in you. Your wisdom ended, His was sent. Perhaps your Guardian Angel helps. How you can face Protestant folly? There must be a God. Their proposals, which contradict Catholic essentials, are so preposterous, I am amazed. Which leads me to ask- why are there no Protestant Apologists? Why is it always they attack, we defend? Who challenges them to defend preposterous propositions, such as the Biblically refuted ones you mention? The list is too long to type here. Short example: most Protestants say Jesus Christ is risen. OK. Who challenges them to "show us the Body"? Catholics can do this, in Sacrament, and Structure. Et Cetera. May God have mercy on all preposterous proposers- and may I not be among them. Call me out if that happens. Keep up the good work.
I Love this and I have this and the other Book 🫶🙏 You're a Genius in my opinion 💪 I'm a slow learner but that's okay I'm savoring every bit of these Topics. I always tell my Church Friends about RR 📻 and Fr. Rocky is my Favorite Radio Padre' God Bless 🙏
I used this on two Jehovah's witnesses about a year ago, after I heard you talk on air about it.
The Jehovah's witnesses tried giving me a tract of theirs. They tried telling me that Jesus wasn't God, but He is a King. That He's the archangels Michael.
I told them that I don't follow the JW way of interpretation, which is erroneos.
I'm sure one of them, said I can interpret how I please.
I replied that I trust in the magisterium of the Church, passed down from it's beginning. Early Church fathers who understood the use of language and customs of that time, better than we do today.
I then moved on to your great idea.
"I never said you stole money"
I had to speak it though, so had to control my voice that each word had a natural tone. They fell for it, they said "it means just as I said it". Then, I gave examples of the different interpretations, within the sentence. They seemed a little flustered. I then expressed my trust in the magisterium of the Catholic Church, whom I believe has it all within context.
One of the two then held up the tract saying "I guess you won't be needing this?".
I politely said, "No thank you, God Bless!"
They didn't return the gesture.
Thank you for this Patrick and all your work.
Fantastic, Stephen. I love hearing that.
Thank you, you have been a credit to my growth in faith.
I loved hearing you speak of the faithful being like three masted ships. I've meditated on it a lot. I've even used it in a class with young children using toy cars with sails added on top. Only one was perfect, the others either had bent axils or inefficient sails. When the cars were blown along the table only one reached the sacred heart plushie at the end of the table.
I wanted to show that we must pray, read scripture, listen to God, trust is God. Most importantly, obey!
Last week I was thinking more deeply over the course of a few days.
I wrote this. I did put my draft the chat GPT, just to improve flow and grammar.
All imagery, voice and theology is mine. My question is. Is it still honest if it's been edited only for flow and grammar.
I was never great at writing things, I only improved after finding my faith and surrendering myself to our Lord.
Here goes...
The journey to holiness
The journey to holiness reminds me of a three-masted sailing ship.
It needs a watertight hull, strong sails, and the wind to move it forward.
In our lives, we often damage our hulls and sails and try to rely only on our rudder—doing things our own way. But when the hull is cracked, the ship slowly takes on water.
By reading and studying Sacred Scripture, we repair our hulls. As Saint Jerome said, “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.” Without a solid foundation, without a sound hull, we begin to sink.
The sails also must be in good condition. They represent our ears—listening for the voice of God. Pride can tear holes in those sails. Only humility allows us to hear God clearly and respond to His will.
The Holy Spirit is the wind that fills the sails and moves us forward. He is the divine energy that carries us when we surrender control.
To surrender to God, we must loosen our grip on the rudder and place our trust in Him. Regular confession keeps our ship seaworthy, repairing the damage we accumulate along the way. It sharpens our intellect and strengthens our will, preparing us for victory in every spiritual battle.
As Saint John Bosco taught, we must guide our ship between the two great pillars: the Eucharist and the Blessed Mother. Between them, we find safety, direction, and the sure path to holiness.
I can’t tell you just how much I loved this writing, Patrick! I can’t wait to show it to Mark.
I’m not sure I ever told you this, but Mark’s brother is a very committed Calvinist. He’s a brilliant man—an MD—and far smarter than I could ever hope to be. Still, when I talked about becoming Catholic, he would tell me I’d lost my way and my faith, that I had turned to a man-made religion. He believed that bowing before the Eucharist was bowing to an idol, since he saw it as only bread and wine. In his view, I simply wasn’t among the predestined.
It hurt more than I can say. I would get upset, angry, and yes—sometimes I cried. I could never seem to say the “right” thing, and I often felt like I was constantly being told how I fell short of the glory of God
Later on, I came across information about the Dead Sea Scrolls and learned—just as the Catholic Church has always taught—that the Hebrew canon of Scripture wasn’t settled until after the destruction of the Temple. Even more striking was the discovery that several Old Testament books later removed by Protestants were found not only in the Greek Septuagint, but also written in Hebrew. I shared this with my brother-in-law and simply said, “Calvin didn’t live long enough to know these Scriptures would one day be found.” He replied that our conversation was finished.
He hasn’t become Catholic—mostly out of stubbornness—but he has been much kinder to Mark and to me since then. Calvinists are often very intelligent, and if they were willing to return to the Church Fathers, they might see things differently.
Merry Christmas Blessings to you, Nancy and your beautiful family
When I was in seminary if we came to, say, John 8, it was simply stated that it was a metaphor or some such, that we didn't heed to worry about. But look at this verse... So we were taught selective reading and interpretation of the Bible while stating that "we believe everything in the Bible".
My particular breaking point was in a class on one of the Old Testament books, I've forgotten which one. The instructor was saying that "we" believe it means this. However, the Baptists think it means thus. And the Catholics, well they have a completely different idea. This caused the very loud thought in my mind, "If we cannot know for sure what it means, how can I be a pastor and responsible for souls?" And so I left.
Love it! It should get everyone thinking Thanks, Patrick :)
I recall you actually telling this fascinating story, and it's still as fresh and powerful in written form today as it was in spoken form back then. Thank God you helped a lapsed Catholic return to the faith! No doubt the Holy Spirit works through you, Patrick.
More evidence, that Jesus Christ is living in you. Your wisdom ended, His was sent. Perhaps your Guardian Angel helps. How you can face Protestant folly? There must be a God. Their proposals, which contradict Catholic essentials, are so preposterous, I am amazed. Which leads me to ask- why are there no Protestant Apologists? Why is it always they attack, we defend? Who challenges them to defend preposterous propositions, such as the Biblically refuted ones you mention? The list is too long to type here. Short example: most Protestants say Jesus Christ is risen. OK. Who challenges them to "show us the Body"? Catholics can do this, in Sacrament, and Structure. Et Cetera. May God have mercy on all preposterous proposers- and may I not be among them. Call me out if that happens. Keep up the good work.
I Love this and I have this and the other Book 🫶🙏 You're a Genius in my opinion 💪 I'm a slow learner but that's okay I'm savoring every bit of these Topics. I always tell my Church Friends about RR 📻 and Fr. Rocky is my Favorite Radio Padre' God Bless 🙏