www.stillcatholic.com presents

 

 

THE EARLY CHURCH  JINGLE          by claire

 

Up on the cross, the day He took his last breaths,

He prayed we’d all be one after His death

Just how united should believers be with one another?

Just as one as the Son is with the Father

 

That’s what Jesus said

He had prayed this before

He prayed it in Gethsemane

Now He prayed it some more

 

‘Cause this was the day His heart stopped beating

Then the earth started shaking

Tombstones started breaking

Dead saints rose

They went into the city

They appeared to many

There was no mistaking

 

The Temple of Jerusalem

Beheld yet another wonder

For upon the death of Christ

The temple’s veil was torn asunder

 

The veil that concealed the Holy of Holies

Where only the high priest could go

Was torn in two; thus ending the Old Covenant

Made with Abraham four thousand years ago

 

The Jewish priesthood was no longer needed

The new priesthood had started

With just the Twelve who were seated

At the Last Supper with Christ

The night before He was betrayed

The night he held up His body and prayed

His new priests were told to do the same

 

In the temple, God would no longer exist

From now on, Christ would reside in believers

In the Eucharist

Our bodies are temples

On Christ we subsist

 

“My flesh is true food”

“My blood is true drink”

Jesus said this over and over

Until it finally sunk in

 

The early Christians confessed the Real Presence

It was part of the faith; the Church’s inheritance

 

Christ built His church

On a man He called Rock

The gates of hell would not have a shot

At toppling this Church

Whether man sinned or not

 

Christ knew that men

Might not always obey

So He made His Church divine

So at least our doctrines

Could not go astray

 

ALL TRUTH

ALL TRUTH

This believers were assured

Through the Church

Instituted by our Lord

 

The apostles received

The full and true teaching.

After they died,

Their successors kept preaching

 

The Spirit of Truth

Did not go away

The Spirit spoke through the Church

As He still does today

 

Which Gospels were Scripture?

Which interpretations were right?

The Holy Spirit showed Her the light

 

At the 4th century councils

We can have no doubt

The Holy Spirit showed the Church

Which books belonged in the Bible

And which books stayed out

 

Century one, century two, Century three, four, five

Every bishop, every pope was in an unbroken line

A line straight back to an actual apostle

If this was a coincidence, it sure was colossal

 

The miracle continues two thousand years later

The same apostolic lines still protected by our Creator

All our bishops trace back to the Twelve

Our popes can be traced right back to Saint Peter

 

One man’s office let another take

So they laid their hands on certain approved men

Careful to avoid a mistake

A bishop ordained outside the apostolic loop

Was merely a fake

 

Every Christian was Catholic

Every Catholic was Christian

There was only one Church

There could be no division

 

The light of the world

A city set on a hill

Everyone knew which Church was Catholic

And the same is true still

 

One Body, One Faith, One Flock, One Fold

One Lord, One Truth, One Spirit we Hold

 

Jesus had entrusted His apostles

With his own teaching mission

This mission would continue

Through Apostolic Tradition

 

The power and authority

From Christ up above

Was granted to the Church

To shepherd us in love

 

What you bind on earth

I will bind in heaven

Said the Lord who promised

To make His Church His bride forever

 

The Church is the teacher

And here She stays

From Jesus we know

She’d prevail all days

 

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BIBLE REFERENCES FOR ABOVE JINGLE

 

CHRIST’S FOLLOWERS MUST BE ONE

“As you sent me into the world, so I sent them into the world. And I consecrate myself for them, so that they also may be consecrated in truth. I pray not only for them, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may be brought to perfection as one, that the world may know that you sent me, and that you loved them even as you loved me.” (John 17:17-23)

 

Here, Christ grants to His Church His awesome authority to legislate on Earth:

Amen, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” (Matthew 18:18)

 

Here, Christ says he will build his Church on the Rock of Peter (Pope JOhn Paul II is Peter’s direct successor) and this Church cannot fall or be conquered. Peter’s authority will be recognized in heaven:

“And so I say to you, you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys to the kingdom of heaven.  Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 16:18-19)

 

THE CHURCH WILL BE GUIDED INTO ALL TRUTH BY THE HOLY SPIRIT

“But when he comes, the Spirit of truth, he will guide you to all truth. He will not speak on his own, but he will speak what he hears, and will declare to you the things that are coming. (John 16:13)

 

The Church must be One: one flock with one shepherd.

“…. and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd.” (John 10:16)

 

The Church MUST HAVE UNITY– there is JUST ONE BODY AND One faith

“…striving to preserve the unity of the spirit through the bond of peace: one body and one Spirit, as you were also called to the one hope of your call; one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.” (Ephesians 4:3-6)

 

Christ prays the Church will be One just like the Father and Son are One

“…so that they may all be one, as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, that the world may believe that you sent me. And I have given them the glory you gave me, so that they may be one, as we are one…” (John 17:21-22)

 

CHRIST WANTS ALL FOLLOWERS TO BE IN ONE FLOCK

I have other sheep that do not belong to this fold. These also I must lead, and they will hear my voice, and there will be one flock, one shepherd. (John 10:16)

 

There should be no divisions.

I urge you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose. (I Cor 1:10)

 

BELIEVERS ARE One United Body

“For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body…”((I Cor 12:13)

 

WE, THOUGH MANY, ARE ONE BODY IN CHRIST

so we, though many, are one body in Christ and individually parts of one another…” (Romans 12:5)

 

AVOID THOSE WHO CREATE DISSENSIONS

“I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who create dissensions and obstacles, in opposition to the teaching that you learned; avoid them.” (Romans 16:17)

 

Here, Christ gives His Church the power to forgive sins:

And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, "Receive the holy Spirit. Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and whose sins you retain are retained." (John 20:23)

 

Here, Christ shows the Church has the power to discipline

“If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.”

(Matthew 18:17)

 

Christ promises the Church will be ongoing, teaching truth until the end of time.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit,

teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age." (Matthew 28:19-20)

 

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you always, the Spirit of truth…….” (John 14:16-17)

 

Here, the Church is called the pillar and foundation of truth.

But if I should be delayed, you should know how to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of truth. (1 Timothy 3:15)

 

When the Church speaks, it’s actually Christ speaking

Whoever listens to you listens to me. Whoever rejects you rejects me. And whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me." (Luke 10:16)

 

Church has the power to offer the sacrifice of the Eucharist, which fulfills the Old Covenant

For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."

In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."  For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.

 (1 Cor 23-26)

 

THE CHURCH IS VISIBLE AND CANNOT BE HIDDEN

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a mountain cannot be hidden.” (Matthew 5:14)

 

May another take his office (Apostolic Succession/Hierarchy)

For it is written in the Book of Psalms: 'Let his encampment become desolate, and may no one dwell in it.' And: 'May another take his office.' (Acts 1:20)

Also see Acts 1:25-26 where Matthias takes on the apostolic office of Judas

Also see 1 Tim 3:1, 8, 5:17 provides qualifications for bishops, priests and deacons

Also see 1: Tim 4:14 and 1 Tim 5:22 Apostolic ministry is conferred with laying on of hands/laying of hands should not be done too readily on anyone

 

The Church was built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets.” (Ephesians 2:20)

 

Hierarchical Order

“And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers…” (Ephesians 4:11)

 

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NON-RHYMING INFORMATION ON THE EARLY CHURCH

 

http://www.catholic.com/library/pillar.asp (Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth)

http://ic.net/~erasmus/RAZ60.HTM (The Visible, Hierarchical, Apostolic Church)

http://www.staycatholic.com/the_church.htm (The Visible Church)

http://www.scborromeo.org/papers/history.PDF (An Unbroken History)

http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/nutshell.htm (A Brief History of Christianity in a Nutshell)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Apostolic_Succession.asp (Apostolic Succession)

http://www.cin.org/liter/belief11.html (The Belief of Catholics: The Foundation of the Church)

http://www.cin.org/liter/belief0.html (Essays from 1927)

http://www.stillcatholic.com/CATH%20Euch.htm (Why Believe in the Eucharist)

http://catholicapologetics.com/q5.htm (Eucharist Fulfilled in the New Testament)

http://www.catholic.com/library/What_Catholic_Means.asp (What Catholic Means)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Peter_and_the_Papacy.asp (Peter and the Papacy)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Apostolic_Succession.asp (Apostolic Succession)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Authority_of_the_Pope_Part_1.asp (Authority of Pope I)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Authority_of_the_Pope_Part_2.asp (Authority of Pope II)

http://www.catholic.com/library/Origins_of_Peter_as_Pope.asp (Origins of Peter as Pope)

http://www.catholic.com/library/scripture_tradition.asp (Scripture and Tradition)

http://www.catholic.com/library/sacraments.asp (Sacraments)

http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/schism.htm (Unity)

http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Parthenon/2671/smc_open.html (From Mormon to Catholic)

http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/visible.htm (The Visibility of the Catholic Church)

http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/15179a.htm (Unity: Catholic Encyclopedia)

http://home.inreach.com/bstanley/amputate.htm (Believers Must be in One Body with no discord)

http://www.cin.org/users/jgallegos/church.htm (The One Holy Catholic Apostolic Church in Patristic Thought)

 

 

St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo:
"The Catholic Church, there are many other things which most justly keep me in her bosom. The consent of peoples and nations keeps me in the Church; so does her authority, inaugurated by miracles, nourished by hope, enlarged by love, established by age. The succession of priests keeps me, beginning from the very seat of the Apostle Peter, to whom the Lord, after His resurrection, gave it in charge to feed His sheep, down to the present episcopate. And so, lastly, does the name itself of Catholic, which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house. Such then in number and importance are the precious ties belonging to the Christian name which keep a believer in the Catholic Church, as it is right they should.... With you, where there is none of these things to attract or keep me.... No one shall move me from the faith which binds my mind with ties so many and so strong to the Christian religion.... For my part, I should not believe the gospel
except as moved by the authority of the Catholic Church."
 (Saint Augustine of Hippo, Against the Letter of Mani, 5:6   A.D. 397)

 

 

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