What is the Church

 

On the Journey Episode 128
What is the Church Part 1

On the Journey Episode 129
 What is the Church Part 2

On the Journey Episode 130
 What is the Church Part 3

On the Journey Episode 131
 What is the Church Part 4

On the Journey Episode 132
What is the Church Part 5

Catholicism and Dispensationalism

This is a multiple part series of videos from On the Journey with Matt, Ken and Kenny which explain Dispensationalism and the Catholic view on this subject.  As always this is a place to start when coming to an understanding of Dispensationalism. I bid you God's truth, and His peace on your journey. 

Catholicism and Dispensationalism, Part I:
 On the Journey with Matt, Ken, and Kenny, Episode 188

From The Late Great Planet Earth to Left Behind and beyond, millions of Christians have subscribed, knowingly or unknowingly, to the conclusions of a theological system known as Dispensationalism, which makes claims not only about the end of the world and the return of Jesus, but also about the nature of covenants in Scripture. Ken Hensley, a former Baptist pastor who came to faith in the 1970's through the witness of Christian friends who were dispensationalists, shares a window into how that shaped his approach to Scripture, and how his perspective on the Bible has developed since those early days. This is the first in an extended series of episodes on Dispensationalism from a Catholic perspective.

Catholicism and Dispensationalism, Part II:
On the Journey with Matt, Ken, and Kenny, Episode 189

In this episode, Ken discusses some of the specific passages of Scripture that were leading him to believe that the central claims of Dispensationalism couldn't hold up to Biblical scrutiny.

Catholicism and Dispensationalism, Part III:
On the Journey with Matt, Ken, and Kenny, Episode 190

In this episode, they look at the covenants God has made with His people through the centuries leading up to Jesus, and how it is Jesus Himself who is the most perfect fulfillment of the prophecies and promises made to Israel.

Catholicism and Dispensationalism, Part IV:
On the Journey with Matt, Ken, and Kenny, Ep. 191

In this episode, they look at the prophecies throughout salvation history related to how God was gathering together a people, and how the words and actions of Jesus in founding His Church fulfill the promises God made to bless all nations through His people Israel.

NOTE 

 

The following notes are taken from Catholic Magazine articles "Left Behind" "Israel and the Church" and "Waiting to be Raptured."   

Dispensationalism has its roots in the teaching of John Nelson Darby (1800 - 1882), an English Plymouth Brethren preacher. The concept was made famous by an  American preacher C. I. Scofield (1843-1921) who incorporated the system into his Scofield Reference Bible which was first published in 1909. 

Darby created a timeline that divided history into “dispensations,” either six or seven in number. These indicated various ages in which God dealt with humans in distinct ways. Dispensations were “administrations” through which God tested humans and proved their utter sinfulness before him. According to Darby’s scheme we live in the dispensation of the Church, which began during the ministry of Paul. For Darby the Church forms a “parenthesis” between the dispensation of the Law (from Moses to Christ) and the coming dispensation of the Kingdom. It is an era of grace in which the rejected Messiah is building up his heavenly people, the Christians. Meanwhile, God’s real issue in human history is with his earthly people, the Israelites. The Rapture will be the necessary removal of the heavenly people from the world so that God’s work with the earthly people might be finished.

Dispensationalists see Revelation as a blueprint of future events, chiefly concerning the Jewish people, leading up to a future, earthly reign of Christ known as the Millennium. During the Millennium, they believe, Israel will be restored as a nation, will return to offering animal sacrifices (in commemoration of Christ’s death on the cross), and will be the most favored nation on earth, with Jesus physically ruling in its capitol. In dispensational thought, the Jews may also have a special status in the eternal order that follows the Millennium.

Along with the dispensationalists the Catholic Church acknowledges that God does still have plans for the Jews as a unique people (Catechism of the Catholic Church 674). Paul clearly indicates this in his writings, especially in Romans 9–11, where he indicates God continues to fulfill his promises about the Jewish people by preserving a remnant of Jewish believers in Christ (11:1–5). This indicates a special place for Israel, for no other people has a promise that there will always be a believing remnant. God also has future plans for the Jewish people: One day the Jewish people as a nation will return to Christ, and this will be one of the signs of the Second Coming and the resurrection of the dead (11:12, 15).

But here is where Catholics differ from dispensationalists, Catholics believe that the Church is spiritual Israel or, in Catholic parlance, the “new Israel” (cf. CCC 877). This too is indicated in Paul’s writings: In Romans 9:6 he says that “not all who are of Israel are Israel.” This indicates the existence of two Israel's. One—”all who are of Israel”—indicates the ethnic people, not all of whom believe in Jesus. The other Israel, the context reveals, does not include those who have rejected the Messiah. This new Israel, founded by Messiah, exists in spiritual continuity with the Old Testament saints and so counts as a “spiritual Israel.” It includes Gentiles who believe in the Messiah and so through baptism are spiritually circumcised (Col. 2:11–12) and are reckoned as spiritual Jews (Rom. 2:26–29).

In his letter to the Ephesians Paul is even more explicit about the Gentiles’ spiritual inclusion when he states that “you Gentiles in the flesh . . . were [once] separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel . . . But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near . . . So then you are no longer strangers and sojourners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints” (2:11–13, 19).

The Catholic Church does not endorse or use the Scofield Reference Bible because its foundational theology, dispensationalism, is contrary to Catholic doctrine. But for reference here are Selected Notes from the Scofield Bible 

Is Praying for the Dead Biblical?

Scripture covered in this YouTube video

1 Cor 15:29-34 "Otherwise, what do people mean by being baptized on behalf of the dead?  If the dead are not raised at all, why are people baptized on their behalf?  Why am I in peril every hour?  I protest, brethren, by my pride in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die every day! What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?  If the dead are not raised, "Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die."  Do not be deceived: "Bad company ruins good morals." Come to your right mind, and sin no more.  For some have no knowledge of God.  I say this to your shame."

Commentary: This passage continues to baffle interpreters, since neither the form nor the meaning of this practice is familiar to us today.  Perhaps living believers were receiving baptism for the sake of deceased persons, hoping its benefits would accrue to them in the afterlife (2 Macc 12:39-45).  Another possibility, suggested by the verses 1 Cor 15:30-34, is that Paul is talking about people who endure a baptism of suffering for the sake of others who are physically or spiritually dead (Mark 10:38, Luke 12:50).  Either way, Paul reasons that such baptisms are pointless apart from the belief in a future resurrection."  

Mark 10:38 "But Jesus said to them, "You do not know what you are asking.  Are you able to drink the chalice that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism which which I am baptized?" 

Commentary: Drinking the chalice is a reference to Jesus' forthcoming suffering.  The term "with the baptism" is symbolic for immersion in trial and suffering.  James and John will share in Jesus' cup and baptism as they encounter persecution in the early Church.  The NT recalls the martyrdom of James in Acts 12:2 a he exile of John in Rev 1:9.  

Luke 12:50 "I (Jesus) have a baptism to be baptized with; and how I am constrained until it is accomplished!" 

Commentary: A figure of Jesus' Passion, his baptism is when he will be immersed in suffering and death and will raise again to a new life.  

2 Macc 12:39 - 45 "On the next day, as by the time it had become necessary, Judas and his men went to take up the bodies of the fallen and to bring them back to lie with their kinsmen in the sepulchers of their fathers.  Then under the tunic of every one of the dead they found sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear.  And it became clear to all that this was why these men had fallen.  So they all blessed the ways of the Lord, the righteous Judge, who reveals the things that are hidden; and they turned to prayer, begging that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out.  And the noble Judas exhorted the people to keep themselves free from sin, for they had seen with their own eyes what had happened because of the sin of those who had fallen.  He also took up a collection, man by man, to the amount of two thousand drachmas of silver, and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering.  In doing this he acted very well and honorably, taking account of the resurrection. But if he was looking to the splendid reward that is laid up for those who fall asleep in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought.  Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin."  

Commentary: Praying for the dead, a practice here attested by Jews over a century before Christ, became common in early Christianity as well.  St. Augustine's treatise On the Care of the Dead begins by citing the Maccabees' intercessions for the dead in this passage, which he sees as corresponding with the Church's universal practice of the priest praying for the dead at the altar. 

John 11:39-44 "Jesus said, "Take away the stone."  Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, "Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days."  Jesus said to her, "Did I not tell you that if you would believe you would see the glory of God?"  So they took aways the stone. And Jesus lifted up his eyes and said, "Father, I thank you that you have heard me.  I knew that you always hear me, but I have said this on account of the people standing by, that they may believe that you sent me." When he had said this, he cried with a loud voice. "Lazarus, come out."  The dead man came out, his hands and feet bound with bandages, and his face wrapped with a cloth."  

Commentary:  Jesus prays for the dead man Lazarus and he lives. 

Mark 5:39-42 "And when he had entered, he (Jesus) said to them, "Why do you make a tumult and weep?  The child is not dead but sleeping."  Ad they laughed at him.  But he put the all outside, and took the child's father and mother and those who were with him and went in where the child was.  Taking her by the hand he said to her, "Talitha cumi which means, "Little girl, I say to you, arise."  And immediately the girl got up and walked; for she was twelve years old.  And immediately they were overcome with amazement." 

Commentary:  Biblical writers often speak of "sleep" as a euphemism for biological death.  Jesus prays for the dead girl that she might live. 

Luke 7:12-15 "As he (Jesus) drew near to the gate of the city, behold, a a who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a large crowd from the city was with her.  And when the Lord saw her, he had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep"  And he came and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, "Young man, I say to you, arise."  Ad the dead man sat up, and began to speak.  And he gave him to this mother." 

1 Kings 17:17-23 "After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill; and his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, "What have you against me, O man of God?  You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to cause the death of my son!"  And he said to her, "Give me your son." And he took him from her bosom, and carried him up into the upper chamber, where he lodged, and laid him on his own bed.  And he cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God have you brought calamity even upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?  Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried to the Lord, "O Lord my God, let this child's soul come into him again"  And the Lord listened to the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.  And Elijah took the child, and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house  and delivered him to his mother, and Elijah said, "See, your son lives."  

Commentary:  Elijah prays intensely for the dead man and the Lord hears him.  

2 Tim 1:16-18 "May the Lord grant mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me; he was not ashamed of my chains,  but when he arrived in Rome he searched for me eagerly and found me.  May the Lord grant him to find mercy from the Lord on that Day, and you well know all the service he rendered at Ephesus." 

Commentary:  Onesiphorus and his family may have lived in Ephesus (1:18).  His diligent search for the imprisoned Paul was an expression of loyalty and courage, especially since Christians in Rome were at this time targets of fierce persecution (1:17).  Some commentators infer that Onesiphorus died before 2 Timothy was written, since (1) Paul does not indicate that Onesiphorus is with him any longer; (2) he prays that the Lord will grant him mercy at the final Judgment (1:18); and (3) he asks Timothy to greet the household of Onesiphorus, but not Onesiphorus himself (2 Tim 4:19).  If, in fact, Onesiphorus had died before Paul wrote this letter, then the apostle's prayer in 1:18 would be an early example of the Christian practice of praying for the dead.  

Acts 9:39 - 41 "So Peter rose and went with them. And when he and come, they took him to the upper room.  All the widows stood beside him weeping, and showing coats and garments which Dorcus made while she was with them.  But Peter put them all outside and knelt down and prayed; then turning to the body he said, "Tabitha, rise."  And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter she sat up. And he gave her his hand and lifted her up.  Then calling the saints and widows he presented her alive. " 

Commentary:  Peter prays for the dead Dorcus and she rises from the dead.  

Matt 10:8 "Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demon." 

Matt 11:5 "The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them." 

 

Luke 7:22 "And he (Jesus) answered them, "Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them." 

Protestant Ordination vs Catholic Ordination (Man-made vs God-made)

The question of how a Protestant becomes a pastor never actually crossed my mind. But when Kenny Burchard of Catholic Bible Highlights made a podcast on the subject I knew the subject was of great importance.

As a Catholic I understand that our Bishops and Priests are in direct line of the apostles of Christ.  It is what we call apostolic succession.  An unbroken line for over 2000 years.  Protestant pastors can not claim to be a part of this line as they broke off from the Church in the 1500's during the Protestant Reformation.  

In this podcast, Kenny lays out the story of how Protestant pastors are ordained and how this differs from how Catholic priests are ordained. One is of man and one is of God.  He starts his video with this question:  Do you know how your Protestant pastor was ordained?  

He gives 7 options for these man made ordinations:  1. They were self-ordained.  They decided to start a church, ordained themselves, and hung up their shingle.  2. Congregational ordination. This is where a pastor will be voted in by committee.   3. Presbyterian ordination is when the elders of the church vote in a new pastor. 4. Seminary ordination.  Pastors who attend a specific seminary may receive an ordination at the end of their education.  Some congregations source their pastors from a specific seminary.  5. 3rd Party Credential Program. 6. Online ordination.  Here a person pays a fee and receives a certificate of ordination.  7. Episcopal ordination.  Here a Bishop within a specific denomination will appoint a pastor.   

In the Catholic Church ordination is handed down through Jesus.  Jesus designed ordination when he commissions the 12 apostles in Matthew 28: 18-21.

"And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.  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, to the close of the age."    

Also see John 20:21. 

"Jesus said to them again,  "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even to I send you." 

The 12 are sent out into the world where they have the authority, through Jesus, to lay hands on their delegates.  Such as when Judas commits suicide and a new apostle was selected in Acts 1:15 - 26 

"And they put forward two Joseph called Barsabbas, who was surnamed Justus, and Matthias.  And they prayed and said, "Lord, you know the hearts of all men, show which one of these two you have chosen to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside, to go to his own place.  And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was enrolled with the eleven apostles." (Acts 1: 23 - 26)

They give their delegates the authority to lay hands on others. 

"For this reason I remind you to rekindle the gift of God that is within you through the laying on of my hands." (2 Tim 1:6) 

"Therefore, brethren, pick out from among you seven men of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may appoint to this duty.  But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word."  And what they said pleased the whole multitude, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolus,  proselyte of Antioch These they set before the apostles, and they prayed and laid their hands upon them." (Acts 6:3-6)

This happens throughout the ages in perpetuity down to the present day through the laying on of hands by the Bishops to the Priests. In the following passages we see three generations of succession: Timothy, his successor, and their successor. 

"You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and what you have heard from me before many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." (2 Tim 2:2) 

Our Catholic Priests are in apostolic succession to the apostles who were given authority from Jesus.  

Other important scripture for this lesson are: 

Titus 1:5 "This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you." 

1 Tim 5:22  "Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor participate in another man's sins."  

1 Tim 1:3 "As I urged you when I was going to Macedonia, remain at Ephesus that you may charge certain persons not to teach any different doctrine." 

Alright take out your bible and follow along with Kenny as he discusses how Protestant pastors are ordained, if it is a biblical ordination, and how Catholic priesthood differs from Protestant ordination. 

Relics - Saint Clare Church Roseville

 

Fr. George, pastor of St. Clare in Roseville, is the custodian of a large collection of Saint relics.  On All Saints Day, November 1, 2025, the relics were on display and Mike and I had the opportunity to be in the presence and honor then. These are all of the relics we saw and touched our blessed medals to. 

St. Vincent de Paul, St. Antony of Padua, St. Martin de Porres, St. Elizabeth of Hungary,

St. Gemma Galgani, St. Martin of Tours, Pier Giorgio F… St. Mother Theresa of Calcutta,
St. Benedict Joseph Labre, Bl. Giuseppe (Joseph) Moscati, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
St. Maximillian Kolbe, St. John Paul II, St. Luis Sancho de Rio,  St. Jerome Emiliani,
St. Damien of Molokai, St. Catherina of Siena  

St. John Vianney

Incorrupt Heart of St. John Vianney (We visited this March 2, 2019) 

St. Philomena virgin and martyr 

St. Mary Magdalene

 St. Catherine Laboure

St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta 

St John of the Cross and St Teresa of Avila 

St. Junipero Serra 

St. Terese of the Andes (1900 – 1920 Feast Day April12)  and St Teresa Margaret  Redi (1747 – 1770 Feast Day September 1) 

St. Cecilia virgin and martyr and St. Clare of Assisi 

St Clare and St Francis of Assisi 

Saint Pier Giorgio Frassati and St Carlo Acutis

St Simon Stock 

St Peter Damian, St Peter Eynard, St Philip Neri, Bl Giorgio, St. Pius V, St Pius X, St. Polycarp, St. Peter Claver, St. Raymond Nonnatus, St Rita of Carsia, St Robert Bellarmine, St Rose Venerini, Bl Francis Xavier Seelas, St Basil the Great, St Catherine of Siena, St Faustina Kowalstica, St Louis Bertrand, St Vincent Ferres, St Rose Philippine Duchesne, St Scholastica, St Simon of Stock, St Soledad Acosta, St Stanislaus Kostka, St Stephen, St Teresa of Avila, St Thomas Aquinas, St Theresa of Lisieux, St. Turibio, St Vincent de Paul

 St Gerard Majella

St Dymphna

 Blessed Mary of the Apostles co-founder Sisters of the Divine Savior 

St Patrick 

Therese of Lisieux of the Child Jesus 

St Blaise 

St Aloysius Gonzaga 

St. Jose Maria Escriba 

St John Neumann 

St Theresa Benedicta of the Cross (Edith Stein)

St Joseph and Mary 

Piece of the Rock from the Grotto of the Annunciation Nazareth, Israel 

Saints Joachim and Anne

St Elizabeth Ann Seton

St Ignatius of Loyola 

St Augustine 

St Monica

St Padre Pio 

A piece of rock from the Holy Sepulchre Jerusalem, Israel 

The Twelve Apostles
St Luke the Evangelist 

Saint Paul and Saint Jude 

Sts Peter and Paul 

St Mark, Luke, John, and Matthew 

St Francisco Marto
St Jacinta Marto
Servant of God Lucia dos Santos

Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica 

Jesuit Canadian Martyrs 

Seven Blessed Martyrs of Thailand 

St Margaret Mary Alacoque

St Marianne Cope

Blessed Stanley Rother

St Apollonia

St. Maria Goretti

St Dominic and St Catherine of Sienna

St Catherine of Sienna

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Saint Paul II 

St Bartolo Longo

Pope Leo XIV

Pope Francis 

Saint Jerome 

Blessed Bartola Lango, St Charles Borromeo, St. Charbel Makhlouf St Elizabeth Hesselblad
St Elizabeth of Hungary, St Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows, St. Gemma Galgani, St. John Eudes
St. Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio, St Jude Thaddeus, St. Mary Magdalene de Parri
St Celestine, St Therese, St Vincent de Paul, St. Martha, St Matthew, Apostle
St Oliver Plunkett, Blessed Paul V, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Gabriel of the Sorrowful Mother
St. Paul of the Cross, St. Peregrine, St. Phillip, Apostle, Blessed Pope Pius X
St. Simon of Stock, St. Teresa Margaret of the Sacred Heart, Saint Susanna

Saint Junipero Serra, St. Justin, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Leo X, St. Leonis Magni
St. Leopold Mandic, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, St. Lois Bertrand, St. Lucy
St. Lawrence Deacon and Martyr, St. Magda Sofia Barat,St. Maria Garetti
St. Martha, St. Martin Porres, True Cross, St. Martin of Tours, St. Maurus
St. Maximilian Kolbe, St. Monica, St. Nicolas Tolentino, St. Nicholas of Myra
St. Odilia, St. Oliver Plunkett, Bl Bartolo Longo, St. Paul of the Cross, St. Peregrine

St Hedwig, St. Helena, St. Ignatius of Loyola, St. Irenaeus, St. Isidore of Seville, St. Isidore Farmer
St. Januarius, St. Jerome, St. Jerome Emiliani, St. Joanna Jugan, St. John Baptist dela Salle
St. John of the Cross, St. John Damascene, St. John Capistrano, St. John Paul II, St. John XXIII
St. Joseph Cupertino, Bl. Bantola Lango, St. Josaphat, St. John Newmann, St. John Vianne
St. John Bosco, St. Jose Maria Escriba, St. Joseph Calasanz, St. Joseph Cupertino
St. Joseph Moscati, St. Josephine Bakhita, St. Jude Thaddeus, St. Juliana

St Maximillian Kolbe 

Rock from the Grotto of Lourdes 

St George 

St Vincent Ferrer
St Margaret Castello 

St Anthony