Dear Godchild

As your Godfather, I’d like to tell you some things about God and the Catholic Church that I wish someone had taught me when I was your age (or younger).  Some of this you may know, some you may not.  I thought I’d save the time it’d take to interview you and just tell you all of it.

I’m going to present you with cut and dry, tell it like it is, straight forward facts.

First, God exists.  No one can prove otherwise and the universe could not exist without a God to design and create it.  We live in a fine-tuned universe, otherwise known as the Anthropic Principle.  This principle, which is conventional wisdom in physics, refers to how our universe operates according to a set of specific numeric values and how our existence in this universe depends on these values being precisely what they are.  For example, in order for life to exist, the energy density of empty space must be perfectly accurate to a number with over 100 decimal places.  Precise measurements like this point to a grand designer of the universe.  Because of this, statisticians have stated that it is statistically impossible for the universe to have randomly come into being.  It is more likely for you to randomly cut five hundred trillion pieces of wood and have them perfectly fit together to build a huge mansion, than for the universe to have randomly come into being without God.  The chances are better for me to buy one lottery ticket in all 50 states and win them all.  Someone designed and created the universe.  This Someone is God.

Second, Jesus Christ is God.  We know He existed, historical records all agree on this.  We know He is reported to have taught about God, to have worked miracles, been crucified and on the third day rise from the dead.  The Bible is an undisputed historical record of all this.  We also know the He Himself claimed to BE GOD.  We also know that hundreds of people who claim to have seen Him after He rose from the dead allowed themselves to be killed rather than deny Jesus.  This includes 10 of the apostles, who knew for sure if Jesus really rose or if it was a lie.  Over the next 250 years the life expectancy of a Christian was quite low (if one became a Christian you were likely to end up nailed to a cross, in a lion’s mouth or without one’s head)… Despite all this – people kept joining up.  It got to the point where the largest empire of the era, Rome, declared Christianity as the official religion of the empire 350 years after it had crucified it’s Founder, Jesus Christ.  It went from one Jewish carpenter/preacher with 12 lower middle class friends/followers to the most dominant religion in the world.  How is this possible?… unless…

Jesus had to be God.  Too many people who saw Him work miracles and who heard Him speak would have been alive to dispute the claims of the apostles if they were not true.  And why would so many go to their deaths for something they knew was a lie?  And how, with no electronic means and against the power of Rome, did Christianity become so wide spread so fast?  Nothing like this has ever happened before or sense in the history of the world.  The power of God is the only explanation.

Third, Jesus created the Catholic Church.  This is the one and sole reason for being Catholic.  If this is not the reason that you’re Catholic, then you need to think about why you would want to be in any religion at all.  Maybe you’re Catholic because the teaching is good, or because your family is Catholic, or becasue the pope is cool… but none of these reasons or any other reason, not one, is as important as this one fact: God created the Catholic Church.  What else do you need?  Who’s religion would you rather be in?  I’ll be in God’s clubhouse if you need me, thank you very much.

How do we know that Jesus created the Catholic Church?  History.  As recorded in the Gospel of Matthew (chapter 16) Jesus gave St. Peter the Keys to Heaven.  Jesus said the He was going to build a Church and use Peter as it’s foundation and that whatever Peter decided would be held up in Heaven.  Later in chapter 18, and other parts of the four Gospels, Jesus Gave the 12 apostles the authority to pass on not only the teachings He gave them, but also teachings that the Holy Spirit would reveal to them after Jesus ascended into Heaven.  This authority to teach the truth about faith and morals, because it comes from God, is infallible.  It has been passed on to all the popes and bishops up to this day.  This is why we know the pope is right whenever he teaches on faith or morals.  The best place to find a compilation of Church teaching is the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

Jesus also created the Church to pass on the saving grace, or sanctifying grace, He earned for us on the cross.  The Church does this through the seven sacraments.  Deacons, priests and bishops have the authority to dispense God’s saving grace in the sacraments, so we can be transformed and made holy from the inside out.  If we respond to this grace with love for God and others, according to the teaching of the Church, then we are in effect choosing to enter Heaven when we die.

Forth and lastly, our Catholic Faith is all about one thing, a relationship with Jesus.  Everything else, Mass, morals, sacraments, prayer, the Bible… everything – is there to point to or help – this relationship.  If you don’t have a real relationship with Jesus, if you don’t strive to know and love Him, then everything else is in vain.  

How do I have a relationship with Jesus, you ask?  I’m glad you did.  Here are the top ten ways to have a good relationship with Jesus (in no particular order):

1. Pray for at least a few minutes every day; no matter what.
2. Make learning and following what Jesus teaches through His Church your top priority in life.
3. Go to Mass each Sunday and holy day of obligation and learn what is going on during Mass and what you are really supposed to be doing there (besides standing, kneeling and sitting).
4. Go to confession once a month.
5. Get the Catechism of the Catholic Church and read about one page every weekend.
6. Read one chapter of a gospel each week until you’ve read all four gospels.  Then start all over again.
7. Sign up for an hour of Eucharistic Adoration each week, or at least go once a month.
8. Find a young adult Catholic group in your area and join it.
9. When you find yourself thinking about what you want and what you need, think instead about what your family and friends want and need – then act on it.
10. Remember that God loves you more that you can fathom, that God is interested in every facet of your life, and that no matter what happens God is there with you and will always forgive you.

Let me know if you have any questions.

God Bless,

Uncle Mike