Exhorting a
Former Co-Worker
A FORWARD:
Several years ago I worked with a gentleman who became a good
acquaintance. We never spent a lot of time together while not on the job, but
we were very friendly during our daily duties. Moreover, having converted
recently, Catholicism naturally arose in our conversations. He was from
From my side of things, I liked him immediately; his soul displayed
a sensitivity that is rare amongst human beings. Unfortunately, although he was
always ‘nice’ & respectful to me, he would never take the
Catholic Faith truly seriously --- leastwise, not openly to my face. I did get
the impression that I had an effect on him, though. For instance, he admitted
that Protestantism was in many ways grievously lacking & not in harmony
with the facts of ancient Christian history. Too, some time after I had gone to
work elsewhere and we were not seeing each other much, I found out that he
& his wife (who had grown up Protestant, as I recall) were attending
services at an Eastern Schismatic church in the local area, having apparently forsaken
regular assembly with the spiritual descendants of Martin Luther’s revolt.
Nevertheless, he now had no excuse not to know better. No one
really does. The Creator gives men, His creatures, both minds & wills to
seek for His Commandments, He guaranteeing their discovery no matter where such
men are or when they live... if only they bother to look. But in his case he
had me explicitly telling him the Saving Truth of Roman Catholicism and, in turn, he
claimed to have read an older version of my book about no Salvation outside the
Catholic Church, Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus. Ergo, there’s absolutely no way he
couldn’t know how to begin to save his immortal soul. Then, not having
heard from him for some time and I moving far away out-of-state, I exhorted him
again by physical letter to convert to the Catholic Faith. I later returned to
This webpage is therefore comprised of two letters: the first being
the one I sent him upon moving out-of-state for awhile, the second being the more
recent one I wrote in response to his brief note about getting in touch. And I
post them, with his anonymity preserved, of course, in order to show readers how
it is often the ‘little things’ that keep a man from converting and
thus procuring real hope for eternal salvation. Because while I cannot pretend
perfect knowledge of this acquaintance’s innermost soul, it requires no
genius guessing what most likely detains him from conversion, provided he
actually has good will in the matter otherwise --- to wit, private sin (since real
Catholicism assures us that men in mortal sin cannot enter Heaven), the respect
of colleagues (since conversion requires a man to talk & act like a real
Catholic in public, lest denial of the Faith send him to Hell), and a heretical
spouse (since those attached to, or tolerating, heresy in their lives will not
want to enter an exclusively saving Catholic Church). Thus, attachment to sin,
reputation & spouse are probably what, more than anything else, keep him from taking Catholicism truly seriously &
converting. Do not let such things detain you, my dear reader!
+ + + 1. Letter of 2 May 2007 + + +
Dear X,
It’s been many years since we’ve worked together,
almost as many years since we’ve seriously talked, and at least a couple
of years since last we greeted one another. Several times you’ve denied
being too busy to see me, however, I’m well aware of what leadership of
the library entails, not to mention the demands that marriage, fatherhood &
various other activities of modern life places on your shoulders. I am thus not
surprised by the silence of nearly six years beyond a pair of brief hellos.
Nevertheless, I am also well aware that real Catholicism is both
offensive & frightening. Were you standing before me you’d probably
disavow this, too, as you have in the past. Yet if not offended or frightened
by the Roman Catholic Faith that I embody, then why haven’t you met with
me? Busy though you are, half a decade affords plenty
of chances to do so, assuming you make the effort. Still, you will protest your
equanimity. To which I respond:
If you are truly not offended or frightened, then either you
haven’t actually understood the teaching of the Catholic Church or
else you don’t actually believe what She
proclaims.
Now, you’re an intelligent fellow. I know, because I’ve
spoken at some length with you. And I’ve told you what the Church declares
with God-given infallibility about no one entering Heaven apart from full &
literal profession of Her Catholic Religion. The Holy Spirit convicted your
heart of this Saving Truth; all the same, you’re fully capable of
examining the Papacy across the centuries should you doubt my words.
What’s more, I’ve backed them up with documented testimony from
earliest Christians, the plain hard facts of Sacred Scripture and rock solid
reasoning rooted in simple common sense. The older version of my book, Extra
Ecclesiam Nulla Salus, that you claim to have read, is proof of this.
Consequently, a lack of understanding isn’t your main problem.
Indeed, regardless of how little you may grasp the Church’s
teaching, refusal to heed Her Voice always boils down to one of two things.
That is to say, either you want what’s contrary to Catholicism more than
you want the True Faith itself, or else you fear the loss of something in your
life right now by becoming Roman Catholic more than you fear the loss of your
soul later on by not dying as a Catholic. The former is attachment to sin, the
latter attachment to earth. And while sin certainly obstructs your conversion,
your wife was raised Protestant & despises the thought of becoming an
actual Roman Catholic. Ergo, you face the very real possibility of her
divorcing you were you to convert. This, I wager, is your biggest stumbling
block --- not to mention how cut off you’d feel from others by beginning
to act like a genuine Catholic.
This fear you must overcome. Unfortunately, I can no longer easily
visit you, having left
-Paul
Doughton
+ + + 2. Letter of 28 August 2008 + + +
Dear X,
Thank you so very much for your generous gift in the mail recently.
Concerning your reference to me as a modern day
‘Elijah’, I am not worthy of the appellation. I may cry in the
wilderness, buck against the overwhelming tide & speak to a multitude of
deaf ears, however, I am an unworthy sinner. He was a
brave & holy saint.
As for connecting --- if possible --- that would be alright. There
are, though, several things that we would have to bear in mind were we to
actually see one another:
One, I have a wife & six sons and I must slave for awhile for
an earthly taskmaster to earn money. Hence, whether you visit here or I go
there, my time is limited & precious.
Meaning, two, that we must not waste
moments. Friendly chitchat is understandable to a modest extent, but the
crucial thing is the gulf between us regarding the Catholic Faith.
Meaning, three, that we must tackle this divide. Be it one hour or
three hours, our words must get down to brass tacks. Why don’t you
think I’m right? Why won’t you become a real Catholic? Have
you sound reasons or simply bias & fear?
Meaning, four, that ‘tackling this
divide’ isn’t the same as bare disagreement. Anybody can say,
“I disagree.” Fine. Yet the heart of the
matter is not the mere fact of difference. It is precisely why
you disagree, the solid reasoning & rock hard evidence for your
stance… if any. To do less than this on your part is
sheer animosity, however politely stated.
In short, my dear former co-worker, I am in earnest --- as any
genuine ‘Elijah’ would be. I neither aim for ecumenical parley nor
shooting the breeze. You’ve The Epistemologic Works website, which ---
though but a 100th of all that it will eventually be --- more than
suffices to show why there can be no Salvation outside Jesus’ Roman
Catholic Body. You also claimed to have read an older version of Extra Ecclesiam Nulla Salus several years ago. Ergo, there is no excuse not
to hit the ground running were you & I to talk.
But perhaps you’re ensconced comfortably midway between
Luther & Rome. I mean, so-called ‘Eastern Orthodoxy’ has all of
the sacraments, ritual & tradition one can find in the Western
Patriarchate, right? It’s almost like Catholicism minus the Papacy, n’est-ce pas? Yet if you’ve
studied doctrine carefully then you know this is not true. A pope is the visible
head of God’s Ecclesial Body, teaching by His Infallible Authority.
Catholic Faith stands or falls on this principle alone. Moreover,
after a millennium, East defies West on many dogmas other than papal authority.
The two are now wholly separate religions. So, while it may keep marital peace,
evoke family history & assuage spiritual conscience, it is not an honest
solution. In the deep love of Christ’s Cross for your immortal soul,
-Paul
+
+ +
Pilate’s
query met:
Note:
if you have come
to this webpage directly from a search
engine or other
website, then, when done viewing this webpage
--- and assuming
you wish to view more of this website’s pages ---
please type the
website’s address (as given above right before this
note) into the
address bar at the top of your browser and hit the
‘enter’ button on the keyboard of your computer.
Please go here about use of the writings
on this website.
© 2008 by
Paul Doughton.
All rights
reserved.