Heresies in the Early Church

             Catholic doctrine derives from the revealed truths contained in the Deposit of Faith that Christ entrusted to his Church and which is found in Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition. However, from the earliest days of Christianity, there were some who corrupt these teachings. The people who were corrupting these teachings were called heresies. Heresy is the denial or alteration of some part or parts of the Deposit of faith. These heresies came around when the Church was fairly new and the Church did not need people disrupting their teachings so early into her existence. It would only drive new believers away from the Church, which is the opposite of what the Church wanted.

             There are many different Heresies that exist. Gnosticism is the first. The word Gnosticism is derived from the Greek word gnosis and refers to a set of beliefs that only some people may achieve through secret knowledge and salvation. According to Gnostics, Christ had been sent with a secret knowledge to basically hand out to those he deemed worthy. Not everyone could receive this special knowledge. The Second Heresy is Arianism. Arius, a priest from Alexandria in Egypt, claimed that Jesus Christ was not eternally God and thus not equal to the Father. Apollinarianism originated from Apollinaris, bishop of Laodicea in Syria. Apollinaris denied the existence of a human mind and will in Christ; this lead people to believe that Christ did not live a complete human life as a man. The fourth Heresy is Nestorianism. Patriarch Nestorius maintained Christ was the unity of two persons: one divine and one human. He would not allow Mary to be called the Mother of God. The final Heresy is Monophysitism. Monophysites claimed that there is only one nature in Christ, not two. The name means “only one nature.” This Heresy taught the human nature of Christ was “incorporated” into the divine nature, in the same way a drop of water is absorbed into an ocean. 

Counter-Reformation

     The counter reformation is the Catholic revival or Catholic reformation. It was the Catholic Church's answer to the Protestant reformation. This counter reformation's task was to revive the Church and that is what it was able to do. The completion of this task was very big for the Church which, was out into trouble by the Protestant reformation.

     This counter reformation was what led to the Church's comeback from turmoil and trouble and revived into a state of unity and holiness. A main participant in this comeback was Saint Ignatius of Loyola who, with Pope Paul III and others, led the Church where it needed to go. This devotion has led St. Ignatius to become a big part in Church history and a Saint that is praised many times and a day.

Protestantism v. Ecumenism

      The Protestant reformation was big moment in Church history that changed the Church forever and led to many different denominations in the chruch. After the Church split once it continued to happen and now today there are 30,000 different denominations of the Church.
      The reformation occurred when Martin Luther questioned the Church on their selling of indulgences. Which he was right and wrong to do. He was right to he question the way the Church acted but not the way that the indulgence itself. By questioning the indulgence he was questioning the authority of Christ and that is a wound to the mystical body of Christ.
      This act tore the Church apart back then and has led to the various amount of Churches on Earth today. The Protestant reformation was very important and was a major blow to the Church but the Catholic Church was able to comeback though with the counter reformation.

Boston Marathon

       A few days ago at the end of the Boston Marathon bombs were exploded and caused injuries and deaths. It was a sad moment that put a lot of fear and sadness into the hearts of American citizens.While this was a bad moment the aftermath showed the unity of America.

 The prayers that were sent out and how every citizen went to help showed that America is a caring and loving nation. Everybody was asking God for help and knowing that he had the power to save and care after those in need at this trying time. We also showed as a nation what the  Church is and that is unity. One is one of the marks of the Church and it refers to the unity of Christ and the unity of the Church. All of the citizens of America stood by each other in unity just like the members of the Church do and always have . As humans we are called to live in unity and as one and that is what we have been doing since the tragic incident.

AJ's Service

            This year for my fifteen service hours I volunteered at an organization called Challenger baseball. In this organization I would help others and help the community by assisting kids with disabilities so that they may play baseball. Challenger baseball goes on at a group fields in West University and is part of West University Little League. I would serve the organization on the six Sundays that games were played. Kids of all ages can join Challenger and participate in the games.

            The first challenger player that I helped was a kid named Anthony Croft. He wasn’t very out going but I could tell he loved to play baseball. I talked to him a lot and was able to make him laugh. Watching him have fun was really special to me because I love baseball and I know that I would want to play if I had a disability. The second challenger that I had was a real outgoing guy and was fun to talk to. In the short hour that I was with him I was able to learn a lot about him such as his hobbies and his favorite things. He was an eighteen year old who had graduated high school and his name was Devin Singley. He was a nice and easy to talk to.

            I like helping the kids out and play because I know if I was disabled and could not play sports I would do everything possible to play. I love baseball and I love playing any type of sport. I am so attached to sports that I never want them to be a part of me all throughout my life. I intend to continue my service in the Challenger Baseball organization for the years to come because helping people who are less fortunate than me do something that brings them joy is something that is very special and is not something that you get to do anytime that you would like to.

            In most service opportunities you do not get to have very much fun but I loved to volunteer at Challenger. I made friends with all of the disabled players and by the third game I was able to talk to the players about things they were interested in because I had bonded with them. I found myself laughing and having a good time during the service hours and that is very rare. I was able to have as much fun as they did just by talking to them.

            I really enjoyed participating in Challenger this year and I had a lot of fun. It was my first year to do it but I think I will continue to do it in the future. I made new friends and I helped out the community. There is nothing I like more than baseball and it meant a lot to me to do something to bring others closer to the sport and happiness.