What We Believe

What does the Affirming Catholic Church of Christ believe? A brief synopsis of our faith

Squarely within this tradition of Old Catholicism/Independent Catholicism, the Affirming Catholic Church of Christ affirms traditional Catholic beliefs of faith and love, spirituality, community and prayer. We celebrate the seven sacraments and adhere to essential Catholic doctrine and practice, as expressed in the statements of the Second Vatican Council and the best of contemporary thought.

We proclaim the unconditional love and compassion of God, which embraces every human person regardless of his/her condition in life. We acknowledge the primacy of the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit to speak in our day through the sensus fidelium (“sense of the faithful”), leading to a world of justice and peace.

As our parish mission suggests, we seek to be “Loving. Catholic. Inclusive. Doing It Jesus’ Way!”

How is the Affirming Catholic Church of Christ different from Roman Catholic parishes?

As an Old Catholic / Independent Catholic Church, we share many of the theological and moral teachings of the Roman church, with a few important differences:

Christ’s law of love for God and neighbor (Lk 10:27) is our supreme command. For this reason, we do not judge, especially with respect to complex moral questions. Rather, we affirm the dignity of all human persons regardless of race, national origin, religious affiliation, gender, or sexual orientation. We strive for justice within the universal Church and the world. We work together to build community as faithful, clergy and bishops, united as family in loving concern for each other, working together to live the scriptural command of love in our daily lives, and bringing the love of Christ to others. In all, we recall the ancient wisdom of the Church as expressed in the words of St. Augustine: “In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in all things, charity.”
A Post-Vatican II theology, ecclesiology and liturgy. We believe that the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965), the last ecumenical council of the Roman church, was a great source of wisdom and inspiration, at which the Holy Spirit was very active and present. We are heirs of the legacy of that ecumenical council, and we commit ourselves to the ongoing implementation of its teachings. Saint John XXIII, who convened the council, wisely observed that the Church is a garden and not a museum. We believe that the Spirit is very much alive and active among all the members of God’s Holy People.
The nobility of the laity and the recognition of the priesthood of all believers. Many people are familiar with the oppressive structures and strictures of the top-down papacracy of the Roman church. In contrast, the Affirming Catholic Church fosters a congregational or shared model of leadership, where all God’s Holy People join together to discern the movement of the Holy Spirit. As the bishops at the Second Vatican Council affirmed, “Upon all the laity, therefore, rests the noble duty of working to extend the divine plan of salvation to all [persons] of each epoch and in every land. Consequently, may every opportunity be given [to the laity] so that, according to their abilities and the needs of the times, they may zealously participate in the saving work of the Church” (LG 33).
Support through difficult life decisions. We reject legalistic moral pronouncements, often dictated by those in power for the purpose of maintaining power and control. Difficult decisions in life are always harder to make alone; at such times, the compassionate support of a community of faith can be crucial. Yet such support can be difficult to find in the face of moral pronouncements regarding such issues as divorce and re-marriage, birth control, sexual orientation, and complex medical issues. One case in point is the divisive issue of contraception. In the Roman church, artificial means of birth control have been banned by celibate, male bishops, but, according to the Guttmacher Institute, are currently used by 98% of Roman Catholic women ages 15-44 who are sexually active. We believe that members of the laity are endowed with great wisdom and that the responsible limiting of the size of one’s family is an issue of conscience to be decided by couples and not the church. We believe that artificial contraception, if used responsibly, can be a positive good, a means of increasing the frequency of the gift of sexual union, reducing the incidence of abortion for unwanted pregnancies, and limiting the spread of sexually-transmitted disease.
Our spirit of inclusivity includes the sacraments of the Church. We do not see it as our role to judge and exclude others from Christ’s sacraments. We wage no “wafer wars,” contemplating from whom we should keep the eucharist. We do not refuse the sacraments of the Church to people based on marital status, living condition or sexuality, criminal background, past of the parents, etc. We recognize that Christ sat down to eat with sinners (Mk 2:16), and that all are welcome at the table of the Lord. Finally, we recognize that imposing excessive requirements in order to receive the sacraments of the Church is a heresy, condemned by the early Church as semi-pelagianism.
Our spirit of inclusivity includes women, and we embrace the wonderful gifts of women. We are aware of the scriptural tradition of deaconesses in the Church (Rom 16:1), the role of women in ordained ministry in several contemporary Catholic churches, and of the women who have been ordained as priests within the Roman Catholic Church, even as late as 1970 with the ordination of Ludmila Javorova (who was a Roman Catholic woman who worked in the underground church during the time of Communist rule in Czechoslovakia and served as vicar general of a clandestine bishop. She was ordained as a Roman Catholic Priest on December 28, 1970 in Bishop Davidek’s house. Her ordination was later suppressed by the Vatican after the fall of the Communist regime in 1989) and 2002 with the ordination of the “Danube Seven” seven Roman Catholic women who were ordained by a Roman Catholic bishop. Far from prohibiting conversation on the possibility of ordaining women for ministry in the Church, we recognize this as an injustice which unfairly diminishes women within our Church and our world. Instead, we openly welcome the movement of God in the ordained ministry of women.
Our spirit of inclusivity includes a non-celibate clergy. Like most Catholic and non-Catholic traditions, we recognize the invaluable gifts possessed by married clergy. We know that a celibate clergy is not a divine mandate, but a recent innovation in the Roman church. Our sisters and brothers of the Orthodox Catholic Church (which excommunicated the Roman church in 1054) have always allowed priests and bishops to be married. Likewise, following the longer and larger tradition of the Church, our clergy are not required to be celibate. Rather, we welcome clergy who are married, in domestic partnerships, divorced or widowed. Christ built his Church on the foundation of Peter, a married man (Mk 1:30). Such life states allow our clergy to be more attuned to the real issues of family life.
Our spirit of inclusivity includes sexual matters. Whereas Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) derided homosexuality as an objectively disordered inclination toward an intrinsic moral evil, we are open to the findings of contemporary psychology with respect to persons who self-identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered. We affirm the dignity and worth of our LGBTQ members, recognizing in them unique gifts particular to our time. We are honored to celebrate the Church’s sacrament of marriage on a loving couple consenting adults regardless of whether they are heterosexual, homosexual, remarriage, transgender, etc. We acknowledge that this idea can be especially challenging in cultures of high machismo, where many men may find themselves in roles where they feel they need to act contrary to their nature and/or where their identity as men is threatened by those more comfortable with varying sexual orientations.
Our spirit of inclusivity includes divorce and remarriage. We empathize with the pain of a failed marriage, and we recognize our divorced and remarried sisters and brothers as members of Christ’s Body. Divorce is a traumatic experience for all, including spouses, children and extended family. Yet, in many circumstances, divorce is the best and most faithful response to a permanently broken relationship. For those whose marriages have failed and yet still feel the call to married life, the co-joining in intimate love with another person created in God’s image and likeness is a way in which one can fulfill one’s vocation. We join our sisters and brothers of the Orthodox Catholic Church in recognizing the tradition of divorce and remarriage that comes to us from the first thousand years of our common history with the Roman church. We counsel the remarried as needed to reflect upon all they have experienced and to grow in all that will come, and we believe that their new union can best be nourished by the sacramental life of the Church.

Notwithstanding the list above, because we are an inclusive community, we would never want any of these differences to overshadow the fact that we are brothers and sisters with all God’s Holy People in the one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church that we all together profess. Says St. Paul: “You are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Even polls indicate that the majority of Roman Catholics in the U.S. believe these principles that we openly profess. As sisters and brothers, we have more in common than that which will ever be able to divide us.

Are the sacraments shared by the clergy of the Affirming Catholic Church of Christ valid?

Of course, they are. They are administered by validly-consecrated bishops and validly-ordained priests and deacons. For example, the pastoral manual of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Austin, Texas (page L-11 and more specifically L-17) cites the validity of baptisms performed in Old Catholic and Independent Catholic churches like the Affirming Catholic Church of Christ. The manual further states, “In each of these churches, the Church of God is built up and grows in stature and, although separated from us, these churches possess true sacraments, above all (by apostolic succession) the priesthood and Eucharist. This offers ecclesiological and sacramental grounds for allowing and even encouraging some sharing in liturgical worship (even Eucharistic) with these churches” (M-17).

More globally, Pope John Paul II mentioned Old Catholic and Independent Catholic churches in his 2000 encyclical letter Dominus Iesus, saying, “The Churches which, while not existing in perfect communion with the [Roman] Church, remain united to her by means of the closest bonds, that is, by Apostolic Succession and a valid Eucharist, are true particular Churches. Therefore, these separated Churches and communities as such…have by no means been deprived of significance and importance in the mystery of salvation. For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church. Therefore, the Church of Christ is present and operative also in these Churches, even though they lack full communion with the [Roman] Church.”

In his Pastoral Companion: A Canon Law Handbook for [Roman] Catholic Ministry, Fr. John Huels similarly shares, “The principal condition is that these sacraments can be received only from validly ordained ministers. These are ministers who belong to ‘churches that have preserved the substance of the Eucharistic teaching, the sacraments of orders, and apostolic succession.’ This would include all Eastern non-Catholic churches, the Polish National Church, Old Catholic, Independent Catholic, and Old Roman Catholic.”

Religious scholar William J. Whalan concurs: “We have no reason to doubt that the Old Catholic (Independent Catholic) Orders are valid. The Apostolic Succession does not depend on obedience to the See of Peter, but rather on the objective line of succession from Apostolic sources, the proper matter and form, and the proper intention….Likewise Old Catholic bishops are bishops in Apostolic Succession [and]…the Old Catholics, like the Orthodox, possess a valid priesthood.”

In his commentary on canon law, Father Thomas Doyle, a Roman Catholic Dominican priest, writes, “Catholics may receive the Eucharist, penance, or anointing from sacred ministers of non-Catholic denominations whose Holy Orders are considered valid by the Catholic Church. This includes all Eastern Orthodox priests, as well as priests of the Old Catholic or Polish National Church.”

Thus, there is no reason to doubt that we share the same apostolic succession and Catholicity in essentials, even if we dissent concerning matters of conscience. If it is important to you, be assured that the Roman church and the Orthodox church recognize the validity of our sacraments (even if individual bishops and priests may beg to differ), and that all sacraments performed with good intention by validly-consecrated bishops and validly-ordained priests and deacons are valid in the eyes of God.

Is the Affirming Catholic Church stealing people from the Roman Catholic Church?

That’s certainly not our intention! Instead, we’re happy to minister to the six billion people in our world who don’t feel at home in the Roman church.

Statistically, one in every three baptized Roman Catholics in the U.S. has left his/her church. In Mexico, more than 1,000 Mexicans have left the Roman church every day during the past 20+ years, resulting in an attrition of more than four million people from the Roman church in Mexico over ten years. Admittedly, the Affirming Catholic Church provides a spiritual home for many of our sisters and brothers, family members, and friends who no longer feel at home in what used to be their church.

The story is told that Roman Catholic Archbishop Patrick Flores of San Antonio once responded to a woman who lamented that her son had left the Roman church to minister in a non-Roman church. Flores asked her to choose what she thought was best for her son: “Remain Catholic by name and never live the faith? Be a drunkard? A criminal? A drug addict? Take advantage of others or abuse them? Or [is it best for him to be] where he is now, bringing others closer to God? God knows the heart. That’s what counts most.” The mother understood the archbishop’s wise words and was at peace.

Why don’t we use the new translation of the Roman Missal approved by the Vatican in 2011?

The Affirming Catholic Church of Christ continues to use the second edition of the Novus Ordo (and at times older editions for special occasions and services), which was used by the Roman church for forty years, until November 2011. Though we are not under the jurisdiction of the bishop of Rome, we do have several issues with the new translation of the Roman Missal. In an act of great collegiality, all the Roman Catholic bishops of the U.S. had approved one translation, only to have the bishop of Rome demand their conformity to another translation. This action subverted the authority of national conferences of bishops, with whom authority rests for such translations. It also resulted in a stilted and very awkward English translation and yet more division within the Body of Christ.

Do we follow the rules of the Roman Catholic Church?

Thankfully, no. We are not under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, nor are we affiliated with the Roman Catholic Church, and therefore we are not subject to the same rules and regulations.

During his life, Jesus rebelled against a slavish adherence to the 613 laws established by his own religious tradition. The Code of Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church now contains three times more rules and regulations than the codex possessed by the Jews during Jesus’ day! Very few of these laws are rooted in scripture, and some of them admittedly contradict the spirit of Jesus’ teachings.

Jesus esteemed two commandments above all others: Love of God and love of neighbor (Lk 10:27). While canon law is subject to change, Jesus’ command of love is immutable.

The story comes to mind of the young girl who asked her mother why she always cut the ends off her pork roast. Not knowing how to respond, the woman asked her mother, who taught her the practice, who in turn asked her own mother. As it turned out, the woman’s grandmother cut the ends off her pork roast so that it would fit in her pan, and nearly three generations later, under very different circumstances, the practice of cutting the ends off the pork roast was carried on without a great deal of thought. One can easily think of examples of rules in various churches that have sprung up over the generations and which have been passed down to us today, despite the fact that they have lost much of their original meaning.

Ancient Councils

We believe that the Catholic faith was established by Ecumenical Councils guided by the Holy Spirit.

We believe that there were seven Ecumenical Councils of the whole church: The Council of Nicea (325),

The Council of Constantinople (381), The Council of Ephasis (431),

The Council of Chalcedon (451),

The Second Council of Constantinople (453), The Third Council of Constantinople (680-681), The Second Council of Nicea (787).

We believe that all other “Councils” after 1054 were not Ecumenical Councils, since the whole church did not meet together, but that they were Synods of a part of the whole church; therefore, their decisions are not binding on the whole church.

Transubstantiation

We believe in transubstantiation: During the Mass, the substance of the bread and wine is transformed into the substance of Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity.\, even though they retain the physical appearance, taste, and smell of bread and wine, even though we can’t fully understand how it happens. The miracle of the Eucharist is a mystery, something that human reason and intelligence can never fully grasp.

However, our Catholic faith is a reasonable one, and we can’t simply leave this mystery a complete mystery; we have to do our best to make sense of it, albeit incompletely. This is why transubstantiation is such an important term for us to understand in explaining to others what we believe about the Eucharist.

Transubstantiation is a Scholastic term that attempts to explain how bread and wine can become the body and blood of the Lord without losing their exterior appearance. While the word was first used in the 11th century by Hildebert of Lavardin, the archbishop of Tours, it was at the Council of Trent (1545–1563) that it became authoritative church teaching.

The Council of Trent declared: “Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church of God, and this holy Council now declares again, that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ our Lord and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.” (CCC 1376)

In order to understand what all of this means, we need to understand the medieval concepts of accidents and substance. Accidents are the exterior, physical parts or qualities of something (like the fingers, hair and feet of a person). Substance is the eternal invisible quality of something (human being).

Think of the life of a human person: Our exterior dimensions are in constant flux; we all look much different now than when we were born. What remains unchanged is who we are at our core — a distinct human being.

In other words, our accidents change, but our substance remains the same.

With the Eucharist, it’s just the opposite. While the accidents of the bread and wine (taste, texture, appearance) do not change, the substance (the essential “bread-ness” and “wine-ness”) does change. It still looks, feels and tastes like bread and wine, but it has truly become Jesus. This is what the Catholic Church means by transubstantiation.

At the end of the day, transubstantiation is a philosophical term used by the church to describe a miracle, the mystery of the Eucharist. Like the apostles, we have faith in the Lord’s words, that he meant what he said; but, also like the apostles, we will never fully understand those words.

Biblical Basis: Rooted in Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: …”This is my body,” …”This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

We believe in the three historic creeds: Nicene, Apostles, and Athanasian.

What are the Creeds?

From the earliest days of the Church, Christians developed short, simple summaries of the faith. These short statements became known as creeds.

The word ‘creed’ comes from the Latin word credo, meaning ‘I believe and trust’.

Three creeds in particular were developed in the early centuries of the Church, which have remained important to the Church; two are regularly used in our worship today, and the third is a lesser used creed that still of high importance to our faith.

Apostle’sCreed

People who were preparing for baptism in the early centuries of the Christian Church learned a short summary of what Christians believe. One version became accepted as the Apostles’ Creed, because it was thought to include the essential teaching of the 12 apostles, Jesus’ earliest followers. It was into that faith of the apostles that Christians were, and are, baptized.

The Apostles’ Creed is therefore a summary of what the Church teaches, and of what Christians together believe, rather than a detailed statement of individual and personal belief. Saying the Creed binds Christians together as a believing community, across different traditions and practices.

As we say the Creed, we join Christians past and present, and from all over the world, in proclaiming our common faith.

ApostlesCreed

I believe in God, the Father almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; he descended into hell; on the third day he rose again from the dead; he ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty; from there he will come to judge the living and the dead.I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting.

Amen.

TheNiceneCreed

The Nicene Creed is a more detailed summary of what the whole Church believes about the great doctrines of the Christian faith. It begins with the statement: ‘We believe …’ The Nicene Creed uses the same threefold structure as the Apostles’ Creed but goes into more depth and detail. It was first adopted at the Council of Nicaea in AD 325 by a gathering of bishops.

Despite the divisions within the Church that have happened over the centuries, all the major Christian traditions continue to acknowledge the words of the Apostles’ Creed and the Nicene Creed in their worship and teaching.

Every time we come to say the creeds it is vital to reflect and remember how it is that we come to believe them. It is by the grace and mercy of God that we have come to faith and are able to say and explore these words. It is not through human cleverness or ingenuity. God has revealed himself through the Scriptures. God has revealed himself most clearly

through the gift of his Son, Jesus Christ. God makes himself known personally to each believer through the work of the Holy Spirit.

Nicene Creed

We believe in one God, the Father, the almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is, seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, of one being with the Father.

Through him all things were made. For us and for our salvation he came down from heaven; by the power of the Holy Spirit he became incarnate of the Virgin Mary, and was made man. For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate; he suffered death and was buried. On the third day he rose again in accordance with the scriptures; he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end.

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets.

We believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.

The Athanasian Creed

also called the-Athanasian Creed or Quicunque Vult (or Quicumque Vult), which is both its Latin name and its opening words, meaning “Whosoever wishes” — is a Christian statement of belief focused on Trinitarian doctrine and Christology. Used by Christian churches since the early sixth century, it was the first creed to explicitly state the equality of the three hypostases of the Trinity. It differs from the Nicene-Constantinopolitan Creed and the Apostles’ Creed in that it includes anathemas condemning those who disagree with its statements (as does the original Nicene Creed).

Widely accepted in Western Christianity, including by the Roman Catholic Church, Lutheran Churches (it is part of the Lutheran confessions set out in the Book of Concord), Anglican Churches, Reformed Churches, and ancient liturgical churches, the Athanasian Creed has been used in public worship less frequently, with exception of Trinity Sunday.[1]

However, part of it can be found as an “Authorized Affirmation of Faith” in the main volume of the Common Worship liturgy of the Church of England published in 2000. Despite falling out of liturgical use, the creed’s influence on current Protestant understanding of trinitarian doctrine is clear.

Athanasian Creed

Whosoever will be saved , before all things it is necessary that he hold the Catholic Faith. Which Faith except everyone do keep whole and undefiled, without doubt he shall perish everlastingly.

And the Catholic Faith is this: That we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity, neither confounding the Persons, nor dividing the Substance. For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Ghost. But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one, the Glory equal, the Majesty co- eternal. Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy Ghost.

The Father uncreate, the Son uncreate, and the Holy Ghost uncreate. The Father incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy Ghost incomprehensible. The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Ghost eternal.

And yet they are not three eternals, but one eternal. As also there are not three incomprehensibles, nor three uncreated, but one uncreated, and one incomprehensible.

So likewise the Father is Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Ghost Almighty. And yet they are not three Almighties, but one Almighty.

So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Ghost is God. And yet they are not three Gods, but one God. So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy Ghost Lord. And yet not three Lords, but one Lord.

For like as we are compelled by the Christian verity to acknowledge every Person by himself to be both God and Lord, So are we forbidden by the Catholic Religion to say, There be three Gods, or three Lords. The Father is made of none, neither created, nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone, not made, nor created, but begotten. The Holy

Ghost is of the Father and of the Son, neither made, nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding.

So there is one Father, not three Fathers; one Son, not three Sons; one Holy Ghost, not three Holy Ghosts. And in this Trinity none is afore, or after other; none is greater, or less than another; But the whole three Persons are co-eternal together and co-equal. So that in all things, as is aforesaid, the Unity in Trinity and the Trinity in Unity is to be worshipped. He therefore that will be saved is must think thus of the Trinity.

Furthermore, it is necessary to everlasting salvation that he also believe rightly the Incarnation of our Lord Jesus Christ. For the right Faith is, that we believe and confess, that our Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is God and Man; God, of the substance of the Father, begotten before the worlds; and Man of the substance of his Mother, born in the world; Perfect God and perfect Man, of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting.

Equal to the Father, as touching his Godhead; and inferior to the Father, as touching his manhood; Who, although he be God and Man, yet he is not two, but one Christ; One, not by conversion of the Godhead into flesh but by taking of the Manhood into God; One altogether; not by confusion of Substance, but by unity of Person. For as the reasonable soul and flesh is one man, so God and Man is one Christ; Who suffered for our salvation, descended into hell, rose again the third day from the dead. He ascended into heaven, he sitteth at the right hand of the Father, God Almighty, from whence he will come to judge the quick and the dead. At whose coming all men will rise again with their bodies and shall give account for their own works. And they that have done good shall go into life everlasting; and they that have done evil into everlasting fire.

This is the Catholic Faith, which except a man believe faithfully, he cannot be saved.

The Blessed Virgin Mary

We are rooted in early Church tradition, in which we view Mary as the Mother of God (Theotokos), affirmed at the Council of Ephesus (431 AD), emphasizing she bore the divine person of Jesus, making her a pivotal figure in salvation history, often seen as the New Eve who, through her obedience (“fiat”), her “yes” at the annunciation, helped undo Eve’s disobedience.

We venerate her as a powerful intercessor and protector, connecting her to Old Testament types like the Ark of the Covenant, and believe in her bodily Assumption into heaven, highlighting her unique role as co-worker with Christ.

Mary’s essential role in Christianity is made clear by the dogmas of her Divine Motherhood, Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Bodily Assumption. But, let’s not forget about the equally-essential second piece of the bumper sticker that read: “No Mary, No Jesus. Know Mary, Know Jesus.” If we are merely giving our assent of faith, then we risk missing out on getting to know Mary—and to know Christ through her. Our knowledge of Our Lady is informed by what we know of our Lord. And knowledge and love of her is a sure way to increase our knowledge and love of him. Authentic devotion to Mary will only bring us closer to Jesus. As faithful Catholics, we must believe the dogma, but we shouldn’t stop there. Instead, let us take to heart the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “The more we honor the Blessed Virgin, the more we honor Jesus Christ, because we honor Mary only that we may the more perfect honor Jesus.”