INSIDE OLD CATHOLIC

  By †Gabriel Obiano, D.D. When people ask why the Catholic Church is so rich in doctrine and tradition, our answer should always remain simple: because our faith is not built on man’s imagination, but on the living Word of God and the sacred deposit handed down from the apostles. Catholic life is a living echo of Scripture. Our worship, practice, and liturgy are immersed in bringing out the Scriptures and making them visible for all to see. The Church does not invent her worship; she carries it forward from what Christ Himself taught and did, and what the apostles witnessed with their own eyes. Through our liturgy, we make the pages of the Scriptures visible for all to see and witness. Catholics do not just read the Bible—we live it. Each sacrament, each liturgical season, each gesture in the Mass echoes the words and actions of Christ in the Gospels and the witness of the early Church in the Acts of the Apostles. Let us walk through how Catholic doctrine and tradition are deep...

By †Gabriel Obiano, D.D. The act of sharing bread and wine in communion, or the Eucharist, is central to Christian worship. Yet, a subtle but significant difference in practice has long distinguished the Western and Eastern traditions. While both believe the bread becomes the Body of Christ, the Roman Catholic Church uses unleavened bread, whereas the Eastern Orthodox Church uses leavened bread. This divergence is not merely a matter of culinary preference; it is rooted in profound theological and historical interpretations of the Last Supper.  The Roman Catholic Tradition: Unleavened Bread (Azymes) In the Roman Catholic Church, the bread used for the Eucharist is a thin, unleavened wafer, often referred to by its Latin name, azymes. This practice is tied directly to the historical context of the Last Supper. Exposition: The Roman Catholic position holds that the Last Supper was a Jewish Passover Seder. The Gospel accounts (Matthew 26:17, Mark 14:12, Luke 22:7) describe Jesus's pre...

 By Bishop Gabriel Obiano, D.D. The life of the Church is built on mysteries—what we call Sacraments. They are not man-made rituals but divine encounters where Christ Himself touches us through visible signs and invisible grace. Each sacrament is a channel of God’s love, instituted by Christ and entrusted to His Church, that we might share in His life.  Sacraments is what we can't deny as a Church.  The word sacrament comes from the Latin sacramentum, meaning a sacred pledge or oath. In the early Church, it was often used to describe the mystery of God’s saving work in Christ. St. Augustine once called the sacraments “visible signs of invisible grace.” In them, heaven bends down to meet earth. 1. Baptism – Our New Birth in Christ Baptism is the door to all the sacraments. It's the first step we take before taking the next step. It is where we are washed from sin, born anew, and sealed with the identity of Christ. In baptism, we die with Him and rise to new life (Romans 6:...