THE CATHOLIC APPROACH TO SCRIPTURE

The Jewish faith did not settle what books they would considered canonical (i.e. a part of Scripture) until the discussions centered in Jamnia around 90-110 A.D. Believing that the time of Scripture had closed by 400 B.C., with the priesthood of Ezra and the writing of the last prophet Malachi, and believing that the word of God was first written in Hebrew, the Jewish leaders of the late first and second centuries excluded seven books that the Catholic Church accepts as canonical. These books are: Judith, Wisdom, Sirach, Tobit, Baruch, and 1 and 2 Maccabes ...

WHY DOES THE CHURCH CANONIZE SAINTS?

For the first millennium of the Church, there was no formal process for declaring people to be saints. It was simply a matter of public recognition that certain people, such as Mary, the Apostles and the martyrs of the early Church, were saints. Recognizing a person as a saint meant affirming that he is certainly in heaven and, by martyrdom or a life of heroic virtue, a model of Catholic life. It does not mean that the person's life was always holy; many saints, such as St. Augustine, experienced dramatic conversions; rather a saint, by the time he died, became holy enough to go straight to heaven...

THE DAWN OF THE CHURCH AND THE BLOOD OF THE MARTYRS

"Starting with Pentecost, the Church expanded rapidly throughout the Roman Empire. Acts of the Apostles describes some central events in the early expansion of the Church."

Fr. Horkan gave a series of talks on Church history during the summer of 2015. They are entitled Founded Upon the Rock: The Church Throughout the Ages and are available now under Church History.