What Makes Catholicism Unique?

February 2, 2024

There are 45,000 different denominations of Christianity in the world. What is the one thing that makes the Catholic Church unique?

“It’s not just one thing,” some people will argue, “Many things make Catholicism unique.” They are right. But what one thing differentiates Catholicism more than anything else? What is the principal differentiator between the Catholic Church and the churches on every other street corner?

The Eucharist. Jesus Christ—the King of Kings, the Lord of Lords, the Alpha and the Omega—truly present—Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity—in the Eucharist. He is the difference.

“Transforming people one at a time is at the heart of God’s plan for the world.” This is the opening line of The Four Signs of a Dynamic Catholic. It is also the key to solving the problems we face as a Church today. God doesn’t transform parishes, businesses, schools, or countries. God transforms people, and He does it one at a time. He then collaborates with those He has transformed to continue the process. The outcome of these individual transformations is that marriages, families, parishes, businesses, communities, schools, and countries are transformed. But God’s primary purpose is never the transformation of an organization or even a group of people. Our God is a deeply personal God, and He takes a deeply personal interest in each person. 

Over the next thirty-three days I believe you will become well and truly convinced that a renewed relationship with Jesus in the Eucharist can be transformational.

Re-energizing the Catholic Church in America will be achieved not by finding an idea or program that transforms thousands of people at a time. It will be achieved one person at a time.