An Open Letter to my Protestant Brothers and Sisters: Do not be like the Pharisees
In the Bible, Jesus was always admonishing the Pharisees. They were so focused on their books of the Law that they missed recognizing Jesus for who He is. It was their “Sola Scriptura". It was the Law and nothing else. This reminds me of my present-day Protestant brethren. For them, it is the Bible and nothing else. But when this is your primary philosophy, there is a lot that you can miss out on.
Just as I wish I could have taken one of the Pharisees during Jesus's time, given them a good shake and said, “Look up from your books. Look around you. See what the Spirit of God is doing!” In the same way I wish I could wake up my Protestant brethren. They have put God and all of heaven into a Bible-sized box. My brethren, see what God is doing. See the Eucharistic Miracles, the Marian apparitions, the lives of the saints, some of whom lie incorrupt, their bodies staying fresh for decades and even centuries after their deaths. Talk to the millions who find their deepest longings and hungers fulfilled in attending the Mass and receiving the Eucharist. The millions who are freed from the clutches of sin over and over each time they participate in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Is not God wonderful? Is not His workings beyond even our imaginings?
Yes the Bible is a Holy book, inspired by the Holy Spirit. But God's gifts to us do not end there. Let us not be like the Pharisees. Let us not reduce God to only a book but embrace all He is and all He has to offer us.