QuoteProject
And so, lastly, does the very name of "Catholic", which, not without reason, amid so many heresies, the Church has thus retained; so that, though all heretics wish to be called Catholics, yet when a stranger asks where the Catholic Church meets, no heretic will venture to point to his own chapel or house.
Saint Augustine
ShareWTF𝕏

Interpretation

What this quote means

The Catholic Church's identity is distinct and recognizable, even amidst various heresies.

Saint Augustine emphasizes the unique and recognizable nature of the Catholic Church's identity, stating that while many heretics desire to be associated with the term 'Catholic', they cannot genuinely claim that identity, as they cannot point to their places of worship as true representatives of the Church. This highlights the inherent unity and authenticity of the Catholic Church in contrast to divergent beliefs.

Themes

CatholicIdentityChurchUnityHeresy

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about religious identity in interfaith dialogues.

More from Saint Augustine

The angels surround and help the priest when he is celebrating Mass.
Saint AugustineRead
There is no health in those who are displeased by an element in Your creation, just as there was none in me when I was displeased by many things You had made. Because my soul didn't dare to say that my God displeased me, it refused to attribute to You whatever was displeasing.
Saint AugustineRead
Bad times, hard times, this is what people keep saying; but let us live well, and times shall be good. We are the times: Such as we are, such are the times.
Saint AugustineRead
Who can map out the various forces at play in one soul? Man is a great depth, O Lord. The hairs of his head are easier by far to count than his feeling, the movements of his heart.
Saint AugustineRead
Whatever skills I have acquired, whatever gifts I have been given, I place them at Your service.
Saint AugustineRead
Everyone who observes himself doubting observes a truth, and about that which he observes he is certain; therefore he is certain about a truth. Everyone therefore who doubts whether truth exists has in himself a truth on which not to doubt.... Hence one who can doubt at all ought not to doubt the existence of truth.
Saint AugustineRead

Similar quotes

Theology asserts propositions that cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a worldview despite being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but they are always blind. And there is the danger: voters and politicians alike, oblivious to the facts.
Bill MoyersRead
I'm for truth, no matter who tells it. I'm for justice, no matter who it is for or against. I'm a human being, first and foremost, and as such I'm for whoever and whatever benefits humanity as a whole.
Malcolm XRead
...which causes me to wonder, my own purpose on so many days as humble as the spider's, what is beautiful that I make? What is elegant? What feeds the world?
Louise ErdrichRead
Repeal that [welfare] law, and you will soon see a change in their manners. ... Six days shalt thou labor, though one of the old commandments long treated as out of date, will again be looked upon as a respectable precept; industry will increase, and with it plenty among the lower people; their circumstances will mend, and more will be done for their happiness by inuring them to provide for themselves, than could be done by dividing all your estates among them.
Benjamin FranklinRead
The ideal of the supreme being is nothing but a regulative principle of reason which directs us to look upon all connection in the world as if it originated from an all-sufficient necessary cause.
Immanuel KantRead
Strike the dog dead, it's but a critic!
Johann Wolfgang Von GoetheRead

A little wisdom, now and then

Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.