🚫 You Can't Pick and Choose: Fr. Mark Beard on the Full Catholic Truth

Father Mark Beard delivers a powerful message about commitment and consistency in faith, telling the faithful they cannot "go running both ways" or claim belief in the Church while ignoring its rules and commandments.

The Challenge of Half-Measures
Either He Is or He Isn't (0:00): Father Beard starts by insisting that Christians cannot treat God as a part-time figure: "Either He's the great I Am or He's not. You can't go running both ways."

No Exceptions to the Rules (0:07): He directly addresses those who want to "believe in the Church but... have exceptions to these rules," challenging them to learn and commit to the Commandments and the Beatitudes.

The Wedding at Cana and Marriage (0:11): He uses the significance of Jesus attending the seven-day Wedding at Cana to illustrate the importance of the Sacrament of Matrimony, arguing that getting married outside of the Church (on a beach, in a backyard) is not placing Christ physically at the center of the union, as He is physically present in the Tabernacle.

Ask the Questions (0:40): He urges anyone who doesn't understand the faith to ask questions, but stresses that ignorance is no excuse for spiritual apathy or walking "down the middle of the road."

What it Means to be "Catholic"
The Definition of Catholic (1:07): He defines "Catholic" as "according to the whole" or "universal." It means gathering in one place to hear the Readings, sing the Psalms, and break the Bread (the Eucharist), fulfilling the Old Testament sacrifice of the Lamb.

Stop Apologizing (1:25): Father Beard concludes with an emphatic call to boldness: "You and I have got to stop apologizing for being Catholic. You need to learn your faith."

This is a direct and uncompromising message about the necessity of total commitment to the truth handed down by the Church.