At that time, or shortly thereafter, it was used to refer to a single, visible communion, separate from others. Our postmodern world worships "science" as the only source of truth, but in reality this is not true science but ideology seeking to rationalize sexual immorality and other evils which darken the intellect. The earliest recorded evidence of the use of the term "Catholic Church" is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 107 to Christians in Smyrna. It originally was applied to all Christians because we are all part of the universal church in the way that we are all members of the Body of Christ . Is: 58:1-9a / Ps 51:3-4, 5-6ab, 18-19 / Mt 9:14-15 True scientific debate focuses on the empirical data of the scientific method within the philosophical presuppositions of Classical Realism. The Meaning of Catholic is a lay apostolate dedicated to uniting Catholics against the enemies of Holy Church. Catholic Mass Reflection. Answer: The word catholic literally means "universal," as in "the universal church." Exhorting Christians to remain closely united with their bishop, he wrote: "Wherever the bishop shall appear, there let the multitude [of the people] also be; even as, wherever Jesus Christ is, there is the Catholic Church." How to use catholic in a sentence. The Greek roots of the term “Catholic” mean “according to (kata-) the whole (holos),” or more colloquially, “universal.” At the beginning of the second century, we find in the letters of Ignatius the first surviving use of the term “Catholic” in reference to the Church. Catholic definition is - of, relating to, or forming the church universal.
By contrast, katholikos comes from two Greek words: kata or kath (meaning "through" or "throughout") and holos (meaning "whole"). The true meaning of fasting.
This notion of "throughout-the-whole" carries no notion of boundary or lines drawn that demarcate those who are "in" and those who are "out."