I think it is true that the Catholic Church is 100% correct in it's teachings, that is why I joined the Catholic church...
Many Catholics do not believe that others outside the church will not be going to Heaven and I think this is wrong... what I think? I think that in the Catholic church it is easier to know what we need to "do" (not a works thing) to become more like Christ wants us to be... meaning... we have many sacraments and blessings that help us to be filled with Grace. The more Grace that a person has from the Holy Spirit, the easier it is to continue on in this world full of sin.
Now... don't get me wrong... there are many many Holy people who are not in the Catholic Church and there are people outside of the Catholic church that I consider Saints who will never be Canonized...
It is hard to say. I don't believe that all the churches are 100% correct there are a lot of faulty doctrine out there, I believed that before I became Catholic. There is a lot of bologna out there too... such as Kenneth Copeland, he is a current one... he is heretical, and all through history there are a lot of people who preached heresy, even within the Catholic church. There are a lot of sinners in all faiths, including the Catholic church... The people in each and every church are sinners... all of us are. That is the problem. The teachings of each Faith are the part that we need to look at in determining whether a church is right or wrong. The thing I found about the Catholic Faith is that it does follow the Bible totally... there are parts of the Bible that I never heard a satisfactory answer to, but I found it in the teachings of the Catholic church. I have always believed in tradition as a way of life also, and the Catholic church has passed down a lot of tradition in their Faith also which goes right along with Biblical teaching.
I find that the sacraments in the Catholic church are a much more tangible way of worshiping Jesus Christ than what I had before and many of the teachings of the "traditional" church are the same, just simply different terminology. I mean... the Eucharist is Communion, as a protestant in a traditional church, that was a word I was not familiar with, and it scared me half to death and so I thought the Catholics were wrong.
I had to get used to the idea that the Eucharist is actually Christ's Body, that took some questions and a lot of Faith for me, but once I understood it and read in the Bible the parts that support this, then I understood. There were some other things too, such as infant baptism, but once it got down to brass tacks, it is basically the same thing as what I believed before, just slightly different, and once again after I read the scriptures in the Bible supporting this, then it was easy to understand.
Is the Pope infallible? The Pope is only infallible when he is speaking ex cathedra (I think that is what it is) In other words, on a normal basis when the Pope is speaking he is not considered infallible, he is a sinner just as all of us are, and yes, I believe he is a very Holy man, and should be respected for what he has to say, just as others are. I believe that Mother Teresa was a very Holy women and I listen when she speaks... you know... there are people who know what they are talking about and it is time to listen and follow suit lol... Anyway... there are certain conditions in which the Pope would be considered speaking infallible, and it doesn't happen very often. There are some popes in history that are horrible sinners... I mean they had concubines and they were thieves, it was basically a political position for them, and it was in the family type of thing, but when they spoke infallibly, it was the word of the Lord, and it matched up with scripture. That is the thing... God said that His church would stand the test of time and would not be taken down... (paraphrased by Deb lol) and it has, even through all the crap of history that all point out that is bad about the Catholic church... But... the church remains with the same teachings of over 2000 years and it is the teachings of Jesus Christ Himself.
How did the infallibility of the Pope type of thinking come about?
It is because Christ gave the Keys of the Kingdom to Peter and to Peter alone. There is a lot behind this, there are many places in the Bible that show that Jesus was speaking to Peter as the "leader" of the Apostles and that Jesus was giving this authority to him.
Comments (4)
I do not want to question your belief in the catholic Chiurch. I grew up 19 years of my life spent in the Catholic Church. It was not untill after i excepted the Lord that I walked away from it. I feel it is full of too many rules and rrituals and also how about Mary? They pray through mary and the Saints aren't we supposed to pray straight to God and isn't Jesus the only mediator. ALso how can the Eucharist be the Body and blood of Christ. I feel it is only a representation of it. Well, I do however like how they celebrate various parts of the bible like Maudy Thursday they reainact that part of the Bible when Jesus is washing his Disciples' feet and the Station of the Cross when they reinact the journey to Christ's Death on the corss. But oneo ther thing and I will shut up. What about all the Catholic churches doing the same ritualistic things each Sunday. Doesn't it somehow loose it's meaning and become routine? I Do however believe there are wonderful Christ walking and beleiving people who are bornm again in the catholic church. Oh Deb what do you think pf the whole Charasmatic Catholic thing?
Oh An I too do not belive in the word of faith stuff. Not saying you are bad people. I just do not beilev in the feelings tyoe if thinng and that we should only trust the Bible and take it litterally like they do.
Martha_girl
To answer some of your comments :0) The "rules and rituals" are there to help one be free to celebrate the beauty of the Lord. It makes things much more tangible than only having your faith in your mind. The Catholic church makes it so much easier to have Faith, to free one so they can truly listen to what God has to say, not focus on what needs to be done next.
As far as praying through a Saint or Mary, I think that to say one prays through someone is a misleading. The Saints and Mary were here on earth, and are human just as we are. They now reside in Heaven with God. Just as we ask a friend to pray for us here on earth when we are in need of intercession, we can also ask those who have gone before us to intercede for us. God made us people of community, He wants us to be a part of each others lives and to pray for each other. He also wants us to give others the oppurtunity to pray for others. By asking others to pray, we are being faithful servants to Him. The Saints are simply more people to intercede for us in our times of need.
Regarding the Eucharist, you ask how can it be the body of Christ. Well... how does God reside in you? How did God make the world? How did Jesus raise from the dead? I don't know, all I know is that Jesus said to eat His body, and it is one of the hard sayings. If it were simply bread, how is that hard to do? He asked His disciples if they would leave Him too, now that they are told to eat His body and drink His blood, why would they leave if it were only bread and wine? It would be difficult if it were truly His blood and body we were eating. I don't know how it changes into the body and blood, but it is done by the Holy Spirit at the time of consecration. Although we do not taste it, and we do not see actual flesh and blood, that is something that God does. How else can the miracles be explained where the Eucharist has bled, or scientists have done tests on the bleeding host and it has actual dna and is actually blood. There are so many miracles that show us that it really is Christ's blood and body. Even without all of the miracles, I still believe this, as it is written in the Bible.
I think that when we are having the same readings each Sunday as other parts of the world, and the same prayers, it makes us united together. We are one body praying for the same things, together. I think it brings us all closer. Yet... you can go to different churches and here different Homilies. Just as at Christmas time, we are all focused on the birth of Christ, does that make it ritualistic? Does Christmas loose it's meaning, or Easter, because the rest of the world is celebrating it at the same time?
I do need to make one comment, I do not believe that there are born again Christians in the Catholic faith. There are many people in the Catholic Church, just as there are in other Christian churches, that go to church each week, yet are dead in Christ. There are people in all churches, Catholic and Protestant, that ride the fence, and are Sunday Christians. Then there are those who know Jesus as their personal Saviour, in both the Catholic church and Protestant churches. These are the people who are alive in Christ, and they are the ones that are truly the ones celebrating Mass each time they go. They are the ones that *should* represent the Catholic church, not the ones that "abuse" the system so to speak.
The Charasmatic movement.... I am not exactly sure what part of it you are refering to. For things like speaking in tongues, I think that should be in all aspects of Christianity. I do not have that gift, or I should say, I have not allowed it to be given to me yet, I am trying. I am not referring to speaking in tongues for a teaching or a message, but in prayer language. I think this is a beautiful way to speak to God, and it is simply between you and God. It is a beautiful form of worship. One can't ask for something or be selfish in praying when praying in tongues, because you don't know what even you are saying. It is really a gift from you to God through the Holy Spirit. The other parts of the Charasmatic movement in the Catholic Church, I am not as familiar with. I think, from what I have been told, that the liturgical part of it would have to be the same as other Masses, but the singing is different. Also, I think the actual celebration of the Mass would be more singing/chanting by the Priest which would be very beautiful. But, like I said, I do not know much about it, since it isn't in this area. I would like to attend a Charasmatic Mass sometime just to see. I should also add, that being raised Mennonite, the Charasmatic movement thing was very scary to me, and I still have reservations that I and God are trying to break down :0)
I agree, having Faith simply on how one is feeling, isn't very strong. I have been reading about Lady Julian of Norwich and one of the things she says about prayer is that it isn't a gushy feeling about Jesus, it is simply knowing that you are doing what God wants you to do in prayer. Many times prayer is dry and barran, and that is the way God wants it to be, because then you truly have Faith.
Well.... I hope I didn't offend too many people, I hope I offended no one :0) Thank you very much for your comments Martha_girl :0) They made me think and strengthened my Faith and helped me define it more. I am glad I had the chance to answer some of your comments and your questions. Please continue to comment and discuss anything you would like. If I don't have an answer, you can bet, I will search it out until I do :0) (or admit defeat lol)
Wow, Deb...don't ever doubt that you are a writer, dearheart!
) You have a gift for wording. My personal belief (for what it's worth LOL) is that we all have grace in its fullness from God the Father. His grace is sufficient--given in sufficient measure as He deems appropriate and necessary for each person at any given time. I don't believe anything we do or don't do (save for accepting Christ, of course) earns us any more or less of His grace. As for Peter, I believe it was the ROCK of His confession that the church was built upon. But that's just me! I respect your beliefs, thoughts, and opinions, and hope you keep sharing them. Write on!
Ladyblue
Heartwords
I would like to add and clarify about God's grace. I do not believe that it is from doing anything on our part. We ask, and then if God wills it, we recieve it. Part of the Catholic Faith is that through His sacraments we are given more grace, not more grace than others in the same situation. Let me see if I can explain this better. I guess it is more of, that in the Catholic Faith we have more oppurtunities to ask for His grace. The sacraments such as penence are in other Faith's also. Every time that we ask the Lord for forgiveness, He fills us with His grace so that we might not commit the sin again. With the sacrament of Penence in the Catholic Faith, it is more tangible, and we go to the Priest, who is being a vessel for Christ at the time of confession, He forgives us of our sins, and fills us with His grace. The more often that this is done, the more He fills us with His grace. Yes, when we ask directly we are filled with His grace also, but it is more tangible with confession. It isn't that He fills us with more grace, it is that it is easier to do because it is a visable, tangible part of the Catholic Faith.
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