A Non Catholic Looking For Answers

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MagentaC

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I apologize ahead of time for the length of this post.

Hello. I’m a born-again, Non denominational Christian, who needs some answers.

I have been fascinated with the Catholic church for most of my life, even going so far as to go into the local church as a teen to light a candle. I was raised in the Charismatic church, and my mother is a staunch believer in ever word they say. Right down to the, “you shouldn’t be poor or sick, unless you have no faith.” thing. My mom had married a Roman Catholic who cheated on her, and divorced her, so she’s never had a good view of them… Church was Never a big thing in my family, until my mom.

Lately I’ve been noticing a tremendous lack of respect for God in our church. It’s gotten so severe, that a woman my mom loves to watch on TV said we needed to “demand” that God answer our prayers because he “promised, so he owes us” (My now fifteen year old son pointed out that it was a VERY wrong thing to say!) Whereas I’m firm in the belief that everything is according to Gods will. Another point is our church allowing these two women to “take over” the place to present gifts, or prophesy, the whole nine yards. It’s internally frustrating to watch.

I read the bible every day, and cannot get enough of it! I know what it says, and have my own views. Come to find out many of the views are shared by the Catholic Church!

-I don’t believe women should be priests, or pastors.
-I don’t believe you should be rich.
-I believe we have to help the poor. (I actually saw one pastor preaching AGAINST the poor, calling them lazy! NEVER looked at him again)
-I believe you can lose your salvation if you follow the path of righteousness.
-There are others, I just can’t remember right now. XD

I always have this unsettled feeling in church. I sense an almost…chaotic way about it. There are no base rules to it all. I also have this unending sneaking suspicion that not everyone in there is genuine… I Know this is wrong of me, and have been trying to get rid of it.

My major problem is my very hard headed, elderly mother. She would have a heart attack if she knew of my fascination with Catholicism. I don’t know what to do. She lives on the same property as me, and wants me to take her to church. I feel so sad there….

I have the same concerns as any born-again would. The whole Mary thing, and the statues… But I read a very in-depth explanation at Catholicbridge.com , and I started crying, because I think that I actually understand it! The thinking around the statues, and attitude toward them is very sophisticated! I think I’m even…slowly… understanding the thinking behind Mary! I need to read Luke again. Reading a woman’s testimony about her conversion had me crying also, because it’s the SAME thing as what I was thinking about the whole thing! The fear of the Catholics…

I need some insight! I want to know why I spend all of my time looking up nuns and monks, and their daily lives. I need to have a few insights… I’m praying HARD! I’m looking to the Bible, and prayer, because God and his word is the only one I truly trust. But I would like to have your views.

I thank you for reading my very long story!
 
It seems that God is calling you. 🙂

The first step is to join an Inquiry Group at your local Catholic parish, or the nearest one that has one, if your local parish hasn’t got one.

You can spend as long as you want in the Inquiry Group, asking questions and talking about any topic that is of interest to the whole group, regarding the teachings of the Catholic Church. The facilitator will help you find the answers.

If you decide that you want to get more serious about the Catholic faith, and you want to start taking Catechism classes with a view to becoming Catholic, they will explain to you how to go about doing that. There is some paperwork that needs to be completed, and you would need to find a sponsor. After a year or so of Catechism classes, you would then review how you are doing, and make a decision about whether you want to enter the Period of Purification, which would end with you becoming Catholic. After that, there is the Period of Mystagogia, which is the last phase of the Initiation process.

At every stage of the process, you can choose to remain at that level, or back out altogether - there is never a requirement or expectation that you “must” become a Catholic. The process is slow to make sure that you fully understand what’s going on, and that if or when you become Catholic, you are fully informed about what you are doing, and what your duties and privileges will be. 🙂
 
Well, your dear mother has a lot of misconceptions about the Church and a bad experience with a less than holy Catholic man she’s dealing with, so her fears are understandable.

“There are not one hundred people in the United States who hate The Catholic Church, but there are millions who hate what they wrongly perceive the Catholic Church to be.”
― Fulton J. Sheen

And when asked what frightened her most St. Bernadette said plainly, “Bad Catholics.” More people have been turned away from the Church by bad Catholics than anything else, I’m sure.

It’s easy to see the flaws in any spiritual body, but there are some that truly don’t have, as a group, not as individuals, per se, a charism of the Holy Spirit because they have drifted so far from the truth and are so divisive no more good can be done there. It’s sad when that happens, I know. I’ve seen it happen in some of the churches I was a part of before becoming Catholic and I’ve seen some Catholic parishes that are heading down the wrong road because they refuse to follow the directives of their bishops, but do whatever pleases them.

The teachings of the Church are ancient, prayed over, and protected by the Holy Spirit himself because Christ promised that the Church he established would be led into all truth by the Holy Spirit. This is not a boast of men–far from it–it’s the boast of Christ who is with his Church in spirit and in truth in the sacraments he founded, espcially in the Eucharist.

The Bible is key to understanding the Church and its teachings, but it does not stand alone as the final authority in matters of faith and morals. Not because we do not believe it to be inspired–it certainly is and we certainly believe that it is. No, it’s because the Bible is a document, not the final Word of God to man, who is the Person, Christ Jesus. The Bible is the witness to the Church and its teachings and comes from Sacred Tradition that began with the promise to Adam and Eve and ended in Jesus Christ. No book can interpret itself and authority resides in persons not documents. For example, the Constitution of the USA needs the Supreme Court to interpret it or there are many who would use it for their own ends, as can be clearly seen in the history of our country.

About Mary, the thing to keep firmly in mind about the Church’s Marian teachings is that all of them tell us more about Jesus than they do about her. For example, the title “Mother of God” is derived from the Greek word “theotokos” which means God-bearer. This title was given to Mary at the Council of Ephesus in the 4th century to refute the Arian heresy that claimed that Jesus was not fully human and fully divine. By declaring Mary the Mother of God the council was saying that Jesus was conceived in Mary’s womb fully God and fully man, not a demigod or merely a man blessed by divinity.

Please ask all the questions you want. We will do our best to help you find the answers. I hope my post hasn’t overwhelmed you, but Catholicism is about the truth and the truth isn’t as simple as some would have us believe. You and your family, including grandmama, have my prayers. 🙂
 
Magenta, may God bless you for your openness to God’s truth.
I can imagine how very distressing it would be to your mother and those in your church to accept you as a Catholic. You are so courageous even to consider it.
In the end, the decision is whether or not you love God above all, which is a tremendous and painful challenge. Do you choose for human reasons or do you follow Jesus.
I think Jesus understands this dilemma well, as did His disciples and all who became Christian from the Jewish faith. When souls began to follow Jesus the Son of God, the Jewish leader and the persons families must have suffered great distress.

Since Jesus is calling you, may He give you the strength and means, and may He protect and bless you and your son, and your family.

It’s easy to say but a tremendously difficult decision. I trust you entirely to Jesus in prayer
 
I think that Jesus told us very plainly:
Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
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God bless you and keep you close in your journey to Him, and give you strength to persevere.
 
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IrishRush:
I think that Jesus told us very plainly:

Quote:
Mat 10:34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Mat 10:35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
Mat 10:36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
Mat 10:37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
Mat 10:38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

God bless you and keep you close in your journey to Him, and give you strength to persevere.
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While this is true, Jesus does not say we must deliberately trample on the legitimate fears of others in order to follow him–not that you are implying he does, but it could be read that way. 🙂

The Church doesn’t expect us to hurt others to become Catholic. Rather, we are to help our loved ones understand our decision when they bring up legitimate concerns. Only after all avenues of reason and kindness have failed should we let them know that we must follow Christ no matter how hard it may be for them to accept. She isn’t at that point yet, and her mother may be more open than she suspects or more reasonable than she supposes. There’s always that hope and of course recourse to prayers. 🙂

And her mother depends on her for a ride to her church, which is an act of charity on her part. Since the Church offers Saturday evening Mass that meets the Sunday obligation, she would be fine attending Mass Saturdays and taking her mother to her church on Sundays. There’s usually a way to make such things as easy as possible for all concerned.
 
MagentaC said:
I need some insight! I want to know why I spend all of my time looking up nuns and monks, and their daily lives.
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There’s a yearning in your heart that only God can satisfy. Only the eternal fountain of living waters can quench the thirst of your soul. Only God the eternal Bread of Life can satisfy the hunger of the soul. Discern the yearning of your soul carefully, as God may be calling you to a religious vocation.

I would suggest you listen to the free MP3 talks by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen available online. Simply pick a topic and he speaks in depth for 20 minutes. HERE IS THE LINK
 
Gabriel_Serafin said:
There’s a yearning in your heart that only God can satisfy. Only the eternal fountain of living waters can quench the thirst of your soul. Only God the eternal Bread of Life can satisfy the hunger of the soul. Discern the yearning of your soul carefully, as God may be calling you to a religious vocation.

I would suggest you listen to the free MP3 talks by Archbishop Fulton J Sheen available online. Simply pick a topic and he speaks in depth for 20 minutes. HERE IS THE LINK
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Um, she has a 15 year old son. Don’t think she’s called to a religious vocation. 😉
 
You may not be aware, but catholic parishes often offer Sunday mass on Saturday nights. Give it a try some time. If you have read a lot of Scripture in your life you will be amazed at what mass is like, SOAKED in scripture (and not just at the readings time).

Please do refrain from coming to communion until/unless you discuss it with the priest. Catholics have a very different understanding of what communion is than most charismatic communities do (we read John 6 plainly). Other than that, you are welcome to be a part of any parish’s Saturday evening mass!
 
I am sorry I cannot answer as a Catholic (since Orthodox) but will answer as a Christian.
Catholics as Orthodoxs as well are culturally less intrusive then other derivation cult.
You probably, I say probably since never did any statistics, will find less divorces in Jeova witness and Mormons since they organisation is human oriented and less spiritually. They both have a very hard time considering what is the truth. Their way of believing enhance the personal worthness and ego in a way that after a while for a follower it is extremely difficult to understand if he believes and has faithsince he loves God or because he loves what his cult allow him to feel about himself.
Catholics (and I can say also the Orthodoxs) have been very well aware of the danger of being like the phareseens, and the different degree of proudness that can totally blind you. The biggest one spiritual proudness.
So the way they teach will promote more “true” Christians, in the way that if you sin you sin just because you are a sinner and no make up would cover you enough. In the same way that if you are a fish you can train and pretend to be a lion you will remain a fish that at the best will be able to roar, but a fish nevertheless.
In Catholicisms you will find less the chains of judgment, expecially yourself one. This fact may be extremely wrongly judged by not “pure” Christians and I can understand can be difficult to understand.
After many years you will end up realizing that you cannot really love your neibourgh. You can try hard but if you are really, really honest with yourself you will relize that you don’t love them. After many years trying to love the others you will realize that you have lost your time and you realize that instead of loving the others you should have tried to love God instead. And when you love God, as a surprice you realize the direct consequence is that you love the others.
There are many years of insight that you can learn from monastics to which you seam to be attracted. And they are very aware that you cannot love the other without loving God first. But the average Christian unfortunately doesn’t have enough thirst to play to this embarassing game.
Being Christians is difficult and it has to be difficult since Jesus Christ came to save us from our normality and not being “normal” is difficult nevertheless.
Becoming a Christian is not believing to the world but to the Word of God.
Is choosing every day the Lord over the world.

Being poor can be part of it: they say is a saintity, but who has enough faith to at least appreciate the spiritual world the same way as the material world?
If you would like to read something about this subject you will find St. John Chrisostom words very explicit on this subject.

But whatever are your strenghts and your faith you are not alone: Jesus is with you.
And as Padre Pio said:"go on the Lord’s path with semplicity. Don’t worry. Hate your bad parts but calmly, with no agitation and worries. You have to be patiente with your defects, and take fruits out of them. If you are not patient your imperfections will grow. Since nothing renforce our defects more then the obsession to get rid of them.

Why I have reported this from Padre Pio? I really don’t know, but I guess everyone of us could use these very insightful teaching.

May our Lord bless you.
 
Welcome to the forums! Yes, the Holy Spirit is calling you to unity. It is a nagging suspicion, an unsettled feeling in your spirit. You insticntively know that there is more to the faith - a place that can be trusted as your permanent home. But, where?

There is a great resource that you can rely upon to learn about the Catholic faith at your conveneince. It is a book called Catholicism for Dummies. It is written by two excellent Priests and explains, in plain English, he doctrines, structure and the authority of the Church. I most highly recommend it. I learn from it each time I open my copy.

May Christ’s peace be with you on your journey.
 
MagentaC;8985280]-I have the same concerns as any born-again would. The whole Mary thing, and the statues
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…

The Catholic church consists of members both here on earth and those in heaven, including those in purgatory who are on their way into heaven.

You see God is God of the living not of the dead. Mary and our Saints and Martyrs are alive with Jesus.

Mary is the Mother of Jesus, of whom Jesus gave his Mother Mary to his bride the Catholic Church (see John 19;26-27).

Our love for God is displayed in our unified Catholic family which includes Mary the Mother of Jesus. Mary and love for God is family oriented, when not even “death can separate us from the Love of God.” Catholics get persecuted for a display of love for God and his Mother Mary.

If and when you address these issues deal with them in family loving terms.

The statues are only pictures of those Christian Saints that once walked the earth carrying their Cross with joy. These recognized Icons reveal usually a gospel theme. These statues and Icons are never lacking a revelation of Jesus. These point us to Christ without using words.

Jesus tells us “do not be afraid”.

Your born again experience, will be enlightened and manifested in a much more heavenly light, when you come to the real true presence of Jesus Christ in his biblical sacraments especially his biblical revealed Eucharist.

I would like to welcome you here, there are a lot of knowledgeable Catholics here. Maybe it is time you stop hearing about what Catholics believe, and learn truly what Catholics believe from Catholics who are practicing their Catholicism.

Peace be with you
 
Yah… dear OP …that is a royal pain! Been there - done that - bought the T- shirt… I b Catholic now. Hey! It all works out. To remain as is will only be tortuous.

Hey! Another thing. I still Love some of the Old (Lutheran for me) Choirs! I did not give **that **up!

Remember-- Mary had a little Lamb whose fleece was white as snow… and every where that Mary went - the Lamb was sure to go.😉

Just wait till you get to know her! ❤️
 
Read Apologetics websites. Read the Catechism. Listen to the recordings of Abp Fulton Sheen. bishopsheen.excerptsofinri.com/ is just one source. The man was brilliant.

And remember that the Catholic Church is the AND church. Faith AND Works. Mass is a Celebration AND a Sacrifice. Scripture AND Tradition. You get the idea…
 
Dear Original Poster,

Your testimony is incredibly touching and I sense the grace of God working in your life. Many of the same feelings and misgivings you have about the religious communities that you have experienced are similar to what I have felt in my own spiritual journey. Although I have never been a Charismatic / Born-again I have seen and (heard!) their gatherings at the community centre where I work. The only way I can describe it is utter spiritual chaos. I too need a sense of order and silent beauty when I worship God and I was not receiving it at even many of the Catholic churches I attended. By the grace of God I discovered the Traditional Latin Mass and it has helped me tremendously in my spiritual life. Unfortunately many Catholics have imbibed the same charismatic and feminist spirit that plagues Protestantism, so do not be discouraged if you encounter this on your journey towards Catholicism. My advice to you is - look for a parish with a Traditional Latin Mass and even if you are not comfortable with Mass in Latin, you can be confident that the Ordinary Mass offered there will be done so in a reverent way because the priests at the parish will probably be more traditional than those at other parishes. Good luck and God bless you!

Maro
 
MagentaC said:
I have the same concerns as any born-again would. The whole Mary thing, and the statues… But I read a very in-depth explanation at Catholicbridge.com , and I started crying, because I think that I actually understand it! The thinking around the statues, and attitude toward them is very sophisticated! I think I’m even…slowly… understanding the thinking behind Mary! I need to read Luke again.
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The Catholic faith is very deep, and 2,000 years old. You will be able to address all of your issues on these forums. But as for the Mary and saints issue, here is an excerpt from the above link I provided (“Pillar of Fire, Pillar of Truth”):

One of the most important activities for a Catholic is prayer. Without it there can be no true spiritual life. Through personal prayer and the communal prayer of the Church, especially the Mass, we worship and praise God, we express sorrow for our sins, and we intercede on behalf of others (1 Tim. 2:1–4). Through prayer we grow in our relationship with Christ and with members of God’s family (CCC 2663–2696).

This family includes all members of the Church, whether on earth, in heaven, or in purgatory. Since Jesus has only one body, and since death has no power to separate us from Christ (Rom. 8:3–8), Christians who are in heaven or who, before entering heaven, are being purified in purgatory by God’s love (1 Cor. 3:12–15) are still part of the Body of Christ (CCC 962).

Jesus said the second greatest commandment is to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:39). Those in heaven love us more intensely than they ever could have loved us while on earth. They pray for us constantly (Rev. 5:8), and their prayers are powerful (Jas. 5:16, CCC 956, 2683, 2692).

Our prayers to the saints in heaven, asking for their prayers for us, and their intercession with the Father do not undermine Christ’s role as sole Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). In asking saints in heaven to pray for us we follow Paul’s instructions: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for everyone,” for “this is good and pleasing to God our Savior” (1 Tim. 2:1–4).

All members of the Body of Christ are called to help one another through prayer (CCC 2647). Mary’s prayers are especially effective on our behalf because of her relationship with her Son (John 2:1–11).

God gave Mary a special role (CCC 490–511, 963– 975). He saved her from all sin (Luke 1:28, 47), made her uniquely blessed among all women (Luke 1:42), and made her a model for all Christians (Luke 1:48). At the end of her life he took her, body and soul, into heaven—an image of our own resurrection at the end of the world (Rev. 12:1–2).

​
*The CCC references refer to the Catechism of the Catholic Church.

👍
 
MagentaC,
Boy have you come to the right place…👍

Forgive me if I repeat anything already said. I haven’t read through the responses already posted.

On thing that caught my attn in your post was your concern about people in some of the Churches you’ve been to not being “genuine”.
As much as it pains me to say it, you will find plenty of people in the Catholic Church who are not “genuine” as well. There is an old saying that the Church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners. So please bear this in mind as you move forward in your journey.

That said, one thing that you will find is that the teachings of the Church are thoroughly genuine and - you might find it surprising - the most thoroughly biblical. So do not be afraid. Ask the questions, do the reading and find your way home.

As to your mother. That is a difficult situation. I can’t offer much advice there. All I can really say is to be patient and always work from a core of Love.

Welcome to the Forums.

Peace
James
 
JRKH said:
MagentaC,
Boy have you come to the right place…👍

Forgive me if I repeat anything already said. I haven’t read through the responses already posted.

On thing that caught my attn in your post was your concern about people in some of the Churches you’ve been to not being “genuine”.
As much as it pains me to say it, you will find plenty of people in the Catholic Church who are not “genuine” as well. There is an old saying that the Church is not a museum for saints, but a hospital for sinners. So please bear this in mind as you move forward in your journey.

That said, one thing that you will find is that the teachings of the Church are thoroughly genuine and - you might find it surprising - the most thoroughly biblical. So do not be afraid. Ask the questions, do the reading and find your way home.

As to your mother. That is a difficult situation. I can’t offer much advice there. All I can really say is to be patient and always work from a core of Love.

Welcome to the Forums.

Peace
James
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When someone is called to the Catholic Church in a culture and at a time when hatred of her is growing, it most certainly is the Holy Spirit.
 
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