Catholic and protestants too!

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Zundrah

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Do you think it is wrong for me to first go to Roman Catholic Mass and then later that day go to a Methodist church at 6:30pm for their devotion / service?:bible1:

And why would that be wrong? Because I see no wrong in that?🤷
 
Please consider this scripture;

Luke 9:49-50 (New International Version)

49"Master," said John, “we saw a man driving out demons in your name and we tried to stop him, because he is not one of us.”

50"Do not stop him," Jesus said, “for whoever is not against you is for you.”
 
Zundrah said:
And why would that be wrong? Because I see no wrong in that?🤷
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Well, it’s more than evident that you see no “wrong” in it…because you’re the one who did it. Though I wonder if your conscience is as clear as you make it out to be; otherwise, I see no use in asking, much less quoting Scripture to show that you’re “right.” Plus, since you didn’t wait for any responses before quoting Scripture, I wonder if this thread was honestly started for *decent *conversation.

Speculation on my part, though.

To answer your inquiry, while there is nothing “wrong” with doing what you did, there is something very misdirected about it. Even if your intent is to be ecumenical, ecumenism shouldn’t come at the expense of diluting either church. If attending a Catholic Mass isn’t sufficient enough for you, then why? Millions of Christ-loving individuals with Protestant friends are able to attend a single Mass and not feel compelled to dilute their faith by giving just as much credence to another, non-Catholic worship service. Do you visit any Methodist discussion boards? Why not ask them the same thing you’re asking here?
 
Epistemes said:
Well, it’s more than evident that you see no “wrong” in it…because you’re the one who did it. Though I wonder if your conscience is as clear as you make it out to be; otherwise, I see no use in asking, much less quoting Scripture to show that you’re “right.” Plus, since you didn’t wait for any responses before quoting Scripture, I wonder if this thread was honestly started for *decent *conversation.

Speculation on my part, though.

To answer your inquiry, while there is nothing “wrong” with doing what you did, there is something very misdirected about it. Even if your intent is to be ecumenical, ecumenism shouldn’t come at the expense of diluting either church. If attending a Catholic Mass isn’t sufficient enough for you, then why? Millions of Christ-loving individuals with Protestant friends are able to attend a single Mass and not feel compelled to dilute their faith by giving just as much credence to another, non-Catholic worship service. Do you visit any Methodist discussion boards? Why not ask them the same thing you’re asking here?
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I’m being quite serious about this.
When the time came on sunday (6:30pm) I just thought about the service that would be going on in the Methodist church nearby me. So I wanted to be there to give devotion and worship and prayer. e.c.t.
I really see nothing wrong with that. But I knew that some people would disagree and I wanted to see why they disagree.
 
Zundrah said:
Do you think it is wrong for me to first go to Roman Catholic Mass and then later that day go to a Methodist church at 6:30pm for their devotion / service?:bible1:

And why would that be wrong? Because I see no wrong in that?🤷
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What in the world would a Methodist service have to offer that is greater than the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist? What more could you want? :confused:
 
Hi, well the reason some people would say that is wrong, is because Protestant teachings are not the same as Catholic teachings on some topics, and if you go to both you might get confused or even lead astray - unless you really know your faith…

if you wanted to go to the Methodist church for devotion/prayer/worship/etc, that’s not a sin I think, but I’m just wondering why not go and spend some time with the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of your church? 🙂 Jesus is there all alone, 24/7, for our sake. I’m sure He’s very pleased when we come and visit Him. And from my experience, praying before the Eucharist is much more ‘fruitful’ and spiritual than praying without it! and this is something one can only find in Catholic parishes.

God bless
 
Zundrah, your profile and some of your previous posts indicate that you are a Christian with Methodist background and that you are currently investigating the Catholic faith.

I see no reason why it would be in any way wrong for you to attend both a Catholic Mass and a Methodist devotional service on Sundays if that is what you want to do. After all, this is your spiritual journey, not anyone else’s.

It took me fully four years of attending Mass before I decided to enter the Catholic Church. So I know all about sitting on that fence.

Go at your own pace.

God bless.

Mrs. Mac
 
It is perfectly fine to go to a Methodist service, or a service with any of our separated brothers and sisters.
The only criteria for a Catholic is to first attend Mass.
Remember also that just as non-Catholics may not join us at the Communion table, neither are Catholics to receive Communion at the non-Catholic service. This has to do with the differences in understanding between denominations. When we receive Communion, we not only receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we also acknowledge our union with all other Catholics as members of the Body of Christ and our belief in the teachings of the Church, including Apostolic succession.
As a cradle Catholic, I have found sharing in the services of other denominations as one way to dispel the many myths that others may have about what Catholics believe.
 
Mrs_Mac said:
Zundrah, your profile and some of your previous posts indicate that you are a Christian with Methodist background and that you are currently investigating the Catholic faith.

I see no reason why it would be in any way wrong for you to attend both a Catholic Mass and a Methodist devotional service on Sundays if that is what you want to do. After all, this is your spiritual journey, not anyone else’s.

It took me fully four years of attending Mass before I decided to enter the Catholic Church. So I know all about sitting on that fence.

Go at your own pace.

God bless.

Mrs. Mac
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I think your right, I even spoke to a catholic vicar yesterday during lunch hours and he agreed that it was okay (that came as a bit of a shock!).
It’s Christ that we go to church for, and no denomination changes that!
I will always go to mass, but unless you have actually been to a protestant Sunday service you will never understand why I wanted to be there even after going to catholic church that same day! I miss my old church so much that it upsets me to think about it…
But they will drag me away from going to catholic mass, so I will just go to other protestant churches at 6:30.
 
DebChris said:
It is perfectly fine to go to a Methodist service, or a service with any of our separated brothers and sisters.
The only criteria for a Catholic is to first attend Mass.
Remember also that just as non-Catholics may not join us at the Communion table, neither are Catholics to receive Communion at the non-Catholic service. This has to do with the differences in understanding between denominations. When we receive Communion, we not only receive the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ, we also acknowledge our union with all other Catholics as members of the Body of Christ and our belief in the teachings of the Church, including Apostolic succession.
As a cradle Catholic, I have found sharing in the services of other denominations as one way to dispel the many myths that others may have about what Catholics believe.
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:pPraise the Lord that there are other sane people in the world that agree with me!😛

Also (just a thought), I never had any issues or grudges against Catholics or their church and that is what made me able to go to the mass in the first place.
So as you see it is so important not to spread strange ideas in peoples heads about other different churches.
Because I knew nothing about what made Catholics different, I was able to investigate their faith with out having reserved thoughts about it all. That’s probably thanks to the good church I went to originally.
 
Monica4316 said:
Hi, well the reason some people would say that is wrong, is because Protestant teachings are not the same as Catholic teachings on some topics, and if you go to both you might get confused or even lead astray - unless you really know your faith…

if you wanted to go to the Methodist church for devotion/prayer/worship/etc, that’s not a sin I think, but I’m just wondering why not go and spend some time with the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle of your church? 🙂 Jesus is there all alone, 24/7, for our sake. I’m sure He’s very pleased when we come and visit Him. And from my experience, praying before the Eucharist is much more ‘fruitful’ and spiritual than praying without it! and this is something one can only find in Catholic parishes.

God bless
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I can’t take part in the Eucharist… (not yet)
But I do nearly every day go into this catholic church called St Edward the confessor and I pray there and some times light a candle if I pray my eternal prayer. It is very beautiful in there and you are right when you say that you can feel Jesus’s presence in catholic churches! I felt it in there many times, that’s how I knew the church was the real thing! That’s why I first went to catholic church last Sunday! I will not change my feelings about it, despite what old friends say.
 
Zundrah said:
I think your right, I even spoke to a catholic vicar yesterday during lunch hours and he agreed that it was okay (that came as a bit of a shock!).
It’s Christ that we go to church for, and no denomination changes that!
I will always go to mass, but unless you have actually been to a protestant Sunday service you will never understand why I wanted to be there even after going to catholic church that same day! I miss my old church so much that it upsets me to think about it…
But they will drag me away from going to catholic mass, so I will just go to other protestant churches at 6:30.
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This is absolutely right. We go to church to be with Christ.
“…And yet almost everyone, though in different ways, longs for the one visible Church of God, a Church truly universal and sent forth to the whole world that the world may be converted to the Gospel and so be saved, to the glory of God.
…For the Spirit of Christ has not refrained from using them [the separated churches] as means of salvation which derive their efficacy from the very fullness of grace and truth entrusted to the Catholic Church.
…Nor should we forget that anything wrought by the grace of the Holy Spirit in the hearts of our separated brethren can contribute to our own edification. Whatever is truly Christian is never contrary to what genuinely belongs to the faith; indeed, it can always bring a more perfect realization of the very mystery of Christ and the Church.” (Vatican II Decree on Ecumenism).
Zundrah said:
:pPraise the Lord that there are other sane people in the world that agree with me!😛

Also (just a thought), I never had any issues or grudges against Catholics or their church and that is what made me able to go to the mass in the first place.
So as you see it is so important not to spread strange ideas in peoples heads about other different churches.
Because I knew nothing about what made Catholics different, I was able to investigate their faith with out having reserved thoughts about it all. That’s probably thanks to the good church I went to originally.
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I no longer use the term Protestant. The protests stopped years ago. I use the same term that our Holy Father uses which is non-Catholic or separated brothers and sisters. I agree that it is important not to spread strange ideas about about other churches and what they believe. The only way to know the truth about what a person believes is to set aside prejudices and listen to that person.
 
Zundrah,

Worship God as wholeheartedly as you can. But become informed about the faith – within your traditional place of worship, and within the Catholic Church, which you seem to be drawn to. Commit to study, to understand the differences, and eventually, make a decision as to what you want to embrace with mind, body and soul.

During the Catholic liturgy, we pray what we believe. And though we share very much in common, there are differences in what we believe. So on a long-term basis, it wouldn’t make sense for you to worship in two faith traditions. You haven’t made a commitment to the Catholic faith (yet), so of course there’s nothing wrong with you worshipping in more than one church.
 
quiet52 said:
Zundrah,

Worship God as wholeheartedly as you can. But become informed about the faith – within your traditional place of worship, and within the Catholic Church, which you seem to be drawn to. Commit to study, to understand the differences, and eventually, make a decision as to what you want to embrace with mind, body and soul.

During the Catholic liturgy, we pray what we believe. And though we share very much in common, there are differences in what we believe. So on a long-term basis, it wouldn’t make sense for you to worship in two faith traditions. You haven’t made a commitment to the Catholic faith (yet), so of course there’s nothing wrong with you worshipping in more than one church.
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This does make a lot of sense! Finally I can understand now why Catholics don’t attend protestant churches. It’s because you make a vow, a vow that you believe in the holy catholic church and all that it teaches within its walls. The communion of saints and it’s doctrines. Thank you for this, and I really realize now that perhaps I need to ask my self what I am devoting my self to.
If I really mean to be confirmed, then I need to know why it would be important to stick to the catholic church in the first place. Some one on this site said to me that perhaps I need to do some soul searching - maybe they were right!
To be baptized as a catholic is not a light hearted thing to do with out thinking about it first, unlike in protestant churches.
Just like with the bible, I need to do more studying!

Thank you quiet52!:bible1:
 
Zundrah said:
Do you think it is wrong for me to first go to Roman Catholic Mass and then later that day go to a Methodist church at 6:30pm for their devotion / service?:bible1:

And why would that be wrong? Because I see no wrong in that?🤷
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Not in the slightest 🙂​

 
Zundrah said:
I can’t take part in the Eucharist… (not yet)
But I do nearly every day go into this catholic church called St Edward the confessor and I pray there and some times light a candle if I pray my eternal prayer. It is very beautiful in there and you are right when you say that you can feel Jesus’s presence in catholic churches! I felt it in there many times, that’s how I knew the church was the real thing! That’s why I first went to catholic church last Sunday! I will not change my feelings about it, despite what old friends say.
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I think another member has advised you that St. Edward the Confessor is part of the Church of England, a Protestant Church, not Catholic. They may call themselves Catholic, but if they are not in union with the bishop of Rome, then they are Protestant.

One of the best ways to tell is to carefully attend to the intercessions during Liturgy. Catholics will pray for the bishop of Rome, and the local bishop. Those who are not in union with the bishop of Rome will substitute someone else.
 
Zundrah said:
This does make a lot of sense! Finally I can understand now why Catholics don’t attend protestant churches. It’s because you make a vow, a vow that you believe in the holy catholic church and all that it teaches within its walls
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No, Zundrah, you do not understand. Catholics do not need to refrain from attending Protestant services because of some “vow”. Furthermore,the Catholic faith is not found within “walls”. If you read the excerpt from the Catechism, the Church recognizes the action of the HS at work outside of the visible boundaries of the Church.
Zundrah said:
The communion of saints and it’s doctrines. Thank you for this, and I really realize now that perhaps I need to ask my self what I am devoting my self to.
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There are some protestants who also accept the Apostolic teaching on the communion of saints. The doctrine comes from Christ, through the Apostles.
Zundrah said:
If I really mean to be confirmed, then I need to know why it would be important to stick to the catholic church in the first place. Some one on this site said to me that perhaps I need to do some soul searching - maybe they were right!
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I agree. I just read on another thread where you were encouraging someone to use birth control, and that there was nothing wrong with this. I think you do need a period of study, and soul searching.
Zundrah said:
To be baptized as a catholic is not a light hearted thing to do with out thinking about it first, unlike in protestant churches.
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The Apostles held out an all or nothing faith to the world. They would not recognize today’s “cafeteria” catholics.
Zundrah said:
Just like with the bible, I need to do more studying!
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You came to the right place! 👍
 
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