experience with catholics

[ichabod]

I’ve become involved in my church, but any wonderful things that are happening are due to the Holy Spirit, not me.

I’ve become involved in our adult confirmation class; this is where adults who have been baptized, and for some reason have never been confirmed (some of those with similar stories as yours).

I’ve found that everyone is at different parts in their own spiritual journey, and it’s not always something you can see, much less evaluate. Those years of involvement in the church have shaped you in ways you may never consciously know. I see a lot of what I call “Grandma catholics” - those whose relatives have planted a seed of spirituality which comes to bloom years later, and what results can be beautifully humbling, because that kind of faith comes from deep within.

My story is that of a cradle catholic (born and raised); being a military family, I went though many schools (public and catholic) and in my teens was active in the church. After marriage to a beautiful catholic woman with a similar background, we became lax and allowed the secular culture to influence us. Our faith slowly brought us back in a much deeper way.

Many of catholics that you complain about (me too) are “cultural” catholics; those whose faith is externalized, but doesn’t drive them. Personally, I believe that poor teaching/learning is to blame. Do we really remember the religion that was taught to us in school? But we do remember sport stats, our favorite songs, the difference between trim options on cars, and film trivia.

I’'m a scientist, and if my faith were to survive, I had to know what it claimed held fast against immutable truth; because if it did, then it wouldn’t matter what others did, no matter what they called themselves or how they acted. One who seeks truth, seeks God. I can tell you from my own research of crusades and inquisitions and persecutions and saints and scoundrels, that the truth is embodied in the teachings of the Catholic church, not in my opinion, not in pop culture, and not in pop culture christianity.

Sorry for the rant. I guess if you judge any group by their worst members instead of what the group is supposed to stand for, then no group looks very good.

 

[SPOKENWORD]

As a roman catholic I was taught in my earlier years through my parish catechism that it was okay to cheat unless it brought injustice to others, it was okay to not tell the truth if it would hurt someone, swearing was okay,it was only bad language,gambling is okay ,if there is no cheating. These are some of the things that I as a roman catholic was taught. Today I know that all these things are against what God says. The book of Ephesians has taught me how to live the way God wants me to. By the way I still have this parish catechism. For those that dont believe me, Its called the new parish catechism, A complete course in the catholic faith, the teachings of Jesus Christ by Rev. William g. Martin, Copyright 1973 by FARE,inc. Imprimatur Rev.Joseph A Durick,DD, Bishop of Nashville.

 

[srkbdk]

One of the things that we have to careful of is thinking that we can do what the Holy Spirit does. Now dont get me wrong we are to work for the Kingdom and need to help brothers and sisters see the truth, but in the end it is and always will be God that converts the hearts. We are told to seek him, we are told to spread the good news, we are told to love one another, we are told to do this things in spite of the world around us. It is so easy to get caught up with the negivite things instead of seeing the positive. Look what Christ is doing within His Church:

1. He has brought truth back by holding the Bishops accountable to the scandels amoung other things. I admit still more to be done but He will do it and some of it will be by using some of us.
2. We have this very well done and great Catechism so we can all see what we need.
3. The Bible in the Church is still protected and as it ever was.
4. Young people are getting taught the truth after so many years of confusion clairty is again raising its head.
5. Our Lord is phiscaly Present in the Church.

Much more can be added there are problems in the Church and always will be because us sinners are in the Church, but that is the true beauty time and again satan has tried and failed to crush her and God has promised that he always fail. Lose sight not that this is a war not with flesh and blood alone.

Hope this was worthwhile
Scott

 

[lily628]

Bengal fan,

I am a Protestant who plans to convert to Catholic, and I know how you feel. Please allow me to share some of what God has shown me from Scripture and experience on this issue.

Read all the parables about the kingdom of heaven in Mt. 13 (below in KJV). The kingdom of heaven refers to the Church. Here is one of them below. Think about this passage in light of comparing the differences between the Protestant idea of Church as all believers versus the Catholic idea of Church as all who are under the leadership of the Catholic Church.

47 Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

We see here that the Protestant idea of “all believers” is impossible in this context, since the net (kingdom of heaven) contains some who are cast into the fire (hell). Thus, the Bible shows us that there will be wicked and corrupt people even in the true Church! (I know it is sad, but this is part of God’s plan as shown in Scripture.)

Other examples we have are the fact that Jesus chose Judas as an apostle – one of the Church leaders – and he was corrupt! Also, another key point. In the Old Testament, corruption and disobedience to God was rampant. Did that sole fact make Judaism untrue? No!

God used those outside the Israelites to punish His people and shame them, so that they would return to the Truth. Also, there were converts from outside that were more fervent in their faith than those who were born into it (eg. Ruth). Finally, look at the example of the Apostle Paul. He fervently persecuted Christians, but when he converted, God used him to be one of the greatest and most fervent apostles.

I myself am a convert to Catholic from Evangelical. I bless God every week when I have the priviledge to enter His Presence at mass. I thank Him for showing me the Truth of the Catholic Church. I think that many “cradle Catholics” just do not realize the wonderful blessing they have of being born into the Catholic Church. Like the apostle Paul, Protestant converts tend to be more enthusiastic about their newfound Catholic faith because they are so grateful for what God has shown them. They take none of it for granted. I savor every moment of mass, as it is, simply put, a taste of heaven. Do you know the concept that people often do not know the value of what they have or appreciate it, because they are so used to it always being there? I think that is the case with many Catholics.

As for people leaving the Catholic faith and converting to Protestant, I am convinced that most if not all of those cases are with people who misunderstood the Catholic faith. They were poorly taught and sadly not challenged to **commit their entire lives **to Christ. So when Protestants come preaching the message of giving your whole life to Christ, they are easy pickings because that message is the Truth! So many Catholic converts to Protestant (I know many) will often tell you about their sinful lives before they “got saved.” They are resentful that it seems the Catholic Church never taught them this.

I think instead, the reality is a combination of factors.

1. Parents failing to teach their kids
2. Churches/Catholic schools teaching heresies or liberal theology, that is against what the Catholic Church really believes and teaches
3. Their own lack of commitment and desire to live a sinful lifestyle.

Of course peoples’ lives are changed by committing them to Christ! The difference is that too often, former Catholics blame the entire Catholic Church for the errors and/or sins of individuals.

In reality, the Catholic Church teaches that for salvation we must daily die to self and live for Christ, as Paul wrote. This is the essence of salvation. The Catholic Church, for this reason, teaches that salvation is by grace alone, through faith and works. If it was by grace alone through faith alone as Protestants teach, we would not need to commit our lives to Christ fully and die to ourselves daily. It would only need to be an intellectual/emotional belief that is not applied to our lives. I have found a more complete understanding of salvation in the Catholic Church than I ever had as a Protestant.

Well I hope that helped. God bless,
Lily

 

[bengal_fan]

lily628:

So many Catholic converts to Protestant (I know many) will often tell you about their sinful lives before they “got saved.” They are resentful that it seems the Catholic Church never taught them this.

I think instead, the reality is a combination of factors.

1. Parents failing to teach their kids
2. Churches/Catholic schools teaching heresies or liberal theology, that is against what the Catholic Church really believes and teaches
3. Their own lack of commitment and desire to live a sinful lifestyle.
   -Lily

thank you for your post and for saying what i’ve been saying. i’m not saying the church isn’t true, i’m saying that it is a horrible witness right now to outsiders and to it’s own flock because of those things (but especially number 2). so what are you going to do about it. please, no one else try to convince me. not that i don’t appreciate it, but my question is what actions are you taking to rectify the situation. if a priest in your parishes teaches against what the church says…what do you do? how do you deal with some one like fr. mcbrien (sp?) from notre dame or the priests who actively participate in the jesus seminar and speak heresies? how do you combat them at a local, national, and international level. what are you personally doing? that’s what i want to hear. i have heard some great responses to this and am looking forward to hearing more.

 

[Antony]

This is really an interesting topic. I don’t know why protestants always think they’re better. They only look at a few of their devout church going members, while excluding every others of their kind who no longer go to church as non-protestants. If you include them, you should pause and say, they’re not really better off than catholics. A catholic is a catholic for life, whether he goes to church or not. So bad and good catholics intermingle. Now you say okay let not count the unchurched. As you know, most protestants with zeal go to church. On the other hand, most catholics go to church out of fear of mortal sins. Usually these folks are not truelly godly-catholics. But as you know, a catholic parish usually have a 1000+ members. If you reduce that number 10 times, you have to agree with me that there are at least 100 catholics who love the Lord, come to worship him out of love and reverence, and live their lives as witnesses for the Lord. This number, 100, is about the same as the number of most protestants who worship on Sunday.

 

[bengal_fan]

anthony,
i never said protestants were better. this whole thing started because i am considering converting to the catholic church (although it probably wouldn’t be “converting” as i was baptized, first communioned (is that a word?), and confirmed catholic). i was wondering what people were doing to help one another grow in Christ in their catholic churches as my experience has not allowed me to see much being done in that area. never did i say protestants were better. i think the catholic church does some things way better than protestant churches but i also think catholics can learn from their separated brethren. why are people getting upset because of this topic? it was meant in good faith.

 

[lily628]

bengal_fan:

what are you personally doing?

I am not even a member of the Catholic Church yet. I just decided for sure to convert over the past few months, and I have only been attending a Catholic church since February. I just graduated from college so there was not enough time to get involved more than attending mass. In the two churches that I’ve attended for these brief periods of time (one at college and one at home), I have not encountered such problems that require confrontation.

The examples I gave are based on stories I heard from others, especially my father who is a former Catholic and is opposed to Catholicism. His childhood parish was apparently poor in their teaching. He still holds this against the Catholic Church as a whole. Unfortunately, his parents were not knowledgeable or committed enough in their faith to teach him at home and to notice the problems in their parish and stand up against them.

However, I would say that Biblically (based on Mt.18), the process for confrontation would go something like this.

1. Talk to the person who is responsible for teaching the wrong stuff. Show them the correct teaching from the Bible and other Catholic documents (esp. the Catechism).
2. If the problem remains, talk with your priest or deacon. Follow up with the bishop or others at the diocese headquarters.
3. Go higher up the ladder if necessary.
4. Continue in persistence to report problems in a charitable and truthful manner. (Recall that Jesus commended the persistent widow.) Pick your battles on the essential issues though, otherwise you will be known as the picky, annoying one rather than being any help.

Other ways to make a difference:

1. Volunteer to do your part in teaching or preparing materials or something of the like, so that you can influence how things are being done. People in the parish will more likely respect your view if they see you are committed to the church and being involved.
2. If you have kids, ask them what they learned in school/church. If you find that it’s an uphill battle at your parish and getting nowhere, choose to teach your kids yourself and/or consider sending them to CCD at a more orthodox parish.
3. Find out if your parish offers Bible studies or some similar small group type thing. If not, consider starting one. You will find that often the people who attend these are more committed, and they will likely share the same vision as you for reform within the church. Band together with these people to work for change. Just as cultural change starts within our hearts and individual actions, so too does change within a church.

I am currently doing 1 and 3, but 2 does not apply to me as I do not have children.

I did have a problem with the Catholic campus minister at my college, who was a theological liberal. We tried many times to reason with him to change his teachings, but he would not. So I got together with another woman in the group and we wrote down all of the heresies that he taught us (eg. Christ didn’t have to die for our sins, it was just a story; there’s no hell; practicing homosexuals should be accepted in their lifestyles, etc). We individually reported these to the diocese and they were shocked to hear that one of their campus ministers was teaching this. They said in 20-some years, no one has ever reported this about him, and they thanked us for speaking up. I think his liberal leanings were more recent. But they promised they would take action to discipline him on this unacceptable behavior.

We need to think about the problems that the Protestant Reformation caused (making “truth” subjective, splintering the unity Christ wanted in Jn 17, and creating confusion). Instead of working for change from within, people started leaving and forming their own churches. In other words, they thought they could do it better than God. Instead of being persistent in fighting the wrong things in the Church God established, they took the easy route and left.

Another option for people who are just beginning in the Catholic Church is to find a parish that’s fairly orthdox in their teachings. I found a local one (a bit difficult in my liberal diocese). This is important if you are new to the faith or if you have impressionable children who may be led astray by liberal teachings elsewhere.

I have not yet encountered any problems that need confrontation at my parishes, but no doubt eventually I will, since they are present in every church. Jesus never promised that the church would be perfect or free from corruption. Only that the gates of hell would not prevail against her – that is why the Catholic Church has (by God’s grace and the Holy Spirit’s leading) unchanging Truth in its doctrine, taught for 2000 years despite the corruption that exists anywhere there are humans. Now if only we can get all the Catholic churches to keep teaching all of those unchanging Truths, and all her people to start seeking them fervently!

God bless,
Lily

 

[Jennifer123]

bengal_fan:

i’m saying that it is a horrible witness right now to outsiders and to it’s own flock because of those things (but especially number 2). so what are you going to do about it.

what actions are you taking to rectify the situation. if a priest in your parishes teaches against what the church says…what do you do? how do you deal with some one like fr. mcbrien (sp?) from notre dame or the priests who actively participate in the jesus seminar and speak heresies? how do you combat them at a local, national, and international level. what are you personally doing?

I see you’ve leaped beyond me in posting numbers…time for me to catch up!

If there is a priest teaching heresy, one has to approach the situation carefully. From what I’ve heard about the subject, one should first inform the priest, assuming that he may not know he’s teaching error. Show him with evidence about the Church’s teachings. If the situation persists, then one can go to the Bishop using the same cahrity and evidence.
If that doesn’t get one anywhere, then I think you can report the situation to the Papal Nuncio, where it gets forwarded to the pope.
Now, I’m pretty sure most of these things don’t get to that level. I’d be surprised if most complaints get to the Bishop, and even if so, usually the Bishop, who appoints the priests, DRE’s, etc. tend to appoint those who hold their particular beliefs.
I think most people find approaching a preist about error to be intimidating and either put up with it, go to another parish, or just offer it up in prayer.
We need to pray not only for our priests, but our Bishops. We need to pray that they will be faithful to the magisterium and will listen to our wonderful pope.

As for what I’m doing personally - honestly nothing. I do pray on occasion for your priests and bishops, maybe that is something? :ehh:

 

[Jennifer123]

bengal_fan:

jennifer,
we are committed to sharing the basics of Christianity and encouraging participation in one’s denomination. i think though, we need more catholic involevement in these organizations that are open to that. that way, catholics won’t be led from their church and might just come to understand what their church really teaches. so one thing i would recommend is that more catholics engage in organizations such as these.

Personally, and not to demean the organization you work for, it sounds great, I’d prefer a purely Catholic organization but from what you are saying where is one?

also, setting up a welcome/greeter program would be good. having people outside to greet people as they come in and leave (i know some priests do this after mass but i think making folks feel welcome from the start is best). also, instead of one big missal, printing one for each sunday (i don’t think this would be necessary for daily mass and could use the regular missal for that) that also had the protocol listed for non-catholics would be helpful. this would make some one feel more welcome even though they can’t participate in all of the mass, they would know and there would be no confusion.

Yes - and personally I do see this often. I think in most cases there needs to be more “feeling” to the greeting, I do see this and I agree w/you.
As for the missal printing that would be nice but may be a little unnecessary as in the front of the missals we use there is the “Order of the Mass” listed. But I do know what you mean about the text being a little more inclusive, more welcoming to non-Catholics. I think the issue may be one of money. Protestant churches usually have more money for these things than do Catholic churches. Catholics tend to not tithe as much as Protestants as a whole. There are also a lot of programs that most parishes have like soup kitchens, etc. that need a lot of money.

bible study groups within the congregation would be huge.

I’ve seen this in parishes and dioceses (I’ve personally participated!) especially where the priests and bishops are loyal to Church teachings. But we need more, yes!!!

evangelism! there is a church in cincinnati that has really thrown itself into “servant evangelism” which is where people go out and “show God’s love in a practical way”. this has varied from cleaning toilets in businesses (serving the people who work there), handing out cokes at the baseball games, to paying for everyone’s gas at a gas station for 2 hours on a saturday. all of this is done in the name of Jesus, and with an invitation to the church. there is no real active preaching, but the people are open to answering questions. the church is committed to teaching other churches in the area how to do it too. so much so that they print up cards with the other churches (Christian church i should specify, no unitarian, mormon or jw) info on them. they have even done this for a few catholic churches and those churches have really run with it! i think the best witness though is to the people you have a relationship with. and i am sure you can all think of a friend you have in church that is not really living or enjoying their faith. well, go after that person with all the love you have. open your homes, your wallets and your lives to them. i also think that adults who really and truly befriend the youth of a church can be some of the most influential people in the world. your church doesn’t have a youth program? start one. organize a trip to the stuebenville conferences, or just to the local mall. really be friends with them, not just a mentor although that becomes a part of it, but teens are smart enough to know if they are just a project to you or truly a friend. these are just a few suggestions, i’ll have more for you at another time.

Yes, thank you, I think these are great and are uplifting, encouraging. I think the great thing is that in this “springtime” of evangelizatoin (yes I do believe the Holy Father is right in that it is occuring) I can see almost all of your recommendations in effect. The call is to all of us especially on this board and thread to do something ourselves for the good of our parish, yes?
BTW - I thought of a great Catholic org that travels from parish to parish helping them see the gifts of the Holy Spirit thay have been given (personally which is wonderful to find out and as a group) and how to incorporate those into parish programs, etc. Take a look and if they are at a parish near you, I’d highly recommend checking it out. I personally went to one, travelled to another parish to do it and didn’t feel uncomfortable so don’t worry about that. Here’s the link:siena.org/

 

[Beaver]

bengal_fan

i am a catholic and i have read the bible daily for 42 years. i have been on vacation with protestant. i brought my bible and studies with me. they did not. bible study is become very popular amoung catholics. they found out it is very catholic freindly. i am a bible study leader in my parish. we meet weekly and have learned to enjoy our family story.

 

[Katholikos]

bengal_fan:

i guess let me add to this:
what can I do (if i do convert to catholicism) to help this situation as it seems that the catholic church (at least in america) relies heavily on these protestants who return to the church. i know this is a bit of an incendiary comment and it was meant to be because cradle catholics should be the ones taking the lead in all of this.

Well, you’re a cradle Catholic. What are you doing to solve the problem that *you *perceive (and others, including myself, do not) that exists predominantly (so you say) in the Catholic Church? Yes, the Church is full of sinners. It is a hospital for sinners. You’d expect to find sinners in the hospital that Jesus Christ founded for us. Some of us recover so well, we become saints. Some of us leave home and later return, like the prodigal son – some at the last second of life. Some of us are lost forever. It’s not for us to judge.

Instead of studying what the Church teaches and why, and where we got the Bible, you ran out the door and into the embrace of one of her dissenters and started not only believing another gospel, but preaching it (Galatians 1:6-9). Jeff Cavins, who did the same thing, is now a great Catholic evangelist. Perhaps you will be also. Yours is a question you should be asking yourself.

Every Catholic must at some point on his or her journey be “converted,” whether we are born Catholic or not.

You’ve got it backwards. The Church doesn’t rely on us – we rely on the One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church that Christ founded for the salvation of the world, whether born Catholic or Catholic convert. We are ALL – every one of us – Catholic by choice. Catholic because it’s True. Hurry home.

Peace be with you, Jay

 

[mark_a]

Dear Bengal fan,

I believe that Protestant converts are very exciting to listen to because they provide a point of view from the other side of the fence. Many of us who drifted away from Catholicism, looked around, and came back appreciate these converts. Now that I know who many of them are, I can hear what’s right with the Church. I also grew up in the bible belt, and man, the “thumpers” were brutal!

Most (maybe all) of your observations about many Catholics are correct. Are they the reason you left the Church?

We’d love to have you back. Then we can work on converting you to a Steelers fan!

 

[PaulDupre]

Dear Bengal_Fan,
Welcome to the forum!
I must comment that it seems you are still thinking of “Church” the way a Protestant does - as just a place to go and fellowship with like-minded people. WRONG! Although fellowship is important, that is not the reason we are Catholics. We are Catholics because the Catholic Church is the only place where we can receive all of the sacraments instituted by Jesus Christ from the priesthood that He ordained that extends all the way back to the apostles.
My Protestant brother, after attending mass at my parish, stated that he could never be comfortable there because there were too many non-whites and the priest had an accent. I have attended his baptist church - all rich white people. He is very comfortable there. The poor white baptists had their own church down the street. The black baptists had their own church as well. Catholicism is not like that - we have all races, all languages and all levels of commitment and relationship to God all worshipping together with no one scrutinizing or judging anyone else. Hopefully we can build one another up and all come closer to Jesus.
Your brother in Christ,
Paul
P.S.: Our daily 6:30 AM mass has about 350 attendees every day, including me. Many of them stay after mass to sing hymns together. How many Protestants go to Church every morning? For that matter, how many Protestant churches have daily worship services?

 

[JCPhoenix]

"I can’t remember the person, but it was in the Old Testament. God had directed someone to go into a city (or was this Acts?) and find 7 good people and God would spare the city if he could find them. That person pleaded with God, finally “bargaining” him down to only 1 good person…if he found 1 faithful person, he was asking that God spare the city, and God promised this."-JCPhoenix

just a funny observation, i think you are talking about sodom and the irony is that he couldn’t find even one so God did destroy the city. just funny i guess. i don’t mean to judge, i just wanted to point out that you can tell a lot about some one or something by the fruit they or it bears. people often say not to judge the church by the people but if i’m going to be one of those people i need to judge the church by the people.
.

Yes, I think you’re right and thanks for the observation. Now that we have the same setting…isn’t that where Lot and his wife were told to flee the city God was going to destroy and not look behind them? Then Lot’s wife looked and was turned into a pillar of salt.

I think in any case you may have missed my point. I of course expect you to judge the Church by the people, for the Church IS the people…but please open your eyes and see what is good, find the good people, the peopl who are trying to live out the faith and who have their eyes on God…and judge the Church based on them. Obviously you will find several, and thus the Lord’s promise is bourne out…if there were 7 good people, save the city…and in your case, join the Church. Those 7 are the symbol for the faithful whom you are seeking and I daresay you have found more than 7 on this website.

Join the Church, be a leader, and help the rest of us (even the struggling-trying-to-be-good-Catholics) show the lukewarm people the way!

I am really asking you to let God’s grace overcome you so that you can see clearly that the Faith is the true Faith and when we truely believe, we experience the fullness of the faith.

And as a “weeper” as some have put it, I can assure you that there is NOTHING like the feeling of communion with Christ. I have never left the Church because I KNOW I will not ever experience that anywhere else.

Please? Please see as as Jesus does?

 

[Katholikos]

bengal_fan:

.also, instead of one big missal, printing one for each sunday (i don’t think this would be necessary for daily mass and could use the regular missal for that) that also had the protocol listed for non-catholics would be helpful. this would make some one feel more welcome even though they can’t participate in all of the mass, they would know and there would be no confusion.

It surely won’t disappoint you to know that all of your suggestions on what a Catholic Church ought to do to be more “welcoming” have been tried to one degree or another at many if not most parishes.

Fellowshipping is a Protestant value. Protestants go to church, greet their friends, sing some songs, say some prayers, hear a sermon, chat a while, say farewell to their friends, and call that “worship.”

Worship to a Catholic is offering the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass to Almighty God. The Mass is offered to honor and glorify God, to thank Him for all the graces bestowed on the whole world, to satisfy God’s justice for our own sins and the sins of mankind, and to obtain all graces and blessings. Thus we offer Adoration, Thanksgiving, Praise, Reparaton, Petition.

Our focus should be on the altar, not on each other. We are in the Real Presence of Christ, kneeling at the foot of Calvary, at the Holy Mass. We should imitate the Apostle John: “When I caught sight of him, I fell down at his feet as though dead” Rev 1:17.

Sounds to me as if you want to Protestantize the Mass, not to enrich Catholic worship. I don’t want to fellowship at Mass, I want to experience the presence of the Living God. I can fellowship outside the Church, or in the social hall. At the Mass, my entire focus is on God, and His Gift of Himself in Holy Communion.

A Protestant can participate in all aspects of the Mass except he cannot receive Holy Communion.

Many Catholic Churches now do not have missals at all, but “worship aids” with only the music indicated. Best to read up on the meaning of the Mass and the Scripture readings and the prayers before you go.

JMJ Jay

 

[Writer]

Interesting thread… I was visciously teased in a Catholic elementary school for not being Catholic, observed friends who had no knowledge of the Bible (child friend thought we prayed to the sun), and later witnessed a Catholic friend living with his girlfriend and not caring a bit about breaking the teachings of his church. It still comes down to the fact, however, that “all have sinned and fall(en) short of the glory of God”. This board has encouraged me that there are many deep Catholics out there who desire to learn, practice, and live their faith daily. We look forward to learning more about the Catholic faith in the coming year as we consider converting from the Protestant tradition.

 

[Little_Mary]

Katholikos,

I agree with your post #96. Didn’t want to copy it hear to save space but you make some excellent points.

During the Mass, the focus should be on the altar, not each other. That’s right. To that end, there has been some question as to whether we should hold hands during the Our Father but that’s another thread. Mass is not the time for fellowship.

Don’t forget, we have several parish activieties that promote and are centered around fellowship. Our parish has family bingo and ice cream night, we have a book group, Knights of Columbus, Ladies Auxiliary, and many other different types of groups that meet individual interests. Not to mention the CYO, oops, showing my age, Life Teen, Scouts, and many others.

Many parishes offer coffee and donuts after the mass and invite everyone to stay and chat for a minute and many people do. Some don’t but that’s OK. Remember, there is probably another Mass set to begin in the next hour or so.

 

[Pops]

Wonderful discussion about being or becoming Catholic. I am a Catholic prison chaplain, now as a volunteer but full time at one time.

It amazed me, all the men who claimed to be Catholic, but had not attended mass for many years. They were adamant in calling themselves Catholic. They turned to the faith when they became incarcerated. They remembered their Catholic heritage, from parents, grandparents, brothers and sisters. They probably could not recite one catholic prayer but they could explain in a rough form many of the Catholic teachings. It was good to see them turn to their faith of their heritage in times of turmoil and how many of them became very good, faithful and using their time to brush up on their Catholic faith.

It is so true in the parishes I have served as a Catholic deacon. Lukewarm Catholics who come home and come home with a lot of fevor whenever their lives where challenged and their Catholic faith and heritage came alive and they became very good Catholics again.

We as Catholics and ordained deacons and priests must continue to reach out to them. to love them and be open to them and their needs all their lives. I have seen the very best and the very worst Catholics (I served as death row chaplain) and I know and believe with all my hearts we are to love each and every person, saints and sinners, as Jesus loves us.

I always tell fallen away Catholics, luke warm Catholics, one day you will come home because Jesus is always reaching out to each and every person, saint and sinner, and gently calls us home to the Catholic church.

Peace, love and blessings
pops

 

[morashb]

Bengal Fan,

You asked, “so let’s hear what everyone is doing to either bring people to the church or help them grow in their faith.”

Most people I know, know that I am Catholic. I’m no expert in apologetics, but know enough to meet most of the challenges non-Catholics occasionally bring up. … By not being embarrassed about my faith I have found that other Catholics start feeling more comfortable expressing their faith in public. As they do, they begin asking questions and seem to seek a deeper knowledge of the Faith. … I guess just “being” Catholic helps others grow in their faith.

I assist with RCIA, distribute Catholic materials to fellow Catholics, and give away copies of the Catechism, but just being an open Catholic seems to have a good impact.