Former Athiest feeling the calling of the Catholic Faith

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Thank you so much. I am about 45 minutes North of Cullman and an hour and some change North of Birmingham. I have seen the signs for the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament but I do not know much about it, I will definitely look into it.

Please see below for the post card I received.

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@nightshade That’s awesome. I don’t know too much about the Fatima apparitions, but I would like to look more into them. Hopefully, you have a good local Catholic church. I know it can be hard in Alabama (and much of the South). In the small town where I grew up I never knew a single person who was Catholic and didn’t until I moved to a different part of the state. I converted a few years back after learning the truth about Catholicism, which was much different from what I’d always been taught. Something that helped me along the way was going to Adoration. I highly recommend seeing if a parish close to you has times where the Eucharist is exposed. It changed my life.
 
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nightshade said:
I was also taught that Jesus in the only mediator.

And nobody on earth is to be called father, only the father in heaven

Mathew 23:9

And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, who is in heaven.

I have not yet heard a defense of calling priests Father or the pope the Holy Father.
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The postcard sounds like a sign to me! I’m a big believer in signs. 😃

Sounds like you have a few questions and concerns. I’ll try to answer some of them.

Jesus is the only mediator. True. The saints are known as ‘intercessors’ rather than ‘mediators’. There is a difference. An intercessor is someone who pleads on your behalf, like a lawyer pleads for his client before a judge. The saints in heaven plead for us before the Great Judge. They are not mediators in the technical sense. A mediator brings two opposing sides together to find commonality. Jesus is truly a physical and spiritual mediator in that He brought the human and the Divine together in one body.

"Call no man father." Jesus said this, and yet He called Abraham “Father Abraham” at least six times in the gospels. He also said to call no one “Rabbi” and yet what did His apostles call Jesus all the way through the entire New Testament? I’ll give you three hints: Rabbi, Rabbi, Rabbi. Did Jesus ever rebuke them for this? Nope. Neither did He rebuke His mother when she referred to Joseph as “Your Father” when she had found young Jesus teaching in the Temple. This is known as hyperbole. It is an exaggerated statement to shock the listener to achieve an effect.

Another example of this is when Jesus said to chop off your hands and gouge out your eyes if “they offend you”. No Protestant takes this statement seriously, yet they get up in arms when Catholics call someone Father.

Holy Father. This bothers some Protestants, but it shouldn’t. I addressed the “Father” issue above. Now the “Holy” part- some Protestants think it is blasphemy to call anyone “Holy” except for God Almighty, but a search through the scriptures says otherwise. All kinds of people, places and things are referred to as “Holy” all over the Bible:
4 Kings 4:9
And she said to her husband: I perceive that this is a holy man of God, who often passeth by us.

Mark 6:20
For Herod feared John, knowing him to be a just and holy man: and kept him, and when he heard him, did many things: and he heard him willingly.

Hebrews 3:1
Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly vocation, consider the apostle and high priest of our confession, Jesus:

Gen 2:3 Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy

Ex 3:5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.”

2 Chron 35:13 They roasted the Passover animals over the fire as prescribed, and boiled the holy offerings in pots, caldrons and pans and served them quickly to all the people.
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I hope this helps. God bless, and good luck on your journey.
 
Welcome and blessings to you as you journey in faith. Even those of us who are cradle Catholics are also on a journey. Everyone’s path is different. I absolutely love being Catholic. I cannot be any other faith, even when the teachings are hard, inconvenient, or countercultural.

To answer your question, absolutely the sex abuse scandal sickens and offends me. It sickens and offends God, more importantly. I pray for the healing of the victims. A terrible injustice and harm have been done to them and continue to be done to them through our legal systems. Human failings are the root of this evil. God did not want it to happen. Sadly, there have been other times in our history when evil has corrupted the Church. I hope and pray that the Church has learned a lesson and that abuse of children can never happen again.

Despite our human failings, the Church lives on. Jesus promised that the gates of Hell would never prevail against it.

The great beauty of this faith amazes me. The more I learn, the more I love it. I hope you find the same truth on your journey. Prayers for you and God Bless you and your family.
 
FiveLinden said:
canon law requires someone confessing to falsely accusing a priest of sexual misconduct to take steps to right the wrong before absolution can be given
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Could you please cite the canon? This doesn’t sound right 🤔
 
Clarification: Jesus never said “Call no man father.” He did not.

He said “call no man your father.”

Big difference. Now, context.

Paul did not fear to use the term, and he had revelation directly from Christ.
Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and thy mother, which is the first commandment with a promise

Ephesians 6:4 And you, fathers, provoke not your children to anger; but bring them up in the discipline and correction of the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 Fathers, provoke not your children to indignation, lest they be discouraged.

1 Thessalonians 2:10-11 You are witnesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and without blame, we have been to you that have believed: As you know in what manner, entreating and comforting you, (as a father doth his children,)

1 Timothy 1:9 Knowing this, that the law is not made for the just man, but for the
unjust and disobedient, for the ungodly, and for sinners, for the wicked
and defiled, for murderers of fathers, and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,

1 Timothy 5:1 An ancient man rebuke not, but entreat him as a father: young men, as brethren:
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Paul considered himself to be the “father” of both Timothy and Titus:
2 Timothy 1:2 To Timothy my dearly beloved son, grace, mercy, and peace, from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Lord.

Titus 1:4 To Titus my beloved son, according to the common faith, grace and peace from God the Father, and from Christ Jesus our Saviour.
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Peter did not fear to use the term:
1 Peter 1:18 Knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as gold or
silver, from your vain conversation of the tradition of your fathers:

2 Peter 3:4 Saying: Where is his promise or his coming? for since the time that the fathers slept, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.
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John had no fear of the term:
1 John 2:13 I write unto you, fathers, because you have known him, who is from the beginning. I write unto you, young men, because you have overcome the wicked one.
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So, maybe, just maybe, there is more (and less) to this than some claim…
 
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UpUpAndAway said:
Could you please cite the canon? This doesn’t sound right
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Can. 982 Whoever confesses to have denounced falsely an innocent confessor to ecclesiastical authority concerning the crime of solicitation to sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue is not to be absolved unless the person has first formally retracted the false denunciation and is prepared to repair damages if there are any.
 
joeybaggz said:
Your statement is in direct opposition to the words of Christ Himself. To deny anyone absolution i.e. forgiveness, for their sins is blatantly un Catholic and goes against the mercy of Jesus Christ.

Should clergy abusers be punished for continuing their actions and avoiding the authorities. Yes, it is called de-frocking and has happened in a great many instances where a clergy member has been CONVICTED, not just accused. There is a great difference between accusation and conviction based on proof.
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Can. 982 Whoever confesses to have denounced falsely an innocent confessor to ecclesiastical authority concerning the crime of solicitation to sin against the sixth commandment of the Decalogue is not to be absolved unless the person has first formally retracted the false denunciation and is prepared to repair damages if there are any.
 
Blessings,
The Holy Spirit is pulling on your heart. We come to Jesus by the Holy Spirit. We come to our Father through Jesus.
Evil in the church will always be. All denominations. It is horrible! Jesus showed us evil in the church w Judas. He handled money.
Just get to know your priests or ministers. Be involved and inform your kids of good and bad behavior. Look at Olympic gymnasts… SWIM Teams, etc. kids need to have solid understanding of appropriate touching.
The Blessed Mother is to be honored and loved, not worshipped. You can ask your Mom to pray for you. That is all your asking Mary and the Saints to do; is to continue your prayer before Gods throne.
Our deceased relatives are alive. You can ask them to pray your prayer for you in heaven.
Statues are not worshipping. They are a focus pointbfor our prayer effort. Certain Saints have certain histories of helping w Cancer, Eye problem’s. St. Michael us a paratroopers and Police Guardian. Pray to God the Father. In the name of Jesus, by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Pray freely, as talking to God. There are formal prayers. There are scriptural based prayers.
Get a new version of Catholic Bible. This newest, the Dead Sea scrolls have been used in translation. Join a Bible study.
When you go to church, worship vertically. Look up to God. Not horizontally at ppl beside you. We are all sinners saved by grace.
It’s exciting to acknowledge your walk w God. It’s coming home. Jesus is your best friend and Brother.
Jeremiah 29/11. Ephesians 3:14-21.
God bless you and guide you on your journey.
In Jesus name
Tweedlealice
 
We not so much “pray to” the saints as in worship. We KNOW they are in Heaven and have direct access to Christ. We ask them to intercede for us by praying for us. This includes our Mother Mary. Countless, countless miracles have happened as a result of the Saint’s intercession.

"I guess my question is what do you all think about the priest abuses that have came out over the past few decades, what should I do and how should I pray for resolution? "

The devil has been trying to destroy truth since time began. How many times did Christ criticize the Rabi’s ? But yet he never renounced the truth contained in the Jewish faith.
Within hours of their consecration, the first 12 Bishops, the apostles (except for John) in some way betrayed our lord.
Not encouraging you to look on dark websites, but what is the ONE church hard core Satanists want to destroy ?

Pray for our priests and Bishops.
 
1 Corinthians 4:15
“15 Even if you should have countless guides to Christ, yet you do not have many fathers, for I became your FATHER in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”

This is spiritual adoptive Fatherhood of Paul to The Corinthians…
also if you were to take Christ’s words literally than callling your on biological father “father” would be a sin, but this is not so as stated in the 4th commandment “honor thy mother and father”
Also a foster or adoptive father should be referred to as a father and not by first name…
 
Abraham, Issac, and Jacob are our Fathers in Faith also…

Acts 7:32
32 ‘I am the God of your FATHERS, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob.’ Then Moses, trembling, did not dare to look at it.
 
nightshade said:
I have heard prayers to the saints and Mary defended by saying that you are praying for them to pray for you, much like asking a person on earth for prayer. However, when that prayer is being directed towards a statue or for Mary or the Saint to provide some sort of supernatural intervention, that’s where it blurs the lines of idolatry for me.
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Do you keep pictures of your wife and daughter? Of course you do. Do you worship the picture? Or do you look past the picture to what it represents? That’s what we do when we see a statue or image of a saint. It reminds us of or brother(s) and/or sister(s) in Christ.

We would never worship the image or what it represents. We ask them to pray for us.

Would you rather a bad person pray for you, or someone that is “holy” such as a devout Christian? I would pick the devout. We know everyone in heaven is there for a reason and is closer to God than we can be while living.

(I hope this is coherent. I just finished working an extra long and tough shift.)

God Bless.
 
Some people develop a closeness with particular saints. They learn about their life, find out why they were canonized, have a particular need that the saint has been shown to act upon. As Catholics, we believe in the Communion of Saints, which implies a relationship between all three parts-The Church Triumphant (those in heaven), the Church Suffering (those in purgatory), and The Church Militant (those of us on earth that want to make it to heaven). Souls live forever. It makes sense to ask for the help of those who have made it to heaven. Just as we are connected to loved ones here with us, we can also be connected to those who are dearly departed.
 
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Blessings
I guess my question is what do you all think about the priest abuses that have came out over the past few decades, what should I do and how should I pray for resolution? "

They shouldn’t have been admitted to the Seminary. In the 1960’s, Homosexuality was still a perversion. The church were not knowingly admitting gays. After Psychiatry, re-evaluated it and it became an alternative life style, they were admitted. BUT hetero or homo sexual, both were to be celibate. We’re suppose to have self-control from the Holy Spirit. So, no abuses should have occurred.
What to think, now the church knows it’s not cureable? Forgive them and send to jail.
Our population of priests is low…Temptation is to keep them and watch them???
God help us have Your heart and Wisdom. Heal the children and priests.
In Jesus name.
Tweedlealice
 
Yes, I know Homosexuality is not suppose to be pediophilia. BUT, ROCK HUDSON was gay… He had statues of young boys around swimming pool. Young boys were brought in around age of 12 yo. Of the Hollywood clubs of unusual behavior, young actors molested.
Our wayward priests are essentially homosexuals. They sure were fond of young boys. So, either, pediophiles were admitted to seminary or gays w pediophile tendencies.
I’m sure there are pure homosexuals, not affected by boys. But, there is a cross over component. Statistics are as good as the statistician. If one is studying a topic that’s important to them, subconsciously the study travels a path to prove their point. ( not lying).
As Father Z states, homosexuality is real. It is not a sin as long as they stay celibate. There can be suffering of the flesh but offer it up for a closer relationship w God.
Heterosexuals have urges and some manage self control.
Married couples practice self control to stay monogamous.
Sex is not a god. It has its purpose.
Lord, help us to a life of purity in all vocations.
In Jesus name
Tweedlealice
 
Do you have any suggestions on where I can read further on the idea of the Communion of the Saints?
 
Thank you very much for your reply. IT was very coherent and helped a lot (sorry just now getting to reply to some of these)
 
Thank you so much for the very kind words and good advice.

What version of the Catholic Bible do you recommend?
 
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