Gee, guess what we all learned in RCIA last night

[Celia]

A nun gave a presentation about the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. All well and good till she explained that it’s ok to refer to God as your mother, “whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

Um, no. Jesus didn’t teach us the “Our Father or mother, you know, whatever you’re comfortable with” Also…“Abba” means Father doesn’t it? I really think that it’s disrespectful of our Lord to say something like that. I’m aware that God doesn’t actually have a human gender, but he obviously prefers to be referred to in our human language in the male form.

She also mentioned that the church has done away with the concept of limbo completely and babies that die before they are baptized “obviously” go directly to heaven…while this would be great and all, there is that original sin to deal with…I really don’t think the church has ever made a formal statement on that - has it?

My RCIA teacher raised her eyebrows a couple of times during this, and maybe she would have said something but no one asked any questions so we wrapped up for the night. I know, I should have, but I get so shy speaking on front of people. I think I’ll speak with her privately next session.

Oy. This RCIA deal is turning out to be a real trip.

 

[Br.Rich_SFO]

Celia:

A nun gave a presentation about the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. All well and good till she explained that it’s ok to refer to God as your mother, “whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

Um, no. Jesus didn’t teach us the “Our Father or mother, you know, whatever you’re comfortable with” Also…“Abba” means Father doesn’t it? I really think that it’s disrespectful of our Lord to say something like that. I’m aware that God doesn’t actually have a human gender, but he obviously prefers to be referred to in our human language in the male form.

She also mentioned that the church has done away with the concept of limbo completely and babies that die before they are baptized “obviously” go directly to heaven…while this would be great and all, there is that original sin to deal with…I really don’t think the church has ever made a formal statement on that - has it?

My RCIA teacher raised her eyebrows a couple of times during this, and maybe she would have said something but no one asked any questions so we wrapped up for the night. I know, I should have, but I get so shy speaking on front of people. I think I’ll speak with her privately next session.

Oy. This RCIA deal is turning out to be a real trip.

I’d have been standing on the table, jumping up and down. Um excuse me Sister!!

 

[AquinasXVI]

Celia:

I’m sorry.

That nun has no right to teach anything other than the orthodox faith. Please find the courage to speak when the truth needs to be clarified. The others in your class may not have the same maturity and actually believe this stuff.

By the way, the Theology of the Body CD’s by Chirstopher West is available for $3.90 now. Check it out and have her listen to it, JPII clarifies to complete satisfaction why God is revealed FATHER by the SON.

God bless your journey.

in XT.

 

[Celia]

Br. Rich, I know, I’m kicking myself today for being so pokey about it. I will definetly say something as soon as I get the opportunity.

Aquinas, thank you for your concern and the idea of using Christopher West’s CD - great idea.

I’m there to be confirmed, but my husband is new to the faith completely and so are a lot of other people in my group. I think I have a responsibility at this point to say something and not let this go by and have people think this is ok…

 

[Cairisti]

That almost sounds like our class tonite in RCIA. The deacon spoke tonite on the Trinity. (We were suppose to have this lecture in September, but an obnoxious hurricane named Rita interferred!)

Anyway, he didn’t go quite as far as your speaker, but he did make clear that God doesn’t have a gender and thus interspersed his speech with He/She. Argh! And here I thought St. Mike’s was a nice orthodox parish. Only 4 months to go!

 

[otm]

Rabid feminism, rather than a true feminism, is the general source behind the problem, as it has significant problems with the male gender in general, and has a tendency to create doubt where there should be none.

As to the issue of Limbo, the Church has not gone back on it’s teaching that baptism is the necessary means of salvation; but it has never held that limbo for children was an article of faith, either; it was the theological construct used to explain how that played out in the life and death of an infant not able to be baptized. It appears that the theological construct is getting less play nowdays; whether it will be done away with, or another explanation given remains to be seen, but it seems to be getting some interest from Rome.

So it would appear that one of the issues the OP spoke of comes from some fairly poor sourcing; the other is simply the fact that the Church does not have an official position.

 

[davy39]

This is how we get into so many bad situations. Priests, nuns, and sometimes bishops, assuming that if they believe something, that automatically makes it church law. If I were a bishop, and I heard of a nun teaching this, that would be the last rcia class she would ever teach. I would send her to some convent in Alaska or somewhere. We have the right to have the true church teaching taught to us, and not some of the wall belief of liberal nuns or priests.

 

[Elzee]

AquinasXVI:

By the way, the Theology of the Body CD’s by Chirstopher West is available for $3.90 now. Check it out and have her listen to it, JPII clarifies to complete satisfaction why God is revealed FATHER by the SON.

God bless your journey.

in XT.

Can you give us a quick summary of what Christopher West says - it’ll be a while before my cd comes in ! I hear this more and more in my parish also. Thank you!

 

[Orogeny]

Cairisti:

Anyway, he didn’t go quite as far as your speaker, but he did make clear that God doesn’t have a gender and thus interspersed his speech with He/She. Argh! And here I thought St. Mike’s was a nice orthodox parish. Only 4 months to go!

How is that wrong according to Chruch teacing? How do you oppose that statement in light of this from the Catechism?

370 In no way is God in man’s image. He is neither man nor woman. God is pure spirit in which there is no place for the difference between the sexes. But the respective “perfections” of man and woman reflect something of the infinite perfection of God: those of a mother and those of a father and husband.241

I’m not sure why this is an issue. Why would you think St. Michael’s is unorthodox based on that statement?

Peace

Tim

 

[AquinasXVI]

Caristy and Orogeny:

I’m in Houston as well. If you guys want an orthodox RCIA-call St. Thomas More in the SW side of town. My wife took it there and the team is phenomenal. They will take you even if you are from a different parish. Worth the drive.

Eleze:

Thanks for asking but anything I type would be inadequate to what you’re about to hear. I don’t want to ruin it for you. But in a nutshell: God is revealed as father and man is physically designed as a GIVER. The masculine is an expression of God as the initiator of gifts. As man we are designed to give of ourselves and this is reflected in our masculine body. Women symbolize HUMANITY as receiver of gifts. Her body is designed to accept or reject. The complementarity of the bodies of man and woman symbolize the relationship of God to humanity. God offers and gives, and man can accept and receive.

I can go on and on…but running the risk of confusing you without the appropriate foundations, I will stop…Come back and talk about the CDs. It’s been a permanent fixture in my cd player.

in XT.

 

[trogiah]

I would offer the following for consideration. From Matthew chapter 23.

“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her young under her wings, but you were unwilling!”
Now I am not going to say I could agree with everything this nun was saying but the image of God as a mother is not totally without scripture support. I think there are other references.

peace

-Jim

 

[1ke]

Cairisti:

That almost sounds like our class tonite in RCIA. The deacon spoke tonite on the Trinity. (We were suppose to have this lecture in September, but an obnoxious hurricane named Rita interferred!)

Anyway, he didn’t go quite as far as your speaker, but he did make clear that God doesn’t have a gender and thus interspersed his speech with He/She. Argh! And here I thought St. Mike’s was a nice orthodox parish. Only 4 months to go!

Eek! There are orthodox parishes in Houston, but St Mike’s is iffy, I’ve found. But, it’s not so much St Mike’s as a whole but individual speakers. I’ve been to some very good programs there as well as a couple of bad ones (that’s quite a story… my parish bible study group took a “field trip” to St Mike’s one time in about 1994 after being told about a “great” speaker they were having… we went, we got in a heated “discussion” with the fem-nazi speaker and we were asked to leave and not come back!!!)

There ARE orthodox parishes and programs in Houston. Can recommend some if you’d like.

 

[Orogeny]

AquinasXVI:

Caristy and Orogeny:

I’m in Houston as well. If you guys want an orthodox RCIA-call St. Thomas More in the SW side of town. My wife took it there and the team is phenomenal. They will take you even if you are from a different parish. Worth the drive.

Thanks for the invite, Aquinas, but I am not looking for either RCIA (I’m a cradle Catholic) or a parish (I have one - Christ the Redeemer in Cypress).

Peace

Tim

 

[Paris_Blues]

Oh for crying out loud!!!

If you KNOW something is right, please blurt it out!!! Nothing is worse than having a person in RCIA being taught wrong info :banghead:

If you know something, say it!

Just speak up!!! What’s so hard about that?

P.S. It could also be a test to see how well you know the Faith!

 

[Orogeny]

I asked in my first post in this thread what is the problem with refering to God as either He or She in light of the quote I posted from the Catechism. Am I missing something here? Or was the real problem with the OP’s experience that the nun was teaching erroneously about purgatory?

Peace

Tim

 

[koda]

Orogeny:

I asked in my first post in this thread what is the problem with refering to God as either He or She in light of the quote I posted from the Catechism. Am I missing something here? Or was the real problem with the OP’s experience that the nun was teaching erroneously about purgatory?

Peace

Tim

Ditto.

 

[Libero]

Rabid feminism, rather than a true feminism, is the general source behind the problem, as it has significant problems with the male gender in general, and has a tendency to create doubt where there should be none.

Its not really feminism is it, I would give the deacon the benefit of doubt, he was probably trying to imply that God is not limited by a gender or sexuality, and that our terms of father seem to paint an absolute image of God. God is above and beyond everthing…

 

[Elzee]

Paris Blues:

Oh for crying out loud!!!

If you KNOW something is right, please blurt it out!!! Nothing is worse than having a person in RCIA being taught wrong info :banghead:

If you know something, say it!

Just speak up!!! What’s so hard about that?

P.S. It could also be a test to see how well you know the Faith!

Hi Paris! I love your enthusiasm, but this is diffcult for some people to do, especially in a group setting, and especially if you are saying it to the instructor. Add on to that the fact that while you don’t want people to be taught wrong, you probably also don’t want to totally embarass the instructor - a lot to pull together in a few seconds in terms of how to manage your words. Many times you ‘know’ something is wrong, but just don’t have enough knowledge of the ‘why it is wrong’ to make a valid point - which is the most important part of the objection - being able to explain WHY - otherwise no one will listen to you and you lose future credibility as well. Sometimes it might be best to follow John Martignoni’s advice by saying: ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you’. Or, in this case 'That isn’t what I’ve been taught in the past, but I can’t quite remember the reasons why. I’ll do some research and would like to talk about this topic again next week’. - then make sure they do. That way, people are left with some question on if what they heard was correct, but you have given yourself time to prepare so you can talk intelligently about what the Church teaches and most importantly, WHY.

 

[Mickey]

Celia:

A nun gave a presentation about the sacraments of baptism and confirmation. All well and good till she explained that it’s ok to refer to God as your mother, “whatever you’re more comfortable with.”

That’s radical feminism and it is a poison to the Church. Report her to the bishop!!!

 

[Paris_Blues]

Elzee:

Hi Paris! I love your enthusiasm, but this is diffcult for some people to do, especially in a group setting, and especially if you are saying it to the instructor. Add on to that the fact that while you don’t want people to be taught wrong, you probably also don’t want to totally embarass the instructor - a lot to pull together in a few seconds in terms of how to manage your words. Many times you ‘know’ something is wrong, but just don’t have enough knowledge of the ‘why it is wrong’ to make a valid point - which is the most important part of the objection - being able to explain WHY - otherwise no one will listen to you and you lose future credibility as well. Sometimes it might be best to follow John Martignoni’s advice by saying: ‘I don’t know, but I’ll find out and get back to you’. Or, in this case 'That isn’t what I’ve been taught in the past, but I can’t quite remember the reasons why. I’ll do some research and would like to talk about this topic again next week’. - then make sure they do. That way, people are left with some question on if what they heard was correct, but you have given yourself time to prepare so you can talk intelligently about what the Church teaches and most importantly, WHY.

Well, I meant just say it. For example, something was said weird in our RCIA thing about recieving the Eucharist and I politely said, “I thought you had to go to Confession first!” and the dude was like, “Oh you’re right!” something like that.

You’re right, I should say it in a polite way. I have a tendency to sound aggressive and bold even if I don’t mean to!
:crying: