Hi everyone!

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Charlie_Zeaiter said:
i) We believe Christ founded the church and gave absolute authority to St Peter
ii) We believe the Pope is a successor to St Peter, and has inherited that absolute authority
iii) We believe the Holy Spirit protects the Pope from teaching an error as truth (Papal Infallibility)

I guess this is what separates us from other Christians.

If you don’t belive in the above, then there is no point in being a member of the Catholic Church.

But when you do embrace the Catholic Church, you find many wonderful surprises. My favourite is learning about our Sainthood. They are fascinating people from all over the world who are ultimate witnesses to the Catholic faith.
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As a Maronite Catholic, and in keeping with the sacred tradition of the Church, I feel in necessary just to clarify what has been said in this post.

Although we believe in the pope as being ‘head’ of the Church, it is only as head of the apostles, and not indicative of a monarchy.

Peter was the first ‘pope’ (which means ‘father’), but exercised his ministry in a more brotherly manner than more recent popes (last 500 years).

The pope is infallible, yes, but, as spokesman for the Church in union with the Church. He is not a dictator, although in extraordinary circumstances it may seem that way since a large portion of the Church has fallen into heresy.

Laka Yarab,
 
Magicsilence said:
As a Maronite Catholic, and in keeping with the sacred tradition of the Church, I feel in necessary just to clarify what has been said in this post.

Although we believe in the pope as being ‘head’ of the Church, it is only as head of the apostles, and not indicative of a monarchy.

Peter was the first ‘pope’ (which means ‘father’), but exercised his ministry in a more brotherly manner than more recent popes (last 500 years).

The pope is infallible, yes, but, as spokesman for the Church in union with the Church. He is not a dictator, although in extraordinary circumstances it may seem that way since a large portion of the Church has fallen into heresy.

Laka Yarab,
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Which portion is that?

God bless,
Paul
 
Hi Teena. welcome. The first thing you should know is that Christ founded our Church.

God Bless,
Jon
 
Charlie_Zeaiter said:
Hi teena01,
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Charlie_Zeaiter said:
I would suggest these are the first things to know…

i) We believe Christ founded the church and gave absolute authority to St Peter
ii) We believe the Pope is a successor to St Peter, and has inherited that absolute authority
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Not niggling 🙂 - but, it’s not absolute: he has supreme, full, & immediate authority over the whole Church, which is not absolute. This very important distinction was made clear at Vatican I. If papal authority were absolute, he could do anything he wanted in the Church - such as to abolish the episcopate or the sacraments or a lot of other things that he can in fact not do. An absolute Pope would be able to define (say) that devil-worship is good - which is clearly absurd: his authority is limited by the terms of his commission & by the nature of the Church. For those things, have been established by Christ, Who does have “all power in heaven and earth”. No authority on earth can abolish what Christ has established; not even a Pope or an Ecumenical Council​

http://www.scborromeo.org/ccc/p123a9p4.htm - see section 880 onwards.

And now, back to the scheduled programme… ##
iii) We believe the Holy Spirit protects the Pope from teaching an error as truth (Papal Infallibility)
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I guess this is what separates us from other Christians.

If you don’t belive in the above, then there is no point in being a member of the Catholic Church.

But when you do embrace the Catholic Church, you find many wonderful surprises. My favourite is learning about our Sainthood. They are fascinating people from all over the world who are ultimate witnesses to the Catholic faith).
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Welcome to the forums and we’re glad to have you here, teena - Hope you stick around! 🙂
 
teena01 said:
Hi everyone… I’m new to the forum, I just thought i’d join here to learn more about Catholicism, I am a christian, and I’d like to learn al ittle about your religion…

What is the first thing I should know?
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Dear teena01:

The first thing you should know: you should know if your Baptism is recognized by The Catholic Church–call a priest or something, maybe, and you should probably know that Catholics believe in the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, The Eucharist; so, when we go to Church; we go to what literally is the house of God. The host we receive at mass is our Lord; it is our God; it is Jesus Christ, just as Jesus said in The Gospel of St. John, I am the bread of life; come down from heaven, and at The Last Supper, this is my body–take this all of you, and eat. Baptism is the most important of the seven sacraments; Catholics have seven sacraments: Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Communion, Reconciliation, Holy Orders, Holy Matrimony, and Last Rites–these are sacraments, because they are means of God’s grace in our lives, and they essentially represent not only life in the Church, but also our human life: from birth, to death, and what makes us Catholic would be the sacramentals we have in our lives, and the interior life we have as Catholics: prayer–talking to God, and praying with the Saints, and listening to God not only through scripture, but also through those whom God gives us in our lives, and literature with an Imprimatur, very often, concerning Catholicism, and traditions in The Catholic Church.

I went a bit over the top, but enjoy being here, not often to this point have I been able to introduce at least, in part, someone to The Faith.

Read the stickies!

Most sincerely,

Kristopher

P.S. Oh! Christianity is our religion, not yours, but ours–you’re a friend, a sister, we might conflict about quite a bit; still, we love you.
 
Dear teena01,

Here’s your first Catholic Catechism:

The Apostles Creed

I believe in God the Father almighty, Creator of Heaven and Earth, and in Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord: who was conceived by The Holy Ghost; born of The Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead, and was buried. He descended to Hell. The third day he rose from the dead; ascended into Heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father, from thence He shall come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, The Holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the ressurrection of the body, and in life everlasting, amen.

The Ten Commandments

I. Love God.
II. Don’t use the Lord’s name in vain.
III. Keep the Sabbath holy.
IV. Honor your mom and dad.
V. Do not kill.
VI. Do not commit adultery.
VII. Do not steal.
VIII. Do not bear false witness against your neighbor.
IX. Do not covet your neighbor’s wife.
X. Do not covet your neighbor’s belongings.

The Seven Sacraments
  1. Baptism
  2. Confirmation
  3. Holy Communion
  4. Reconciliation
  5. Holy Orders
  6. Holy Matrimony
  7. Last Rites
The Holy Rosary

Our Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be Thy name; Thy kindgom come; Thine will be done on earth, as it is in Heaven. Give us this day, our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil, amen.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners now, and at the hour of our death, amen.

Glory be to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning; is now, and ever shall be, world without end, amen.

The Joyful Mysteries
  1. The Annunciation
  2. The Visitation
  3. The Nativity
  4. The Presentation in the Temple
  5. The Finding of Jesus in the Temple
The Sorrowful Mysteries
  1. The Agony in the Garden
  2. The Scourging at the Pillar
  3. The Crowning with Thorns
  4. The Carrying of the Cross
  5. The Crucifixion
(I am not familiar with The Luminous Mysteries; please find them yourself; they are beautiful.)

The Glorious Mysteries
  1. The Ressurrection
  2. The Ascension
  3. The Descent of the Holy Spirit
  4. The Assumption
  5. The Coronation
When you pray the Hail Mary’s for the Rosary, they set the amount of time that you spend meditating on each of the mysteries; you don’t have to go in any order; you can stick to one mystery, or go through five, or all fifteen or twenty, as it suits you, etc. The point is to talk to God, pray, and to listen to God through what He says to you through Christ’s life, The Gospels, etc.

The Beatitudes

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are they who mourn; they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek; they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness; they will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful; they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart; they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers; they will be called children of God.
Blessed are the persecuted for the sake of righteousness; theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every unkind of evil against you, falsely, because of me.

Rejoice. Be glad. Your reward will be great in heaven. They persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Go to vatican.va and visit the site map; check out Sacred Scripture “S”, and the Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC) “C”, and the Code of Canon Law “C”.

Oh, check out the precepts of the Church; you can search the Vatican website; it is very cool.

Most sincerely,

Kristopher
 
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