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jmcrae
Guest
The priest confesses to another priest. Hopefully, more than once year.
Once a year is the minimum. Most people go about once a month or every six weeks or so. The truly devout go once a week or once every two weeks.
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AlegreFe
Guest
You don’t see my point here do you? And the point that Johnny was trying to make too? One has to make sacrifices and she can’t handle suffering. She has to rely on people making her feel good instead of relying on the truth. She will never be satisfied if she always has to rely on people. She looks to people to make her feel good instead of Jesus to make her feel good.
That is why I’m so grateful to God that I am Catholic. If no one talks to me or no one praises me after Mass I don’t have to worry about anything because I have Jesus. I’m not going to be “hurt” because someone doesn’t want to talk to me. I just attended the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass where I witnessed Jesus on Calvary. Jesus crucified is the only way I gain graces so as to live.
I’m just glad I don’t have to worry about that at any of the parishes I go because the Catholics there are nice. But at the same time I don’t look for people to make me feel good.
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AlegreFe
Guest
Once a year?! I go once a week. 
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mikew262
Guest
You find God where you can. What you and I consider truth may not hold with somebody else. This person’s sister found no truth or happiness going to the Catholic Church, yet did going to another one. Would you rather her just dump God altogether? I would hope not.
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mikew262
Guest
And I guess you missed my point. She was not comfortable at the Catholic Church for whatever reason. You can try to explore that with her, but if she is unhappy there, then there is nothing you can do about. Yet, obviously, she found happiness at another denomination’s church; she is still a practicing Christian. I repeat, while not a practicing Catholic, she is still a practicing Christian and believes in God. Who knows, she may return to the Catholic Church someday. This is not the catastrophe you make it out to be. She could’ve become an atheist. Count your blessings where they are.
You say you have Jesus to rely on. Who says, she doesn’t? Can we not rely on Jesus and friends?
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thirdn6
Guest
Isn’t this what we are always praying for- that our separated brethrens will eventually come home to the Mother Church?
I definitely agree with your post in the sense that God uses other people as instruments of His grace, as instruments of conversion, may or may not be within the confines of the Catholic church but we have to keep in mind that in matters of religion (doctrines, teachings, sacraments and such) religions or denominations are not at all the same. To believe that they are all the same leads to error- heresy of relativism. There are always false teachings outside of the Catholic church to mislead innocent catholics.
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jmcrae
Guest
Actually, the notion that all religions are equally good is the heresy of syncretism.
The heresy of relativism is that God thinks with “my” mind, and always agrees with “me.”
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johnnydigit
Guest
you’re right, in that single sentence alone, it doesn’t indicate it has to be a priest, but it also does not indicate it can be anybody!
gee, what does one do… i guess one is left to figure out themselves and go by what they think is best?
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thirdn6
Guest
Thanks, jmcrae, for the correction!
Anyways, Catholics MUST be aware of these modern heresies.:ehh:
Anyways, Catholics MUST be aware of these modern heresies.:ehh:
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jmcrae
Guest
Yes, absolutely. It’s interesting how heresy always illuminates authentic Church teaching by giving it contrast and form.Thanks, jmcrae, for the correction!
Anyways, Catholics MUST be aware of these modern heresies.:ehh:
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mikew262
Guest
The truth is none of us really knows for sure. Sure, we have faith that the way we believe is the “right” way, but we’ll never know for sure till we die and finally come face to face with God. To go through the drill that my belief or religion is better than yours is silly and futile. I’m even guilty of this from time to time. A person needs to follow the belief system that they believe will lead to God and salvation. Most of us here (including me) believe Christianity and the Catholic Church does this, but none of us will really know for sure till we finally face the Almighty.
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thirdn6
Guest
DRB, John 20:21-23
21 He said therefore to them again: Peace be with you. As the Father hath sent me, so I also send you. 22 When He had said this, He breathed on them; and He said to them: Receive ye the Holy Ghost. 23 Whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained.
One needs to confess sins before one’s sins are forgiven. And the one’s who are told to forgive sins in these passages are the Apostles and their successors- that including priests.
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thirdn6
Guest
That is true- we don’t know till we get there. But we have high hopes that we will get there. Being guided by the Holy Spirit to all truths, the Church teachings and sacraments will sanctify us to become members of Christ’s body.
DRB, Matthew 28:19-20
19 Going therefore, teach ye all nations; baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world
ONLY in the Catholic Church you can find these authorized teachers…the Magesterium.
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awantz
Guest
I confess my sins to God and the one that I committed the sin against. I will confess to my pastor on an occasion.
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thirdn6
Guest
To a pastor???:bigyikes:
Validly ordained Priests are acting in persona Christiin absolving sins. How can a (protestant)pastor absolve sins? They just do not have that power!
You were misled.
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johnnydigit
Guest
i understand your point, but for the faith to work properly and to its full extent, you must believe fully. it must be true, and it must be for sure. **it must be absolutely true, without needing to see God face to face. **this is the cold, hard faith He asks of us. anything less, and the quality of your faith becomes that much less. you receive just as little.
when i receive forgiveness from God through the priest, i must believe that this is for sure what God has commanded, and He must stand by it. if this is not for sure, than my conversion will not be for sure. any guilt left over, is like a poison that won’t let you grow in sanctity to the fullest. in order for it to work, it must be absolute. if i didn’t believe it was true, then i would have tossed it long ago (given up like a typical product of this generation).
i know this is hard, but we must all take that leap of faith in order to go to the next level. God rewards you 100 fold and beyond.
this is why we cannot tolerate a church that is only partially true, partially believable, or does not contain the complete teachings of Christ and the fullness of God’s faith. this is your eternal soul at risk, not a country club bidding for your membership.
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johnnydigit
Guest
lol. basically Catholicism in an infancy state.
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AlegreFe
Guest
There are things about my sister that I have not mentioned. There are things that have happened in her life of which you know not. She has hardened her heart and excommunicated herself from the Catholic Church.
She has rebelled against my parents but she is in denial about it. She cannot handle being “rebuked” and admonished about the mortal sins she has committed. Is that enough truth for you to know that it is not the Catholic Church she’s upset about? Her pride blinds her from the truth. Her anger hides her own pain that she refuses to feel.
She did not know her own faith when she left. We all know that if she did know her Catholic faith she would not have left the Church. It would not have mattered to her whether people paid enough attention to her before during and/or after Mass. Those things would not matter to her if she knew her Catholic faith.
Sure it’s nice to have people acknowledge you and show you that they love you but that should not be our main concern as Catholics. Jesus first, others second, yourself last. If you knew the Litany of Humility you would know that.
No matter if she is in a “church,” her heart is still hard. She puts on a front for people. She constantly seeks approval from others instead of worrying what God wants for her. She wants approval from others including her own teenage daughter. She is very permissive with her daughter. If she were Catholic and Padre Pio was around, he would throw her out of the Confessional because of her permissiveness with both her daughters. I have told her about her permissiveness but she ignores me. We all know what it says in the bible about people who let little ones sin.
Please pray for my sister. She has hardened her heart and seems to hate her own family and we have done nothing to her. She puts her “church family” before her own flesh & blood family who only want what’s best for her. We all know what’s best for her and that is heaven. So please, I beg of you, pray for my sister. She is in deep pain but denies that it is pain. All she wants to feel is the anger that she shows us. She never seems to be happy but that’s all we want for her, to be happy in Heaven with Jesus forever. Please pray for her.
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mikew262
Guest
You are talking from strictly a Catholic point of view, which certainly isn’t bad because you are Catholic. However, as strong as you feel about your faith, I can find a Baptist, Methodist and Lutheran (even non-Christians) that feels just as strong about theirs and will try to convince you that your beliefs are faulty. This is my point, we can all have faith in the doctrine well feel is right, but only God is the final judge. Quite possibly, he will smile on all that made a sincere effort to believe and lived a good life.
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mikew262
Guest
She’s in my prayers.There are things about my sister that I have not mentioned. There are things that have happened in her life of which you know not. She has hardened her heart and excommunicated herself from the Catholic Church.
She has rebelled against my parents but she is in denial about it. She cannot handle being “rebuked” and admonished about the mortal sins she has committed. Is that enough truth for you to know that it is not the Catholic Church she’s upset about? Her pride blinds her from the truth. Her anger hides her own pain that she refuses to feel.
She did not know her own faith when she left. We all know that if she did know her Catholic faith she would not have left the Church. It would not have mattered to her whether people paid enough attention to her before during and/or after Mass. Those things would not matter to her if she knew her Catholic faith.
Sure it’s nice to have people acknowledge you and show you that they love you but that should not be our main concern as Catholics. Jesus first, others second, yourself last. If you knew the Litany of Humility you would know that.
No matter if she is in a “church,” her heart is still hard. She puts on a front for people. She constantly seeks approval from others instead of worrying what God wants for her. She wants approval from others including her own teenage daughter. She is very permissive with her daughter. If she were Catholic and Padre Pio was around, he would throw her out of the Confessional because of her permissiveness with both her daughters. I have told her about her permissiveness but she ignores me. We all know what it says in the bible about people who let little ones sin.
Please pray for my sister. She has hardened her heart and seems to hate her own family and we have done nothing to her. She puts her “church family” before her own flesh & blood family who only want what’s best for her. We all know what’s best for her and that is heaven. So please, I beg of you, pray for my sister. She is in deep pain but denies that it is pain. All she wants to feel is the anger that she shows us. She never seems to be happy but that’s all we want for her, to be happy in Heaven with Jesus forever. Please pray for her.
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