I need Help with Convincing My Mom Catholics Have to Believe It All

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I’m going to be blunt.

It sounds to me like your mom may have converted for the sake of marriage and having an united household- religion wise.

So perhaps she really didn’t convert because she truly believed in catholicism? Or she had a terrible RCIA teacher?

I can only think of a few things to do (other than pray):
  1. get a subscription to FORMED.org and watch programs with your family (esp your mom)
  2. do a Bible study at home and include the Catechism of the Catholic Church
God Bless
 
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Tis_Bearself said:
Also,it’s against forum rules for you to encourage a minor to disrespect a parent.
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WHAT?!?!? I in know way encouraged anyone to disrespect their parents!!! What part of my post caused you to make such a claim is beyond me.

Secondly, the quote that I read from the OP
CatholicMC1 said:
Hopefully rather tactfully. I came here looking for help as into how to get her to understand that in order to be catholic you must believe in what the church teaches. Understand or go to hell. I would love to say it straight to her face but I simply can’t. thanks for any advice you can provide.
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Doesn’t necessarily mean that they want to tell their mom “Accept the Church’s teaching or p*** off”. I understood the OP to mean that they were trying to get their mother to fully embrace the Church or suffer in hell for rejecting the truth.

Now admittedly, the language used was blunt and probably not worded well, but that doesn’t mean the OP was purposefully being disrespectful and your assumption of them being a know-it-all kid, is your choice to describe them as such. Not mine.
 
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Crusader13 said:
who have contributed greatly to the salvation of many. Read up on Thérèse of Lisieux.
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FYI - St Thérèse had saintly parents and all of her living sisters were nuns.

While she did contribute to the holiness of others, she didn’t really have to do that for her parents.
 
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phil19034 said:
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Crusader13:
who have contributed greatly to the salvation of many. Read up on Thérèse of Lisieux.
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FYI - St Thérèse had saintly parents and all of her living sisters were nuns.

While she did contribute to the holiness of others, she didn’t really have to do that for her parents.
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I mainly mentioned her because of her age and to show how being young isn’t an impediment to being devout and faithful.
 
Crusader13 said:
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phil19034:
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Crusader13:
who have contributed greatly to the salvation of many. Read up on Thérèse of Lisieux.
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FYI - St Thérèse had saintly parents and all of her living sisters were nuns.

While she did contribute to the holiness of others, she didn’t really have to do that for her parents.
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I mainly mentioned her because of her age and to show how being young isn’t an impediment to being devout and faithful.
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Oh, ok, because it sounded like you were saying the Martin Saints needed their daughter to make them Holy. 🙂
 
It’s pretty presumptuous to assume that anyone is going to Hell. We simply don’t know. The most we can say is that someone is putting their soul at risk.

It’s especially presumptuous for a minor who has decided they’re a “traditional Catholic” to think this way about their own mother when main issue seems to be Mom has doubts or believes differently than the minor, rather than Mom out there committing grave sins regularly.

Minors need to understand that they do not know everything. No child saint to my knowledge ever acted anything but humble and respectful, even when the parent was less than understanding towards them. And as Phil noted, St Therese’s mom and dad are saints and they were not led to saintliness by their children.

The OP can lead by example or have gentle discussions with Mom. However, OP also has to accept that OP has no idea if Mom is hell bound and that there are Catholics who do not ascribe to traditional views but are no less a part of the Church.
 
CatholicMC1 said:
I’m 16. I would consider myself a traditional Catholic. I believe that every catholic should and must profess every teaching of the church.
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Just to clear up any confusion, I applaud your effort and concern for your mother’s salvation. Will she suffer hell for not accepting all the truths of the Church, we cannot say, nor can the Church. So you shouldn’t word it as a fact that she will end up there.

Is hell a real possibility for those who reject the truths of Salvation, as taught by the Church, absolutely. So your concerns are valid, but remember to be charitable and loving in your tone when speaking of her salvation.

However, don’t let others dissuade you from speaking the truth either. Truths, especially biblical truths are no more or less factual, due to the age of those who share them.
 
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The OP has since edited the first post. However, I applaud you for reading it correctly and understanding this young person’s intent, rather then placing your own bias on it. It is our duty, in responding to another, to read carefully. This is the equivalent of listening first, in a conversation not bound by the internet.

Listening is the first tool any christian should be using, Listening and attempting to understand.
 
Gently quote Luke 10:16 ‘He who hears you, hears me; he who rejects you rejects me, he who rejects me, rejects Him who sent me’ to her to illustrate that the task of authoritatively interpreting the word of God, whether written or handed on [Scripture or Tradition], has been entrusted exclusively to the living Magisterium of the Church, whose authority is exercised in the name of Jesus Christ.
 
CatholicMC1 said:
She doesn’t even think that the church should have rules because all that matters is what Jesus says.
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Your mom may be holier than you think, and you may have a lot to learn from her.

Her statements, as you have recalled them in your post, remind me of something from the prophet Jeremiah:
I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the Lord!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me, for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.
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Humility, young Catholic!
 
I have had to deal with loved ones who refuse to accept the teachings of the Church, and who refuse to practice the precepts of the Church (Sunday Mass, supporting the Church financially, fast and abstinence, etc.). I have just gently told them that these are serious sins, and if they do, in fact, go to hell for refusing to accept the truths that God has revealed, it will be a terrible thing, and all of the love, caring, and devotion that we have for them will not be able to deliver them from this.

In their defense, they are not notorious sinners, and they follow a seriously flawed conscience that they cannot comprehend is seriously flawed.

As a last resort, there are also the thirty successive Gregorian Masses (Traditional Latin Rite) that I am going to have said for them, when that time comes, and have made arrangements in my will for this to be done for me as well.
 
In your situation I would pray that she have a close friend who can talk to her about matters of faith and morals. Telling parents they should do something is often not be received well but a close friend in an intimate setting can sometimes have more impact. Someone plants the seed, someone else waters.
 
Your mother’s pride might make it hard to communicate with, but maybe if say things gently it could work out.
 
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Some advice that a priest gave me on retreat:

Pray for your mom and offer up one sacrifice a day for her (e.g. no meat on Friday, do the dishes without being told etc.).

Second, get a good catechism and a Catholic Bible. Pray and then start reading them.

Also get a few good Catholic booklets that you could put on the coffee table. TAN Books www dot tanbooks dot com has lots of little booklets like “Confession: A Little Book for the Reluctant” by Msgr. Segur. It’s chock full of good Catholic doctrine and at times it’s funny!

https://www.tanbooks.com/index.php/confession-a-little-book-for-the-reluctant.html
 
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When talking to anyone about the faith, what you want is continuing conversations. The way to shut down a conversation is to say that they are going to hell. This is a bad strategy. Think long term, think years. Pray, and tell God that He can bring good people in over the years to speak kindly and clearly to them. In other words, the battle is not won in a day. Be smart as a fox!
 
I would begin with some books that have a title that won’t be rejected outright (if the person does not believe in Confession, a book on Confession might be a hard first sell), maybe Trent Horn “Why We’re Catholic” or Kreeft’s “Jesus Shock”, Matthew Kelly’s books, even George Weigel’s “Letters To A Young Catholic”.
 
I don’t recommend Matthew Kelly’s Rediscovering Jesus. That has some serious errors in it re the Perpetual Virginity of Our Lady.
 
Please cite these errors. Edit to add: I have a copy of this book at my fingertips, so, a simple page number will suffice.
 
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