1
12Mary12
Guest
Hello, this is my first post on this topic, I think.
From the posts above we see how important it is to be caring and compassionate in our questions and answers. Telling someone that they are not going to heaven unless they believe exactly as you do will not open up discussion and learning.
If we want to know why someone has not converted to Catholicism, then we must LISTEN with RESPECT to their statements and feelings.
One person is interested but feels as if the Church is giving them the runaround regarding an annullment. It isn’t really the run-around, but it is a bit bureaucratic (after all this is a REALLY big Church). Each Diocese has a board which handles annullments and they can give you solid accurate info to all of your questions and concerns. Your ex does not need to participate in the annullment. He(?) will be contacted by the Church, he can particiate, he can lie lie lie, or he can not respond at all - none will stop the process.
Another person is hesitant for fear of anger and condemnation for being gone for so long. Not to worry - remember the story of the Prodigal Son? And, you are a few years older than I am but I do remember that Church as a child and it was, at times, scary. I left the Church at 18 with all those same resentments and bad memories, and after some research and heart searching, I came back. Most people our age did leave the Church at one time or another, for various periods of time, you are normal and welcome.
One thing you will find different is that the Priest does not run everything unless you are in a very small parish. There are groups now, run by the lay people (you and me with a little bit of training) to welcome folks back to the Church. Some Diocese have someone who specializes in the welcome back process - usually someone who is very familar with your experience and thought process. Oh, and Confession is no longer the frightening experience it once was, either. In the Church you will have the opportunity to be active, to live your faith, to participate in charity and good works of many varieties. Adult Bible Study classes are available in various forms. However, one thing that has not changed is that Catholics tend to behave like old men from Cape
Cod - we don’t do a good job of making people welcome, we do not behave, in the Church, in an outgoing, extroverted way. We don’t send you welcome baskets at home, we don’t have you stand up during Mass to introduce you as a visitor/new member, etc. We could do a much better job at that.
My personal experience with Evangelical Christians, primarily Southern Baptist and Church of Christ is that they are kind and friendly, but they feel a bit sorry for me that I am Catholic. Some do believe that we worship statues and Mary, I have had a ball player on my team be told, by her teacher that Catholics are cannibals, but most keep this kind of stuff to themselves. But clearly some non-Catholics believe what they have been told.
The point I am try ing to get to is that in many ways we are very close to each other - but we use different terms or, we use the same terms but mean different things. When I worship God I am usually in prayer, often quietly on my knees. My non-Catholic friends are signing and waving their hands in the air during worship. My Catholic communion is a silent, serious activity, a time between just me and God. The non-Catholic communion is very different, and the meaning of the non-Catholic communion has a strong community meaning to it. We need to learn about our non-Catholic friends, I bet most are not interested in being beat over the head with Bible verses. Remember, there is a Bible verse to prove or disprove almost anything.
Most non-Catholics have a problem with the heirachy-well, most American churches are less than 100 years old, they haven’t had 2000 years to grow to 25% of the population of the earth so this organization is foreign to them. The central authority of Rome is, again, foreign to most non-Catholics, again, they do not have 2000 years of experience to learn that keeping the faith stable, normal, standardized (not a great word but it will work) is necessary when facing confusion or outside (name removed by moderator)ut.
I have also found that some non-Catholic church have areas of Biblical emphasis. One church emphasizes salvation, another, baptism, yet another evangilism. The Catholic Church includes all these areas of emphasis but, in my own opinion, in a balanced way.
I have found the Book of Catechism to be extremely helpful for me to understand my faith. So perhaps an apologist might want to learn about the claims that the Church is apostate,learn about the early Church and the early Church Fathers, learn about Martin Luther, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, Calvin, etc.
I have always accepted Jesus’ words that he will never abandon his Church, but why do Bible-reading, Bible-based, Sola Scriptura people not accept those words from Christ?
Why are we using different VERSIONS of the Bible? The word version should be a hint as to part of the problem. We need to understand that the Bible is read differently by different denominations.
From the posts above we see how important it is to be caring and compassionate in our questions and answers. Telling someone that they are not going to heaven unless they believe exactly as you do will not open up discussion and learning.
If we want to know why someone has not converted to Catholicism, then we must LISTEN with RESPECT to their statements and feelings.
One person is interested but feels as if the Church is giving them the runaround regarding an annullment. It isn’t really the run-around, but it is a bit bureaucratic (after all this is a REALLY big Church). Each Diocese has a board which handles annullments and they can give you solid accurate info to all of your questions and concerns. Your ex does not need to participate in the annullment. He(?) will be contacted by the Church, he can particiate, he can lie lie lie, or he can not respond at all - none will stop the process.
Another person is hesitant for fear of anger and condemnation for being gone for so long. Not to worry - remember the story of the Prodigal Son? And, you are a few years older than I am but I do remember that Church as a child and it was, at times, scary. I left the Church at 18 with all those same resentments and bad memories, and after some research and heart searching, I came back. Most people our age did leave the Church at one time or another, for various periods of time, you are normal and welcome.
One thing you will find different is that the Priest does not run everything unless you are in a very small parish. There are groups now, run by the lay people (you and me with a little bit of training) to welcome folks back to the Church. Some Diocese have someone who specializes in the welcome back process - usually someone who is very familar with your experience and thought process. Oh, and Confession is no longer the frightening experience it once was, either. In the Church you will have the opportunity to be active, to live your faith, to participate in charity and good works of many varieties. Adult Bible Study classes are available in various forms. However, one thing that has not changed is that Catholics tend to behave like old men from Cape
Cod - we don’t do a good job of making people welcome, we do not behave, in the Church, in an outgoing, extroverted way. We don’t send you welcome baskets at home, we don’t have you stand up during Mass to introduce you as a visitor/new member, etc. We could do a much better job at that.
My personal experience with Evangelical Christians, primarily Southern Baptist and Church of Christ is that they are kind and friendly, but they feel a bit sorry for me that I am Catholic. Some do believe that we worship statues and Mary, I have had a ball player on my team be told, by her teacher that Catholics are cannibals, but most keep this kind of stuff to themselves. But clearly some non-Catholics believe what they have been told.
The point I am try ing to get to is that in many ways we are very close to each other - but we use different terms or, we use the same terms but mean different things. When I worship God I am usually in prayer, often quietly on my knees. My non-Catholic friends are signing and waving their hands in the air during worship. My Catholic communion is a silent, serious activity, a time between just me and God. The non-Catholic communion is very different, and the meaning of the non-Catholic communion has a strong community meaning to it. We need to learn about our non-Catholic friends, I bet most are not interested in being beat over the head with Bible verses. Remember, there is a Bible verse to prove or disprove almost anything.
Most non-Catholics have a problem with the heirachy-well, most American churches are less than 100 years old, they haven’t had 2000 years to grow to 25% of the population of the earth so this organization is foreign to them. The central authority of Rome is, again, foreign to most non-Catholics, again, they do not have 2000 years of experience to learn that keeping the faith stable, normal, standardized (not a great word but it will work) is necessary when facing confusion or outside (name removed by moderator)ut.
I have also found that some non-Catholic church have areas of Biblical emphasis. One church emphasizes salvation, another, baptism, yet another evangilism. The Catholic Church includes all these areas of emphasis but, in my own opinion, in a balanced way.
I have found the Book of Catechism to be extremely helpful for me to understand my faith. So perhaps an apologist might want to learn about the claims that the Church is apostate,learn about the early Church and the early Church Fathers, learn about Martin Luther, Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, Calvin, etc.
I have always accepted Jesus’ words that he will never abandon his Church, but why do Bible-reading, Bible-based, Sola Scriptura people not accept those words from Christ?
Why are we using different VERSIONS of the Bible? The word version should be a hint as to part of the problem. We need to understand that the Bible is read differently by different denominations.
and with such joy!
Which we all know in any denomination isn’t true!!!) They don’t claim it now but if you looked at their family tree, God would be at the top.