Interested in Catholicism and seeking doctrinal answers

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trevora33

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Good afternoon!

For a while now, I have gained an increasing interest in Catholicism. I’ve attended mass and read quite a bit of the Fathers and of content available on this website (as well as watching many videos by Catholic Answers). However, I was wondering if anybody could help me with some questions that I have which are currently holding me back from becoming Catholic. The trial of faith that I’ve been having with my current affiliation has been extremely trying and hard for me, so I really want to make sure that I do more homework this time around if I am to change religions.

My biggest current questions are these:

Firstly, concerning the papacy–how is it that the keys are handed down? I love the doctrine of the papacy and think it makes a lot of sense. However, one confusion I have is how the keys are passed from one pope to the next. I understand that Christ gave Peter the keys of the kingdom, and can wrap my head around Linus, Clement, and others of the early Popes being designated as Peter’s successors while he was yet living. However, beyond the first few popes that may have been hand-selected/ordained successors, how are keys conferred upon future popes? I feel like they should have to have the keys given them by the previous pope. There seem to be cases where intrigue led to some obtaining the papacy from their predecessor, or at least an unrighteous pope succeeding a previous pope that wouldn’t have approved of their successor. How were the keys transferred from the previous pope to the new one? Wouldn’t it be requisite for them to choose their successors as Christ handed the keys to Peter and, arguably, Peter to Linus and Clement? Is it simply by virtue of them being named the Bishop of Rome that they receive the keys? Where did the authority to name a Roman bishop come from pre-1059 before the idea of a papal conclave?

Next question I have is in regard to Marian devotion. I find Marian devotion and the idea of the communion of the saints quite beautiful, and am totally on board with the idea of asking Mary to pray for us. However, what is hard for me to understand is the level and manner of devotion that Mary seems to receive in practice. For instance, in praying the rosary, Mary is beseeched seemingly 10x more than God. Wouldn’t asking her to pray for us once, and spending the rest of the time praying to or worshiping God the Father & Jesus Christ be more appropriate? Also, I notice on Catholic radio and such that Mary is often spoken of as a sort of divine protector almost more than Christ himself (forgive me, that’s just been my impression). For instance, I was listening to the radio today and a priest was saying that the devil is gaining power over hearts and that the one we need to rely on to deliver us is Mary. Isn’t that more than simply asking for her to be our prayer partner? Shouldn’t Christ be the one we believe will deliver us?

I really hope I haven’t offended anybody and that you can forgive me for what may come off as doubtful questions. I truly just want to find the truth and am in hopes that the deep thinkers here might be able to answer some of my questions.

Thank you so much,

Trevor
 
A quick comment in regards to the Papacy, the keys are entrusted to who ever is the Bishop of Rome. There’s no passing down from one Pope to the next. It is whoever is rightly made Bishop of the Apostolic See.

Sometimes there have been multiple claimants to the See of Rome. The keys rested with whoever was rightly made Bishop. The Great Western Schism is an example of this with interesting “lineages” between the various claimants.
 
Welcome! Interacting with members here will net much good advice, but we are not always correct on the details (there are some who are - just not me). One thing which I believe would help you immesnely along your inquiry is reading a copy of the unfortunately named Catholicism for Dummies. It is a form of elementary catechism, yet touches on all aspects of the faith from the founding of the Church up to today. Eminently readable, it is an excellent reference book.
https://www.amazon.com/Catholicism-Dummies-3e-John-Trigilio/dp/1119295602/ref=dp_ob_title_bk
 
trevora33 said:
I really hope I haven’t offended anybody and that you can forgive me for what may come off as doubtful questions. I truly just want to find the truth and am in hopes that the deep thinkers here might be able to answer some of my questions.

Thank you so much,

Trevor
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Whatever questions and doubts you have, welcome them as opportunities to grow in faith. Questions are not offenses, and they are not a sign of weakness, they are a sign of thinking human being.
Take one step at a time. If you listen to your catechist with an open mind and good faith, these things can be absorbed. (and when these questions are settled for you, others will arise, trust me. It’s ok. )
 
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Thank you all so far for your replies! 🙂 Very helpful and encouraging! I will definitely look into Catholicism for Dummies if you think it’s good. I have a copy of the US Catholic Catechism for Adults but perhaps I could start on something a little less dense. I will also look into the Western schism to understand more about the selection of popes & how competing claims are resolved. Also, I appreciate the encouragement, goout!
 
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trevora33 said:
For instance, in praying the rosary, Mary is beseeched seemingly 10x more than God.
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Welcome to CAF.
We get a thread on “I have a problem with Marian Devotion” about once a week, so you may want to search the archives to read some of the (many) past threads and see more responses.

Regarding your Marian devotion question, the entire Rosary is a prayer to God, coupled with meditations on events in the Life of Jesus. The first half of the Hail Mary is from Scripture, and praises Jesus. So your idea that praying the Rosary is somehow something different from “worshipping God” is wayyy off base.

Jesus is the focus of every single Rosary prayer. The involvement of Mary is to focus us on Jesus, as she helps us get to know him better and leads us to him. This does not mean we can’t also go directly to Jesus, but many of us find it very spiritually helpful to go “ad Jesus per Mariam”. (Perhaps the book recommended above will explain better the reasons why we feel this way.)

Having said that, if you do not wish to pray the Rosary, you are not required to do so. It’s an optional private devotion. Many people choose to pray in a different way, such as by reading Scripture.
 
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Thank you so much. I have read through a lot of those threads, but I will continue to do so. Any (name removed by moderator)ut on the matter of speaking about Mary as not just praying for us but the emphasis on her as our protector, etc.?

Edit: Also, I really like that. I had kind of overlooked the praising of Jesus in the first part of the Hail Mary, as well as the fact that it could be interpreted as evoking scripture just as much as addressing Mary (whereas the second part more explicitly asks Mary for her prayers).
 
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I live and tend to express myself by analogy. It might help to think of each “Hail, Mary” prayer (from the salutation of the Archangel Gabriel to Mary in Luke 1:28) as climbing a spiritual mountain to its peak, then returning to earth. At that peak - the center of the prayer - is Jesus. Many have found it helpful to recite His name slowly, pausing for just a moment to ponder His goodness and mystery, before continuing their “journey” back down the mountain.

Another absolutely great resource is the EWTN radio show “Called to Communion” with Dr. David Anders, himself a convert from Calvinism.

 
trevora33 said:
Any (name removed by moderator)ut on the matter of speaking about Mary as not just praying for us but the emphasis on her as our protector, etc.?
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She is our Mother. Jesus gave her to us to be our Mother. When he was hanging on the cross and said “Behold your mother”, he wasn’t just speaking to St. John who was going to look after her, he was speaking to all of us.

It’s normal for little children (as Jesus says we must become like little children) to run to their mama for protection against harm, or when they are afraid. And Mary, our heavenly mom, protects us because Jesus gave her that job, of being our mother (“Behold your son” said to her also meant all of us, not just St. John). Mary always does the Will of God and everything she does is a task given her by God. She never does anything contrary to God’s Will.

Does this mean we can’t also ask God for protection? No, we can ask God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit directly, but many of us have a special devotion to Mary as our Mother and we ask her. Actually I tend to ask Jesus, Mary AND Joseph. And probably my guardian angel and a few patron saints as well. Not because I think God is incapable of doing it by himself or that he won’t listen to my direct prayer, but because we are a heavenly family and it feels good to have other “Family Members” in my corner.

It seems to me that most of the aversion to “praying to Mary” or “praying to saints” comes from people who think that Mary prayers somehow are not worshipping God, are not pleasing to God, or indicate that we don’t think we can just pray to God. It is a narrow view of prayer. We believe we are one Church, which includes the Church Triumphant (those in Heaven), the Church Penitent (those in Purgatory), and the Church Militant (those of us on earth). We know we can ask the Church Militant, as in other people on earth, to pray for us. For example if my relative was sick I would ask other people on CAF or on Facebook or at my parish to join me in praying for my relative. But I can also ask my church family in Heaven to pray for them to. Or pray for any other good intention I have. So we ask the saints and Mary for their prayers just like we would ask other people on CAF or at our parish.
 
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Currently as I pray almost daily I do a prayer called Divine Office or Liturgy of the Hours and the Rosary. However, I too as a Catholic am aware I have to work on my relationship with Jesus Christ instead of just going to God or the Blessed Mother. Here is a book recommended to me that addresses the issue:


I think other denominations focus specifically on the relationship with Christ. I’m not an expert, but what I love about being Catholic is not only the emphasis on Christ, but the Father and the Blessed Mother. In terms of Saints I feel a strong affinity to St. Francis of Assisi, but it’s only an affinity I don’t direct prayer towards him. I wouldn’t fault anyone if they did.

Usually when I go to Saints, I look to their theological works to strengthen my understanding. A few people at St. Teresa Avilla, St. John of the Cross, St. Augustine and Thomas Merton.
 
Trent Horn has a book available on the Catholic Answers shop at a very affordable price called Why We’re Catholic. It’s a great starter, extremely easy to read in short time, and then you can use the Catechism more like a reference to fill in gaps. Also, feel free to talk to your local parish staff. The priest(s) and/or Director of Religious Education would be happy to help you find answers as well, and that’s sometimes more effective than the less personal modes.
 
trevora33 said:
For instance, in praying the rosary, Mary is beseeched seemingly 10x more than God.
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Not true. The rosary is very Christocentric, if you meditate on the mysteries Christ is front and center. Mary’s soul magnifies the Lord.
 
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