Is it about "feelings"

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My sister-inlaw, is Pentecostal (and anti-Catholic), is married to my brother ,he does not understand the basics of our Faith, went to the Christmas Vigil. She had said once upon a time, that the “Catholic Church didn’t do anything for her.” Now comes out and says “I felt something!”

I just acted surprised. “WOW”

Anyway, my family is working on finding out what scripture says about “feelings”.
(Because I am dealing with bible alone people)

So I thought I’d ask…

**1.**How do you defend or explain to a non-Catholic that our Faith is not based upon feelings?
Or is it?

**2.**Are you able to use scripture to explain?

You know when I think of feelings I think of the flesh and touch.

Can our souls “feel”? Can they touch? Or is it about “senses”? Can you “feel” the Holy Spirit.
Or is He always there since baptism?
You know when someone says that, are they thinking that the Holy Spirit just entered them?

Everything I have found points to “feelings” that we should feel moved by the Spirit of God.

2 Peter 1:21
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

What about obedience?

**
Hebrews 13:17**
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Romans 1:5
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the **obedience of faith **among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
 
fellowChristian said:
Anyway, my family is working on finding out what scripture says about “feelings”.
(Because I am dealing with bible alone people)
Click to expand...
I Corinthians 2:14 – the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

natural, from the Greek word psuchikos – physical, sensual
receiveth is the Greek word dechomai. The word dech is the word ten, from which we get the word decade (ten years) and the word decalogue (ten words/ ten commandments). This word receiveth means to figuratively reach out willingly with the ten fingers and “accept” an offer that has been made.
 
fellowChristian said:
My sister-inlaw, is Pentecostal (and anti-Catholic), is married to my brother ,he does not understand the basics of our Faith, went to the Christmas Vigil. She had said once upon a time, that the “Catholic Church didn’t do anything for her.” Now comes out and says “I felt something!”
Click to expand...
Ultimately I think it is. He is a hedonist.
Even as judge of truth and error, our feelings are just as often a sure quite as our reason.

The mistake is to go chasing after good feelings, rather than letting Him give them to you.
 
Hi Fellow,

Faith is an act of the mind, moved by the will. “Feelings” may be present but are not really part of it.

Pentecostals seem to base a lot on feelings, being “moved” by the spirit. Don’t criticize your in-law for going by “feelings”, but don’t give them any special value either. What if she became Catholic and then stopped “feeling”?

However, God works in mysterious ways. Pray for her.

Verbum
 
Seems to me, two things ought to be remembered, and they’re both in the Gospels (sorry I don’t have the verses at hand):

When the disciples unknowingly walked with Christ after his resurrection, their “hearts were burning within” them, and yet…

before the crucifixion, nearly all deserted Him–even though they knew He was Truth, they didn’t “feel” like following him at all.

So, God can guide us by making us feel His Truth, but we ought to follow what we know is true even when we don’t feel like it–and we ought to EXPECT not to “feel” like it, sometimes.

John
 
fellowChristian said:
My sister-inlaw, is Pentecostal (and anti-Catholic), is married to my brother ,he does not understand the basics of our Faith, went to the Christmas Vigil. She had said once upon a time, that the “Catholic Church didn’t do anything for her.” Now comes out and says "I felt something!"

I just acted surprised. “WOW”
Click to expand...
Well, I have often heard converts, when talking about a visit to a Catholic Church before they converted, that they felt a presence, or felt something that they couldn’t explain. Maybe this is what she is feeling…the true and real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist. you just don’t get that at a pentacostal church…just a thought…
 
True enough that those of us who are living our faith understand that it is in the giving of ourselves that we feel what your sis-n-law is describing. Be very careful not to diminish what she describes in an effort to prove your point.
Have a great day.🙂
 
does it matter how she gets into the Church if she gets there? Once there is a foot in the door you can GENTLY correct things and edify her faith. I think you are going to blow it for her if you rip the rug out from under her at this point. MAYBE she felt Holy Spirit? People have different experiences. Feelings are also part of God’s image are they not?

from the Douay-Rheims:
Hebrews:
1 Now, faith is the substance of things to be hoped for, the evidence of things that appear not. 2 For by this the ancients obtained a testimony. 3 By faith we understand that the world was framed by the word of God: that from invisible things visible things might be made.
 
fellowChristian said:
My sister-inlaw, is Pentecostal (and anti-Catholic), is married to my brother ,he does not understand the basics of our Faith, went to the Christmas Vigil. She had said once upon a time, that the “Catholic Church didn’t do anything for her.” Now comes out and says “I felt something!”

I just acted surprised. “WOW”

Anyway, my family is working on finding out what scripture says about “feelings”.
(Because I am dealing with bible alone people)

So I thought I’d ask…

**1.**How do you defend or explain to a non-Catholic that our Faith is not based upon feelings?
Or is it?

**2.**Are you able to use scripture to explain?

You know when I think of feelings I think of the flesh and touch.

Can our souls “feel”? Can they touch? Or is it about “senses”? Can you “feel” the Holy Spirit.
Or is He always there since baptism?
You know when someone says that, are they thinking that the Holy Spirit just entered them?

Everything I have found points to “feelings” that we should feel moved by the Spirit of God.

2 Peter 1:21
for no prophecy was ever made by an act of human will, but men moved by the Holy Spirit spoke from God.

What about obedience?

**
Hebrews 13:17**
Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls as those who will give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with grief, for this would be unprofitable for you.

Romans 1:5
through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the **obedience of faith **among all the Gentiles for His name’s sake,
Click to expand...
She may have had a “feeling” of peace and her soul was quieted for a moment and thus her spirit heard the truth. I know this is what has happened to me at times.
God bless you for praying for her, Peace.
And Jesus frequently said fear not.
 
Ravyn_Guiliani said:
does it matter how she gets into the Church if she gets there? Once there is a foot in the door you can GENTLY correct things and edify her faith. I think you are going to blow it for her if you rip the rug out from under her at this point. MAYBE she felt Holy Spirit? People have different experiences.
Click to expand...
Well said. This is not the time to appear as combative, it should be a time of showcase.👍
 
Thanks for all the great comments.

Just so you know I do encourage her. I support what ever motivates her to looking into the church. She married my brother in the Catholic Church about 5 years ago.

Little by little I have explained and taught our Faith. She got mad only once. (I made sense:rolleyes: ) It scared her I think. Her whole family is Pentecostal.

I am patient. Only planting seeds, not watering and weeding.😛

I am just curious about the “feeling” part that the Protestants I talk to always talk about. I did not say anything about her experience other then the suprised “wow, thats great” And then asked her if she had any questions and she did so I explained.

I just wanted to see how others defended their Faith when it comes to someone saying “I’ve been in the Catholic Church and it doesn’t do anything for me.”

I am a mom with 5 kids and a 200lb golden retriever and I work a graveyard shift…I am not a “rug puller” Maybe a rug tugger:D 😃

Thanks again
 
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