Is it ok to limit your friendships to just fellow Catholics?

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br4ndon21

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I feel like i’m better served if I only associate myself w fellow believing Catholics. Is this a bad thing?🤷
 
Yes, it’s absolutely a bad thing. We should never conceal ourselves in an echo chamber. How would you grow that way?
 
You could but it would stunt your emotional and spiritual growth IMHO.

I like hanging around all types of people. My friends range from Prots to Muslims to gays to atheists etc and we all learn from and respect each other.

If any of them ask questions about the Catholic faith or are curious I believe the Lord placed me there for that exact purpose.
 
‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do justice and iniquity have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?’

2 Corinthians 6:14
 
Christ did not do this. He could have stayed just to his disciples and his family or even the Phareses. But I am thinking about the woman at the well. She was shocked that he would have anything to do with her, a Samaritan! And the people of her village came to believe that he was the Messiah. Think of how many souls could be lost if we chose to only associate with our “own kind.”
 
I certainly enjoy talking about my faith with other devout Catholics. But I do not limit myself to friends who are Protesant or Jewish. I just stay off controversial topics.
 
br4ndon21 said:
I feel like i’m better served if I only associate myself w fellow believing Catholics. Is this a bad thing?🤷
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Definitely a good thing. I was taught to be polite and kind to all but grew up with fellow believing Catholics while holding no animosity toward others. It’s Biblical:

biblehub.com/1_corinthians/15-33.htm

I did not want to hang out with those who engaged in criminal behavior, used illegal drugs and behaved in ways contrary to my beliefs. That did not mean I gave those people a hard time. Politeness was required in all cases but such behaviors were outside the boundaries of the way I was taught to live. Other people did what they did.

Peace,
Ed
 
What’s your thinking on this? I am interested why you feel this way. I have a smallish circle of close friends, and lots of aquaintences. If your circle just happens to be fellow Catholics I don’t see a problem. I am guessing you would still be friendly and sociable with coworkers, and neighbors. If a non Catholic who was a good person became friendly and tried to become friends how would you handle it? Would you decline invitations for coffee or something casual from non Catholics? I think that would be wrong.
 
br4ndon21 said:
I feel like i’m better served if I only associate myself w fellow believing Catholics. Is this a bad thing?🤷
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There are certain Orthodox Jews who believe that Jews should not associate too much with Gentiles. I disagree. We learn from each other and we learn to respect each other by associating with all kinds of people.
 
If you are a member of a social group, such as the community theatre or an artists guild, some of the other members may be of different denominations.
 
In your neophyte stages, yes. This is why the family should be the place where a solid Christian upbringing takes place so the irrational and sensual philosophies of the world don’t lead you astray because you aren’t firmly enough grounded in the truth. But if you didn’t have the gift of being raised in home which inculcated the faith, you should spend some time in a solid faith community that can show you the ropes and be wary of spending too much time in worldly situations with folks who will try to draw you back to fantasies of the word: the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life…
 
I would get bored if I only hung around people like me.

Jesus engaged with gentiles, prostitutes and even Samaritans. :eek:

That would have shocked other Jews at the time, it even made his Disciples uneasy as well, remember they too had Jewish backgrounds.
 
Just yesterday I got another reminder that being friends with non Catholics rarely works. All my adult life I have forged friendships with people different from me and never thought it was a problem. Respect is key. But sadly, I have learned that many of those ‘friends’ were not respectful of my faith and thought badly of me because of it.

I think that being polite and nice to people and engaging with them on a more superficial level is one thing, but true friendship requires a more solid foundation that shared beliefs and values provide.
 
I think it’s important to have a lot of common interests with close friends and see nothing wrong with hanging out only with Catholics who share your interests. It doesn’t mean that you never rub shoulders with non-believers. Yes, Jesus associated with a variety of people, but those he spent intimate moments and the bulk of his time were believers
 
br4ndon21 said:
I feel like i’m better served if I only associate myself w fellow believing Catholics. Is this a bad thing?🤷
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I would say that it depends very much on what you mean by “only associate.”

You cannot shun people outside the Church. Even with those who are hostile to the Church, you must, as St. Paul put it, “Bless those who persecute, bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Have the same regard for one another; do not be haughty but associate with the lowly; do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil; be concerned for what is noble in the sight of all. If possible, on your part, live at peace with all. Beloved, do not look for revenge but leave room for the wrath; for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” Rather, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals upon his head.” Do not be conquered by evil but conquer evil with good”. (Rom. 12:14-21)

So you must not be haughty in any way and you must associate with the lowly. You must never foster the impression that you are too good for someone else.

Having said that, of course you can choose those who are closest to you and with whom you spend the most time based on whether or not they have a better or worse effect on you, including your ability to put the faith at the center of your life. You must avoid those situations that pose a temptation to sin, as well, including appearing to give acceptance to falsehoods by failing to get into quarrels about them by telling the truth. That is going to make you a less attractive companion for some of those you are talking about “not associating with,” including some in the Church. If you take your faith seriously and like to talk about it, even some Catholics will find you “too much of a goody-goody” or “no fun.”

It also depends on what you mean by “better served.” Your social life ought to have as much to do with being a support for others and making them aware that they are deeply loved by God as it is about getting support from those you socialize with. If you have a non-Catholic friend who finds profit in your friendship and kindnesses, don’t turn them away because they can’t give you the same kind of “profit” in the sense of supporting you from a position of faith (offering to pray for you, giving you advice on how to deal with your problems in ways in keeping with the faith, and so on).

If the person is not deterred by your open devotion to the faith, do not turn them away from your company. Do not accept invitations to situations that are objectively wrong or are a near occasion of sin, however, do not be baited by complaints that you’re a bad friend if you don’t hide your religious beliefs from your friends or indulge in all the things they do because of your religious boundaries, and avoid the company of those who lead you into sin, too.
 
I don’t see a problem with it but I don’t know that it’s very practical. I’ve been trying to find some good Catholic friends for the last few years and while I’ve picked up some acquaintances I’ve yet to find any actual new friends. It would be great to have a few strong Catholics I could hang out and discuss things with. At the same time, some of my most accepting and nonjudgmental friends are non-Catholics and even non-religious. We may not see eye to eye on lots of things but they don’t look down on me for being Catholic or “too” Catholic, which isn’t something I can say about a lot of Catholics I know.
 
Shin said:
‘Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do justice and iniquity have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?’

2 Corinthians 6:14
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This is one of the more controversial bible teachings. I personally think that it simply tells us not to bind ourselves to non-believers in the sense where we would put our spiritual health at risk.

See 2 Corinthians 7:1-2 which follows after 2 Corinthians 6:14. If non-believers actively seek to delay our consecration, then we shouldn’t yoke, or attach ourselves to them anymore. Not all non-believers, however, actively seek to destroy souls, and so yoking ourselves to these individuals should be fine. The Church allows for us to marry those of other religious stock, and the Vatican has documents defending the dignity of other denominations and religions.
 
it depends on what you mean by friendship. association with non Catholics is important and expected. how else can you evangelize? but we are to be ‘in the world, not of the world’. close friendships should be with devout Catholics only. iron sharpens iron, friendship with nonCatholics leads to the lowest common denominator. God bless!
 
Gordon_Sims said:
I don’t see a problem with it but I don’t know that it’s very practical. I’ve been trying to find some good Catholic friends for the last few years and while I’ve picked up some acquaintances I’ve yet to find any actual new friends. It would be great to have a few strong Catholics I could hang out and discuss things with. At the same time, some of my most accepting and nonjudgmental friends are non-Catholics and even non-religious. We may not see eye to eye on lots of things but they don’t look down on me for being Catholic or “too” Catholic, which isn’t something I can say about a lot of Catholics I know.
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I agree, it’s not particularly practical. The Church doesn’t provide enough social opportunities for fellowship like the non-Catholic ones. I always had trouble befriending people from Church. It seems like people just come for Mass and leave.
 
Nah, too narrow. At least extend your friendships to the Catholic gals as well. 😉

And … keep going. Friendship is a good thing. Bad company excepted.
 
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