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billcu1
Guest
IS it true that going to mass increases your faith? How does one become a saint after being baptized and filled with the holy spirit?
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IrishRush
Guest
It works for me. 
It certainly doesn’t DEcrease my faith. It strengthens and renews it, every time.
It certainly doesn’t DEcrease my faith. It strengthens and renews it, every time.
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ZDHayden
Guest
Being in contact with your faith, whatever it is, will increase your faith: I doubt it is only Mass. I know, for me at least, a Divine Liturgy increases and solidifies and, to use the above poster’s word, renews my faith in our Lord far more than any Mass I have ever attended.
The Eastern Church Fathers speak volumes (literally!) on how to become a saint. A monk (Fr. Petroniu Tanase) from Mt. Athos has said that the three pillars of sin, that which prevents us from becoming saints, are: ignorance, forgetfulness and carelessness.The Fathers indicate that the way to become a saint is to pray. Pray with complete focus on each word, first out loud, then mentally, then at all times. Each transition will be natural the more you pray, so you should not force it. Imitate also, in all you do, the lives of our Lord, his mother and all the saints. After a while, imitation of these will change your character and you will no longer be initating but doing.
The Eastern Church Fathers speak volumes (literally!) on how to become a saint. A monk (Fr. Petroniu Tanase) from Mt. Athos has said that the three pillars of sin, that which prevents us from becoming saints, are: ignorance, forgetfulness and carelessness.The Fathers indicate that the way to become a saint is to pray. Pray with complete focus on each word, first out loud, then mentally, then at all times. Each transition will be natural the more you pray, so you should not force it. Imitate also, in all you do, the lives of our Lord, his mother and all the saints. After a while, imitation of these will change your character and you will no longer be initating but doing.
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DebChris
Guest
These are two separate questions. Yes, any time we spend in prayer, which “lifts the heart and mind to God,” will increase our faith, not simply Mass. Our prayer is our faith response to the gift of Faith that God has already given us in Baptism.
The more open we are to the gifts and promptings of the Holy Spirit, the more we grow in sanctity. In other words, the more we allow the Holy Spirit to guide our life, the further we are on our journey toward sainthood. John the Baptist said, “I must decrease that He might increase.” Depend on the grace of God to lead you toward sainthood and protect against the temptation to sin which leads us away from God. If we do sin, we have the Sacrament of Reconciliation to restore us to grace.
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billcu1
Guest
Speaking of sin, is the only way to get rid of it by confesssion and forgiveness by a preist?
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DebChris
Guest
Mortal sin is a deliberate turning away from God and needs to be brought into the confessional. This is a good place to mention that is God HImself who forgives our sins through the priest. Few of us actually commit mortal sin which takes forethought and intent.
Scripture tells us that the righteous man sins seven times a day. It is a good thing to repent of venial sins and bring them to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We do not want to develop a pattern of sin that can lead us away from God and into mortal sin. Frequent confession is also known as devotional confession.
Venial sins are also forgiven through the Sacrament of the Eucharist.
Any sins committed before entry into the Church were wiped out by the Sacrament of Baptism.
Our non-Catholic brothers and sisters may ask why we need to confess our sins before a priest? Doesn’t God forgive us the moment we repent? I like Dietrich Boenhoeffer’s response to this, taken from Martin Luther. Confession is a remedy against pride and self-delusion. If we cannot confess our sins before another human being, how will we stand when we come before the Judge of all?
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fred_conty
Guest
You’ve asked “how do you become a saint?”
What are the important characteristics of, “how does someone become your close friend?”
And what are the characteristics of “how a person is not a friend?”
If you can answer that, then you know how to become a saint.
Because you must become a close friend of… to
Just a beginning thought.
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GratefulFred
Guest
There are may ways to increase one’s Faith, paying full attention to Mass is the best way. But Mass is usually one hour or less and we have 24 hours in a day. We need to do more to increase our Faith.
“Paying attention” is reading and listening carefully to the prayers and scripture in every Mass and receiving Holy Communion worthily. Attending Mass more than just Sunday and Holy Days is also excellent if one can do it. I make this effort in Lent and have made the Nine First Fridays and Five First Saturdays several times. I should go to Mass more often, I know, but it is not sinful to not attend extra Masses, just a step toward becoming a Saint.
These passages from John Chapter 14 express, I think, the essential way to being a Saint. Whatever our station and challenges in life, this is what we are to do:
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will bec] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
23 Jesus replied, **“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. ****25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. **
“Paying attention” is reading and listening carefully to the prayers and scripture in every Mass and receiving Holy Communion worthily. Attending Mass more than just Sunday and Holy Days is also excellent if one can do it. I make this effort in Lent and have made the Nine First Fridays and Five First Saturdays several times. I should go to Mass more often, I know, but it is not sinful to not attend extra Masses, just a step toward becoming a Saint.
These passages from John Chapter 14 express, I think, the essential way to being a Saint. Whatever our station and challenges in life, this is what we are to do:
15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will bec] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
23 Jesus replied, **“Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. ****25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. **
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Pitcharan
Guest
The secret of ‘how to grow in faith’ is revealed by our Lord in Luke 17:5-10
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
It is clear from the above that humility gains and grows faith. This truth can be verified from the examples of ‘Abraham - father of faith’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘the centurion whose servant was cured by our Lord’, ‘the syro-phoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter’ and many more.
The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. “Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? Would he not rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
It is clear from the above that humility gains and grows faith. This truth can be verified from the examples of ‘Abraham - father of faith’, ‘Mother Mary’, ‘the centurion whose servant was cured by our Lord’, ‘the syro-phoenician woman with a demon-possessed daughter’ and many more.
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Annabelle_Marie
Guest
It certainly helps me…I can always tell when I haven’t gone to daily Mass. Does it make you a saint? I don’t know but many of our saints were daily Mass attenders.
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hazcompat
Guest
Pray without ceasing.
peace
peace
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jmoneyideas
Guest
Not to make is to simple but , It cant Hurt! When I go to mass and here the creed and listen to the Canting and see the ritualistic side I can’t help but feel a sense of holy presence come over me. I often think that many of the Holiest and most saintly people of the Church did the same things I am doing by participating in it. Its foundations go way back. I would also say anything to do with God will increase your faith.
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kildare
Guest
At first not really, but like any exercise if you give it time it always has an effect.
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billcu1
Guest
Is it true that we are justified through faith or grace?
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SecretGarden
Guest
It’s a bit of both. You are getting into a difficult topic. Hopefully someone can elaborate because I’m just researching it myself.
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DebChris
Guest
We are saved by God’s grace. We are justified by our acceptance, through faith, of the grace that we have received.
And he[Abraham]received the sign of circumcision as a seal on the righteousness received through faith while he was uncircumcised.(Eph. 4:1). *“It was not through the law that the promise was made to Abraham and his descendants that he would inherit the world, but through the righteousness that comes through faith.” *(Eph. 4:13).
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Vico
Guest
Faith is increased by sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is received in the sacraments, such as Holy Communion.
From The Faith Explained, by Leo J. Trese (p. 124-127):
“… a habit bestowed upon the soul directly by God, is called a supernatural virtue… Chief among the supernatural virtues are those three which we call the theological virtues: faith, hope, and charity. … These three virtues are infused into our soul along with sanctifying grace, in the sacrament of Baptism. … the four supernatural moral virtues that are infused into the soul at baptism with sanctifying grace, are prudence, justice, fortitude and temperance. … they are called the four cardinal virtues. … whatever increases sanctifying grace will increase the infused virtues.”
Then (p. 128-129),
“…it is only the supernatural faith, this virtue of divine faith which is infused at baptism, that makes it possible for us to believe firmly and completely all the truths, even the most ineffable and mysterious truths, which God has revealed. Without such faith we who have reached the use of reason cannot be saved. The virtue of faith alone will save the baptized infant, but with the age of reason there must be the act of faith as well.”
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