Just married a Catholic

[jberens]

I really appreciate everyone’s answers. Now to get to the common objections I hear to the Church from non catholic Christians:

1. Catholics worship Mary as a deity
2. Catholics pray to Mary and saints
3. The papacy is corrupt and ungodly. How could that be infallible
4. Catholics believe you are saved or receive grace through works
5. Catholics believe you need to go to a priest for pardon of sins and can’t pray straight to God
6. Catholics don’t care about a relationship with Jesus.

I know some of these may be off-putting but this is what I’ve been hearing from many people.
Disclaimer: these friends have had my back in thick and thin and are great friends. but most of them have only heard bad things and misinformation about Catholicism.

They always knew Steve, husband, was Catholic. They love him and always have. We actually have both been in Bible studies with these friends. I have heard these things through out the years. I guess the ones that didn’t know Steve was catholic just assumed he was protestant because he participated in Bible studies with them (I know it’s really silly to think that would exclude him from being Catholic. Catholics have Bible studies as well).

 

[Theo2]

I’d suggest you get a copy of the Common Ground DVD and study guide.

Watch it yourself, then, do a group with your friends (It has aired on CBN as well as EWTN):

I don’t think so. You have been fed in the Protestant church. Now you are learning about the catholic church. Both can’t be right about critical issues although there is much that can be agreed to. Study and decide where the truth lies. Our life journey should be a search for the truth! May god bless your journey.

 

[Horton]

I am mostly saying I am surprised at such a deep divide between denominations. I’ve made people who actually believed that Catholics are non Christian. Talking with non Christians can help evangelize and talking to Christians of different stripes can help us become more unified as the body of Christ

One thing I want to point out here. The Catholic Church is NOT a denomination of the many Christian churches, it IS the Christian Church. This is a very common misconception among Protestants. Just FYI - all non-Catholic Christians are Protestant regardless of denomination or no denomination.

 

[Scott84]

Congratulations on your marriage! I think it’s great you’re showing a willingness to explore the one true faith!

Matthew 16:18 - 19 "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give to thee the keys to the kingdom of heaven. And whatsoever thou shalt bind upon the earth, it shall be bound also in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on the earth, it shall be loosed also in heaven.

Jesus Christ himself founded the Catholic Church and entrusted it to Peter, the pope is the line of apostolic succession from Peter. None of the other churches can say this. The Catholic Church is THE Christian church, the only one founded by Christ. All the other churches broke away and were instead founded by men and their egos.

What you get in the Protestant faiths is a watered down version of Christianity. It’s like looking at an image under the water. You might be able to make out a few details here and there, but overall it appears warped and distorted. Once you pull it from the water you get a clear picture of what it is you’re looking at. That’s how I compare the Catholic faith to the others.

I was raised as a Protestant, and I understand the hostility some have towards Catholics first hand! My older brother doesn’t even consider us Christians! He sees us as “cultists” “papists” “pagans”, and well I won’t echo what so many others on here already have.

But I saw the light of the one true faith and converted. However, it is a challenge sometimes because I am the ONLY Catholic in my family. I can’t share my faith with them. They simply don’t understand it.

I will actually start RCIA next month and I can’t wait for it! I will also be consecrating myself to our Blessed Mother on August 15, the Day of Assumption. Since I can’t share my faith in my family, I have been getting more involved at my parish, as there I can share my faith with others! It has really helped!

Have you ever considered getting involved at your husband’s parish? Exploring the faith with him? You can undergo RCIA too! Your husband can even sponsor you!

 

[Horton]

• Catholics worship Mary as a deity
• Catholics pray to Mary and saints

Only the triune God is worshipped in the Catholic Church. We venerate Mary as the Mother of our Lord but do not worship. We ask for Mary’s and other saint’s intercession in our prayers. Similar to asking a friend to pray for you, we ask those closest to God to pray for us.

• The papacy is corrupt and ungodly. How could that be infallible

There were times when men who help the office of the Pope were corrupt and ungodly. The Church freely admits to this. This misconception in this area is the lack of understanding of what papal infallibility really is. Many non Catholics believe it occurs often or that anything the Pope says is infallible. In reality Papal infallibility is quite rare and only deals with matters of faith and morals.

• Catholics believe you are saved or receive grace through works

We are saved through the grace of God. We do good works because of our love for God and our willingness to do the works of Jesus here on earth. We do receive grace from good works, but we receive grace from many things we do in the Catholic Church, such as prayer or devotions.

• Catholics believe you need to go to a priest for pardon of sins and can’t pray straight to God

We can pray to God for forgiveness at any time. We receive the absolution from Christ through the Priest. When a Priest is hearing confessions he is acting in persona Christi, in the person of Christ. The priest has been given the power to reconcile a person back to Christ and to the Church. Through penance and absolution, we are forgiven our mortal sins.

• Catholics don’t care about a relationship with Jesus.

We have the most personal intimate relationship with Jesus Christ than any Protestant. We receive Jesus Christ’s body, blood, soul, and divinity into our bodies every time we receive communion.

 

[jberens]

Thank you so much for your thoroughness in answering these objections. I will continue to pray on these matters and study.

 

[jberens]

@Horton Thank you so much for responding.
I was wondering if anyone would catch that I referred to Catholics and non catholic Christians as the church. I know that this is a controversial thing to say on this particular forum. However, in seeking truth I have to be honest about what I believe.
God gives his grace freely to all who have admitted their sin, believed, and confessed him as Lord. I do believe that this is the only requirement to salvation. If you are saved, you are a part of that body of Christ. A non catholic or a Catholic believer receives the Holy Spirit and is promised eternal life.
The body of Christ is not as it should be . It is broken and divided as is. I know that this may be contrary to what some or even most Catholics believe. However, this I believe is the truth.

I am open minded to seeking truth but I have closed my mind around this fact because I believe it is what Jesus taught and makes sense of biblical teaching.
Thank you again for your (name removed by moderator)ut

 

[jberens]

We are saved through the grace of God. We do good works because of our love for God and our willingness to do the works of Jesus here on earth. We do receive grace from good works, but we receive grace from many things we do in the Catholic Church, such as prayer or devotions.

Can you explain this further?

Only the triune God is worshipped in the Catholic Church. We venerate Mary as the Mother of our Lord but do not worship. We ask for Mary’s and other saint’s intercession in our prayers. Similar to asking a friend to pray for you, we ask those closest to God to pray for us.

Thank you. This is what I thought and I shared with my friends

 

[Cor_ad_Cor]

Most Protestants, especially non-denominationals, are very ignorant about Church teachings and beliefs.

This.

It gets better over time. My own wife is from a protestant family. When we were first married, the Christmas and birthday cards from her family just stopped. They thought she was doomed to hell. It didn’t help matters that she converted later. BUT, a few years down the road, and all is well again, save the occasional dig about “why they do it that way, I’ll never understand,” usually directed at me about something I put my foot down over. (Not taking communion in their church was the most recent issue.)

I know it’s really silly to think that would exclude him from being Catholic. Catholics have Bible studies as well

There are many who really do think Catholics have never seen a Bible and aren’t permitted to read one.

 

[Lara]

But it’s harder to find people who are willing to talk or be respectful. I find people’s views are very entrenched.

For some Catholic like me, talking to Christians of a different stripe does not unify. That’s because, in my view, they can only be unified to us; we can’t abandon our teachings to unify with them.

But, the good news is we can work together to end abortion or help the homeless.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Not sure why you are telling me this, I am both a covert and very well informed. Thank you.

Have you viewed/read “Common Ground”? If you have not, how do you know it is lies?

 

[Wesrock]

Hi Everyone,

My husband and I were married in April of this year. I am a non-denominational Christian and he is a Catholic. We are both devout Christians and consider ourselves to be conservative and Biblically minded.

We don’t seem to disagree a lot when talking about spiritual matters. I study apologetics and so I am diving into christian philosophy and theology daily. There are some issues that we bounce ideas off each other with (the infallibility of the papacy, Mary’s place in Catholic theology, etc.) But it is more like a team effort at truth seeking than a debate.

I have a lot of close friends that are protestants or non-denominational christians. I consider some of them my spiritual mentors. When finding out my husband (who I dated for 7 years before marriage) is catholic, I receive a lot of flack. These friends ask if this comes in between us and act as if him and I must be vehemently opposed theologically. Some are concerned that I must be misguided as a non-catholic christian to be with a catholic. I truly don’t think this is a warranted response.

I would like to open this topic by asking what everyone’s thoughts are about this. I have follow up questions because I am trying to understand Catholicism as much as I can. We attend a catholic church and I get a lot of spiritual nourishment out of it. I feel really misunderstood by my protestant friends as of now.

It’s wonderful that you and your husband are able to engage in a positive manner on topics of faith and not let it be divisive. I hope it continues to be so once any children enter the mix. I don’t mean to be foreboding, but it’s definitely something to discuss, assuming you haven’t already.

 

[Francis]

My husband and I were married in April of this year. I am a non-denominational Christian and he is a Catholic. We are both devout Christians and consider ourselves to be conservative and Biblically minded.

Welcome home your on the right track and keep your mind and heart open. pray about these questions.god Bless

 

[Wesrock]

1. Catholics worship Mary as a deity
2. Catholics pray to Mary and saints
3. The papacy is corrupt and ungodly. How could that be infallible
4. Catholics believe you are saved or receive grace through works

(1) Certainly not true. We honor and respect Mary and the saints for their witness to the faith and Jesus. We recognize the difference between this veneration and worshipping a being as a deity. The saints give glory to God and God manifests his glory through their witness to the faith. We should also recognize how language has changed over the years. In many places judges are referred to as “your worship” and we worshipped kings. We did/do so without considering them God. It’s only in recent years, in which the world has become far more republican/democratic, that the word is used more and more for God alone.

(2) We do, but “to pray” was long synonymous with “to ask” or “to petition.” Catholics see all of the Church, those on Earth, in Heaven, and in Purgatory as part of ONE body in Christ. We pray for each other on Earth, and we ask others in the Church (even if in Heaven) to pray for us as well. Saints are like older brothers and sisters who have grown up well, are close friends of God, and who stand about us like a cloud of witnesses. We ask for their guidance in our own maturation and development in faith, just as we might ask someone on Earth to pray for me or a loved one if going through a difficult time. We are one body in Christ, and we still know the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are above all.

(3) This is exaggerated, some, but it can be true that there has been corruption in the papacy. There is a difference between impeccability and infallibility. Impeccability means without sin, and we make no claims that the Popes are impeccable or even generally good. We only claim that they can’t use their office in a formal and specific way to declare heresy as dogma.

(4) Justification is a big topic. God asks for our cooperation, but God always moves first. Nothing we can do can merit salvation. We never make the first move. But we do take an active role and cooperating and participating in God’s plan, and we can increase our justification and walk in holiness by cooperating.

 

[Wesrock]

1. Catholics believe you need to go to a priest for pardon of sins and can’t pray straight to God
2. Catholics don’t care about a relationship with Jesus.

(5) Confession is also a big topic. Jesus entrusted the apostles with administering graces and the forgiveness of sins. This was part of a living, breathing Church that would have to continue for millennia , and this ministry has been passed on. The sacraments are not because God’s power is limited, but because he’s given us signs and a way to participate for our own benefit. God can forgive however and whoever he wants to if he chooses. But we as Catholics have been given Confession for reconciliation with God and with the Body of Christ (the Church), for healing and counsel, and God expects us, as believers, to make use of it. For a Catholic to doubt and avoid Confession is a manifestation of doubt in the Body of Christ, in God’s kingdom on Earth. To follow our king we should belong to his kingdom, no? Not just say we follow him but then knowingly refuse to be part of his kingdom.

(6) Definitely not true. Though we can always do better, find better emphasis, etc… The sacraments are part of a real, personal, and participatory relationship with Jesus.

 

[Theo2]

Sorry,

I never said anything about lies. My point, obviously not well made, is that
before the poster tries to evangelize her protestant friend she learn and decide for herself where the truth is.

 

[TheLittleLady]

Thanks for the clarification

 

[DisorientingSneeze]

People of different Christian faiths have different views of what worship is. If a Sunday service is reading the bible and singing praise, but it ends there, you can see how someone would be concerned thinking we worship Mary.

However, if it is understood that Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is central to the Mass, our spirituality and our worship, then our Love of Our Lady, as deep as it is, is no rival to Christ. Everything about her points to Christ. We don’t go to Church to be in her real presence. She is not the sacrifice taking place at each Mass.

 

[Francis]

@jberens

Catholics worship Mary as a deity

No it’s a misunderstanding by most Protestants, We worship only the holy Trinity and venerate Mother Mary and the Saints.1 Peter 3:15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you;

http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p1s2c3.htm

Baptism gives us the grace of new birth in God the Father, through his Son, in the Holy Spirit. For those who bear God’s Spirit are led to the Word, that is, to the Son, and the Son presents them to the Father, and the Father confers incorruptibility on them. And it is impossible to see God’s Son without the Spirit, and no one can approach the Father without the Son, for the knowledge of the Father is the Son, and the knowledge of God’s Son is obtained through the Holy Spirit.3

Catholics pray to Mary and saints

Saints
1 Cor 12:25-27; Rom 12:4-5 … body of Christ.

Eph 6:18; Rom 15:30; Col 4:3; 1 Thess 1:11 … intercessory prayer.

Jos 5:14; Dan 8:17; Tob 12:16 … veneration of angels united with God (Mt 18:10).

1 Cor 13:12; 1 John 3:2 … saints also united with God.

Lk 20-34-38 … those who died are like angels.

2 Mac 15:11-16 … deceased Onias and Jeremiah interceded for Jews.

Rev 8:3-4; Jer 15:1 … saints’ intercession.

Tobit 12:12 So now when you and Sarah prayed, it was I who brought and read the record of your prayer before the glory of the Lord, and likewise whenever you would bury the dead. 15 I am Raphael, one of the seven angels who stand ready and enter before the glory of the Lord.”

The papacy is corrupt and ungodly. How could that be infallible

Matthew 16:16-18 Simon Peter answered and said: Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God.
17 And Jesus answering, said to him: Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-Jona: because flesh and blood hath not revealed it to thee, but my Father who is in heaven.18 And I say to thee: That thou art Peter; and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

Matthew 18:18 Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Jeremiah 3:15 I will give you shepherds(Popes) after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding.

CCC 881 The Lord made Simon alone, whom he named Peter, the “rock” of his Church. He gave him the keys of his Church and instituted him shepherd of the whole flock.400 "The office of binding and loosing which was given to Peter was also assigned to the college of apostles united to its head."401 This pastoral office of Peter and the other apostles belongs to the Church’s very foundation and is continued by the bishops under the primacy of the Pope. Pope is also human not an Angels makes personal mistakes,but not in regard go Faith and Morals,

 

[Francis]

@jberens
http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c3a2.htm

Catholics believe you are saved or receive grace through works

CCC II. GRACE

Our justification comes from the grace of God. Grace is favor , the free and undeserved help that God gives us to respond to his call to become children of God, adoptive sons, partakers of the divine nature and of eternal life.46

1997 Grace is a participation in the life of God. It introduces us into the intimacy of Trinitarian life: by Baptism the Christian participates in the grace of Christ, the Head of his Body. As an “adopted son” he can henceforth call God “Father,” in union with the only Son. He receives the life of the Spirit who breathes charity into him and who forms the Church.

Jam 2:24 – a man is justified by works and not by faith alone

Jam 2:26 – faith without works is dead

Gal 5:6 – only thing that counts is faith working in love

1 Cor 13:2 – faith without love is nothing

Jn 14:15 – if you love me, keep my commandments
Phil 2:12 – work out your salvation with fear and trembling

Catholics believe you need to go to a priest for pardon of sins and can’t pray straight to God

No Priest are only an instrument, its Jesus who forgives our sins

Mt 9:2-8 Son of Man has authority to forgive sins

Jn 20:23 – whose sins you forgive/retain are forgiven/retained

Jn 20:22 – breathed on them, “receive Holy Spirit” [recall Gn 2:7]

2Cor 5:17-20 – given us the ministry of reconciliation

Jam 5:13-15 – confess your sins to one another

Mt 18:18 – whatever you bind & loose on earth, so it is in heaven

Catholics don’t care about a relationship with Jesus.

Not true, misunderstanding by protestants CCC 143 By faith , man completely submits his intellect and his will to God.2 With his whole being man gives his assent to God the revealer. Sacred Scripture calls this human response to God, the author of revelation, “the obedience of faith”

The five precepts of the Church require Catholics to attend Mass on Sundays and holy days of obligation, to confess sins at least once a year, to receive holy Communion at least once (during the Easter season), to observe days of prescribed fasting and abstinence, and to provide for the material needs of the Church according to one’s abilities. These precepts are minimum requirements for life as a Catholic. The Church, a wise mother, gives us these precepts, which can sanctify us and draw us closer to Christ, much as an earthly mother tells her children to eat their vegetables in order to stay healthy and strong.

For Catholics, participation in the Church’s life reaches its culmination in the Eucharist, the most intimate gift the Lord can offer us on earth: His body, blood, soul and divinity. So, the notion that keeping the precepts places us in a personal relationship with God is correct. But does it stop there ,we become one with Him