Lost in the Catholic Church

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Bob, I come from the opposite end in some ways – atheism, thent he New Age shoved down my throat all my life. I looked for truth and I found Jesus is the Truth. But I couldn’t commune with the Lord very well on my own. He made us to be together and gave us a church so we would have structure, guidance and community, as well as necessary sacraments. Being very politically left wing back then, I looked for the most liberal church around and ended up as a Quaker. Something was missing.
I tried a nondenominational church, in the interest of the nondenom desire for Christians to be unified again. It had to make doctrinal choices and there went unity, and it joined a denomination. Even congregations aren’t meant to be alone. It went Foursquare. A look into the history of that denomination worried me – it’s very new and based on so little. The congregation was already in at least three basic parts and they divided further – name-it-and-claim-it followers, paranoids, worried mainliners and the ones losing faith in that group, like me.
I shopped around and ended up here, asking questions. Soon I went into RCIA and asked many questions. All were answered very well. And my relationship with the Lord improved. Well before Easter my mind was well made up and I couldn’t wait.
I’m praying for my whole family now, especially the atheists, and I believe they will all come home soon. My mother is praying the rosary. I’ll pray for you, too. You feel you’ve found something new, but it’s actually cold and slippery out there.
 
lost? no. misguided? yes. you seem to suffer what many in every generation has. the idea, the arrogance to believe that higher educaion somehow translates into instant insight. in essence, you know better the things of GOD than the collective wisdom of our two thousands years catholic church. it happens, more often than you may think.

remember your bible? the brightest and most intelligent of all the angels was, who? that’s right. lucifer. and look what all of that got him.

know who your FATHER is. your bible tells you. read it. follow it.
 
joseph_virgen said:
lost? no. misguided? yes. you seem to suffer what many in every generation has. the idea, the arrogance to believe that higher educaion somehow translates into instant insight. in essence, you know better the things of GOD than the collective wisdom of our two thousands years catholic church. it happens, more often than you may think.

remember your bible? the brightest and most intelligent of all the angels was, who? that’s right. lucifer. and look what all of that got him.

know who your FATHER is. your bible tells you. read it. follow it.
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Unfortunately, youth, college and rebellion go together, hand-in-glove. It happened to me, and it’s happening to my son. I pray he too will return his childhood faith, as I did. Without my faith, my life is meaningless.
 
kungfubob said:
Im a 29 years old male and i come from a strong Irish Catholic background.My mother is a Eucharistic minister and the community i live in is small and close knit.
Over the past few years i have looked at my faith in the Church and i found that i was completly lost. i asked myself, “Why do i feel this way?”
All my life i have had the Catholic “Religion” forced upon me by my mother,my priests and school teachers all of whom (as im older and more educated now, i realise) have mis-led me in so many ways via rituals and sacriligous worship,alot of which actually comes from paganism
I questioned my faith, asking myself " Do i even believe in God!?
I now know that God DOES exist and Jesus is my Saviour but for a long time i was very lost and now i know why.
The basic fundamentals of the Catholic Church revolve around money as do the vast majority of Churches.Every Sunday i went to mass but i wasnt learning anything about God and how he loves me.i was learning nothing and getting more confused within myself.
My head master in school was a priest and a very evil man like alot of priests (im not saying that all are like this but alot are). He constantly mentally,physically and sexually abused pupils and all the while everyone knew about him but were afraid to speak out as he was “a pillar of society” and any questions asked upon him were shot down by Bishops and “the other pillars within the Church” I,like many young people was blinded by these “pillars”
I am now glad to say that i have left the Catholic Church and since i have,i have now found God through Jesus Christ and everyday is a blessing. I read the bible with joy as im learning and gaining knowledge that the Catholic Church would not have given me.
Many of you reading this may not like what you read but what i learned is that “i dont need a priest/bishop or the pope to get to Heaven. Praying at statues wont get me to Heaven.Saying a million Hail Mary’s and rosarys wont get me into Heaven.I could do good works for all my life and i would not get to Heaven. So i asked myself “How DO i get to Heaven?”.
The answer is by reading and studying the words of Christ Himself and asking Him to come into my life and into my soul to fill the emptyness that the Catholic Church left in me.
Jesus said” The only way to Heaven and God the Father is through me and only me".
Those are the words of Christ Himself and no priest/pastor/or pope can disagree with that.The Catholic Church is the most wealthy organisation on Earth and thats a fact and at every mass/funeral/wedding/baptism they get a little more richer.They have the wealth to wipe out the third-world hunger but every Sunday priests across the world make us feel guilty so we will pay more into the basket for the starving children,but in reality the vast majority of the money taken in each week goes to fund evil doings and sheer greed.Let me say that the Catholic Church isnt alone on this subject as 95% of all Churches do just the same.
Jesus’s love is free. He did not preach in huge marble and gold laden Churches or from altars made from the most finest materials known to man.He did not wear the finest silk garments or jewels. He preached the Word of God in fields,on hills,in humble homes. Did Jesus charge for this service? no he didnt,God’s Love is Free.Jesus asked us to accept Him as the Saviour of Man-kind and pray to Him for forgiveness,and use the Ten Commandments as a guide to living a wholesome life,occasionally we will sin and fall but Jesus will Forgive us if we are true in our hearts to Him and eventually we will sin less.
So to you i ask the question,what is more important the Catholic Church or Jesus Christ? i know who i choose,do you?
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The only problem with the Catholics is the Catholics themselves. The theology is sound.

On a side you you sound pretty jaded. Got a problem with Jesus’ Church? Tell him about it.

I don’t know you have been talking to or been reading but they don’t have an accurate view of Catholicism or Christianity at all.

I would try to deal with your issues before they deal with you. Good Luck!
 
KingAlfred said:
Unfortunately, youth, college and rebellion go together, hand-in-glove. It happened to me, and it’s happening to my son. I pray he too will return his childhood faith, as I did. Without my faith, my life is meaningless.
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Dont worry he will, he has you. I have seen this happen so so much. Something you said triggered something, About 3 years ago my niece had a baby, and didnt baptise it Catholic. She said it doesnt matter Pappy theres still only one God. I swear when she told him it didnt matter he rose 3 feet off of the couch. His only words to her were it does matter, You have been brought up in the faith and you know better. To the guy she had the baby with he said, I dont blame you, you only know what you were taught, she knows better. My Dad was 80 at the time, why she even told him this I will never know, she knew it would upset him. But the point is and he made it, He said after she left, what is the difference, she doesnt go to church anyway. But he looked at my kids and said stay TRUE TO YOUR CHURCH AND GOD. Dont every let anyone take you from your church and say its the same. Its not the same and it will never be the same. You must receive the Eucharist. That is the big deal and big difference. You can only receive the Eucharist in the Catholic Church. And in order to give the Eucharist you must receive Holy Orders.
 
Dear Bob,

I don’t know why there is so much hate and anger in your writing. But as one that says that he reads the Bible and I assume practice what he reads your tone should be one of forgiveness and not anger. Forgiveness comes from God anger comes from another source well known to you and all.

I am very sorry that you feel the way you do about the Catholic Church. Yes, the Church has made many mistakes in the past but, the Church has also saved and continues saving many souls in many distraught places of the world. i personally have been in mission in Peru in the mountains with a group of very young Priests, Nuns and lay people giving their lives for the salvation and well being of the Quechua indians. Just like i named Peru I could name at least 1000 other places i.e; The Sisters Of Charity of Mother Teresa and many others.

You are right the Catholic Church is both human and divine. Sometimes that human side shows its ugly head but, please don’t try to cover the rays of the sun with your thumb. You and I are very human and mistake prone. When i look at myself and see all the mistakes that I have committed in my lifetime I have a tendency to have more humility and tolerance of others. I suggest that you pray hard and ask the Lord to give you the strength to see your own sins and you too will be more tolerant of others including the human mistakes made by our beloved mother the Church. Don’t abandon the fortress it was created for all of our salvation including you.

I pray to St. Joseph that he may gain the grace from Jesus to soften your heart.
 
First, I would like to say that I could never join a church that would accept a member like me.🙂 If you can say that jokingly, sort of, It might help take the edge off your anger.
I do understand how many of our church members seem to be a contradiction; howerver, If you are going to judge a church by the conducts of its members, you will always be greatly disappointed. The twelve apostles would have given much evidence that this was not the true church. Judas commited the worst sin ever, he betrayed Jesus. Peter denied Jesus. And everyone except John, ran away in the time of Christ’s trial. You see, the Catholic Chuch does not exist because of us. It exists in spite of us. It is Jesus who builds HIS church on the Rock - Peter and Peter is found only in the Catholic Chruch. Jesus will continue to build His Church and in the end, His true followers will take their place in the family of God.
Also, Jesus is the head of the church and the church is the body of Christ. You cannot not separate the head from the body. It is not a matter of choosing Jesus or the Catholic Church. They go together.
Let God be the judge!

Bruce
 
Bob,
I know you might not be checking this tread anymore but I want to answer just in case. Many cradle Catholics have had the issues you face and while this is not a reflection on the church it is part of the last couple of generation of parents and church officials not doing a good job of teaching their childern how to be involved in the Mass and what the true teaching of the church are. They also do not or have not done a good job of showing a life focused on Jesus and true love of neighbor and enemies as peached in the gospel and the early church. I do not say this is not there but not to the degree and in every life as it should be. I myself feel I have failed my Childern to some degree because of how I raised them (back when my faith was less strong and I was in doubt myself). I now tell my son for one that yes he can believe in God without the Church but the Church and the people there (if you are involved) will be the support you need when Satan comes to pull you away from God. We all need help and while the Church is not perfect because anything which humans are involved in can’t be perfect God does seem to work in the Catholic Church to correct it’s mistake and it rebounds stronger than it was. I will pray for you as I pray for my own son may you both find the answer you are seeking and come to know Jesus fulling and to have the support he placed on the earth for us believers.
 
bpbasilphx said:
Why do i get the distinct feeling that this poster is not and never was a Catholic?

It sounds like the usual regurgitated Protestant polemics. What is it even doing here?
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I Love the catholic Church, But it has faults, the church itself admits to that. There are also enemies within the church. Who knows for what real reason a man becomes a priest. I have met some fine priests & some arrogant ones. The church is made up of fallible men. There is nothing wrong with facing the truth.
there are problems in the church, always have been
 
My story is the other way around. I found Jesus in the evangelical non denom church and He lead me to Catholicism 🙂 I really struggled at first but now I love the Church.

brother I’m sorry you had a bad experience with the Church but there are many great things about it that I think you have missed.
It is precisely through Catholicism that I understood how much God loves me, before I knew that too but not to such an extent…every time I go to Mass I know that Jesus is there in the Eucharist and it’s amazing just being so near to Him. I pray you will come back to the Church.

God bless
 
Methodi said:
I Love the catholic Church, But it has faults, the church itself admits to that. There are also enemies within the church. Who knows for what real reason a man becomes a priest. I have met some fine priests & some arrogant ones. The church is made up of fallible men. There is nothing wrong with facing the truth.
there are problems in the church, always have been
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You are exactly right. But what we must remember is not the Church itself (people of the Church) its the teachings of the Church that we go Sunday after Sunday to hear. It Holy Communion the Living Christ that we go for. THATS THE (name removed by moderator)ORTANT STUFF. THATS THE CHURCH. Its confession, forgiveness of sins. Praying for peace, Asking Jesus to make us better People and examples of our faith. THATS THE CATHOLIC CHURCH.
 
kungfubob said:
Im a 29 years old male and i come from a strong Irish Catholic background.
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You’re a 29 year old male from N. Ireland (not the least educated part of the world) who is “on the internet”, who insists on using the lower-case “i” for the first-person pronoun, SOMETIMES,…

…and we’re supposed to give you ANY credibility!?

My prayers, and many others here as well, I’m sure, are with you in your furthering education, Bob.
 
CatsAndDogs said:
You’re a 29 year old male from N. Ireland (not the least educated part of the world) who is “on the internet”, who insists on using the lower-case “i” for the first-person pronoun, SOMETIMES,…

…and we’re supposed to give you ANY credibility!?

My prayers, and many others here as well, I’m sure, are with you in your furthering education, Bob.
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That was not nice of U at all to put him down like that, we do not all have equal intelligence, & so what if he uses lower case, doesnt mean that he has no credibility. I am not saying that this person is not intelligent he may well be more intelligent than U
 
Methodi said:
That was not nice of U at all to put him down like that, we do not all have equal intelligence, & so what if he uses lower case, doesnt mean that he has no credibility. I am not saying that this person is not intelligent he may well be more intelligent than U
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I thought text-speak was forbidden on the Forums? We are supposed to write in clear, written-out, correctly spelled English with correct grammar, to the best of our ability, are we not?

(Perhaps I am thinking of another Forum. If it’s not an official rule here, it wouldn’t hurt to follow it anyway, since it really does make a difference to the tone of the conversation.)
 
jmcrae said:
I thought text-speak was forbidden on the Forums? We are supposed to write in clear, written-out, correctly spelled English with correct grammar, to the best of our ability, are we not?

(Perhaps I am thinking of another Forum. If it’s not an official rule here, it wouldn’t hurt to follow it anyway, since it really does make a difference to the tone of the conversation.)
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Maybe he is doing the best he can
 
Methodi said:
That was not nice of U at all to put him down like that, we do not all have equal intelligence, & so what if he uses lower case, doesnt mean that he has no credibility. I am not saying that this person is not intelligent he may well be more intelligent than U
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He ma b mo telignt thn me!

Bt he no sem tht wa 2 me.

Did u red hz posts, tho? Hm? 🙂
 
CatsAndDogs said:
He ma b mo telignt thn me!

Bt he no sem tht wa 2 me.

Did u red hz posts, tho? Hm? 🙂
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I mean, do we all have to be scholars to post here, I am not a scholar just a Catholic trying to make his way like You & a lot of others. We dont have to be a scholar to be saved, & yes I read some of his post
.
 
Methodi said:
I mean, do we all have to be scholars to post here, I am not a scholar just a Catholic trying to make his way like You & a lot of others. We dont have to be a scholar to be saved, & yes I read some of his post
.
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These were the 6 questions he asked:


  1. *] Why do i feel this way?
    *] Do i even believe in God!?
    *] How DO i get to Heaven?
    *] Did Jesus charge for this service?
    *] So to you i ask the question,what is more important the Catholic Church or Jesus Christ?
    *] i know who i choose,do you?

    The first three he asked himself.

    The fourth he answered himself.

    The sixth was rhetorical.

    The fifth was the only actual question he asked us.

    What do YOU think of the fifth question? Does it not show a complete misunderstanding of the Church (Catholic)? Is he really interested in an answer to his question?
 
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