(Methodist Protestant) This is my "protest" against the Catholic chruch!!!

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But why don’t catholics have a program where they deliberately go out in search of protestants to convert them!?
The Church preaches the Gospel to EVERY creature, not just Protestant creatures.
 
You can’t see the BOOKS in the pockets on the backs of the pews? You said you were inside the church… did you not see any books left in or near the pews?

Many Protestant churches have books in their pews… Bibles and song books, so I cannot believe this would be foreign to you. :ouch:
At my methodist church we only had bibles! All these weird books the catholic chruch has is foreign to me!
You said you were inside the church… did you not see any books left in or near the pews?
I saw them obviously but didn’t know what they were for! So I just ignored it and walked past… no one told me that I needed them…
 
I AM IN BRITAIN!
The church of england is anglican! Not catholic, get it, there not many catholic chruches here!
I visited England for two weeks last May and had no trouble finding a Catholic Church to attend. If you want to attend, the Churches are there.
 
The Church preaches the Gospel to EVERY creature, not just Protestant creatures.
What is the meaning of the word creature in your statement? Are you insinuating that protestants are not worthy of being called humans?

My point was that catholics need to pin point protestants! You cannot deny that!
 
I have read many of your posts and they seem very conflicted on what you believe about the Catholic Church from one post to another.

Since you have been a Christian such a short time it seems likely that you have not been able to take the time to know the foundation of the Christian faith.

I was a protestant for many years and went to several protestant churches and they were not friendly at all.

Now that I am Catholic I realize that since our parishes are usually very large, it is best to join one of the organizations within the parish and that is how you get to know people.

Also in the Catholic Church people don’t want to intrude on others as being in church and worshiping our Lord is a very personal matter. I for one don’t like people coming over to me and asking me questions about if I am Catholic or whether I am saved. I found this to be true in many protestant churches. I just want to be at church to be with our Lord.

I am new to my parish and have had people smile and speak to me. But you must make an effort as I mentioned above to maybe join a group. Also if you attend RCIA you will meet new people just like yourself.

From your many many posts in the past it doesn’t appear that you have read any of the Church Fathers or much about the Catholic Faith.

My daughter lived in England and people there in general were not very friendly. When her children started going to a Catholic school is when she met some wonderful people and made many friends. It took time and she also had to reach out to others.

The only groups of people who go around preaching a gospel are the JW’s and the Mormons who are not Christian. I have never seen or heard of any Baptist, Methodist, Lutheran, non denominational person come to my door or on the street preaching.

Maybe it is different where you live. Catholics preach the gospel by living it. Words mean nothing and are empty, actions are what count. Many of the posters have pointed out to you what the Church has done for millions of people to help them. More Catholics have and are dying for their faith everyday than protestants. We are persecuted in some countries. Our priests are killed for believing in Jesus Christ. Our people are killed too.

Are these priests and people not witnesses for the Lord? They give the ultimate price as Catholics.

Remember too that England was very anti-catholic and still has laws against Catholics. If you to up and say I am a Methodist and they have been treated badly by protestants, of course there could be a feeling of distrust.

The only thing we can do for you is pray for you. To find the truth you must have an open heart to the Holy Spirit.

Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary

Bernadette
 
It’s sounds a bit much…
But why don’t catholics have a program where they deliberately go out in search of protestants to convert them!? 🤷
I think you demonstrate why I personally am not big an evangelizing my Catholic faith. It is a lifelong process which one has to have a desire to do.

Years ago my wife went back to school. She enrolled in an algebra class and bought the text book. She opened the text book and exclaimed, “I don’t know any of this stuff.” I laughed and reminded her of the purpose of education.
 
:whacky:
Hi Zundrah,

Sorry I got in on this thread a little bit late. First and foremost I want to apologize on behalf of the Catholics in the parish that you went to. The way you were treated is unacceptable and is the exact opposite of what we should be doing.

With regards to what you said about having the Eucharist in a Methodist church, I could be wrong and if I am you will have to forgive my ignorance, but most Protestant churches do not have Eucharist at all, they have communion. The difference being that communion **symbolizes ** whereas the Eucharist is Christ. The only churches that I know have the Eucharist are the Catholic and Orthodox churches. And, yes, you trying to receive the Eucharist could be a reason you got some nasty looks. Before receiving the Eucharist a person must be Catholic, must have taken the First Communion course or have been through RCIA, not be in a state of mortal sin, fasted for an hour before receiving the Eucharist and have gone to confession in the past year. So some weeks even I am not qualified to receive the Eucharist. These are all just to ensure that proper respect is given to the Eucharist as it is the real presence of Christ, not symbolic. Though you should have been informed of this in a much gentler way than you were.

The Catholic Church is the largest charity organization in the world. Without it we would not have public education, accessible healthcare or universities. The Catholic Church does do a lot of evangelizing throughout the world. Unfortunately, the missions are not up to snuff in the Western World.

But most importantly, NOT ALL CATHOLIC CHURCHES ARE LIKE THAT!!! I can speak for my parish here in saying that before every Mass, visitors are asked to stand and they are welcomed by the congregation and there is coffee and tea after Mass for everyone with our parish priest. It takes some searching to find the right parish for you, but do not be discouraged! I have attended almost every Catholic Church within an hour’s drive of my house before deciding on the one I attend.

And to answer your question, if you were to tell me you were a visiting Protestant I would invite you to sit with me, explain why you cannot have the Eucharist (yet!) and go through the Mass with you. After Mass I would introduce you to the priest and to people in the Parish I think you might like. Don’t presume that all Catholics are hostile. Mother Theresa and PJPII were anything but!

I will be praying to Mary for your full welcoming into the Catholic Church on your next excursion!

God Bless,
Adrianna

PS: If you have any questions at all, feel free to private message me. I am no great theologian, but I do have a fair bit of knowledge about why the Church does/believes what it does.

And most importantly…WELCOME!
How kind of you AdriannaJean!

You went so far out of your way to write this for me! I suppose I should just try to find another catholic chruch (I wish I could come to yours, you seem really nice)!

Communion- yes my methodist chruch had this but the one you do in your catholic chruch still boggles me!
NOT ALL CATHOLIC CHURCHES ARE LIKE THAT!
I know that! 😃 I’m not going to take the way they treated me as an example of all catholics! I only wish that I could sit down and speak to some one…

In my methodist church the ministers would talk with you for as long as you liked or needed them to! In catholic chruch mass its is like an act rather then worship…
I miss the long times of preaching my ministers would do… I miss them both sooooo much… 😦
I think I just miss the things that they use to say to me, since the catholic church doesn’t take time to do this with each individual person.

xxx zundrah xxx
 
At my methodist church we only had bibles! All these weird books the catholic chruch has is foreign to me!

I saw them obviously but didn’t know what they were for! So I just ignored it and walked past… no one told me that I needed them…
:banghead: Urgh! “Weird foreign books.” Okay… those books are full of the Bible readings, prayers, and songs used at Mass. What’s foreign?

If you saw them but IGNORED them, how can you blame anyone but yourself? The information was freely offered to you, and you CHOSE not to look at it! If I were in a church I had never been to before, and there was a book put right there in the pew for me, I would look to find out what to expect and see if there are instructions!

You want everything handed to you without having to work for it. Picking up a paperback book is too much work to ask of you. You will never learn anything because you choose not to do so, and then you condemn others for not solving your ignorance for you.
 
OP, I had a similar dilemma a few months ago. Some parishes seem more outgoing than others when it comes to visitors. One of the local parishes has a group that meets and greets parishioners and visitors before Mass. Call and ask around… you will run into one that will welcome you.

As for myself, I began attending Mass at a small parish near my home. I couldn’t say the parish was snooty or anything… everyone just seemed to be in a hurry all the time; hurry in for Mass, hurry through the Mass and hurry out the door. About a month later the owner of a local bookstore invited me to her parish. Although it’s one of the largest around, things aren’t so rushed and I decided to stay. I will begin RCIA in September.

For learning the parts of the Mass, I picked up an inexpensive ($8) book called “The Order of the Mass with Prayers and Devotions” which was very helpful. It has the order of the Mass, of course, Rosary, Stations of the Cross and a number of prayers. It’s pocket sized, so I just took it along to Mass until I learned what was going on when.

During the week, our parish offers the bare bones Mass, so that might be easier to keep up with at first. The more you attend Mass, the better you learn it and the more relaxed and comfortable you will be.
 
For learning the parts of the Mass, I picked up an inexpensive ($8) book called “The Order of the Mass with Prayers and Devotions” which was very helpful. It has the order of the Mass, of course, Rosary, Stations of the Cross and a number of prayers. It’s pocket sized, so I just took it along to Mass until I learned what was going on when.
Great idea, but that would be one of those “wierd” Catholic books that are “foreign” to her.
 
BernadetteM;5421804]I have read many of your posts and they seem very conflicted on what you believe about the Catholic Church from one post to another.
This is becasue I can’t seem to understand the catholic faith! It’s too complicated to understand! I am a christian so surly that is all that matters!? What does it matter if I am catholic or not!? Do you beliveve that I’ll go to hell if I don’t join a catholic chruch? I’ve heard some catholics saying this…
My daughter lived in England and people there in general were not very friendly.
It’s true, people over here are very hostile…
Are these priests and people not witnesses for the Lord? They give the ultimate price as Catholics.
Remember too that England was very anti-catholic and still has laws against Catholics. If you to up and say I am a Methodist and they have been treated badly by protestants, of course there could be a feeling of distrust.
England is very, very, VERY anti - catholic ( the church of england isn’t even catholic )!
The only thing we can do for you is pray for you. To find the truth you must have an open heart to the Holy Spirit.
That’s why I tried to go into the catholic chruch in the first place!
Yours in the Hearts of Jesus and Mary
That’s very catholic of you BernadetteM! 😃
 
OP, I had a similar dilemma a few months ago. Some parishes seem more outgoing than others when it comes to visitors. One of the local parishes has a group that meets and greets parishioners and visitors before Mass. Call and ask around… you will run into one that will welcome you.

As for myself, I began attending Mass at a small parish near my home. I couldn’t say the parish was snooty or anything… everyone just seemed to be in a hurry all the time; hurry in for Mass, hurry through the Mass and hurry out the door. About a month later the owner of a local bookstore invited me to her parish. Although it’s one of the largest around, things aren’t so rushed and I decided to stay. I will begin RCIA in September.

For learning the parts of the Mass, I picked up an inexpensive ($8) book called “The Order of the Mass with Prayers and Devotions” which was very helpful. It has the order of the Mass, of course, Rosary, Stations of the Cross and a number of prayers. It’s pocket sized, so I just took it along to Mass until I learned what was going on when.

During the week, our parish offers the bare bones Mass, so that might be easier to keep up with at first. The more you attend Mass, the better you learn it and the more relaxed and comfortable you will be.
I will begin RCIA in September.
Well done toastmachines! I hope you do really well!

I wish a actually knew a catholic… That might help me in church! 😛

xxx zundrah xxx
 
:banghead: Urgh! “Weird foreign books.” Okay… those books are full of the Bible readings, prayers, and songs used at Mass. What’s foreign?

If you saw them but IGNORED them, how can you blame anyone but yourself? The information was freely offered to you, and you CHOSE not to look at it! If I were in a church I had never been to before, and there was a book put right there in the pew for me, I would look to find out what to expect and see if there are instructions!

You want everything handed to you without having to work for it. Picking up a paperback book is too much work to ask of you. You will never learn anything because you choose not to do so, and then you condemn others for not solving your ignorance for you.
:rotfl: I will pray for your anger… :rotfl: NOT!

I walked past them… obviously! Why would I randomly pick up a book for no reason!? As I said before, we only use bibles in my methodist chruch!

Catholic books… they are so weird and foreign… 😃

xxx zundrah xxx
 
What is the meaning of the word creature in your statement? Are you insinuating that protestants are not worthy of being called humans?

My point was that catholics need to pin point protestants! You cannot deny that!
It is called Scripture, the great commission, Jesus said “go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit”.

You might like to try reading the Bible sometime, it is a GREAT Catholic book.
 
:banghead: Urgh! “Weird foreign books.” Okay… those books are full of the Bible readings, prayers, and songs used at Mass. What’s foreign?

If you saw them but IGNORED them, how can you blame anyone but yourself? The information was freely offered to you, and you CHOSE not to look at it! If I were in a church I had never been to before, and there was a book put right there in the pew for me, I would look to find out what to expect and see if there are instructions!

You want everything handed to you without having to work for it. Picking up a paperback book is too much work to ask of you. You will never learn anything because you choose not to do so, and then you condemn others for not solving your ignorance for you.
…and would you mind explaining what you mean by this;
you condemn others for not solving your ignorance for you.
…when did I condemn anyone? 🤷
 
:whacky:
I suppose I should just try to find another catholic chruch
I would reccommend that wholeheartedly. A good way to start would be to find the Catholic Cathedral for your diocese (it might be in the next town depending on the size of your town) and find the office there (this could be done over the phone as well). Then ask them to help you find the parish closest to you with a youth group. I know that you’re probably not ‘youth’ but coming from lively Protestant services you should do your best to find a lively Catholic one. Then ask the kids in the youth group which parish is the livliest. It might be a bit of a drive, but completely worth it!!
Communion- yes my methodist chruch had this but the one you do in your catholic chruch still boggles me!
I can see how it could be a difficult concept to grasp, especially if you weren’t brought up with it. I’ll do my best to explain it on here, but if I do it inadequately first forgive me and second private message me and I will go into it in more depth:

The Eucharist is Christ’s body. No different than if his physical hand or foot were to come down from Heaven. This is called ‘transubstantiation’, when the ordinary bread becomes the real,. physical body of Christ and the wine, similarly, becomes His REAL blood. I know it seems kooky at first, but there have been miracles sometimes when the bread actually turns into flesh and the wine into blood,. but as people would feel very uncomfortable eating this it usually keeps the appearance of break and wine 😛 So, understandably, there is a lot of respect given to the Eucharist and some training is required to receive it.

Actually, random fact for you, the belief in the ‘real presence’ was what caused the Romans to persecute Christians, because they believed that they were cannibals!
I only wish that I could sit down and speak to some one…
I know it’s nothing compared to sitting down with a real person, but feel free to private message me and I will give you my email and facebook page and we could have a live chat if you like. And if you need a real person I would suggest introducing yourself to multiple Catholic priests and trying to set up a time to talk to them. Priests are all different people. Just as there are some people in the world that you would like to be friends with and some there are not, some priests will ‘click’ with you and some will not.
In my methodist church the ministers would talk with you for as long as you liked or needed them to!
Catholic priests will too! Or at least the good ones will. You do need to ask though. If they don’t have time to talk to you, you are best off finding another parish. Though, do try to understand that in many areas of the world priests are spread very thin. There are not enough priests to serve the community. But just make yourself known and they will pay attention to you! If you sit at the back, speak to no one and leave quietly, do not expect any attention.
In catholic chruch mass its is like an act rather then worship…
I have felt this in many churches. It seems like everyone wants to get their Eucharist and get out. I need to remind myself often that attending Mass is not an obligation but a joy and a privilege. But this all depends on the church you attend. Find a vibrant community that enjoys Mass and a priest who knows what he’s doing and you’ll never feel that way again!
I miss the long times of preaching my ministers would do… I miss them both sooooo much… 😦
Again, priests are hit and miss. In some churches I have struggled to stay awake during the homily (the Catholic word for sermon) and in others (the one I attend especially) I have been moved to tears and have had to stop myself from applauding when the priest finishes! Some good searching will eventually be fruitful. Do not despair!! They do exist!!

God Bless Zundrah. There is always an open door and a listening ear when you need it.
 
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Zundrah:
I was not really dissapointed with the catholic chruch, but just very, very angry that they wouldn’t help me even though I said to them, “I’m from a methodist chruch and all this is very difficult for me to understand!” They didn’t seem to care… They just seemed to say with thier faces, “You shouldn’t be here.”
I think that’s an isolated incident. If you’d asked a different person you would’ve gotten a different response.
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Zundrah:
catholics are almost robotic at mass! It’s like a manufactering machine, you go in then you go out, no talking, no mingling, no nothing…
I wish people at my church were more “robotic”. People talk too much when entering and leaving the Mass. It is a sacred place. There shouldn’t be any mingling. Worship is vertical, not horizontal. The main interaction is between individuals and God not between individuals.
 
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