Opinion: Practicing Catholic

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In your “Personal Opinion”; how would you define a practicing Catholic/Christian?

I’m curious on the variety of responses.

Thank you,

James
 
and just what do you hope to learn from this?

What exactly is your question?
 
On the most basic level, a Catholic who attends mass at least frequently. On a more involved level, a Catholic who attempts to live out the faith every day of the week.
 
In my personal opinion a practicing Catholic is a person who is actively trying to live the faith. The problem arises when one looks at the degree of practicing. What is the definition?

Some people may believe turning up at Mass on Easter Sunday and Christmas Eve is practicing their faith. If that is their genuine belief because no one advised them otherwise (by advise, I don’t mean lecture but lovingly reveal the Church’s and Bible teachings), how can I deny that they are practicing Catholics? We are such a mixed bag of people, some are well catechized, others are just starting out on a voyage of discovery, some are tangled in relativism, others struggle with particular weaknesses and sins, we all make mistakes, we have different gifts from the Holy Spirit and God blesses us uniquely. So with all of that, unless someone says they are Catholic but knowingly rejects all of the teachings of the Bible and Church, to some obscure degree they are likely to be practicing a bit.

The above is a simplistic and a bit meandering because we all have our weaknesses and failings, so we might believe we are fully practicing our faith, and then discover that there are areas in which we are very sadly lacking. Thinking about the subject, if I was asked before I read the OP, “Are you a practicing Catholic?” I would has said “YES!” Now, upon reflection a more truthful answer would be “I try to be.”

This subject is difficult to discuss without being unfairly judgmental because we simply do not know the state of another person’s soul or their knowledge and understanding of the faith. 😊 This is something I am still trying to overcome 😊.
 
Someone attending Mass more frequently than Christmas/Easter…probably at least once a month could be argued as “practicing”.
 
Someone who follows the precepts of the church? I was always taught that was the minimum to be practicing.
I always refer to my self as “practicing” Cathoilic because I’m not very good at it yet…
 
In general, I don’t define it.

However, sometimes I wish the average report or poll of “Catholics” would tell me about the pew-sitters around me at mass, so I’m more interested in the poll if they attend mass loyally, etc., but this is because I’m more curious about those I see every week and not those people I don’t (knowingly) encounter.
 
  • Regular use of Sacraments
  • Tries to forgive offenses
  • Prays for enemies
  • Does Penance
  • Tries to carry out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
  • Prays for the Gifts of the Spirit
  • Somewhat familiar with the Liturgy
  • Knows the Lives of some Saints
 
My OPINION of a “practicing Catholic” would include:

Minimum Sunday and all Holy Day of Obligation mass attendance
Penance on a regular basis (say at least every quarter, but once a month, better)
More than a glancing knowledge of Catholic prayers, hymns, sacramentals, sacraments
Knowing that Holy Communion really is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ
Familiarity with the saints
Regular prayers including the Rosary
Charitable, forgiving, brave, humble.

*I would not consider a person who went to mass only once a month a “practicing” Catholic.
 
fencersmother said:
My OPINION of a “practicing Catholic” would include:

Minimum Sunday and all Holy Day of Obligation mass attendance
Penance on a regular basis (say at least every quarter, but once a month, better)
More than a glancing knowledge of Catholic prayers, hymns, sacramentals, sacraments
Knowing that Holy Communion really is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ
Familiarity with the saints
Regular prayers including the Rosary
Charitable, forgiving, brave, humble.

*I would not consider a person who went to mass only once a month a “practicing” Catholic.
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I believe your list to be a list of traits of a good, faithful Catholic, but perhaps a bit too narrow a definition for “practicing”. Sure, going only once a month may not be a good way to practice Catholicism, but that person is still in church often enough to identify with the religion. As far as describing personality traits, we are all sinners, so that is really pushing it as far as what constitutes “practicing”. Praying the Rosary regularly enriches one’s prayers life, but I wouldn’t list it as something needed to be considered practicing. I believe if you really think about your list, it wipes out a good 95% of your average parish (is that how you feel?).
 
WingsOfEagles said:
I believe your list to be a list of traits of a good, faithful Catholic, but perhaps a bit too narrow a definition for “practicing”. Sure, going only once a month may not be a good way to practice Catholicism, but that person is still in church often enough to identify with the religion. As far as describing personality traits, we are all sinners, so that is really pushing it as far as what constitutes “practicing”. Praying the Rosary regularly enriches one’s prayers life, but I wouldn’t list it as something needed to be considered practicing. I believe if you really think about your list, it wipes out a good 95% of your average parish (is that how you feel?).
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I don’t think that list is too restrictive. Maybe confesson once a year would be better, but the rest???
Going once a month to Mass does not make someone a “practicing” Catholic in my book.
 
fencersmother said:
My OPINION of a “practicing Catholic” would include:

Minimum Sunday and all Holy Day of Obligation mass attendance
Penance on a regular basis (say at least every quarter, but once a month, better)
More than a glancing knowledge of Catholic prayers, hymns, sacramentals, sacraments
Knowing that Holy Communion really is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ
Familiarity with the saints
Regular prayers including the Rosary
Charitable, forgiving, brave, humble.

*I would not consider a person who went to mass only once a month a “practicing” Catholic.
Click to expand...
My issue with this list is that it doesn’t take into consideration that we are all at different places in our faith.

I’m going to give some examples from my own life to illustrate why I think this isn’t effective. Simply because I am the best example I have and I know I am doing my best to practice my faith. I only hope that out of Charity you’ll believe me on that.
  • Minimum Sunday and all Holy Days of Obligation: When do we start counting? I have attended mass 3 of the last 4 sundays. (One missed for health reasons). Prior to that… I missed 7. Then I went to confession. If I look at the last 2 years my mass attendance has been very spotty. Attend mass. Miss 12 weeks. Confession. Attend 9 weeks. Miss 2. Confession. Attend 1 week. Miss 7. Confession. You get the picture - I was all over the place. Was I practicing because I attended confession and had a genuine intent each time to do better, or not practicing because I didn’t actually manage it? By this list, the latter. I disagree but perhaps that is what most people think.
  • Rosary: I’ve tried but I don’t like it. I was raised pentecostal and I like free form prayer. I accept that it is a good practice but it isn’t the best practice for everyone. I am attempting to increase my prayer to Mary as she is a resource I don’t take advantage of nearly enough, but I’ve accepted this isn’t the way for me to do it. I prefer to focus on improving my prayer life overall, and the best way to do that is using a prayer method I am comfortable with. Surely focusing on prayer overall is more important?
  • More than a glancing knowledge of Catholic prayers, hymns, sacramentals, sacraments: I have a reasonable understanding of the sacraments, but the rest? Nope. There is nothing wrong with protestant hymns so long as they aren’t contrary to the faith. I have a very limited understanding of sacramentals. I know a few basic Catholic prayers, but due to my preference for free-forming it’s not great. Same issue with the Saints. This is mainly a hang over from my protestant days. One day I’ll get around to it, but I haven’t seen it as a priority. Perhaps I am wrong, but I have chosen to focus on the big things that I struggle to accept first. The intent I have is certainly right - to understand and follow Church teaching.
They are not the only points where I have issues with the list, but I think that illustrates how it isn’t always clear cut that a Catholic must have this, or must do that.

I am honestly at a loss as to why anyone would put requirements on me that the Church doesn’t. If something is good enough for the Church, then that is the standard we should use for our fellow Catholics. When I read this list I see a “good to do” list for some things and “good to have” for others, but not many things we should be requiring of each other to be counted as more than Catholic in name only. I have a huge problem with saying “You sin, so you aren’t Catholic”.

My requirements to be a practicing Catholic comes down to two things.
  1. Belief in the fundamentals of our faith, as they understand them. Some things are more important than others. I do agree that a practicing Catholic should acknowledge that Holy Communion is the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Christ. It is so central to our faith I don’t see how one could claim belief in the fundamentals and not believe this.
  2. A genuine attempt to live according to the faith.
I do not have ability to tell how genuine someone is when they say they meet those two criteria. Charity requires then that I accept them at their word. Even if I do see things that make me wonder (A fault on my part, not theirs).

My requirements for determining when I am practicing my faith are much more strict than those I put on others. I know my heart. I do get to judge me. I won’t put those requirements on someone else.
 
CatholicSheila

I would agree with you. Even after 14 years I am still learning the faith and the Rosary is not obligatory. I have heard numerous times people testify that when they converted or reverted that “having problems with Mary and/or praying to the saints” has never been a bar to being accepted into the Church. The wisest explanation I heard about Marian devotion was that it was best left to Mary.

For me, in a nutshell to be a practicing Catholic is to try to live the faith and be obedient to the Church.

The problem with coming up with a prescriptive list is that devout Catholics can be unintentionally lumped into a non practicing group and considered less than others who have the opportunity, spiritual direction and guidance to fully embrace the faith. For example, not every Catholic has access to a priest on a weekly or even monthly basis, including religious Brothers and Sisters, that does not mean that they are not practicing Catholics, surely it means that they are practicing the best they can in the circumstances? We all strive to practice our faith, whether the circumstances are where we are on our journey of faith, geographic location or vocation.
 
and this is what I was talking about when I asked op what it was that op was expecting to gain here… so many different view points that there is really nothing to be gained and only arguments to be had in the long run as one person says my way is better than your way; thus, sowing the seeds of hate and discontent…

I would like to see a moderator close the thread at this point.
 
Blessedwithfive said:
I don’t think that list is too restrictive. Maybe confesson once a year would be better, but the rest???
Going once a month to Mass does not make someone a “practicing” Catholic in my book.
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What about the personality description of “charitable, forgiving, brave, humble”. There are clergy that wouldn’t qualify under that definition as those are personality traits we strive for, but may fall short. The Rosary is not a required prayer. I love it, but not saying it doesn’t mean someone isn’t practicing.

I think the problem is where to draw the line. What do you call someone that attends Mass once or twice a month? I know this is frowned upon and I know I’m getting comments on this because it is a mortal sin to miss Mass. However, I think one must admit that such an individual is very different from the 45 yo adult who hasn’t been to Mass since he/she was 18 and living with his/her parents. My point is that such an individual has obviously not given up on his/her faith and to me, that qualifies as practicing (though not in a state of grace).
 
teeboy said:
  • Regular use of Sacraments
  • Tries to forgive offenses
  • Prays for enemies
  • Does Penance
  • Tries to carry out the Corporal and Spiritual Works of Mercy
  • Prays for the Gifts of the Spirit
  • Somewhat familiar with the Liturgy
  • Knows the Lives of some Saints
Click to expand...
I like this explanation specifically because of the use of “tries” and “prays.” We don’t always do what is good and right, but we should be trying. And incredibly importantly, we should be praying. Not making demands of God, but speaking with Him, asking Him for help or understanding, or thanking Him for all He has given us. I also like “knows,” but the level of knowledge needed is a subjective category.
 
z_0101 said:
and this is what I was talking about when I asked op what it was that op was expecting to gain here… so many different view points that there is really nothing to be gained and only arguments to be had in the long run as one person says my way is better than your way; thus, sowing the seeds of hate and discontent…

I would like to see a moderator close the thread at this point.
Click to expand...
I did not intend to start an argument by disagreeing with a previous poster. Merely a discussion. It is possible to discuss something we disagree on without hating on each other.

I think it is a discussion worth having because so often we see people trying to distinguish what is and isn’t a practicing Catholic on this board and it is very very easy to class a devout Catholic as non-practicing due to personal preferences.
 
A practicing Catholic is one who practices his/her religion until they get it right.
 
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