Recently Returned to Catholicism

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meshktenye

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Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. There have been lots of changes, most of which I suspect are due to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the problem, I was wanting to go to confesson, but didn’t know how. No confessional booth and the priest never mentioned it. I occasionally heard him mention Reconcilliation, but never explain it. I didn’t know what it was and never really thought of asking about. It took me several months to figure it out.

So here is a list of things I have found to be different. Mind you, I am not complaining about any of these changes. If you know of any more, let me know so I won’t remain in confusion:
  1. Confession is now called Reconcilliation
  2. We can now receive the Host in our hand
  3. We can now drink the Blood of Christ
  4. We have Eucharistic Ministers who assist the priest in several ways including dispensing the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ
  5. Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)
  6. The priest now faces the congregation during mass
  7. We have Altar Girls
  8. The Mass is now in English as opposed to Latin
  9. Cursillo Retreats
  10. WOW! We have several scriptural reading during mass and we are encouraged to read the Bible at home.
  11. The priest doesn’t only give sermons about “Give us more money”
  12. The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)
  13. First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.
  14. In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)
  15. We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)
  16. I suspect apologists have always been around, but I never heard of them. I understand we are all called to be appologists to defend our faith and the apostles, St. Ignatius, St. Thomas Aquinas were all apologists. How does a person become an “official” apologist?
  17. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
  18. There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).
I’m sure there are more. If you know of them, please reply so I (and maybe other new Catholics) won’t remain in the dark.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ remain ever present in your life.

Steve
 
meshktenye said:
1.) The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)

2.) First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.

3.) In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)

4.) There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).

5.) We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)

Steve
Click to expand...
1.) No “transformation.” “Ghost” was based on a poor Latin -->German–>English translation.

2.) Purgatory was NEVER limbo. Limbo was nothing more than a theological construct.

3.) We still do. No change.

4.) No there was not.

5.) Catholics only pray to the Three Persons of God. That’s never changed.
 
5) Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)

**Deacons weren’t reestablished because they were always there. Every priest must spend some time as a deacon, even before Vatican 2.

And in the Eastern Churches, it’s always been a permanent ministry.**
 
Welcome back to the Church and welcome to the forum.
I’ll put my replies in bold…
meshktenye said:
Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. There have been lots of changes, most of which I suspect are due to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the problem, I was wanting to go to confesson, but didn’t know how. No confessional booth and the priest never mentioned it. I occasionally heard him mention Reconcilliation, but never explain it. I didn’t know what it was and never really thought of asking about. It took me several months to figure it out.

So here is a list of things I have found to be different. Mind you, I am not complaining about any of these changes. If you know of any more, let me know so I won’t remain in confusion:
  1. Confession is now called Reconcilliation
    ** The Sacrament was called Penance. Confession and penance was/is what the laity does to receive it.**
  2. We can now receive the Host in our hand
    ** True, but our Holy Father BXVI is currently giving Communion on the tongue to those kneeling.**
  3. We can now drink the Blood of Christ
    ** Only in the Novus Ordo Mass, now called the Ordinary Form. At the Extraordinary Form, the old Latin Mass, we receive the host on the tongue while kneeling at the Communion rail. we do not drink from the cup.**
  4. We have Eucharistic Ministers who assist the priest in several ways including dispensing the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ
    ** Not introduced by Rome, but now tolerated. Mostly in the U.S.**
  5. Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)
    See bpbasilphx’s reply
  6. The priest now faces the congregation during mass
    ** Only at the Novus Ordo**
  7. We have Altar Girls
    ** Again, a practice tolerated by Rome, not introduced by her.**
  8. The Mass is now in English as opposed to Latin
    ** Only the Novus Ordo, and while commonplace, the priest may pray the Mass in Latin if he desires**
  9. Cursillo Retreats
  10. WOW! We have several scriptural reading during mass and we are encouraged to read the Bible at home.
  11. The priest doesn’t only give sermons about “Give us more money”
    ** I’ve heard priests encourage the stewardship of treasure recently, though I know what you are saying. Like you, I was away from the Church for 35 years or so, and the thing I remember most about our old parish priest was him banging on the pulpit demanding more money. We were on the blue collar side of town, and each year our parish would easily top the donations of the other parishes in the Archdiocese to our local weekend marathon similar to Jerry Lewis’ Labor Day Marathon, but each year he told us we must do more.🤷 **
  12. The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)
    ** Well, not really a change there. The older Litany of the Holy Ghost contained both terms.**
  13. First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.
    ** The Church has never changed Her teaching on Purgatory. As stated by Osmond, Limbo was once promoted as a possibility**
  14. In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)
    ** It’s still acceptable to say “decended into hell”.**
  15. We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)
    ** Hmm, how old were you when you stopped practicing the Faith ? I doubt your pastor really taught that we pray to the Saints and Our Lady. But you were there, so if you recall him saying it…**
  16. I suspect apologists have always been around, but I never heard of them. I understand we are all called to be appologists to defend our faith and the apostles, St. Ignatius, St. Thomas Aquinas were all apologists. How does a person become an “official” apologist?
  17. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
    ** Pray for them**
  18. There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).
I’m sure there are more. If you know of them, please reply so I (and maybe other new Catholics) won’t remain in the dark.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ remain ever present in your life.

Steve
Click to expand...
Steve, the Church has seen many liberties taken by clergy and laity alike since VII. Hang around here and you will see much debate surrounding these liberties and changes. The old Mass was suppressed for many years since 1969, but now can be prayed by any priest who desires to do so, per BXVI’s Summorun Pontificum.

At any rate, as you learn of the division that exists between the traditionalist catholic mindset versus the contemporary catholic mindset, you will eventually take a position yourself. That said, know that things that have not changed since VII are Docrtine, Dogma, and the Precepts of the Church. Learn these truths and teachings well friend. Some debates on the Traditional Catholicism forum get heated with both sides offering convincing arguments. A solid understanding of Doctrine and Church teachings will help one identify error in these debates. 😉

God Bless you Steve, and please love and pray for our Pope. He asked us to during his first homily as Pope…
 
meshktenye said:
Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. There have been lots of changes, most of which I suspect are due to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the problem, I was wanting to go to confesson, but didn’t know how. No confessional booth and the priest never mentioned it. I occasionally heard him mention Reconcilliation, but never explain it. I didn’t know what it was and never really thought of asking about. It took me several months to figure it out.

So here is a list of things I have found to be different. Mind you, I am not complaining about any of these changes. If you know of any more, let me know so I won’t remain in confusion:
  1. Confession is now called Reconcilliation
It’s the same sacrament, and can be done either behind a curtain or at your choice, face to face.
  1. We can now receive the Host in our hand
Actually this was never approved by Vatican II, and is an American Bishops innovation that you are not required to follow. It remains FAR more pious and reverant to receive Christ Jesus on the tongue.
  1. We can now drink the Blood of Christ
    **
Another American Bishops innovation, not approved by Vatican II. Again, one is not obligated to do this.Especially from Lay-folk.**
  1. We have Eucharistic Ministers who assist the priest in several ways including dispensing the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ
Same story: another AB innovation. I personally sit on the side where the Priest distributes, whose hands are Consecrated, to receive Jesus on my tongue, and pass on the cup, unless it’s a priest or Deacon doing it.
  1. Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)
Yes, by necessity as a result of the priest shortage.
  1. The priest now faces the congregation during mass
  2. We have Altar Girls
Same ol’ story
  1. The Mass is now in English as opposed to Latin
This was approved with a goal of more active participation
  1. Cursillo Retreats
Awesome, I have been on several
  1. WOW! We have several scriptural reading during mass and we are encouraged to read the Bible at home.
Another Approved Vatican II change
  1. The priest doesn’t only give sermons about “Give us more money”
    **
You will hear the money talk occassionally, it take money to run the church. But this too is a benefit of vatican II**
  1. The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)
Ya, me too!
  1. First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.
Actually both Purgatory and Limbo are still around, and part of out teaching.
  1. In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)
There are two Creeds: The Rosary Creed / The Apostles Creed, and the Mass Creed /The Nicea Creed. FYI… "Both the “dead” and the “hell” refer to the same thing… Limbo! As used in these prayers.
  1. We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)
    **
Yep, you got it right. I like to explain that it is more accureate to explain that we pray THROUGH, rather than “to” mary and the Saints, eventhough both are true.**
  1. I suspect apologists have always been around, but I never heard of them. I understand we are all called to be appologists to defend our faith and the apostles, St. Ignatius, St. Thomas Aquinas were all apologists. How does a person become an “official” apologist?
Yep again. we can’t teach what we don’t know, and it’s darm hard to practice a faith fully if you don’t know and understand it.
  1. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
FONT=“Comic Sans MS”]Cannon Law still call’s for and requires habits.
FONT]
  1. There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).
:tsktsk: That was a lie then and still is. bad Theology!

I’m sure there are more. If you know of them, please reply so I (and maybe other new Catholics) won’t remain in the dark.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ remain ever present in your life.

Before I close, I hasten to point out the innovations I have pointed out have:whacky: been approved by Papal Indults. The reason being they were so widely practiced that Rome did not think they could be corrected. Therefore, you may chooce in good conscience to practice them.

WELCOME HOME !

Keep im Mind. Mass is still about the Sacrifice of Christ! it’s NOT about you and me.
Steve
Click to expand...
 
meshktenye said:
Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. There have been lots of changes, most of which I suspect are due to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the problem, I was wanting to go to confesson, but didn’t know how. No confessional booth and the priest never mentioned it. I occasionally heard him mention Reconcilliation, but never explain it. I didn’t know what it was and never really thought of asking about. It took me several months to figure it out.

So here is a list of things I have found to be different. Mind you, I am not complaining about any of these changes. If you know of any more, let me know so I won’t remain in confusion:
  1. Confession is now called Reconcilliation
  2. We can now receive the Host in our hand
  3. We can now drink the Blood of Christ
  4. We have Eucharistic Ministers who assist the priest in several ways including dispensing the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ
  5. Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)
  6. The priest now faces the congregation during mass
  7. We have Altar Girls
  8. The Mass is now in English as opposed to Latin
  9. Cursillo Retreats
  10. WOW! We have several scriptural reading during mass and we are encouraged to read the Bible at home.
  11. The priest doesn’t only give sermons about “Give us more money”
  12. The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)
  13. First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.
  14. In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)
  15. We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)
  16. I suspect apologists have always been around, but I never heard of them. I understand we are all called to be appologists to defend our faith and the apostles, St. Ignatius, St. Thomas Aquinas were all apologists. How does a person become an “official” apologist?
  17. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
  18. There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).
I’m sure there are more. If you know of them, please reply so I (and maybe other new Catholics) won’t remain in the dark.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ remain ever present in your life.

Steve
Click to expand...
Thanks. Now if an alien spaceship lands on Earth and wants to know how the Catholic Church has changed in the past 400 years, it can look at your post!
 
All glory and honor to God Our Father and His Son Jesus Christ,

I just wanted to say thank you for everyone who responded to my original post. Yes, there have been lots of changes but not in doctrine - I always understood that even when I originally posted.

And, yes, it may seem so different so to be “alien” (as Phil pointed out). But I like most of the changes.

May the peace of our Lord be always with you,
Steve
 
meshktenye said:
Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. …
  1. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
    …
Steve
Click to expand...
Hi Steve,
I was wondering if you could cite a reference for nuns teaching Buddhism? Where did you hear that?
Thanks
 
May the Lord bless you and keep you,

Actually they are numerous - just so a Google search. The one I was specifically refering to was a retreat run by Cathoilc Nuns (not Buddist Nuns) which is now out of business, but you can find out more about them at the following site which talks about their teaching Reiki:

freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1865874/posts

More about their Reiki practices and some of their Buddist practices are listed here:

sdnewsnotes.com/ed/articles/1999/0999es.htm

I found it while searching for Cathoilc Retreats in my local area of San Diego. Like I said, their retreat wes just plain weird. :whacky:

Steve
 
meshktenye said:
May the Lord bless you and keep you,

Actually they are numerous - just so a Google search. The one I was specifically refering to was a retreat run by Cathoilc Nuns (not Buddist Nuns) which is now out of business, but you can find out more about them at the following site which talks about their teaching Reiki:

freerepublic.com/focus/f-religion/1865874/posts

More about their Reiki practices and some of their Buddist practices are listed here:

sdnewsnotes.com/ed/articles/1999/0999es.htm

I found it while searching for Cathoilc Retreats in my local area of San Diego. Like I said, their retreat wes just plain weird. :whacky:

Steve
Click to expand...
Hi, it looks like that retreat is closing so that is probably a good thing as it shouldn’t be associated with the Catholic religion.

My search didn’t come up with any other Catholic retreats that gave instruction in Buddhist practices or reiki. 🙂
 
Lisa44 said:
Hi, it looks like that retreat is closing so that is probably a good thing as it shouldn’t be associated with the Catholic religion.

My search didn’t come up with any other Catholic retreats that gave instruction in Buddhist practices or reiki. 🙂
Click to expand...
There is a group of Sisters in my area that instructs in Reiki and other various “New Age” practices. Nuff said.

Also, the Cursillo movement was founded in 1944 in Spain and brought to the US in 1957, so it’s almost 65 years old, established well before Vatican II.
 
welcome home!

a good way to get acclimated would be to serve on the RCIA team and just listen in for a year or so to how the newbies are instructed in the basics, or volunteer to help in the classrooms with a first communion or confirmation class for children or youth. Nobody has to know you are on a learning curve, too, and you will be of real service, and pick up on a lot of what you are questioning.

my dad took his first cursillo weekend before V2, it has been around for a long time

it would also be very worth your while to find a parish near you that offers either the traditional Latin Mass (pre-1960s) or the restored Extraordinary form, the 1962 revised Latin Mass most of our boomer generation remembers from 40 years ago. very comforting and reassuring, and also a good way to find a priest you can trust for confession and spiritual direction. I am not saying your average parish is not the place for you, it is, but you will like to know all you remember has not been abolished.

i also predict that as you progress you will realize not all of what we recall from our parochial school days was truly Church teaching and practice, and not all of what we remember is what was actually taught, but what we remember filtered through our childhood experiences.
 
meshktenye said:
Hi All and God bless you,

I have recently come back to the Catholic religion after being away for about 40 years and am somewhat confesed. There have been lots of changes, most of which I suspect are due to the Second Vatican Council. Here is the problem, I was wanting to go to confesson, but didn’t know how. No confessional booth and the priest never mentioned it. I occasionally heard him mention Reconcilliation, but never explain it. I didn’t know what it was and never really thought of asking about. It took me several months to figure it out.

So here is a list of things I have found to be different. Mind you, I am not complaining about any of these changes. If you know of any more, let me know so I won’t remain in confusion:
  1. Confession is now called Reconcilliation
That’s “officially.” But it’s also still called Penance or Confession many places.
  1. We can now receive the Host in our hand
Yes, but even in the most liberal-practice of churches, you will find communicants preferring to receive on the tongue, and there’s no problem with that.
  1. We can now drink the Blood of Christ
My favorite change.
  1. We have Eucharistic Ministers who assist the priest in several ways including dispensing the consecrated Body and Blood of Christ
  2. Deacons have been re-established (I guess they were always around, but really there hasn’t been any for several hundreds of years)
  3. The priest now faces the congregation during mass
  4. We have Altar Girls
Some churches do not allow this, preferring to encourage males around the altar, since ultimately only males can celebrate Mass. I see their point, actually. I’m not “against” altar girls, but it doesn’t seem to have a real purpose to it.
  1. The Mass is now in English as opposed to Latin
**Many churches have reinstated Latin Masses (Low and High), in addition to keeping English Masses.
**
  1. Cursillo Retreats
  2. WOW! We have several scriptural reading during mass and we are encouraged to read the Bible at home.
  3. The priest doesn’t only give sermons about “Give us more money”
That’s really ancient. Even pre-VII there were actual homilies.
  1. The Holy Ghost has been transformed into the Holy Spirit (I like this change)
  2. First we had purgatory which was transformed into limbo, then we had nothing (I remember a nun telling me purgatory no longer existed - maybe it was just her), and now we had purgatory again.
Purgatory and limbo were never the same. One was not “transformed” into the other.
  1. In the Apostle’s Creed we used to say Jesus “descended to hell” - we now say he “decended to the dead” (I’m not sure what that means - perhaps it means purgatory???)
In my local traditional church, it’s still "descended into hell."
  1. We no longer pray to saints or Mary but rather ask for their intercession (I suspect we never really did - but it was a common belief at my church while growing up)
Well, I still pray to Mary. Always have, always will.
  1. I suspect apologists have always been around, but I never heard of them. I understand we are all called to be appologists to defend our faith and the apostles, St. Ignatius, St. Thomas Aquinas were all apologists. How does a person become an “official” apologist?
  2. Many nuns have stopped wearing habits. Further many of them teach buddism and reiki??? (just plain weird)
Never heard of a nun “teaching” buddhism. I’ve heard of an occasional nun or ex-nun practicing reiki. I think the latter is a little bit blasphemous or presumptuous, but call me old-fashioned.
  1. There used to be a small leaflet at our church when I was growing up informing you that you could literally purchase time off from purgatory (I don’t remember the dollar amount).
I’m sure there are more. If you know of them, please reply so I (and maybe other new Catholics) won’t remain in the dark.

May the love of our Lord Jesus Christ remain ever present in your life.

Steve
Click to expand...
 
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