Should I become a Catholic?

[mcrow]

So, rather than educate non-Catholics so they are no longer confused, we should just ignore the reality of the term so we don’t confuse (even though they are the ones already confused), in spite of the the fact that it is, and has been, a teaching of the Church for centuries? (LOL…now I’m confused! :ehh

Also, I believe I addressed the “culturally accepted” use of the term when I mentioned it’s rightful use in England, unless by “culturally accepted” you mean what you personally accept culturally. Yes, there are differences both culturally and semantically between Catholics and Protestants. But most of those have stemmed from American culture. The Catholic Church is universal…worldwide. So “culturally” is broader.

But, yes…as Protestants wrongly understand the term “worship” as only “Latria”, we Catholics do not “Latria” Worship Mary…end of story.

The problem is that non-Catholics have only one definition of Worship. I don’t see how going on about latin and linguistics helps annyone in this discussion. Perhaps if someone is taking Theology or extensively studying the Church and scrpiture as part of higher education or research purposes it can be helpful.

To the average person who’s looking into becoming Cathilic, and has a small base of knowledge on the subject, something as advanced as this is not helpful. All it will probably accomplish is confusing someone who’s already neck deep in learning the basics of the Catholic Church (which are quite extensive compared to non-Catholic churches).

All I’m saying is lets not add in any further points of confussion for people new to the Catholic faith.

 

[Roy5]

True. Catholics do not worship Mary.

However, no wonder Protestants can be misled. Go into just about any Catholic Church and there is a statue of Mary, often wearing a crown, at which many faithful will kneel. A painting of Mary may stretch across the ceiling and Mary will be enshrined in some stained-glass windows. Many churches are named after Mary or the Immaculate Conception or Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, etc.

 Or, consider Catholic terminology. Mary is the Queen of Heaven, Ever-Virgin. sinless, Our Mother, Mother of God, immaculately conceived, Our Lady of so many different things, places, of the Miraculous Medal, patron saint of the USA, the assumption, etc. etc.

 Or, prayers. The most popular one is the "Hail, Mary!", repeated over and over in the rosary. Are more prayers among Catholics directed to Mary or to Christ? Protestants may wonder. And the explanation is often given that Mary, as his mother, has special influence upon Christ, hence go through Mary. This can sound strange, even a bit 'pagan', to many Protestants. 

 Or, all the apparitions, many more, it might seem, than apparitions of Christ. How many millions of pilgrims go to Fatima or Lourdes or LaSalette or Czestochowa or even such places as Medjugorje? 

 So, should it be surprising that Protestants are confused. The line between veneration and worship can seem mighty thin to many outside the faith.

 

[mcrow]

True. Catholics do not worship Mary.

However, no wonder Protestants can be misled. Go into just about any Catholic Church and there is a statue of Mary, often wearing a crown, at which many faithful will kneel. A painting of Mary may stretch across the ceiling and Mary will be enshrined in some stained-glass windows. Many churches are named after Mary or the Immaculate Conception or Our Lady of Mt. Carmel, etc.

 Or, consider Catholic terminology. Mary is the Queen of Heaven, Ever-Virgin. sinless, Our Mother, Mother of God, immaculately conceived, Our Lady of so many different things, places, of the Miraculous Medal, patron saint of the USA, the assumption, etc. etc.

 Or, prayers. The most popular one is the "Hail, Mary!", repeated over and over in the rosary. Are more prayers among Catholics directed to Mary or to Christ? Protestants may wonder. And the explanation is often given that Mary, as his mother, has special influence upon Christ, hence go through Mary. This can sound strange, even a bit 'pagan', to many Protestants. 

 Or, all the apparitions, many more, it might seem, than apparitions of Christ. How many millions of pilgrims go to Fatima or Lourdes or LaSalette or Czestochowa or even such places as Medjugorje? 

 So, should it be surprising that Protestants are confused. The line between veneration and worship can seem mighty thin to many outside the faith.

Exactly, my point.

The thing is to most Protestants who are not well versed in the Catholic faith there is really no dicernable difference between venerattionn and worship.

I actually use the “Hail Mary” to point out that Catholics actually asking Mary to pray for them, not so much praying to her in the way one prays to Jesus.

I would also say there are a lot more prayers to Jesus than Mary, but in comparison to Protestant churches it seems like there are a huge amount of prayers for Mary.

 

[Cat_Herder]

 Or, prayers. The most popular one is the "Hail, Mary!", repeated over and over in the rosary. Are more prayers among Catholics directed to Mary or to Christ? Protestants may wonder. And the explanation is often given that Mary, as his mother, has special influence upon Christ, hence go through Mary. This can sound strange, even a bit 'pagan', to many Protestants.

This presupposes that prayer can have only one recipient. All the angel chat in the Bible shows otherwise.

 

[Genesius]

I agree. It can be confusing. But I still stand firm on the fact that it’s not the Church that needs to change her theology or definitions that have been developed for over two millenium to suit Protestants. It’s up to the individual convert to discover for themselves those definitions and theological points by asking the tough questions.

For instance, when I first read in the CCC a phrase that said, “we merit our own salvation” it raised a red flag to me. Fortunately for me I had a friend who had grown up in the same Protestant traditions that I had, and had converted before me and could explain to me in Protestant terms that I understood. I quickly discovered that “merit” to a Catholic does not mean “earn”, but rather to “obtain”. It made more sense to me then. Of course, we obtain our salvation when we are obediently baptized and recognize Christ as our Lord and Savior. The gift cannot be a gift without first being received.

If I hadn’t inquired about that and the whole myriad of other Catholic misconceptions and semantical differences, I would never have broken out of my ignorance about Catholic doctrines. Concerning practices…I’m still working out some of those issues. Still not fully comfortable with all the icons and extreme Marion devotion. One Jesuit once told me, “I’m with you…you know what I ask them (the Catholics who do extreme Marion devotion)? When is the last time you ever saw Mary on a crucifix?”

I’m with you all. It is no wonder so many non-Catholic Christians think we Latria Mary.

BTW, the whole reason I posted all that about the Latin terms for worship is so people WON’T be confused. At some point, it’s going to come up. It did for me. The more we are educated, the less misconceptions we will hold. The better we understand Catholic theology and grow in our knowledge of truth I believe the more those walls of division will fall. I’m not saying everyone should be a theologian, but if the information is presented, why would you not utilize it?

 

[PJM]

=Genesius;7347308]So, rather than educate non-Catholics so they are no longer confused, we should just ignore the reality of the term so we don’t confuse (even though they are the ones already confused), in spite of the the fact that it is, and has been, a teaching of the Church for centuries? (LOL…now I’m confused! :ehh

Also, I believe I addressed the “culturally accepted” use of the term when I mentioned it’s rightful use in England, unless by “culturally accepted” you mean what you personally accept culturally. Yes, there are differences both culturally and semantically between Catholics and Protestants. But most of those have stemmed from American culture. The Catholic Church is universal…worldwide. So “culturally” is broader.

But, yes…as Protestants wrongly understand the term “worship” as only “Latria”, we Catholics do not “Latria” Worship Mary…end of story.

" Honor" Reverence or “Respect” are all suitable terms of the CC in describing our practices of Mary and the saints… “WORSHIP” however is to and For GOD ALONE!

God’s continued Blessings,
Pat

 

[Genesius]

" Honor" Reverence or “Respect” are all suitable terms of the CC in describing our practices of Mary and the saints… “WORSHIP” however is to and For GOD ALONE!

God’s continued Blessings,
Pat

Again, the Latin terms “Dulia”, “Hyperdulia”, and “Latria” can all be translated into the English term “worship”, as I indicated earlier with the example of England judges being referred to as “your worship”, meaning “your honor”, or “your dulia”.

To worship simply means to honor. It’s just that God deserves the greatest venerated honor of any being in the universe. If I have been raised to think that worship is veneration all my life, in spite of the fact that it isn’t…doesn’t make it so. The definition is still the definition, not necessarily what I am comfortable or uncomfortable thinking it is. People living in England would have no problem understanding it for what it is.

 

[DanB]

Baby steps! You gotta crawl before you walk and walk before you run. You have the basics, now you need to develop your faith into understanding. The Church is the biggest proponent of Reasoned Faith. Give reason to the faith that is in you!! That said, the Church Christ instituted will endure the gates of hell till the end of time. There may be splinter groups that say they are Catholic, but not aligned with Rome and particularly the Lutheran movement was one of those, which has become so watered down that one can start his/her own church by going online and spending $25 to get a Reverend certificate and be a sanctioned church.
The Church came before all the (NT) books of the Bible became canonized. It’s the one that canonized them and it the only authorative source to interpret them. Read them and study them, but don’t rely on your own understanding…otherwise you can start your own doctrine.