Sincere Questions from A Newbie

[HPM1984]

First- thanks for this Forum. I was listening to an am radio station on a trip through PA last Monday for Non Catholics of which I am one. I hope I am posting this in the right spot- if not could someone redirect me?

I was raised Protestant, in a Baptist church and currently attend a “mega Church”. Professed faith in Christ, was baptized (water immersion) and attend church regularly, and try to seek Christ the best I can. I have grown more disenchanted with the direction of Protestant Church- loud, nosiy, focused on the “needs of man/woman…sort of like the Christian version of I AM OKAY YOU are OKAY”

I travel on business to Europe with a colleague who is a devout Catholic (great guy) and every Sunday morning (sometimes Sunday night) I will attend Mass with him. I have been impressed with the focus on God, Worship, Christ, the beautful singing and the liturgy. We were in Vienna- and in the German Service I “knew” what was going on.

I have some questions about the Catholic Faith- that I just can’t seem to get by.

About the immaculate conception of Mary? Where is it in the Bible?

About Saints- and the adoration of Saints?

About communion…how it works?

About confession of sin? Why do we need a priest?

About marriage- it seems to me that many of the problems we see is the ban on marriage- that was not always banned?

I sincerely would like to learn about the Church’s view on this.

Also- my Dad was city Engineer of Irondale- and had the pleasure of getting to know Mother Angelica in the mid 70s. My Dad was a classic HARDSHELL Baptist- but I remember him saying “You know that little old woman has just about got me converted to the Catholic Faith”. I met her but once- and she made a terrific impression on me- power, strength and humility and humor- all together at the same time!

I think it was that encounter with Mother Angelica that has stayed with me throughout the years.

If this is the wrong place to post- or if my question are inappropriate I apologize. The witness of my friend- his sincere devotion to the sacraments (and I am not even sure what they all are) and attending Mass (always reverently) has really impressed me.

Thanks for anyone with real understanding of the Catholic Faith.

Blessings

Philip
(A Southern Baptist in Boston)

 

[the_hazel_nut]

I have some questions about the Catholic Faith- that I just can’t seem to get by.

About the immaculate conception of Mary? Where is it in the Bible?

catholic.com/library/Immaculate_Conception_and_Assum.asp

About Saints- and the adoration of Saints?

There is no adoration of saints – adoration means worship. But there is intercession of the saints (that means them praying for us… note that anyone in heaven is a saint, not just Saints declared by the church)

catholic.com/library/Intercession_of_the_Saints.asp

About communion…how it works?

Communion is the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist.
[BIBLEDRB]John 6:55[/BIBLEDRB]
[BIBLEDRB]Matthew 26:26-28[/BIBLEDRB]

catholic.com/library/Christ_in_the_Eucharist.asp

About confession of sin? Why do we need a priest?

catholic.com/library/Confession.asp

About marriage- it seems to me that many of the problems we see is the ban on marriage- that was not always banned?

are you talking about priests getting married? thats because its a discipline not a doctrine – priests were allowed to marry in the past and could be married again, they just aren’t allowed right now ( but in the eastern rites of the church they actually are).

I hope those links helped… i’m going out right now… .when I’ll get back I can answer any other questions you have… good luck.

 

[jbc003]

First of all welcome to the forum.

It really is a great place to ask questions and get answers.

If you look at the Immaculate Conception the first thing you will notice that there is no explicit statement about this in Scripture but if we look at Scripture we can see that the doctrine is there.

We see the Archangel Gabriel saying to the Virgin Mary, “Hail full of grace…” This is a very special greeting especially considering we are still in the Old Testament era. We also see Elizabeth saying, “Blessed are you among women…” Our Lady herself said, “All generations shall call me blessed for the Almighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.”

Beyond that though we look at the awesome holiness of Jesus. Think back to the ark of the Covenant. It was an object of such power that if you touched you could die. Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant and so its very fitting that she be pure and holy.

Now its important to note that Mary was still saved by Jesus. The Church teachers that by a special grace of God and in light of what Jesus was going to achieve on the cross that she was preserved from original sin, and then chose to not sin in life. In short she always cooperated with God.

As for the saints…we don’t worship them. We honor them and we ask for their prayers. In the James we see that the “…prayer of the righeous availith much…” Who are more righteous than those who behold the face of God? Besides that Christ commanded us to pray for others in charity. Why would those in heaven be exempt from this command? These are our brothers and sisters in the faith that are still very much our brothers and sisters.

As for the Eucharist its a great mystery. We see Jesus in the Gospels telling people, “Amen Amen I say until you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood you do not have life within you…” These are strong words. So strong that people left. Jesus didn’t correct them…He didn’t say it was a symbol or metaphor He rather turned and said to the apostles, “Do you also wish to leave?” In short He was deadly serious about this.

Confession: What a marvelous gift. Jesus said to His apostles, “Recieve the Holy Spirit. Men’s sins ye forgive they are forgiven.” Jesus entrusted to the Church the ministry of reconciliation. As for why Jesus chose to set it up this way. I don’t know. Perhaps He wanted us to be able to hear the words and know beyond a shadow of a doubt we have been renewed in His grace. Perhaps He wanted us to be able to be humble and that was a great practice of humility. The reasons are many.

As for marriage: I think you are referring to clerical celibacy. It’s true that this was not always the case but has become the case over time. If we look at St. Paul he said that its better not to marry, but that you should marry if you must. He pointed out rightly that a married man is anxious about things of this world whereas one who is not has time for other things. So there are some practical reasons, but I think there are spiritual reasons as well.

I hope I’ve helped a bit…I’m more than happy to help with any other questions that you may have.

I’ll pray for you and please pray for me as well.

Jim

 

[tarbal79]

First of all welcome to the Forum! You are in the right place. I think the answers you have received to your post so far have been very good and I would like to point you to one more website you might what to check out-www.chnetwork.org. This website was started by a Protestant minister who became Catholic. It is geared to helping Protestant ministers and Protestant lay people on their journey back home to the Catholic Church. These men and women have been in your shoes and had the same questions and so they know where you are coming from. I myself am a convert of 25 years married to a cradle Catholic for over 30 years. I have also found another website-www.catholicbridge.com-very helpful. It is also a website set up by a Protestant who became Catholic because he felt something was missing in his life. I also want you to remember that there are Catholics who don’t know their faith as well as they should or do not practice what the Church teaches but do not let this sour you on your journey. Please also remember that you may never know all the answers to people questions but the important thing is to keep learning. I have been Catholic for 25 years and I am still learning about the faith and finding new and interesting things. I pray that the Holy Spirit may be with you on your journey.
Yours in Christ

 

[PJM]

HPM1984;6661785]First- thanks for this Forum. I was listening to an am radio station on a trip through PA last Monday for Non Catholics of which I am one. I hope I am posting this in the right spot- if not could someone redirect me?

I was raised Protestant, in a Baptist church and currently attend a “mega Church”. Professed faith in Christ, was baptized (water immersion) and attend church regularly, and try to seek Christ the best I can. I have grown more disenchanted with the direction of Protestant Church- loud, nosiy, focused on the “needs of man/woman…sort of like the Christian version of I AM OKAY YOU are OKAY”

I travel on business to Europe with a colleague who is a devout Catholic (great guy) and every Sunday morning (sometimes Sunday night) I will attend Mass with him. I have been impressed with the focus on God, Worship, Christ, the beautful singing and the liturgy. We were in Vienna- and in the German Service I “knew” what was going on.

I have some questions about the Catholic Faith- that I just can’t seem to get by.

About the immaculate conception of Mary? Where is it in the Bible?

About Saints- and the adoration of Saints?

About communion…how it works?

About confession of sin? Why do we need a priest?

About marriage- it seems to me that many of the problems we see is the ban on marriage- that was not always banned?

I sincerely would like to learn about the Church’s view on this.

Also- my Dad was city Engineer of Irondale- and had the pleasure of getting to know Mother Angelica in the mid 70s. My Dad was a classic HARDSHELL Baptist- but I remember him saying “You know that little old woman has just about got me converted to the Catholic Faith”. I met her but once- and she made a terrific impression on me- power, strength and humility and humor- all together at the same time!

I think it was that encounter with Mother Angelica that has stayed with me throughout the years.

If this is the wrong place to post- or if my question are inappropriate I apologize. The witness of my friend- his sincere devotion to the sacraments (and I am not even sure what they all are) and attending Mass (always reverently) has really impressed me.

Thanks for anyone with real understanding of the Catholic Faith.

Blessings

Philip
(A Southern Baptist in Boston)

Mother is AWESOME!

Look for a private message from me. The space limit of CAF is 6,000 spaces, and on th PM system only 5,000 spaces. Much too short for the in-depth information you require.

I’ll pray that God will Guide your journey and ask you to do the same.

I was VERY impressed with your observation, as it gets right to the heart of our differences. WELL DONE:thumbsup:

Welcome to the Forum, and thanks fo the opportunity to share our Catholic Faith.

God Bless,
Pat

PJM

 

[HPM1984]

for the replies. Just had time today (kid’s soccer games and such) so scan through the responses. I plan on taking time to read the citations carefully though. I sort of feel like I have fallen through the looking glass. Moved to Boston about ten years ago- more and more disturbed by the lack of Reverance for God the Father. Then I hired this guy who shames me in his practice of Christianity- of course his beliefs are devout RCC.

By Monday I am going to read these information. Two weeks ago I attended a first communion service for my son’s friend…it was really moving the boys in jackets and ties and the girls in wedding like dresses.

Thanks again to you all for your kindness.

Philip

 

[fkjuliano]

Greetings!

My experience is somewhat similar to yours. I’m a cradle Catholic, but when I came to the US at age 14, my next door neighbor had an adult son who was a Southern Baptist minister. This minister was actually a great guy and never tried to proselytize me, but because I was very ignorant about Christianity at the time (and I still have a lot to learn), I unreflectively assumed that Protestantism, especially the strict Southern Baptist denomination, was a “purer” form of Christianity. So I sought out my neighbor and attended his church for a while. Later, personal reasons led me to abandon Christianity altogether and to become a militant atheist for more than 10 years, but thanks be to God, Jesus Christ has now come back to my life. When I started believing again, however, I was in doubt if I should complete my conversion to a being a Baptist, or if I should take another look at Catholicism, the traditional faith of my family. I should say I was definitely leaning towards being an evangelical and a Baptist.

I earnestly prayed to the Holy Spirit for Him to guide me to the truest Church of Jesus Christ, and I looked at the question with a genuinely open mind. The answer I found could not have been more clear. Scripture, history and logic are all overwhelmingly on the side of the Catholic Church. The scope of this post does not allow me to enumerate all the reasons why that is the case, but I would like to recommend a book that you should definitely read. It is Born Fundamentalist, Born Again Catholic by David Currie. It is one of many great books by Evangelicals who became Catholics, but it’s a particularly worthwhile one because it’s written by a former Evangelical as a way to explaining to other Evangelicals his decision to reconcile himself to the Catholic Church, and it does that in a concise and no-nonsense way.

Just one thing that I think I should point out is that the author of this book is someone with a wonderful knowledge of Christian history and theology. My personal observation is that such is almost always the case with converts from Protestantism to Catholicism; they are as a rule exemplary Christians, who seek to strengthen their faith by learning as much as they can about Christianity. In so doing, they discover the truth of Catholic teaching, often while having to overcome a great deal of prejudice in the process. Eventually, they come to realize that their spiritual lives are incomplete without the fullness of the Christian faith that can only be found in the ancient Church founded by Jesus Christ. Those who take the reverse journey, on the other hand, are usually very ignorant about Christianity, or else they reject specific Catholic doctrines and seek a more permissive church. That, at least, has been my personal experience and what I have observed in many others.

I will pray for the Holy Spirit to guide your journey, as He has guided mine.

 

[puzzleannie]

a belated welcome to the Forums

I hope by this time you have found the Apologetics forums, and the place to find more exhaustive and systematic answers to your questions of that nature.

When you are ready, contact the priest at the Catholic parish nearest you and ask to sit in on their RCIA or adult confirmation sessions for a more systematic look at Catholic teaching and practice. This is a good time to call, because even in parishes that don’t have year-round classes, they are gearing up to begin when school does.

Catholicism for Dummies is IMO the first book you should buy to answer your questions about why Catholics do what they do.

 

[PJM]

By absolute necessity in Luke Chapter 1.[implicitly]
Because God is perfect, the human nature of Jesus too had to be perfect; requiring in an absolute sense that Mary be made perfect by God.

About Saints- and the adoration of Saints?

Catholis neither “adore or worship” Mary or the Saints. It is more rticulate to expalin that we “pray through them” than “too them.” Because thy are in the exhulted postion of being in the Presence of God, we ask them to present our petitions to God personally. They add there own petitions on our behalf to ours and present hem to God for us. NOT necessary; BUT VERY EFFECTIVE. Heb. 13: 7 “Remember your leaders, [In prayer]now dead] those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith”

About communion…how it works?

All four Gospels **[Matt. 26, Mk.14, Lk. 22] **and Paul in **1 St. Cor. 11 **give whitness to this miracle as reality.**John 6:53-56 ** [53] So Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. **For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. **He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

About confession of sin? Why do we need a priest?

***Because God Himself say’s so. *** John 20:19-23 "On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you.” And when he had said this, ***he breathed on them, and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.” ***

This has a Tradition that goes bck at least as far as Moses and Aaron in the OT.

About marriage- it seems to me that many of the problems we see is the ban on marriage-
that was not always banned?

Sorry but you’ll need to be more specifi inorder for me to reply?

I sincerely would like to learn about the Church’s view on this.

If this is the wrong place to post- or if my question are inappropriate I apologize. The witness of my friend- his sincere devotion to the sacraments (and I am not even sure what they all are) and attending Mass (always reverently) has really impressed me.

***Baptism, Confession, Eucharist, Confirmation, Holy Orders [Priesthood], Marriage and the “Last Rites.” ***

Thanks for anyone with real understanding of the Catholic Faith.

Blessings

Philip
(A Southern Baptist in Boston)

Love and prayers my friend,
Pat

 

[Rawb]

Catholicism for Dummies is IMO the first book you should buy to answer your questions about why Catholics do what they do.

A quick note; Catholicism for Dummies is a great book. “Idiot’s Guide to Understanding Catholicism” is NOT. They’re very different, and “Idiot’s Guide” is highly inaccurate in several areas.

 

[Stuart5]

I came back to the Catholic Church after being away for 40 years. The reasons I came back were the following:

• The grave of Saint Francis of Assisi
• Communion, the actual body and bluff the Christ: “the mystery of faith”
• The Catholic system includes, apostolic succession, lives of the Saints, traditions, history and the scriptures: Protestants are by Scripture only
• IMO grace is cheap in the Protestant churches — where the good works ?
• Breadth and depth deepest for me with Catholics

 

[vince2paul]

Welcome!

In 2006, I lived under one roof with a friend who was anti-catholic protestant although she was born catholic. I was an ignorant catholic back then, didn’t know most of the catholic teachings. However, I found great help after reading Scott Hahn’s book, Rome Sweet Home. This book is his conversion story. He was an anti-Catholic Protestant who found his way back to the Catholic Church because he believes it is the one, true Church.

You should try to read it if you can.

 

[PAboy57]

a belated welcome to the Forums

I hope by this time you have found the Apologetics forums, and the place to find more exhaustive and systematic answers to your questions of that nature.

When you are ready, contact the priest at the Catholic parish nearest you and ask to sit in on their RCIA or adult confirmation sessions for a more systematic look at Catholic teaching and practice. This is a good time to call, because even in parishes that don’t have year-round classes, they are gearing up to begin when school does.

Catholicism for Dummies is IMO the first book you should buy to answer your questions about why Catholics do what they do.

Dear Philip,

Puzzleannie has been providing great answers to folks on this sight for quite some time. Listen to her.

Your questions are legit for someone new wanting to learn about the Catholic Faith.

The 2nd book you should read is The Catholicism Answer Book – The 300 Most Frequently Asked Questions by Rev John Trigilio Jr., PH.D., TH.D. and Rev Kenneth D. Brighenti PH.D.

They are also the authors of the best selling book Catholicism for Dummies. In this book they go deeper into the faith and provide the answers to questions you haven’t thought of yet.

Regardless of our faith I believe we all should know what we are practicing. So that means some work on our part – reading good books that provide true answers to serious questions in a way most people can understand.

Just know that God – The Father, The Son and The Holy Spirit is the only one Catholics worship/adore. We do have a relationship with the Communion of Saints and the Blessed Virgin Mary. We ask them to lift our prayers to God and to intercede for us. They are already in Heaven and you might say their job until the end of the world is to help us get there.

After you read and understand the answers to your questions I think you will have a fuller appreciation for the Catholic faith. Please seek the answers to your questions and read the great posts in the Apologetics section of this forum.

May God continue to give you the Grace to seek the truth. Welcome to the forum. This is a great place to learn.

Take care.

 

[PJM]

EXCELLENT ADVICE!

Thanks,