This is what I don't understand about Catholics

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Dear friend in Christ

What is it you don’t understand [and perhaps find “weird”] about us Catholics?🤷

GBY

Patrick
 
Understand: I think I’ve come pretty far along in that category. When I do have questions, I just ask them on the spot.

Weird: “weird” is just a word saying that something is different than what you are used to. Once you get over the idea that everyone is not like you, “weird” goes away.
 
Reading blogs for spirituality.
People would do well to take a course, sit in on a Scripture study or get a Spiritual Director. Much safer.
 
I find Eucharistic worship/adoration to be weird. In Islam, we don’t have anything tangible; Allah is never physically present among us.
 
jane_doe said:
Understand: I think I’ve come pretty far along in that category. When I do have questions, I just ask them on the spot.

Weird: “weird” is just a word saying that something is different than what you are used to. Once you get over the idea that everyone is not like you, “weird” goes away.
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Thank you! Good clarification! 🙂
 
drac16 said:
I find Eucharistic worship/adoration to be weird. In Islam, we don’t have anything tangible; Allah is never physically present among us.
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I know next to nothing about Islam except the very basics. That being said is Allah present in, for lack of a better word, non-physical way?
 
I don’t understand why Catholics go around acting like they know the truth with such certainty and that their church is the one and only. Not when it takes faith to believe that. You can feed someone all the interpretations of the ECFs and so on. But without faith in them, there is no “certainty”.
 
My wife has remarked that she finds it strange that everybody is so quiet before mass. It’s like a noisy social gathering as everybody piles into her church so she just considers that to be “normal” and Catholic reverent silence to be “strange”. Striking our breast during “mea culpa” got her chuckling once or twice. Yes, we Catholics are a bit weird but I love all our little quirks. 🙂
 
Pretty much all religions sound weird when described to someone unfamiliar with them.
 
drac16 said:
I find Eucharistic worship/adoration to be weird. In Islam, we don’t have anything tangible; Allah is never physically present among us.
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One of the 99Names is al-Wasiʿ(The Vast, The All-Embracing, The Omnipresent, The Boundless), another al-Bāqī (The Everlasting, The Eternal, The Ever-Enduring, The Ever-Present) – seems not much of a stretch if Christ is believed to be God and the Eucharist is His miracle of being Ever-Present with us.
 
drac16 said:
I find Eucharistic worship/adoration to be weird. In Islam, we don’t have anything tangible; Allah is never physically present among us.
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I don’t understand why millions of people are circling around a black box can you please explain.
 
Sy_Noe said:
I don’t understand why Catholics go around acting like they know the truth with such certainty and that their church is the one and only. Not when it takes faith to believe that. You can feed someone all the interpretations of the ECFs and so on. But without faith in them, there is no “certainty”.
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I doubt that all Catholics do that but some probably do. The claim to be the church founded and commissioned by Christ to spread the Gospel is not just based on faith however. Catholics point to apostolic succession from Saint Peter to Pope Francis. It was the only Christian denomination for several hundred years and most Protestant don’t dispute this and accept at least the first three Ecumenical Councils as valid. They couldn’t do that without recognizing at least the beginning of Apostolic succession. During the reformation there were a lot of abuses in the Church but this was nothing new. Saint Peter and Saint Paul dealt with all kinds of problems and several of the epistles were letters written to deal with abuses of church members. The Catholic Church has many sinners, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone since that is who Christ came to call. They don’t magically cease to be sinners by joining the Church. Holiness can be and often is a lifetime struggle. Christ knew there would be problems and told us that there would be wolves in the sheepfold. St. Peter and Paul set out rules to deal with troublemakers. Sure there were and are problems. The Faith is perfect, the “faithful” are not! But nowhere in Scripture were we told that if things get really difficult in the Church that we should go off and start our own new church.
 
Horton said:
I know next to nothing about Islam except the very basics. That being said is Allah present in, for lack of a better word, non-physical way?
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He’s present in Jannah (Paradise). The people in Paradise can see Him and communicate with Him
 
SyroMalankara said:
One of the 99Names is al-Wasiʿ(The Vast, The All-Embracing, The Omnipresent, The Boundless), another al-Bāqī (The Everlasting, The Eternal, The Ever-Enduring, The Ever-Present) – seems not much of a stretch if Christ is believed to be God and the Eucharist is His miracle of being Ever-Present with us.
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You sound like you have been studying! 👍
 
Techno2000 said:
I don’t understand why millions of people are circling around a black box can you please explain.
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The black box is called the Ka’aba. According to Islamic tradition, the Ka’aba used to be a mosque that our father Abraham [peace be upon him] built. It was rebuilt in the time of Muhammad [peace be upon him]. When pilgrims walk around the Ka’aba, we are remembering the fact that everything centers around Allah. We’re taught to offer our full devotion to Allah, so that means obedience to Him in every area of life.
 
drac16 said:
The black box is called the Ka’aba. According to Islamic tradition, the Ka’aba used to be a mosque that our father Abraham [peace be upon him] built. It was rebuilt in the time of Muhammad [peace be upon him]. When pilgrims walk around the Ka’aba, we are remembering the fact that everything centers around Allah. We’re taught to offer our full devotion to Allah, so that means obedience to Him in every area of life.
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Whats the stone everyone kisses, a meteorite? And why is it kissed, whats the significance?
 
drac16 said:
I find Eucharistic worship/adoration to be weird. In Islam, we don’t have anything tangible; Allah is never physically present among us.
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Jesus Christ (God Incarnated) was present among us for a time and said He will always be with us - hence the Holy Eucharist.
 
Polycarp1 said:
I doubt that all Catholics do that but some probably do. The claim to be the church founded and commissioned by Christ to spread the Gospel is not just based on faith however. Catholics point to apostolic succession from Saint Peter to Pope Francis. It was the only Christian denomination for several hundred years and most Protestant don’t dispute this and accept at least the first three Ecumenical Councils as valid. They couldn’t do that without recognizing at least the beginning of Apostolic succession. During the reformation there were a lot of abuses in the Church but this was nothing new. Saint Peter and Saint Paul dealt with all kinds of problems and several of the epistles were letters written to deal with abuses of church members. The Catholic Church has many sinners, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone since that is who Christ came to call. They don’t magically cease to be sinners by joining the Church. Holiness can be and often is a lifetime struggle. Christ knew there would be problems and told us that there would be wolves in the sheepfold. St. Peter and Paul set out rules to deal with troublemakers. Sure there were and are problems. The Faith is perfect, the “faithful” are not! But nowhere in Scripture were we told that if things get really difficult in the Church that we should go off and start our own new church.
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I appreciate your response. I can even agree with much of it. I agree sinning and abuses were nothing new and joining does not cease sin. And most certainly I know firsthand the lifelong struggle to abide by the faith and its rules. But it still seems to me the bottom line is it takes faith in the NT and in the Catholic interpretation of it and belief that the Catholic Church from day one never strayed and humans have always gotten it right from the get-go and that Christ has not needed to reform and sprout new branches of His body so as the gates do not prevail in the end.
 
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