What am I? Speak up

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PauloFreire2 said:
The Church simply has too much baggage. That’s understandable, given its long history and enormous contribution to the making of Western Civilization. The Church’s theology is superb, as well, but the task of active worship is simply too complicated. It should be all about Jesus. He is the bottom line – not the Bible, the sacraments, Paul, angels, Mary, the Pope, or anything or anyone else. It’s all about Jesus Christ. CAN YOU FOLLOW HIM?👍
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How can we follow Him if we do not accept what he has asked us to do? The Church and Jesus cannot be separated.
 
Hmm…I’m not sure if I can agree with that 100%. There are so many different interpretations of Jesus’ work, life and death, that any claim of a total monopoly over His legacy seems arrogant and presumptuous. 👍
 
“I once had a person tell me that after having the same discussion you started here. On their 30th birthday, my priest and sisters in the Third Order filled 30 balloons with hot air and we all went outside and watched them float up up and away. Then we offered Mass for the poor soul. When is your birthday?”

Your Christianity is stale. You’ve been cooped up in your rather small denominational world too long. Try to get out more. Maybe you should have flown ‘up, up and away’ with those balloons. You could’ve used the sunlight and fresh air.👍
 
Well I’ll ask again–what exactly are you trying to be, do, or say?

Christ and the Church are not and never have been in opposition to each other. Adherence to the teachings of the One True Church don’t take our focus away from Christ but turn us closer toward Him.

Prayer to Mary and the Saints is, was, and always will be **through them and to **Christ. Why indeed do we honor the Virgin and the Saints? Because of their cooperation with Christ, their love of Christ, the lives and deaths for Christ.
 
dedicated Christian, I’m not a dedicated Catholic. Nonetheless, I can’t leave because I find all other denominations cheap imitations.👍
 
PauloFreire2 said:
dedicated Christian, I’m not a dedicated Catholic. Nonetheless, I can’t leave because I find all other denominations cheap imitations.👍
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Ah, now we’re getting a bit of a clearer picture of our OP. It’s just another twist on the “I’m not religious; I’m spiritual” cookie.

Combine that with “I feel like hitting Fr. Corapi” and “the Church has too much baggage” and well…

so perhaps you may want to answer again: Which Church teachings do you dissent from?
 
PauloFreire2 said:
It should be all about Jesus. He is the bottom line – not the Bible, the sacraments, Paul, angels, Mary, the Pope, or anything or anyone else. It’s all about Jesus Christ. CAN YOU FOLLOW HIM?👍
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How can you say the Sacraments as distracting you from Jesus? In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, you make actual physical contact with the Resurrected Jesus Christ!

How can anyone know Jesus without the Bible or the Church? These are the means He’s given us to know Him. Anyone venturing without them is like fresh meat for the devil. Believe me, the devil is smarter than any human, and he has field days with people who like to guide themselves in the spiritual life. :bigyikes:
You need the Church my friend, for guidance and for your own protection.
 
I recall saying, “I can imagine myself hitting him.” I was careful about what I said. I would never hit a priest (which I also said).

I’m just one lazy and ungrateful Catholic. BUT, in my own defense, I love Christ and live entirely for Him. He knows this, too. I know He knows. 👍
 
At one point in my sporadically Catholic upbringing, a born-again, heavy-Bible-thumping friend of mine seized me by the soul and breathed the fire of God directly into my pimply face. I think at that moment I became a part-time Protestant of some sort, without knowing it, of course (I was 18 at the time). My friend vanished forever, and I drifted back into my marginal Catholicism. For years I read the Bible and interpreted it as if I were a fundie, while viewing life in a more general sense from a Catholic perspective. From then on, almost on a daily basis, I have gravitated back and forth, spiritually. I’m mostly Catholic, but partly Protestant. Weird, eh?
 
“In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist, you make actual physical contact with the Resurrected Jesus Christ!”

You’re SO right. I now feel starved of the Body and Blood of my Savior. I am His soldier – one who needs nourishment. 😦
 
better sermons than Catholic priests. Dunno why, but priests tend to be boring. They read from scripts, and delve into matters that don’t seem relevant to the average slug. What happened to hell-fire-and-brimstone preaching? And don’t give me any of that Father Corapi stuff. I’m referring to INSPIRATION, darn it. I want to be INSPIRED, not bored.👍
 
PauloFreire2 said:
… Dunno why, but priests tend to be boring… I’m referring to INSPIRATION, darn it. I want to be INSPIRED, not bored.👍
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Sounds like you’re more about you than you are about Christ. If you want real inspiration, I don’t think you are going to find it in an entertaining “sermon.” You are going to find it in sacrifice and submission. It is for this reason that I find our priests extremely inspiring.
 
PauloFreire2 said:
better sermons than Catholic priests. Dunno why, but priests tend to be boring. They read from scripts, and delve into matters that don’t seem relevant to the average slug. What happened to hell-fire-and-brimstone preaching? And don’t give me any of that Father Corapi stuff. I’m referring to INSPIRATION, darn it. I want to be INSPIRED, not bored.👍
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Please, please don’t tell me that because of the limited amount of sermons you have heard, that you are going to judge that priests in general give “boring” sermons. I can certainly tell you that all of the priests at my parish give excellent homilies, especially the one we have visiting from Africa. There are many, many more priests than you have listened to, or will ever listen to. You cannot make this general judgement. Plus, just because something sounds inspirational doesn’t make it worth anything. Many of those protestant ministers you see on TV appear very inspiring, but there is no substance, which makes it worthless.
 
PauloFreire2 said:
Hmm…I’m not sure if I can agree with that 100%. There are so many different interpretations of Jesus’ work, life and death, that any claim of a total monopoly over His legacy seems arrogant and presumptuous. 👍
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It is not about arrogance. Christ founded one Church. How are we to know the truth if we each make it up?

As you note there are many interpretations. That alone should make you pause and think. They all contradict each other in many important aspects.
 
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