What are the essential beliefs Catholics must hold?

[D0UBTFIRE]

Hi all,

Not sure what section of the forums this question should go to, but I’m still struggling with my faith (if I can even say I have any left) so I was wondering:

What are the bare minimum things that a person must believe/do in order to remain Catholic?
Please don’t send me links, I rather the simplicity of a personal response. Just list what you think. Like for example someone might say: Belief in God, belief in the Virgin birth, belief in Jesus’ Resurrection, belief that abortion is sinful, attend mass regularly, etc.

It can be a list of 5 things or list of 50 things. Doesn’t matter, just give it to me straight, please.

The thing is, I went into this with a very heady approach - I converted to Catholicism into a very traditional/literal/rigid approach. Long story short, I can’t stand that anymore. I have too many doubts, but I don’t want to give up on the Church because I do have this sense of it’s where I belong. And I know that the traditional/literal/rigid thing is a popular flavor around these forums, and I’m not trying to say that it’s a wrong approach, I’m just saying it’s not working for me. I’m sick of theology. I’m sick of the rules - not because I don’t like rules but because the list seems so long. I’m overwhelmed. I’m sick of THINKING about God instead of just trusting God. Make sense? Anyway, I’m still trying to reconcile my thoughts…I haven’t been to church in months. I’m not the type to just go to church and receive communion without having gone to confession first (I’m truly am a rule follower by nature), but I can’t bring myself to that because I don’t feel any remorse about my “sins”, of which there are at least 5 I can think of that the Church would say are sins but that I don’t feel like I’ve hurt anyone and my questioning/doubt of the authority of the Church is so intense that if my own conscience isn’t telling me I’ve done wrong, it’s kinda just not bugging me. So going to confess these would be like lying in my mind. But this is me just venting, you can disregard this last paragraph…I just want someone to tell me what the bare minimum I have to believe/do to remain Catholic. I don’t want to look at anything official, not encyclicals, no catechism, no books, no articles - NOTHING where I have to read really - ideally I would just have a few friends I could ask these questions to so I wouldn’t have to read responses just hear them. In a way that’s was missing - my religion has been about books and rules and reading - and the personal touch is sorely missing. I’m rambling… sorry…

 

[awsiukiewicz]

I’m no quite sure as to why you would only wish to do ‘the bare minimum’ as you say…Even myself…who ends to be careful to not become too rigid realizes that the Church is a great deal more than rules and regulations…just be open to the Holy Spirit. Pray the Apostles’ Creed…that pretty much acknowledges what we are about…respect and abide by the teachings of the Church/the Magesterium…something I quite sure a great deal of regular Mass attendees who refer to themselves as Catholic do…i.e. BCP/artificial contraception…attend Mass regularly and on days of Obligation…frequent reception of the Sacraments including regular confession/reconcillation…my respectful suggestion is to not try to being Catholic as some sort of task…‘we’ are the Church…it’s beautiful…I could never imagine worshiping anywhere else…the Eucharist…Be Happy my friend…Once when I was an undergraduate at a Catholic College …a real Catholic institution of higher learning…I had a rare opportunity to help one of the Sisters bring some supplies into their private area…(these Nuns were Habits - God Bless them)…I noticed a picture hanging on the wall…it was a Picture of Jesus smiling…I try to concentrate on the Crucifix during the consecration during Mass…and I think we should all remember the sacrificial nature of the Mass…not that we should forget about the communal aspects of things…but remember the Sacrificial nature of the Mass…be happy my friend…and relax…

 

[Vico]

Hi all,

Not sure what section of the forums this question should go to, but I’m still struggling with my faith (if I can even say I have any left) so I was wondering:

What are the bare minimum things that a person must believe/do in order to remain Catholic?
Please don’t send me links, I rather the simplicity of a personal response. Just list what you think. Like for example someone might say: Belief in God, belief in the Virgin birth, belief in Jesus’ Resurrection, belief that abortion is sinful, attend mass regularly, etc.

It can be a list of 5 things or list of 50 things. Doesn’t matter, just give it to me straight, please.

The thing is, I went into this with a very heady approach - I converted to Catholicism into a very traditional/literal/rigid approach. Long story short, I can’t stand that anymore. I have too many doubts, but I don’t want to give up on the Church because I do have this sense of it’s where I belong. And I know that the traditional/literal/rigid thing is a popular flavor around these forums, and I’m not trying to say that it’s a wrong approach, I’m just saying it’s not working for me. I’m sick of theology. I’m sick of the rules - not because I don’t like rules but because the list seems so long. I’m overwhelmed. I’m sick of THINKING about God instead of just trusting God. Make sense? Anyway, I’m still trying to reconcile my thoughts…I haven’t been to church in months. I’m not the type to just go to church and receive communion without having gone to confession first (I’m truly am a rule follower by nature), but I can’t bring myself to that because I don’t feel any remorse about my “sins”, of which there are at least 5 I can think of that the Church would say are sins but that I don’t feel like I’ve hurt anyone and my questioning/doubt of the authority of the Church is so intense that if my own conscience isn’t telling me I’ve done wrong, it’s kinda just not bugging me. So going to confess these would be like lying in my mind. But this is me just venting, you can disregard this last paragraph…I just want someone to tell me what the bare minimum I have to believe/do to remain Catholic. I don’t want to look at anything official, not encyclicals, no catechism, no books, no articles - NOTHING where I have to read really - ideally I would just have a few friends I could ask these questions to so I wouldn’t have to read responses just hear them. In a way that’s was missing - my religion has been about books and rules and reading - and the personal touch is sorely missing. I’m rambling… sorry…

There are about 255 dogmas of faith.

theworkofgod.org/dogmas.htm

 

[powerofk]

Okay. First of all, the basic beliefs are outlined in the Nicene Creed. These are the basic beliefs all Christians share (not only Catholics). Next, understanding that the Bible is inerrant, at least in terms of faith and morals (it’s not a science book and some of the historical passages may have been… exagerrated a bit in terms of numbers, etc.). The Eucharist is truly Jesus’s Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity and not just a symbol, etc.

But, honestly, I think you’re caught up in the rules of the Church. The Church, truly, has only two commandments - Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength above all other things; and love your neighbor (who God created in His own image - even if your neighbor is your enemy) as yourself. All… and I mean ALL of the rules of the Church stem from these two commandments, and are really just ways of showing what does and what does not constitute love of God and neighbor. In truth, the best definition of a sin that I know of is this - a sin is a failure to love. A venial sin is failure to love out of inadvertence or the like - usually not intentional. A mortal sin is deliberate failure to love - so deliberate, in fact, that it causes one to be unable to love God and love others as ourselves.

 

[Robyn_p]

But, honestly, I think you’re caught up in the rules of the Church. The Church, truly, has only two commandments - Love God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength above all other things; and love your neighbor (who God created in His own image - even if your neighbor is your enemy) as yourself. All… and I mean ALL of the rules of the Church stem from these two commandments, and are really just ways of showing what does and what does not constitute love of God and neighbor. In truth, the best definition of a sin that I know of is this - a sin is a failure to love. A venial sin is failure to love out of inadvertence or the like - usually not intentional. A mortal sin is deliberate failure to love - so deliberate, in fact, that it causes one to be unable to love God and love others as ourselves.

Perfectly said.

 

[Thomas_White]

Hi all,

Not sure what section of the forums this question should go to, but I’m still struggling with my faith (if I can even say I have any left) so I was wondering:

What are the bare minimum things that a person must believe/do in order to remain Catholic?
Please don’t send me links, I rather the simplicity of a personal response. Just list what you think. Like for example someone might say: Belief in God, belief in the Virgin birth, belief in Jesus’ Resurrection, belief that abortion is sinful, attend mass regularly, etc.

It can be a list of 5 things or list of 50 things. Doesn’t matter, just give it to me straight, please.

Let it be. Say the Rosary. Have faith. Worry not. Keep it simple.

 

[PaulfromIowa]

The definitive Catholic beliefs are stated in the Creed:

I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father;
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen.

Perhaps you should discuss your concerns with an older, experienced priest.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Not sure what section of the forums this question should go to

Trust me, you’re in the right place.

What are the bare minimum things that a person must believe/do in order to remain Catholic?

There are NO beliefs required to be Catholic (and even to be a faithful Catholic).

A “Catholic” is anyone who has received Christian Baptism in a Catholic Church, or anyone who has received valid Baptism in a non-Catholic Christian church but who (now) identifies himself as a Catholic. A “faithful Catholic” is a (not-excommunicated) Catholic who abides by the Five Precepts of the Church. There’s nothing in any of that that involves beliefs, or faith, or works, or any other thing.

Catholics are not required to believe anything as a condition of salvation (or as a condition of “remaining” Catholic). Absolutely NOTHING.

You won’t find a single paragraph in the Catechism of the Catholic Church that stipulates one single required belief.

It’s possible for someone to question even the very existence of God (and, by extension, EVERYTHING the Church teaches) while remaining a faithful son or daughter of the Church, completely free of venial or mortal sin.

The Gospel reading for last Sunday was from the “Great Commission” at the end of the Gospel of Matthew. If you Google “Great Commission Matthew” you will be directed to the familiar part in verses 18-20:

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Google misses the verse that immediately preceeds this, verse 17:

Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted.

Some APOSTLES doubted. Even AFTER the risen Lord had appeared to them, and had eaten with them, and instructed them for 40 days. They STILL doubted (and, yet, they worshiped). And THESE were the guys to whom Our Lord entrusted the entire Church! To worshiping doubters!!!

That doesn’t mean it’s perfectly OK to doubt. There’s a formula for this “acceptable disbelief.” Disbelief is not sinful (not even venally) provided three conditions are met:

• The person must recognize and admit that his disbelief is a personal flaw that should be corrected (he must realize that he is somehow wrong, even if he can’t explain why. He cannot say that he is right and the Church is wrong, even if he can’t understand why the Church is right).
• He must make a sincere, diligent, and ongoing good-faith effort to correct his disbelief.
• He must not teach his disbelief to others as an alternative truth.

You seem to recognize that the Church might know a little more about God than you do. But you struggle with disbelief. Great Saints of the Church have had a “crisis of faith.”

The Church does not expect you to be somehow more convicted than APOSTLES and SAINTS. The fact that you posted your question here satisfies the first and second condition of indemnity.

What else you got? We’re here to help you with that second condition.

 

[GKChesternut]

DOUBTFIRE,

A bare minimum of what you need to believe is mostly found in the Nicene Creed we recite at Mass. It sums it up quite nicely. I’ve provided short definitions of the more-theological terms that the Creed uses.They will be contained in brackets. If you would like me to break anything else down for you, please ask:

*I believe in one God,
the Father almighty,
maker of heaven and earth,
of all things visible and invisible.

I believe in one Lord Jesus Christ,
the Only Begotten Son of God,
born of the Father before all ages.
God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God,
begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father; * [This means that Jesus and the Father are both God, one is not less God than the other]
through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation
he came down from heaven,
and by the Holy Spirit was incarnate of the Virgin Mary,
and became man. [Meaning Jesus took on human nature by being concieved in Mary’s womb]
*For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate,
he suffered death and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
in accordance with the Scriptures.
He ascended into heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory
to judge the living and the dead
and his kingdom will have no end.

I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,* Just as the Father sent the Son, so does the Son send the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit proceeds from both the Father and the Son because the Spirit is sent to us from the Father by the Son. John 15:26, Acts 2:33]
*who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.

I believe in one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
I confess one Baptism for the forgiveness of sins
and I look forward to the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the world to come. Amen*

This is basically most of the basics of what you need to believe as a Catholic concerning the Faith. A few more are: the Pope is the Head of the Church on Earth and successor to St. Peter; the Pope is infallible on matters of Faith and Morals, nothing else; the Virgin Mary is the Immaculate Conception [she, along with Jesus, are the only humans conceived and born without original sin]; the Virgin Mary has perpetual virginity, remaining one before, during, and after Jesus’ birth; Purgatory is the place where people who have died in sin, but not in mortal sin go. They don’t go to Hell, but they still need to be purged of their sins so they can be fit for Heaven; Jesus is truly present Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Holy Eucharist; confessing our sins to a priest is the only way to be washed clean of our sins. These are all the basic beliefs that Catholics have that I could think of. I would assume that these are all the bare minimum concerning belief.

The bare minimum of what you should do would be:

The five Precepts of the Church:

1. Attend Mass every Sunday and on holy days of obligation (the holy days of obligation differ from country to country, so search for your country’s online)
2. Confess your sins at least once a year
3. Receive Holy Communion at least during the Easter season
4. Observe the days of fasting and abstinence established by the Church (There are certain days during Lent set aside for fasting and abstinence)
5. "You shall help to provide for the needs of the Church. (The faithful are obliged to assist with the material needs of the Church, each according to his own ability.) CCC 2043 (I know you didn’t want the Catechism, but it explained it best.)

And obey the Ten Commandments

And that’s the basics of what you need to do.

Concerning going to Confession, Confession is not about feelings. Michelle Arnold said concerning this: “What is required is repentance, which is an act of the will. Remorse and regret are emotions, which you may or may not feel and do not have control over. Feelings of remorse and regret are not required, but they are helpful in keeping us from sinning again. One way to encourage such feelings is to develop a devotion to Christ’s Passion. Meditation on the agonies Christ suffered to merit for us the grace we receive through confession helps in developing a horror for sin and a just remorse for the sins of one’s life.”

You should want to stop sinning out of love for God. What you should do is try to develop a deeper love for God. What I recommend is if you have Eucharistic Adoration near by, spend some time there. Tell Jesus what’s bugging you and simply let your mind go plop. If you can’t find anywhere that offers Adoration, just go pray in the Church. Spend as much time as you need there. It really does help me when I struggle.

I hope I was of some assistance. I’m sorry for the long post. If there is anything else you need, please ask.

I was just wondering, what do you mean exactly by “traditional/literal/rigid approach”? Thanks!

 

[DavidFilmer]

A bare minimum of what you need to believe is mostly found in the Nicene Creed we recite at Mass.

No you don’t.

The Nicene (Nicene-Constantinopolitan) Creed may be called a bare minimum statement of Catholic Doctrine, but no Catholic is required to believe ANY of it. Not one single word.

No Catholic is required to believe ANYTHING as a condition of salvation (or a condition of remaining a faithful Catholic).

See my response above, and please don’t claim to cite Church requirements without knowing the facts.

A person may be a faithful Catholic and disbelieve EVERY SINGLE DOCTRINE of the Church. That would include the Creed, the Ten Commandments, the Scriptures, and everything else.

 

[RitasKid]

Let’s assume we need to accept the Apostles Creed. For me the theology’ s pretty easy. God, creator, Jesus, Spirit, virgin, death, resurrection, ascension, judgement, church,… But wait, forgiveness of sins. _________ is not a sin. God made it. It’s good. He made pleasure. He wants us to enjoy pleasure. Basic human instincts. It doesn’t hurt anybody.
Heck. God makes the rules. If he calls it sin, it is. So it could even be a sin to eat the perfectly good fruit from a tree no one else is using.
So I’m rambling. … . Here’s what I’ve got: I did a lot of stuff that didn’t hurt anybody. E.g. sex, drugs, insurance fraud, gluttony, drunkenness envy pride anger… When I came to my senses, I went to confession, confessed my serious sins, and try now to act like I love anyone besides myself. Deep down (or not so deep) I feeI that I know best., deserve best. So I’ve made a few rules for myself. Go to Sunday mass. Confession once a month. More often if I deliberately do anything seriously wrong. Let down my defences. Let God look at me, see me, see my weaknesses, where I’m hurting. Let Him heal it. For my ordinary screwups, receive Holy Communion at mass. Pray some everyday.
DavidFilmer said some good stuff. Try to keep it simple.

 

[Vico]

Cannon law, CIC (from Ad Tuendam Fidem, May 18, 1998):Canon 750

§ 1. Those things are to be believed by divine and catholic faith which are contained in the word of God as it has been written or handed down by tradition, that is, in the single deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and which are at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn Magisterium of the Church, or by its ordinary and universal Magisterium, which in fact is manifested by the common adherence of Christ’s faithful under the guidance of the sacred Magisterium. All are therefore bound to avoid any contrary doctrines.

§ 2. Furthermore, each and everything set forth definitively by the Magisterium of the Church regarding teaching on faith and morals must be firmly accepted and held; namely, those things required for the holy keeping and faithful exposition of the deposit of faith; therefore, anyone who rejects propositions which are to be held definitively sets himself against the teaching of the Catholic Church.

Canon 1371

The following are to be punished with a just penalty:

1° a person who, apart from the case mentioned in canon 1364 § 1, teaches a doctrine condemned by the Roman Pontiff, or by an Ecumenical Council, or obstinately rejects the teachings mentioned in canon 750 § 2 or in canon 752 and, when warned by the Apostolic See or by the Ordinary, does not retract;

2° a person who in any other way does not obey the lawful command or prohibition of the Apostolic See or the Ordinary or Superior and, after being warned, persists in disobedience.
​

 

[DavidFilmer]

DavidFilmer said some good stuff. Try to keep it simple.

Thanks for the vote of confidence, but I did not mean to suggest that Catholicism was simple.

Salvation is simple. We are saved by the Grace of Christian Baptism, and by nothing else (not by personal faith, or works, or beliefs, or anything else). Salvation is so simple that the Catholic Church recognizes that ANYBODY can validly Baptize somebody. Even people who are not, themselves, Baptized. Pagans can validly Baptize! They must use water, and the Trinitarian form, and have the intent to do what the Church does (even if they have no idea what that really means).

Once we receive the Grace of Christian Baptism, the ONLY way we can loose that Grace is by knowingly and willingly commit a mortal sin. There is no “quota” of good works or true beliefs or faith or prayers or anything else that can remove us from our State of Grace.

If we knowingly and willingly commit a mortal sin (and thus forfeit our Baptismal State of Grace), the ONLY way that we can be restored is through the Grace of Sacramental Confession. We cannot restore that Grace through good works or true beliefs or faith or prayers or anything else.

This the Catholic economy of salvation, and it is quite simple.

But Catholicism is about a lot more than salvation. It is about spiritual perfection. This is the reason why the Church recognizes Saints.

And there’s nothing simple about that.

 

[RitasKid]

Agree. Catholicism is not simple. I need to keep my plans simple. Love with my whole heart, soul, strength. Kenotic love. Eternally, if not yet.

 

[Darryl_B]

It’s possible for someone to question even the very existence of God (and, by extension, EVERYTHING the Church teaches) while remaining a faithful son or daughter of the Church, completely free of venial or mortal sin.

Could you explain this further please? You state “faithless” on the one hand, but then turn around immediately and state “faithful” on the other hand.

I am not sure how it is possible to be “faithless” and “faithful” simultaneously.

 

[Abu]

DavidFilmer #10
No Catholic is required to believe ANYTHING as a condition of salvation (or a condition of remaining a faithful Catholic).
A person may be a faithful Catholic and disbelieve EVERY SINGLE DOCTRINE of the Church.

The Church doesn’t teach such nonsense, and no one should believe it.

This is what the Church teaches, in Her latest Code of Canon law, and “canon laws by their very nature deserve observance” (p iv of the *Apostolic Constitution *of St John Paul II of January 25, 1983, authorizing the Code. [My emphases]:
Can. 750 §1. A person must believe with divine and Catholic faith all those things contained in the word of God, written or handed on, that is, in the one deposit of faith entrusted to the Church, and at the same time proposed as divinely revealed either by the solemn magisterium of the Church or by its ordinary and universal magisterium which is manifested by the common adherence of the Christian faithful under the leadership of the sacred magisterium; therefore all are bound to avoid any doctrines whatsoever contrary to them.

§2. Each and every thing which is proposed definitively by the magisterium of the Church concerning the doctrine of faith and morals, that is, each and every thing which is required to safeguard reverently and to expound faithfully the same deposit of faith, is also to be firmly embraced and retained; therefore, one who rejects those propositions which are to be held definitively is opposed to the doctrine of the Catholic Church.

Can. 751 Heresy is the obstinate denial or obstinate doubt after the reception of baptism of some truth which is to be believed by divine and Catholic faith; apostasy is the total repudiation of the Christian faith; schism is the refusal of submission to the Supreme Pontiff or of communion with the members of the Church subject to him.
vatican.va/archive/ENG1104/__P2H.HTM

 

[powerofk]

Abu, and OP, and all other posters here. I think I understand what DavidFilmer was getting at. And this is so that it’s not misunderstood. There is a difference between having questions about one’s faith - even to the point of being confused or doubting parts of one’s faith - yet wanting to believe, and of complete repudation and rejection of the Church’s teachings. The OP is struggling with belief, not refusing to believe. DavidFilmer was stating that one can struggle with belief in every single teaching of the faith, yet not be sinning if one has the desire to believe what the Church teaches. Many, if not all, saints, have struggled with belief at one time or another. If the saints have struggled with belief, it would be amazing if none of us struggled with belief. Personally, I don’t consider myself a saint, but I’ve struggled on and off with my faith - I continue to pray and go to Mass, but I struggle to believe at times.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Abu, and OP, and all other posters here. I think I understand what DavidFilmer was getting at. And this is so that it’s not misunderstood. There is a difference between having questions about one’s faith - even to the point of being confused or doubting parts of one’s faith - yet wanting to believe, and of complete repudation and rejection of the Church’s teachings. The OP is struggling with belief, not refusing to believe. DavidFilmer was stating that one can struggle with belief in every single teaching of the faith, yet not be sinning if one has the desire to believe what the Church teaches. Many, if not all, saints, have struggled with belief at one time or another. If the saints have struggled with belief, it would be amazing if none of us struggled with belief. Personally, I don’t consider myself a saint, but I’ve struggled on and off with my faith - I continue to pray and go to Mass, but I struggle to believe at times.

Thank you, you said it well.

What confuses people is the phrase “divine and Catholic faith.” That means you have faith IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, not in whatever doctrine is proposed. That means you believe it because of the teaching authority of the Church, not because you are personally convicted.

Disbelief is not sinful (and does not result in excommunication) provided that three conditions are met. The first of these is the most important:

• The person must recognize and admit that his disbelief is a personal flaw that should be corrected (he must realize that he is somehow wrong, even if he can’t explain why. He cannot say that he is right and the Church is wrong, even if he can’t understand why the Church is right).

It’s like saying, “well, that sounds crazy to me, but I’ll take your word for it, because you are a better authority than I am.” It’s not a deep-down belief, but an acceptance of authority.

 

[powerofk]

Thank you, you said it well.

What confuses people is the phrase “divine and Catholic faith.” That means you have faith IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH, not in whatever doctrine is proposed. That means you believe it because of the teaching authority of the Church, not because you are personally convicted.

Disbelief is not sinful (and does not result in excommunication) provided that three conditions are met. The first of these is the most important:

• The person must recognize and admit that his disbelief is a personal flaw that should be corrected (he must realize that he is somehow wrong, even if he can’t explain why. He cannot say that he is right and the Church is wrong, even if he can’t understand why the Church is right).

It’s like saying, “well, that sounds crazy to me, but I’ll take your word for it, because you are a better authority than I am.” It’s not a deep-down belief, but an acceptance of authority.

And honestly, sometimes, the more educated we, as humans, are, the more we, as humans, struggle with our faith. It’s because we overthink things. Take the Trinity, for example. Do I believe in the Trinity? Yes. Do I tend to overthink it, get confused by it, and struggle with the concept? Most definitely. And I won’t ever understand the Trinity until the day comes that God allows me into His presence thanks to His Divine Mercy (provided I die in a state of grace). But both Jesus and His Church have professed the Trinity to be True, and so I accept it.

On the other hand, sometimes it’s our emotions that lead us astray. Many times, I pray and ask for something from God - and I don’t receive what I ask for. Or I pray and I feel a sense of dryness. It would be quite easy for me to accept this as proof of God not caring about me or listening to me. But, God is God, and I have to accept that maybe God had something different in mind for me (that I have yet to figure out) or that He is telling me, “Not yet”.

And so, this is my suggestion for the OP. My pastor has a weekly column in the parish bulletin. A few months ago in my parish bulletin, he wrote, “Often the first thing people do when they struggle in belief is that they stop praying. On the contrary - the best thing to do when struggling in faith is to pray. Tell God how you feel! Be honest with God, and ask Him to help you believe!” If you’re angry with God, tell Him that you’re angry with Him. If you don’t understand why something happened, tell Him that you don’t understand. If you are struggling to believe in Him, tell Him that you’re struggling to believe in Him. Make your prayer come from your heart. And - this is important - act as if you believe that every person you meet is Jesus Himself.

In the end, relax. We have a beautiful array of saints in our Church - some were educated, and some weren’t. There is even saint proclaimed Doctor of the Church who had no formal education and didn’t know how to read or write (St. Catherine of Siena). We have saints who were former centurions (St. Cornelius), saints who formerly persecuted the Church (St. Paul), saints who denied Jesus to spare their own lives (St. Peter), and saints who lived extremely debaucherous lives before becoming Christian (St. Augustine). We have saints who were extraordinary scholars (St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Albertus Maximus) and saints who were poor serfs (St. Isidore the farmer). We’ve had mystics (St. John of the Cross among others), lawyers (St. Thomas More), and many others. Yet remember - Blessed Teresa of Calcutta, one of the most saintly women of our time, sometimes doubted Jesus’s love for her. Yet she stayed faithful. The most important thing to do when doubting is to stay faithful, trusting that God is greater than your doubts and that He has given the Church the ability to tell you about Him.

 

[D0UBTFIRE]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

What if the Church’s authority is the big thing you’re struggling to believe? How does one get around that? I have a big problem with Infallibility, for example. It’s not that I’m not familiar with what the Church teaches about it, it’s just that it seems misguided to me (and makes me think maybe the “true” Church is really the Orthodox Church or that maybe there is no such thing as a “true” Church).

I’m torn because if God is out there and this is His Church then I don’t want to be disobedient, but it’s possible in my mind that He’s out there and that the Church is a man made institution/or I’m in the wrong Church. I’m not saying I’m convinced that it is or isn’t God’s Church, it’s just I doubt both propositions to the point that I don’t really believe either. So it makes it so that it’s easy for me to take things like the Resurrection or Virgin birth on faith - because I can kinda fake it until I make it with stuff life that - but when it comes to morality, there are things that whether I’m atheist or theist I always hold true, like killing and lying are wrong no matter my worldview, but there are things like contraception, masturbation and homosexuality that are only problems to me if I fully believe in the Church’s authority.

Homosexuality isn’t a big problem for me because I don’t have too much temptation in that department - I’m married to a man, and I’m a woman - so I don’t give it a lot of thought and it doesn’t effect my life. Masturbation doesn’t bug me much because again I only think of it as wrong with my Catholic cap on, but it’s not a huge inconvenience to give up and give the Church the benefit of the doubt. Contraception though - which I was not using before because I had my orthodox Catholic cap on - is a huge inconvenience to give up when I don’t feel like I can handle anymore kids for the time being (besides being overwhelmed by my already big enough family I’ve recently started having some mental health issues to the point of having been prescribed medication). If I’m convinced that the Church’s authority is real then it’s not quite as difficult to give up - although it’s still difficult and inconvenient - but if I’m 100% certain that it’s God’s Will, then I would feel compelled to oblige. But because I have such serious doubts about the Church’s authority and such an aversion to the idea of pregnancy and of course an aversion to limiting relations with my spouse, well, you can see where I’m going with this…

What it boils down to is that I can try to trust the Church on theological matters, even if I don’t fully understand the belief or think it’s logical or whatever, but I can still give them the benefit of the doubt since those matters don’t have serious consequences for my actual life. So it doesn’t matter if I do accept belief in the Trinity, for example, and it hypothetically turns out that in the end somehow the Church was wrong about their understanding of that. But things like contraception do matter because if the Church is wrong about something like that, which of course I believe it’s possible since I’m so good at doubting, the consequence are huge - new life that I’m not prepared to handle because I’m already overwhelmed, or on the other hand excessive abstinence and a strain on my marriage (because there are no two ways about it, if you’re playing it safe with NFP the amount of abstinence required is substantial). I should add that I’m so paranoid about pregnancy right now that I’ve combined NFP with contraceptives and I’m still avoiding those very fertile days.

It’s not just the contraception…in general the quantity of rules gets under my skin to the point that I start to think it’s all man made. Not because I don’t like rules and structure, because I do, but because there seem to be SO MANY RULES. It’s so legalistic. I don’t need a rule that says that I have to get to mass every Sunday to make me get to mass 95% of the time. If I love God, it flows naturally to want to make it to church. Plus, I like religion, I like fellowship, I like communion. But some weeks, for whatever reason, I just didn’t feel like going. Maybe because I had family in from out of town and they are not Catholic so had no intention of going to mass and instead wanted to spend all Sunday at a theme park. Maybe because I had a little baby and I was just too exhausted to get out of PJs that day. Whatever. Reasons. Not grave reasons, but reasons nonetheless. In those instances, out of a honest desire to commune with God, I would have felt inclined to make it up and attend on a weekday. But we all know that doesn’t count. And so the guilt would drag me to mass on those types of occasions despite my desire to see my family or get some extra rest. This doesn’t seem right to me. It feels like coercion. It feels like an abuse of authority to say we have to have such strict attendance or else mortal sin/hell. It seems unrealistic. And very petty. These are the types of rules that apply to my life, there are of course a huge amount of rules that apply to other people’s lives that don’t affect me but that I’m aware of and bother me nonetheless because it drives home the point of the Church being so legalistic.