What are the essential beliefs Catholics must hold?

[powerofk]

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.

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.

As I’ve said before - it seems as if you’re too concerned with the “rules” of the faith. Sure, it seems as our faith has many rules, but, in reality, there are only two: Love God above all & Love your neighbor as a person made in God’s image. Focus on these. Infallibility is a hard, hard concept to understand, especially for those coming from other faith traditions. Breathe. Jesus’s burden is to be light, not heavy. As I’ve said, the “laws” of the Church are just examples of what is love and what is not love. Be willing to let go and let God and His Church transform you. Ask God to help you, and ask Him to help you submit your will to His - the Church exists to perpetuate God’s Will.

Part of the problem with the Pharisees was that they focused too much on the “letter of the law” and forgot about the “spirit of the law”.

 

[WT1]

Doubtfire,

You have a lot going on but the best advice I can give you is the following from Phillipians:

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! 5 Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. 6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

 

[TimothyH]

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?

This makes absolute sense. I was the exact same way until I stumbled upon monastic theology.

The monastics are not interested in the mechanics of God and religion nor do they contemplate dogma. The monastics seek an integrated life and unity with God as children of the Father. The aim of monastic theology is not truth but purity of heart. The goal is renewal, detachment from self and hope.

msaviour.org/2010/mon_sch.htm

Look to the Benedictine, Cistercian or Carmelite monastics. Find a monastery and go. Tell them exactly what you wrote in your post above. They will love you, and teach you. You will not be disappointed.

-Tim-

 

[Abu]

D0UBTFIRE #20
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.

God proclaimed in the Ten Commandments: “Remember to keep holy the Sabbath Day” [Exodus 20:2-17], which became Sunday, with the Apostles, to reflect and honour the Resurrection of Christ.

God makes the rules, and the Christ gave us His Church specifically giving the mandate to St Peter: “What ever you bind on earth is bound in heaven.”

**Fr.Stephen F. Torraco of EWTN, on 27/6/2008: **
“Conscience is NOT the same as your opinions or feelings. Conscience cannot be identical with your feelings because conscience is the activity of your intellect in judging the rightness or wrongness of your actions or omissions, past, present, or future, while your feelings come from another part of your soul and should be governed by your intellect and will. Conscience is not identical with your opinions because your intellect bases its judgment upon the natural moral law, which is inherent in your human nature….”

Thus, from the first, the faithful “remained faithful to the teaching of the Apostles, to the brotherhood, to the breaking of bread, and to the prayers.” (Acts 2:42).

Therefore, brothers, stand firm and hold fast to the traditions that you were taught, either by an oral statement or by a letter of ours." (2 Thess 2:15).

When practices and attitudes are based against the teaching of Jesus and his Church, it is imperative to consult with a good spiritual advisor.

As we have seen Christ gave His authority to His Church to tell us what to believe and do on faith and morals – as John Henry Newman said “ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt, as I understand the subject; difficulty and doubt are incommensurate.” (Apologia pro vita Sua).

 

[Abu]

powerofk #17
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.

No. David Filmer specifically stated:
“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.”

Such nonsense does NOT equate to struggling with belief – which means difficulties. David Filmer makes up his own suppositions with little regard for the clarity with which the Church teaches, which teaching can be seen clearly from post #16.

 

[DavidFilmer]

No. David Filmer specifically stated:
“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.”

Such nonsense does NOT equate to struggling with belief – which means difficulties. David Filmer makes up his own suppositions with little regard for the clarity with which the Church teaches, which teaching can be seen clearly from post #16.

I never said, in any way, that it is OK to disbelieve. I ALSO said,

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.

The first condition is that we must recognize that our disbelief is NOT OK, and the second is that we must work to correct it.

In this way, we remain faithful to the Church, even if we doubt Her doctrine. We recognize that the Church is right and we are wrong, even if we can’t comprehend how or why.

Willful, obstinate disbelief is, of course, objectively sinful (and can get you excommunicated if you try to lead others astray). But unwilling disbelief is not sinful (because all sin requires at least some measure of freewill consent), and unwilling disbelief is not an excommunicatable offense.

Most people who are struggling with doubts WANT to believe (that’s why they are struggling).

 

[powerofk]

Talking about disbelief, one of the hardest things to do (and I know from continued experience) is dealing with when God says, “Not now” or “This isn’t for you - I have something better.” I’ve been dealing with this for years. For the past five years, I’ve been trying to get a better job than the one I have. I’ve had over 90 interviews during this time and not a single job offer. Have I been praying about this? Most definitely. Two years ago, I applied to be accepted into the diaconate formation program for my diocese. I was declined, even though I prayed earnestly. My wife was struggling with her job earlier this year. No matter how much I prayed and she prayed (and she improved immensely), it wasn’t enough, and she lost her job anyway. Seriously - I continue my faith in God and His Church, but quite honestly, I don’t have a clue what He wants me to do for Him, because every time I think I might know, I find out that that’s not what He wants me to do at all. And I’m frustrated. Extremely frustrated.

And, so all I have to say is this - Lord, WHAT DO YOU WANT FROM ME?!? Please! I know I’m not using all my talents the way I should in my current job - I want to be able to use all of my talents for you, and my current job won’t let me! And yet, why don’t you let me move on from it? What do you want? Please, tell me!

 

[Abu]

DavidFilmer #26
I never said, in any way, that it is OK to disbelieve
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

.
Such confusion leads nowhere but exposes very loose and false expression.

John Henry Cardinal Newman said “ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt, as I understand the subject; difficulty and doubt are incommensurate.” (Apologia pro vita Sua).

“Take as your norm the sound words that you heard from me, with faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Guard this rich trust with the help of the Holy Spirit that dwells within us.” (2 Tim 1:13-14). Again St Paul writes: “And what you heard from me through many witnesses entrust to faithful people who will have the ability to teach others as well.” (2 Tim 2:2).

In Colossians 2: 4-23, St Paul calls on his flock to follow Christ “as you were taught” and warns against merely “human precepts and teachings.”

1 Cor 1:10: I urge you brothers, in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree in what you say, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and in the same purpose.

We are of God. He who knows God hears us; he who is not of God does not hear us. By this we know the spirit of truth and the spirit of error. (1Jn 4:6).

 

[DavidFilmer]

Such confusion leads nowhere but exposes very loose and false expression.

You seem to be the one confused here.

The OP asked the question, “What are the essential beliefs Catholics must hold?” (which is the title of this thread) I replied that there are no such beliefs, but this is true only under certain very specific circumstances.

I answered the question clearly and correctly. YOU added confusion by suggesting that I said that disbelief was perfectly OK.

What do you think I should have said? That there are doctrines which we MUST believe in order to be saved, or to avoid excommunication??? Because there aren’t. Do you think that lying to the OP avoids confusion? Lies only compound confusion. I answered clearly and factually.

John Henry Cardinal Newman said “ten thousand difficulties do not make one doubt, as I understand the subject; difficulty and doubt are incommensurate.”

True, but I’m sure JHCN would agree that one doubt makes exactly, umm, one doubt. He was, after all, a most sensible man (and an Anglican convert, as am I).

The OP was not asking about “difficulties” but about doubt (he used that word in his original post).

I answered the question, clearly and correctly. YOU confused the issue.

Please stop doing that. Please stop spouting off about things that you don’t correctly understand, and confusing people.

 

[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.

No real Catholic will place David Filmer’s errors above the Church’s teaching.

1. These are the essential beliefs which “faithful Catholics” must hold – as 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

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

1. Thus is a “faithful Catholic” identified in the CCC:
   CCC 837: "Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’ " [My emphasis].

 

[DavidFilmer]

No real Catholic will place David Filmer’s errors above the Church’s teaching.

What errors?

1. These are the essential beliefs which “faithful Catholics” must hold – as this is what the Church teaches, in Her latest Code of Canon law

OK, you seem to confuse Canon Law with Catholic Doctrine. The very fact that you acknowledge that there IS SUCH A THING as the “latest” Code of Canon Law indicates that you have no idea that Canon Law is nothing, but Catholic Doctrine is eternal. The entirety of Canon Law has been completely repealed TWICE. Doctrine has NEVER been repealed.

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.

Until, of course, the Third Edition of Canon Law comes out (which will likely repeal the entire 1983 CIC, just as the 1983 CIC repealed the entire 1918 CIC, which repealed every Canon promulgated by every Ecumenical Council since Nicea-1).

1. Thus is a “faithful Catholic” identified in the CCC:
   CCC 837: "Fully incorporated into the society of the Church are those who, possessing the Spirit of Christ, accept all the means of salvation given to the Church together with her entire organization, and who - by the bonds constituted by the profession of faith, the sacraments, ecclesiastical government, and communion - are joined in the visible structure of the Church of Christ, who rules her through the Supreme Pontiff and the bishops. Even though incorporated into the Church, one who does not however persevere in charity is not saved. He remains indeed in the bosom of the Church, but ‘in body’ not ‘in heart.’ " [My emphasis].

Oops - you have strayed from misstating laws (which you don’t understand) to misstating actual doctrine(which you don’t understand).

 

[grannymh]

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

Paragraph 389.

 

[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.

Where does the Catholic Church teach this?

 

[Vico]

Catechism of the Catholic Church has one belief that is necessary:
**161 **Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.42 "Since “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life ‘But he who endures to the end.’"43

 

[DavidFilmer]

Paragraph 389.

Did you mis-type that, Granny? That paragraph is about original sin.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Where does the Catholic Church teach this?

Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest. [CCC 1860]

You DO realize, don’t you, that there is NO SUCH THING as sin (mortal or venial) to which we do not commit some measure of freewill consent.

We cannot sin against our free will

. Not ever. Never. Nada. Zip.

Unwilling disbelief is not sinful, because our freewill is not involved.

Oh, wait - are you that guy that thinks that pretty much everything is sinful (and mortally sinful, at that)? That knowledge and consent really have nothing to do with the whole sin equation? It’s all about what you do (or don’t do), and not about your knowledge and consent except in the most extreme imaginable cases of forced sin?

Are you that guy? I think I remember you.

 

[DavidFilmer]

Catechism of the Catholic Church has one belief that is necessary:
**161 **Believing in Jesus Christ and in the One who sent him for our salvation is necessary for obtaining that salvation.42 “Since “without faith it is impossible to please [God]” and to attain to the fellowship of his sons, therefore without faith no one has ever attained justification, nor will anyone obtain eternal life ‘But he who endures to the end.’”

Bad news for Baptized babies who die before they reach the age of reason. They had no faith, and no belief. So I suppose they are bound for hell.

Or, is that heresy? I think it is. My bad.

So, how do we reconcile that paragraph with this (entirely possible) situation, without making heretics of ourselves?

We have to recognize that we do not need PERSONAL faith or belief. In the case of infant Baptism (the ordinary means of Baptism in the Catholic Church), the faith (and belief) of Baptism come from our parents, our godparents, and the Christian community at large:

Baptism is the sacrament of faith. But faith needs the community of believers. It is only within the faith of the Church that each of the faithful can believe. The faith required for Baptism is not a perfect and mature faith, but a beginning that is called to develop. [CCC 1253]

 

[DavidFilmer]

Are you that guy? I think I remember you.

No, wait, that’s billb that I’m thinking of. Sorry for the mix-up.

It’s just that, when you go saying that unintentional disbelief (or unintentional ANYTHING) is sinful or excommunicatable, you sound just like Bill. He really doesn’t believe in venial sin. He believes it’s possible, but highly unlikely. He believes that anybody who does anything wrong is automatically presumed to have full knowledge and complete consent except in the most bizarre of circumstances (and, thus, for all practical purposes, all sins are mortal).

But, I’m pretty sure that not even Bill has ever said that an act committed without ANY freewill consent whatsoever is sinful. You’re the only guy saying that.

 

[Vico]

Bad news for Baptized babies who die before they reach the age of reason. They had no faith, and no belief. So I suppose they are bound for hell.

Or, is that heresy? I think it is. My bad.

So, how do we reconcile that paragraph with this (entirely possible) situation, without making heretics of ourselves?

We have to recognize that we do not need PERSONAL faith or belief. In the case of infant Baptism (the ordinary means of Baptism in the Catholic Church), the faith (and belief) of Baptism come from our parents, our godparents, and the Christian community at large:

They have sanctifying grace and upon their particular judgment reason will be present and there will be assent since they have not sinned and neither have the stain of original sin. Faith, hope, and charity are gifts from the grace of God.

 

[grannymh]

Did you mis-type that, Granny? That paragraph is about original sin.

Yup.

You got that right. Paragraph 389 is about basic Original Sin which is a necessary belief in the Catholic Church.

Hopefully, you took time to count the essential Catholic doctrines, flowing from *CCC *389, which are to be believed. Starting with the required Catholic belief that God as Creator exists and is capable of interacting with human creatures all the way to the required belief in the Divinity of Jesus Christ. A good way to figure out the essential beliefs which Catholics must hold is to follow that path.