What do you most want to learn about Catholicism?

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Alberich

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Easy–just like the titles asks: (1) What do you most want to learn about Catholicism ? Also, (2) What do you wish *other *people knew about Catholicism?

In my case: (1) I’d like to learn more about the early Church, especially the early ecumenical councils. And (2) I wish people better understood Communion of the Saints.

Pax,
Alberich
 
I’d like to learn more about the history of the Church. Since I’m a non-Catholic, I can’t really answer the second question.
 
1.) Church History.

2.) Church History.

If everybody knew that there would be a lot more Catholics. 😃
 
The Catholic way of spirituality- for both questions. I know some about it but not enough. Also, many people think Catholicism is spiritually dead- but saints like Teresa of Avila and John of the Cross certainly didn’t think so. I would like to have a spirituality like theirs, and I would like for others to as well- so that all will know how wonderful a treasure the Catholic Faith is.
 
Probably a combination of Church history, spirituality, and a bit of apologetics. I want to be able to look to the Church and its people who are great examples on how they kept their eye on Christ, and apply it to my own life, along with the assurance that these teachings are supported by the fact that there is a historical basis for it.
 
How the catholic church is preaching the gospel to Muslims, Mormons and Jehovah’s Witness and other false religions, cults.
 
I just bought the 3 volume set on *The Faith of the Early Church * fathers (something along those lines) I cant wait to have the Catholic Church to be further established in my mind as Christ’s true church after readings from the early church fathers. Anyone read these, are they any good. I probably should have asked before I spent the money on them, but oh well thats too late.
 
interesting so many people say Church history, which in my experience is the area most lacking in most catechetical programs. Also the year we offer it, 8th grade, is the least well attended, and adult ed sessions offered have received no response whatever. hmmm. It may be like bible study, a lot of people request it, but when it is offered, few or none come forward to participate.
 
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Roman_Catholic:
I just bought the 3 volume set on *The Faith of the Early Church * fathers (something along those lines) I cant wait to have the Catholic Church to be further established in my mind as Christ’s true church after readings from the early church fathers. Anyone read these, are they any good. I probably should have asked before I spent the money on them, but oh well thats too late.
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If it’s Jurgens you have most certainly not wasted your money, in fact just the opposite! Enjoy! 😃

For me, how I wish all the churches out there that preach against the Catholic Church would have the courage and the honesty to invite Catholic bishops, priests, deacons, or even lay apologists to come in to tell them what the Church actually teaches so they can be disabused of the nonsense and biased teaching they’ve had for generations. Or failing that, if their ministers would just read the CCC with a fair mind. Just think of the confusion and bitterness that could be eliminated, and how we could all be reconciled into Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic church again. A person can have her dream, can’t she? :love:
 
If it’s Jurgens you have most certainly not wasted your money, in fact just the opposite! Enjoy!
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Those are the ones. I am now even more looking forward to reading these books.

I just finished Triumph by H.W. Crocker and Why do Catholics Do that by K. Jonhson and hopefully I will be done with How the Catholic Church Built Wester Civilization by the time these books get here… I dont know I just cant get enough of this Church’s history, it is very addicting.
 
**(1) What do you most want to learn about Catholicism ? **
I want to know the Cathechism front to back and back to front (i’m sporadically working on it)

** (2) What do you wish other people knew about Catholicism?
I wish more people understood the true history and splendor of the Church, including the wonderful spirituality, the incredible minds of the Doctors of the Church, and the missionaries throughout history who changed the world and now get almost no credit by modern Christians, who think they invented mission work.
The one single thing I wish more people knew about though, is the Real Presence. Once you get that, all the rest falls into place.
 
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Roman_Catholic:
Those are the ones. I am now even more looking forward to reading these books.

I just finished Triumph by H.W. Crocker and Why do Catholics Do that by K. Jonhson and hopefully I will be done with How the Catholic Church Built Wester Civilization by the time these books get here… I dont know I just cant get enough of this Church’s history, it is very addicting.
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The only problem I had with Triumph by H.W. Crocker was, at least to me, pinned the problems of Communism and Nazism too much on Protestantism.
 
Hi Alberich, it’s Linny. I want to learn how to accept and stop questioning.😉
 
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Linnyo:
Hi Alberich, it’s Linny. I want to learn how to accept and stop questioning.😉
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Hi Linny, I’m glad to see that you took to these forums pretty well! 😃 I’m not sure that there’s any reason not stop questioning things. When I was a bit younger, a friend and I came up with the Jesuit-Franciscan Continuum of Religious Belief, or the JFC. (Yes, we were a bit younger, and didn’t know as much as we thought about either order… :o ) On the one edge of the scale is the “Franciscan Way” of believing, which is accepting things and appreciating them for the beauty we see in them. On the other edge, the “Jesuit Way”–constantly questioning everything trying to figure out the prime or basic truths. I think that everybody falls on a different place on the scale, and that there is really no wrong place to be on the scale. As we are each different, what’s important is figuring out what brings us closer to God as discrete individuals.

Then again, I was a lot less mature when I came up with the JFC than I am now . (Although there are those who would argue that I still am quite immature.)

Pax,
Alberich
 
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Alberich:
Hi Linny, I’m glad to see that you took to these forums pretty well! 😃 I’m not sure that there’s any reason not stop questioning things. When I was a bit younger, a friend and I came up with the Jesuit-Franciscan Continuum of Religious Belief, or the JFC. (Yes, we were a bit younger, and didn’t know as much as we thought about either order… :o ) On the one edge of the scale is the “Franciscan Way” of believing, which is accepting things and appreciating them for the beauty we see in them. On the other edge, the “Jesuit Way”–constantly questioning everything trying to figure out the prime or basic truths. I think that everybody falls on a different place on the scale, and that there is really no wrong place to be on the scale. As we are each different, what’s important is figuring out what brings us closer to God as discrete individuals.

Then again, I was a lot less mature when I came up with the JFC than I am now . (Although there are those who would argue that I still am quite immature.)

Pax,
Alberich
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Hey, I’ve just noticed something really scary! You are younger than me. Not much but you seem so much more mature in your outlook. You have everything worked out. I don’t! I still feel like a 12 year old and I always half expect people to find out that I am a liar and that I’m not really an adult but a child pretending.
Your sliding scale is good:D
Linnyo
 
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Linnyo:
Hey, I’ve just noticed something really scary! You are younger than me. Not much but you seem so much more mature in your outlook. You have everything worked out. I don’t! I still feel like a 12 year old and I always half expect people to find out that I am a liar and that I’m not really an adult but a child pretending.
Your sliding scale is good:D
Linnyo
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Funny! I feel the same way! (Except for the age thing.) I know that I’m more on the Jesuit end of my scale, (actually, I’m much more of a Benedictine in outlook, I think! 😃 ), and sometimes it really scares me. There have been times that I have felt so far from God, sometimes I’ve even questioned His very existence just because of my approach. I’ve been lucky, though, and every time I start to stray, I end up getting pulled back to Him through one means or another. It’s truly odd how He works (that is how I know that Jesus must have laughed…) For instance, one time I drew away from the Church due to a line of questioning I had, he drew me back through music. He knows I love classical music, and so he led me to the works of Ralph Vaughan Williams, then to his work “Hodie.” Hearing that on a snowy night, I had an “a ha!” moment that brought me back once again.

Still, sometimes I wish I could stop my questioning sometimes, and just take things as they are…

Alberich
 
I wish I could get inside the mind of a vehement anti-catholic and find out why they really don’t believe.

Then again, it could be scary in there… 😃
 
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need_to_know:
I wish I could get inside the mind of a vehement anti-catholic and find out why they really don’t believe.

Then again, it could be scary in there… 😃
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It could be scary in the mind of a vehement anti-catholic or in the mind of a real ‘protesting protestant’. I find it scary enough in my own mind!:eek: Most non-catholics are non because they have been born into different faiths rather than through choice. Many non-catholics are completely ignorant of the RCC only because they have never been in the church and have possibly only heard the views of people who feel strongly enough against the church to make their misconceptions known. I grew up with the belief that catholics didn’t want to mix with society cos they have segregated schools. Also, the church doesn’t seem particularly welcoming as there seems to be no evangelism or inviting people along. Fortunately I met my husband and went with him.🙂
 
Another reason protesting protestants hate Catholics is the issue of “closed communion”. That’s a protestant phrase they make much of. In protestant churches, all believing Christians are welcome at the table. It was an issue I had with the Catholic church, and in some ways, still do. Not because I don’t believe in the Real Pressence, I do, and did before I ever went to mass, but because it is seen as divisive. Protestants don’t see it as a doctrinal issue. They see it as an issue of, “if you’re not one of us, you’re not welcome at our table.” Which makes it difficult to invite non-catholics to mass. Especially those with a close relationship to Christ. It’s an issue I’d like to see some sort of compromise on, though I don’t know what that would be.
 
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Klm:
Another reason protesting protestants hate Catholics is the issue of “closed communion”. That’s a protestant phrase they make much of. In protestant churches, all believing Christians are welcome at the table. It was an issue I had with the Catholic church, and in some ways, still do. Not because I don’t believe in the Real Pressence, I do, and did before I ever went to mass, but because it is seen as divisive. Protestants don’t see it as a doctrinal issue. They see it as an issue of, “if you’re not one of us, you’re not welcome at our table.” Which makes it difficult to invite non-catholics to mass. Especially those with a close relationship to Christ. It’s an issue I’d like to see some sort of compromise on, though I don’t know what that would be.
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Yep, I didn’t like that either especially when I couldn’t have communion at my own wedding even though I had the same set of beliefs and was going to become a catholic anyway.:yup:
 
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