What I Love About the Catholic Church

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SirThomasMore

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I know we spend a lot debating other faiths, but what do we like about the Catholic Church?

I know, for me, authority has always been important. There are over 40,000 denominations in the USA, all teaching something a little different. Anyone can start a Church. Jesus said, “ONE hope, ONE faith, ONE Baptism”. Seems clear there was only intended to be one. So, that is one thing.

I also love the history and tradition. I love reading about the early Christians and Saints and know I belong to the same Church they did.

I love the tradition.

I love being able to walk into a parish and feeling the reverence.

I love that, in Mass, EVERYONE in the world who is going to Mass that day will have the same readings, the same liturgy, and the same Eucharist. THAT is Universal, THAT is Catholic.

Those are some of the things I love.
 
I like the way things are taught in the Catholic Church. People don’t scream “fire and brimstone” in your face, nor do they condemn you for your sins, unlike many Fundamentalist chruches do. They also don’t condemn you for what you’ve done, because they understand that judging someone is reserved for God.

I also love the fact that the Church has stuck to her principles for 2000 years and is still going strong. Other religions may sometimes want to “keep up with the times”, meaning conforming to the stupidity of the world.
 
I love that we get to literally recieve Jesus himself in the Eucharist - not just a symbol. No other religion or denomination has this.

I love the fact that I can be physically present with Jesus in the Tabernacle.
 
There are soooo many things, it is almost impossible to know where to start.

I am a semi convert (if thats possible), in as much as I was baptized Catholic as an infant, but never catechized.

My grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and I have attended a variety of chuches at different times in my life. Pick one, and I’ve probably been to at least one worship service.

In addition to the things that have already been stated, like the Eucharist, tradition, history, universality, for me, it had to be the “straight forwardness”.

When I went through RCIA, I was the guy in the middle of the class, that always had a question, or statement, or experience that would prove the Catholic Church wrong. Unforturnately, or actually fortuantely in my case, it was me that was proven wrong.

There wasn’t a question that wasn’t answered, or a definitive statement given, including documentation. Just like the Bible, the Church has been an “Open Book”, with nothing to hide.

It was truly coming home for me. That was Easter Vigil 1995. I have remained with the RCIA program in our parish, and became the Lay Director of the program in 2000.
 
I love how real and solid everything is. When I go to confession, the words used to absolve me are straight to the point, and final.

I love how the Mass is separate from the people and the priest. Even if the people and the priests are the most rotton people in the world, the Mass will still be valid. It’s not like Protestant churches where everybody leaves if the minister is annoying or boring.
twopekinguys said:
There are soooo many things, it is almost impossible to know where to start.

I am a semi convert (if thats possible), in as much as I was baptized Catholic as an infant, but never catechized.

My grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and I have attended a variety of chuches at different times in my life. Pick one, and I’ve probably been to at least one worship service.

In addition to the things that have already been stated, like the Eucharist, tradition, history, universality, for me, it had to be the “straight forwardness”.

When I went through RCIA, I was the guy in the middle of the class, that always had a question, or statement, or experience that would prove the Catholic Church wrong. Unforturnately, or actually fortuantely in my case, it was me that was proven wrong.

There wasn’t a question that wasn’t answered, or a definitive statement given, including documentation. Just like the Bible, the Church has been an “Open Book”, with nothing to hide.

It was truly coming home for me. That was Easter Vigil 1995. I have remained with the RCIA program in our parish, and became the Lay Director of the program in 2000.
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What a wonderful thing to read! 🙂
 
I love that Jesus founded it and that Christians were willing to become martyrs so that His Church and the Scriptures would survive.

I love that Peter and the Apostles, St. Paul and all the disciples (pagans & Jews) founded the Early Church “belly to belly” through oral communication until finally they got it all down in written form in Sacred Scripture.

I love how old it is! The Church body, the communion of saints. Their battling out heresies to ensure we had one faith, one Church, one understanding of Scripture.

It’s just absolutely amazing, the Judeo-Christian deposit of our faith.
 
I love the Saints!! I missed them when I was a Protestant. .
 
In Scripture it talks about how Mary “pondered these things in her heart”.

I ponder on the 3,000 years (or more) of Judeo-Christian history and the Mass, and our Sacraments.

The liturgy of the Mass and the Sacraments, appear to be man-made. Yet, when I came back to the Church, and I took a second look, I began to realize what an amazing and beautiful mystery they actually are.

Like Mary, I really enjoy “pondering these things, in my heart.”
 
Mike2010 said:
I love that we get to literally recieve Jesus himself in the Eucharist - not just a symbol. No other religion or denomination has this.

I love the fact that I can be physically present with Jesus in the Tabernacle.
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The Orthodox also get to receive Jesus Himself in the Eucharist. Their Sacraments are valid. Pray for unity between Catholics and Orthodox.
 
Absolutely, and how the Eucharist draws us toward reconciliation with Him and how He is the focal point of every Mass.

The Eucharist gives life to our salvation history! Reawakens the Old Testament and the New.

👍
 
I love that the Church doesn’t rely on emotionalism. Emotions fade over time, that’s not what this Faith is about.

I love that I feel reverance in Mass that I missed in other denominations. It FEELS like a sanctuary of God because people treat it as such, instead of treating it like someone’s living room.

I love padded kneelers.

For that matter, I love kneeling. It feels wrong to pray standing or sitting, I don’t know why it just does.

I love genuflection - it reminds me I’m in the presence of God.

I love the history of the Church. Even the bad bits. In fact the bad bits just convince me even more that this is God’s Church, otherwise it wouldn’t be around anymore.

I love our priests, even the effeminate ones.

I love alter boys. They make me smile. 🙂

I love that lay ministers aren’t giving sermons about how Jesus was a myth.

But most of all I love the unity. I love that the prayers I am saying are being echoed across the globe in thousands of other Catholic Churches. I love that!
 
nickybr38 said:
I love
I love that lay ministers aren’t giving sermons about how Jesus was a myth.
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I was raised presbyterian and people at church always talked about how we don’t know that Jesus wasn’t a myth, we don’t know if God is real, etc. :doh2: It got on my nerves and was one reason I left to become Baptist.

I love how the Church unashamedly teaches the Truth. One thing that drew me in was their unwavering position on abortion. Even Baptist churches sometimes backed down on teaching against abortion because they were afraid of offending someone. I remember reading an article about how the Church was threatening to close all Catholic hospitals in the US rather than be forced to do abortions there. It really had an affect on me and made me start looking at the Church in a more favorable light, which led to me questioning all the lies I had been told about the Church in my Baptist church.
 
I love the fact that Jesus Christ Himself established the Church, and that the Holy Spirit came down upon it at the first Pentecost.

I love the fact that the Church that God Himself established teaches with authority. (That was the primary point that ended with my conversion 14 years ago.)

I love all the physical aspects that help us in our spiritual lives:
  • We have many sacramentals (the Rosary, statues, Holy Water, … the list is long).
  • We have the God of the universe actually physically present, hidden under the form of the Blessed Sacrament.
  • We receive absolution for our sins from one of God’s ordained ministers rather than just confessing to God in our own rooms.
  • There is meaning in each part of the ritual of the Mass.
Above all I love the fact that when we assist at Mass we are re-present at the foot of the Cross. When we attend the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, or at the Sanctus during Mass, we raise our voices together with the Heavenly Hosts in worshipping the Lamb upon His throne.
 
I am a convert. I can walk into any Catholic church in the world and feel at home because the Real Presence off Christ resides in the tabernacle. I love the universality and the 2,000 years of authoritative teaching passed down from Christ Himself. I love the tradition which is also universal. And I love Christ giving us His Mother from the cross.
 
I love the personal devotions. I signed up for five o’clock Saturday mornings at my previous parish for Adoration, and loved that hour, just me and my Lord. The internal stuff, it is what counts, and motivates the external stuff. It comes from within, and we don’t have to worry about impressing others with our piety.

There are many other things, but most have already been mentioned. 😛

Of those already mentioned, it is the Traditions of the Church. With the CCC, we don’t have to worry about people taking off on tangents, over-emphasizing some parts of the Bible, while under-emphasizing others. It give the Church stability.

Some anti-Catholics condemn the hierarchical structure of the Church, but when internal faith and the Traditions are important, that, while significant, has no bearing in my spiritual life. Of course, I am a person who has always asked “Why?” and I have always been given good answers.
 
I echo the other sentiments.

One of the things that I find to be so important about the Catholic faith is not just that it has Authority passed down from Jesus Himself, but that Authority is used to charitably discipline those that are “out of bounds”.

This authority and consequent discipline is missing in many other faiths. As a result, members of those faiths are free to determine things entirely by themselves, whether it is doctrine, or matters of behavior, or whatever it might be. While I support individual freedom of thought and personal decision making, this lack of authority and discipline can also lead to unfortunate decisions and sometimes even an apparent perversion of other faiths.
 
twopekinguys said:
There are soooo many things, it is almost impossible to know where to start.

I am a semi convert (if thats possible), in as much as I was baptized Catholic as an infant, but never catechized.

My grandfather was a Presbyterian minister, and I have attended a variety of chuches at different times in my life. Pick one, and I’ve probably been to at least one worship service.

In addition to the things that have already been stated, like the Eucharist, tradition, history, universality, for me, it had to be the “straight forwardness”.

When I went through RCIA, I was the guy in the middle of the class, that always had a question, or statement, or experience that would prove the Catholic Church wrong. Unforturnately, or actually fortuantely in my case, it was me that was proven wrong.

There wasn’t a question that wasn’t answered, or a definitive statement given, including documentation. Just like the Bible, the Church has been an “Open Book”, with nothing to hide.

It was truly coming home for me. That was Easter Vigil 1995. I have remained with the RCIA program in our parish, and became the Lay Director of the program in 2000.
Click to expand...
Okay, I am confused? Are you a practicing Catholic now wtih Protestant tendencies still lurking inside? 🤷
 
The_Reginator said:
I love the fact that Jesus Christ Himself established the Church, and that the Holy Spirit came down upon it at the first Pentecost.

I love the fact that the Church that God Himself established teaches with authority. (That was the primary point that ended with my conversion 14 years ago.)

I love all the physical aspects that help us in our spiritual lives:
  • We have many sacramentals (the Rosary, statues, Holy Water, … the list is long).
  • We have the God of the universe actually physically present, hidden under the form of the Blessed Sacrament.
  • We receive absolution for our sins from one of God’s ordained ministers rather than just confessing to God in our own rooms.
  • There is meaning in each part of the ritual of the Mass.
Above all I love the fact that when we assist at Mass we are re-present at the foot of the Cross. When we attend the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, or at the Sanctus during Mass, we raise our voices together with the Heavenly Hosts in worshipping the Lamb upon His throne.
Click to expand...
I love the fact that the Church that God Himself established teaches with authority.
Click to expand...
This is key because authority has always been an issue with humanity as it was for Satan and his fellow angels. God is the ONLY ONE in charge and His Church is built on the same principles,not a free-knit church or do as I please church.
 
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