What Is The Catholic Church To YOU?

[Philthy]

Singinbeauty:

I am not asking what it is that you have been told by the church but I would like to know your own experiences as to how you arrived at being a catholic.

1. What does this faith have for you and what does it mean to you?

This faith helps me to draw closer to Jesus Christ, to be in Him and to remain there.

Singinbeauty:

1. What does it mean to be catholic? What makes a person catholic?

Baptized into the Church with the intention of doing the will of God.

Singinbeauty:

1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that by accepting that you are going to heaven?

Thank you in advance for your honest answers…

Your use of the term “accepting that” is ambiguous. Very much your style - It would appear that you mean something different than simply “believing” since you chose not to repeat that word from the beginning of the sentence. What does “accepting” mean as distinct from “believing”?
If you mean “accepting” in the sense that we must acknowledge that his death was for the forgiveness of our sins, and that to “accept” him by faith is an ongoing, living relationship which cannot be separated from “accepting” him and his commands:
Repent
Be baptised
Forgive others
Love God
And that if, at the completion of our lives, we “deny Him” that He will deny us before the Father, then my answer is YES - I ACCEPT!

Phil

 

[wcknight]

I am a cradle Catholic, I was baptize at age 6, was educated by nuns in grade school, went to a Catholic HS, lapsed in late teens and returned to the Church about 10 or 12 years later.

During my long lapse, I considered many faiths and searched for alternatives and different interpretations. Nothing measured up and nothing could reveal more truth than what I came from originally. During my journey I came to appreciate all that I took of granted, and everything that I doubted became more and more real as I discovered just how far off other faiths were.

With the grace of God, I came to see God’s truth renewed again in His one true Church. In looking at the Protestant’s perspective, I realized that they really had no idea what Catholics truly believed in, their preconceived notions were way out in left field, and their suppositions and assumptions were all wrong.

Eastern religions lacked structure and seemed too vague to be of much value. New age and the Shirley Maclaine crowd were a bit too strange and scary. I don’t think I ever became a true atheist, but I probably bordered on agnostic at some points. It took a near fatal suicide attempt to make me decide to return to God and make some changes in my life (doesn’t it always take a huge wake up call for most of us to get our act together).

Living with God, suddenly made a whole lot more sense that living without Him and maybe even dying without Him. I believe the Catholic Church is the one Church established by Christ, that Jesus has never abandoned it, that the Pope is the successor to St. Peter, and that Jesus guides His Church through the Holy Spirit as He promised, and that the Church is the ocean liner that will guide us all to Heaven.

Folks of other faith are maybe struggling in a row boat, drifting along in a life raft, barely treading water, or maybe even drowning in a sea of sin. You may or may not get to Heaven but its a whole lot better with the Catholic Church.

 

[Roman_Army]

Singinbeauty:

I am not asking what it is that you have been told by the church but I would like to know your own experiences as to how you arrived at being a catholic.

1. What does this faith have for you and what does it mean to you?
2. What does it mean to be catholic? What makes a person catholic?
3. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that by accepting that you are going to heaven?

Thank you in advance for your honest answers…

**I don’t think this thread belongs in this forum, but I don’t know where it belongs either, I guess it would most likely belong in “Spirituality.” **

But anyway, I am Catholic because I was born Catholic. However, I wasn’t always a faithful Catholic and I was most likely a “cafeteria catholic.” I was for a time an agnostic. But, then once I found faith through hardship, spiritual experiences, and a vision. I looked around and saw literally thousands of denominations. I remembered my basic history that the Catholic Church was the first. I had a devotion to the blessed Mother and my vision was about her. No other denomination was welcoming enough for Mary, so I rediscovered my Church. I never decided to explore other religions, but I did study about them. Now I see how wrong those other religions are and how true and accurate Catholicism is. I try to tolerate and respect other religions, but sometimes as some people have noticed here, I slip. I appologize for that.

 

[Shiann]

What do you mean by this?

I mean Catholicism has a Breadth and Depth that protestant religions just do not have.

Historical breadth and depth- there is 2000 years of continuous history in the Catholic Faith. Far more than other Christian religions.

Structural breadth and depth- There is a heirarchy, a structure of Catholicism which can be traced back to Christ. The Dogmas, and Doctrine of Faith of the Catholic Church are biblical in their entirety.

Liguistical breadth and depth- the understanding of the language of the Bible and the History of the language of the Bible is the most complete within the Catholic Church.

And the Faith, Hope, and Love I receive when I participate in God’s Sacraments is more broad and more deep than the love I have gotten from any number of protestant services.

You might note a commonality within most of the posts in this thread- it is the word, or derivation of the word “LACK”. Most people speak of the “lack of …” that they found in other religions- including Protestant.

That is what the Catholic Church is for me- the FULLNESS of the Truth.

 

[pacersFan]

Singinbeauty:

I am not asking what it is that you have been told by the church but I would like to know your own experiences as to how you arrived at being a catholic.

1. What does this faith have for you and what does it mean to you?

I highly value the very rich history and tradition of the Catholic faith. I love the deep spirituality of many of the saints through the ages, and I love that they took the time to write about their experiences. I like that the Church is full of theologians who took the time to think through many difficult questions. I’ve been amongst other denominations, and if it wasn’t for Catholicism, I don’t think I could be a Christian.

1. What does it mean to be catholic? What makes a person catholic?

I’ve been pondering this question quite a bit lately. I don’t want to be just another convert in name only. I know that it means service, and requires a dramatic difference in lifestyle from the average person in our society. I believe it also requires the full embrace of the Sacraments that have been gifted to us by God.

1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that by accepting that you are going to heaven?

**I believe the above statement, but I believe it to be much deeper than many people chose to see it. What entails the acceptance of Christ in our hearts? It is easy to say that I accept Christ, just as it is easy for politicians to make claims during a campaign. This is where conversion comes in, and where I believe that various non-Catholic denominations often miss the point. **