What Is The Catholic Church To YOU?

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Singinbeauty

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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… 🙂
 
1 and 2 together
For me it means the most personal relationship I can have on earth with Jesus Christ. I am part of the Church he founded, I enjoy communion with a unity of belief that I can go anywhere in the world and share this belief. We are united in worship here on earth and in heaven.
I can partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
I have the wisdom of 2000 years of United Christianity to enrichen my spiritual life. If I have a question there is always a consistant answer out there for any spiritual question.
I have a deeper relationship with our Lord, it is the fullness of the truth of Jesus Christ that enriches my life
  1. Every Sunday I confess the Lord with my mouth, but as Catholics we not only believe but by the Grace of God are allowed to live a life of faith that is needed to be saved.
    We believe not only in believing but living a Christian life in love.
Faith, working through love but only by the Grace of God.

In Christ
Scylla
 
1 and 2 together
For me it means the most personal relationship I can have on earth with Jesus Christ. I am part of the Church he founded, I enjoy communion with a unity of belief that I can go anywhere in the world and share this belief. We are united in worship here on earth and in heaven.
I can partake of the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ in the Eucharist.
I have the wisdom of 2000 years of United Christianity to enrichen my spiritual life. If I have a question there is always a consistant answer out there for any spiritual question.
I have a deeper relationship with our Lord, it is the fullness of the truth of Jesus Christ that enriches my life
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Thank you for your very honest and pure answer… I basically believe this also but I not only put catholics in this answer but all christians no matter what denomination. We all believe in Jesus and His sacrifice. That God is our Father. I take comfort in this.
 
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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… 🙂
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(1) The Catholic Church - I have found - contains the fullness of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. It does not overemphasize one aspect of the Gospel for another. It gives meaning to all of Scripture, and it provides the grace of the sacraments to sustain me in my christian faith. All other religions - in my experience - have fallen short of this. In my experience, the Catholic Church feels like home.

(2) One becomes a Catholic by being baptized. But living the life that we are called to live as Catholics is more demanding than the status obtained through baptism. I suppose that may be another difference in perspectives between you (non-denominational christian) and me (Catholic).

(3) Yes I believe Christ died for me personally. Yes, I believe that my faith in Christ, through grace, is necessary for my salvation. But I don’t believe that ‘accepting’ Christ is a one time occurrence by which His righteousness is somehow imputed to my life. Nor do I believe that my single one-time act of accepting Jesus Christ as my personal Lord and Savor (a necessary step for all Christians) assures me of salvation regardless of whatever sins I may commit thereafter. Salvation requires a lifetime of active faith in Christ, and His grace.

I hope this perspective helps. 🙂
 
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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?
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I agree that 1&2 go together. Being Catholic is following Christ and what he asked to the best of my ability. I get to hear his words and follow his instructions in the best possible way. I know that I will fail at times to live up to his perfect standard, but he gives me a way to acknowedge that and receive forgiveness.

It gives me the knowledge that I am part of the physical church here on earth that he promised protection from the gates of hell.

A person who is catholic acknowledges that the Church is the ultimate authority of faith and morals and follows the doctrine of the church and it’s rules. But more than that, a Catholic follows the word of God within them to the best of their ability. There will always be those of less than enthusiastic faith, but we are all called to move forward and understand God’s will in our lives.
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Singinbeauty:
  1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that by accepting that you are going to heaven?
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I don’t believe it is that simple. Christ calls us to pick up our cross and follow him. If we are to follow in his footsteps, then simply acknowledging that he died for us is not a get into heaven free card. St. Paul even had made a statement in one of his letters that he is not guarenteed heaven. If St. Paul is worried in the least, then who am I to NOT be concerned?

One of my favorite passages is 1 Corinthians 13:13, where (depending on the bible) it says that charity (the other translation is love) is greater than faith and hope. I generally equate charity/love in the context of the bible with what Christ DID here on earth, essentially “works”
 
Hmm…

1.) the Truth. It means everything to me because the church is the only place that contains the fullness of the truth and I think that’s what we are all striving for here. I believe that it is contained in the Catholic church. 2.) well, “catholic” literally means universal. It to me means that I am a member of Christ’s intended one, universal church, founded by the Lord himself. An awesome thing. 3.) Yes, I believe Jesus died for our sins. But I don’t think that believing that is your one way ticket to heaven either…
 
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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… 🙂
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  1. It has Jesus! If I had never been told about the Sacraments, I think I would still sense or know on some level when I walked into a Catholic Church that Jesus is in the tabernacle PHYSICALLY - Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. It has 2000 years of history, that leaves me in awe.
  2. It means everything, home, history, familiarity, not compromising my beliefs for anything. Following Christ, suffering with Him, serving Him, loving Him and accepting, respecting, and loving the church He gave us, makes a person Catholic.
  3. Yes, I believe He died for my sins, but by accepting this, I know I have to rely totally on His Mercy and this means a life-long process of serving Him by being merciful to others and trying to avoid temptation, etc.
 
I’m not sure I can provide a decent answer to 1 & 2 but I can for 3.

Christ died for me personally, for my sins (and that’s a lot). This is very comforting for me and carries me through those times when it’s hard not to be disheartened. He died for ME, even though I have done some pretty bad things. This doesn’t let me off the hook exactly, but it does grant me hope in his mercy and the possibility of salvation.

To realize that possibility, all I have to do is remain obedient to his will. My sins are forgiven when I decide to change my life to fit his plan and endure to the end. That’s easier said than done sometimes, but my salvation is in my faith in Christ and my obedience to God’s will.

It’s not enough to have faith, you have to act on your faith. Your faith has to be demonstrated through your thoughts and actions. You have to love God and anyone who really loves God will express that love in their lives. Those who don’t express that love in their actions, don’t really feel it, since failing to do so would be a fundamental betrayal of that love. One necessarily implies the other.
 
It is the only place in the world that I can get a true answer that has been defined, discussed, debated and agreed upon as a whole. I don’t have to have my own answer to life. The Catholic church will point me in the right direction - towards Christ.

A Catholic is someone who has surrender his/her life to the teachings of Christ and his Church.

Yes, Jesus died for my sins as well as the entire world. He came to show us the way to the Father.
 
Singinbeauty, I would like to know what is the Catholic Church to YOU? It’s only fair that we get to know what you think the Church is to you.
 
Singinbeauty said:
1. What does this faith have for you and what does it mean to you?
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It has all of the Truth God has chosen to reveal to all men about Himself. This Truth permeates my life.
  1. What does it mean to be catholic? What makes a person catholic?
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Being Catholic means professing this revealed Truth and living accordingly. Obviously, no one does this perfectly. In the most basic sense, Baptism makes us Catholic.
  1. Do you believe that Jesus Christ died for your sins and that by accepting that you are going to heaven?
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I believe He died for my sins, but I don’t believe simply accepting that is going to get me to Heaven. If I accept that Jesus died for my sins yet live in rebellion to God, I will not go to Heaven. Not only must I have faith in Christ, but I must also live how He desires me to. 🙂
 
Based on the questions in the original post, I think this is an odd thread to begin in the NON catholic religions forum. Why start a thread for Catholics, about Catholicism here?

I was going to respond as a non catholic, until I read OP’s questions.

cheddar
 
I believe in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit

I beleive in the Real Pressence in the form of the Blessed Sacrement.
 
On my way:
Singinbeauty, I would like to know what is the Catholic Church to YOU? It’s only fair that we get to know what you think the Church is to you.
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I am reserving my opinion of the catholic church at this moment because there is a lot, as a protestant, that I have been taught about the catholic faith that may not be true. I don’t want to offend anyone by speaking falsely about their personal faith. I will post as we go. Especially if people ask me questions. I am here to learn…

But I will say this… based on what is being said here about what being catholic means you could easily put ‘christian’ in the place of ‘catholic’ in many of these definitions and you have some of the basics of what I believe… I haven’t seen much that separates us, which was my suspicion.

Thank you all who have answered! 🙂
 
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Singinbeauty:
… you could easily put ‘christian’ in the place of ‘catholic’ in many of these definitions and you have some of the basics of what I believe… I* haven’t seen much that separates us, which was my suspicion*.
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What seperates Catholic from protestant isn’t always individual ideas (in many cases). We both believe in Christ, the Trinity, Salvation and it’s affect on our immortal souls- as well as many other Christian ideas.

The difference comes in the BREADTH and DEPTH of those ideas when comparing Catholicism with protestant religions.
 
The difference comes in the BREADTH and DEPTH of those ideas when comparing Catholicism with protestant religions.
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:confused: What do you mean by this? :confused:
 
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Singinbeauty:
I am reserving my opinion of the catholic church at this moment because there is a lot, as a protestant, that I have been taught about the catholic faith that may not be true. I don’t want to offend anyone by speaking falsely about their personal faith. I will post as we go. Especially if people ask me questions. I am here to learn…

But I will say this… based on what is being said here about what being catholic means you could easily put ‘christian’ in the place of ‘catholic’ in many of these definitions and you have some of the basics of what I believe… I haven’t seen much that separates us, which was my suspicion.

Thank you all who have answered! 🙂
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Hello Singinbeauty;

I would agree that Catholicism and the mainline branches of Reformed Christianity are - in general - united by many of their shared beliefs. They are also united in their service to all of humanity. Catholic and other Christian ministries ease suffering around the world. And we all speak out for the dignity of every person. Yes. There is much common ground. But the differences are there, and they are important to discuss openly and - at times - frankly. But we must always discuss these differences in charity and with respect for each other.
 
I haven’t seen much that separates us, which was my suspicion
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.

What separates (maybe the word “distinguishes” is better than “separates”) us (Catholics) from other religions is the Eucharist, the Body & Blood, Soul & Divinity of Jesus Christ, our Lord. This is the MAIN reason I couldn’t, ever, ever again turn my back on the Church.

To me, being Catholic means accepting the gift Christ left us – Himself, in Holy Communion. I believe other Christian religions can have a good, solid, loving relationship with Christ, but that they are very sadly missing out on what He left us–Himself, physically, to nourish and hold us over until we come to Him after this earthly exile.

But as far as the third question, yes, I believe that Christ died and rose again, for our sins–He took our sins upon Himself so that we could enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. I also believe He gave us free will and if we choose, we can turn our backs on Him and His gift of salvation and enter into hell after death of our flesh.

Penitent
 
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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.
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For future reference, simply ask why people are/became Catholic. By saying “I am not asking what it is that you have been told by the church” it implies that anything the Church tells you is either a cock-and-bull story, or a dubious means for accepting the Church’s faith as your own. (As if all faith is exclusively an existential exercise.) I will assume that was not your intention. If it was, it would be a case of special pleading. If a person with no prior knowledge of Christianity reads a Bible, they are not going to come up with the Trinity–that is something they learn from other Christians. As such, it would be reasonable to reflect the question back on the one asking: "I am not asking what it is that you have been told by [insert pastor, bible commentary, denomination, etc.] but I would like to know your own experiences as to how you arrived at [whatever it is you believe]

Scott
 
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