What is up with

[Brother_Dorsey]

I am a former RC (converted to LDS 28 years ago) and I have some question I am hoping some of you might answer for me as I have forgotten so much.

The rosary bead thing. I remember in catholic school we were taught to “say the rosary” which was a bunch of hail mary’s and our fathers. Why do RC’s “say the rosary”? What’s the significance of repeating the same prayers over and over?

Why do RC’s worship mary and the saints by praying to them? I always felt uncomfortable when I was told to do this because I felt that I should only pray to God. I don’t see anything in the Bible that says you can’t but it just seemed odd to me even back when I was RC.

I remember when going to catholic school (the 60’s) if we were early then we were ushered into “mass” and the priest and altar boys would walk around the room with smelly incense burning in a pot hanging from the end of a stick and waving it around…what’s the significance of the incense?

I remember our class going to confession…and it was so hard to try and think up a sin or two when you were put in that booth that I made stuff up…really, I felt if I didn’t have anything the priest would think I was lying or something. Is the confession thing mainly for serious sins? or all sins?

To obtain a divorce in the RCC I remember that you had to pretty much dive through burning hoops and it took forever…is this still the case?

And lastly, I heard recently that the RCC had changed it’s position on baptizing babies or something like that, maybe it was on unbaptized babies not going to hell or something. Can anyone elaborate?

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

Why do RC’s worship mary and the saints

We don’t.

what’s the significance of the incense?

There are a lot of resources right here on this very site for most of your questions. For starters here is a sort one about incense:


http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/1992/9201cust.asp

I remember our class going to confession…and it was so hard to try and think up a sin or two when you were put in that booth that I made stuff up…

Do an examination of conscience before you enter to confessional then it wont seem like you are put on the spot.

To obtain a divorce in the RCC I remember that you had to pretty much dive through burning hoops and it took forever…is this still the case?

Never had a divorce and don’t plan on getting one either. Someone else I am sure can answer this for you.

And lastly, I heard recently that the RCC had changed it’s position on baptizing babies or something like that, maybe it was on unbaptized babies not going to hell or something. Can anyone elaborate?

What you are probably referring to is Limbo.


http://www.catholic.com/thisrock/2007/0710fea4.asp

God bless

 

[rpp]

The rosary bead thing. I remember in catholic school we were taught to “say the rosary” which was a bunch of hail mary’s and our fathers. Why do RC’s “say the rosary”? What’s the significance of repeating the same prayers over and over?

While saying these prayers, a person meditates on certain points in the life of Christ. These are divided up into 4 groups of 5 “mysteries”, The Joyful, Luminous, Sorrowful and Glorious. The Vatican has a very nice description of the Rosary. Click on the images to get a description of each set of mysteries.
vatican.va/special/rosary/documents/misteri_en.html

The Confraternity of the Holy Rosary also has good information on how to pray the rosary. rosary-center.org/howto.htm Please note the links to the mysteries at the top of the page.

Why do RC’s worship mary and the saints by praying to them? I always felt uncomfortable when I was told to do this because I felt that I should only pray to God. I don’t see anything in the Bible that says you can’t but it just seemed odd to me even back when I was RC.

Do you worship your friends when you ask them to pray for you? That is what Catholics are doing when we pray to saints. For the Catholic, there are two intentions when prayer, when we pray to God, it is part of our worship. When we pray to saints, including the Blessed Virgin Mary, we are asking them to pray for us as well. This is known as the “communion of saints.” It is through the power of God that the saints can hear our prayers, not through some power we think the saints themselves posses.

Today, Lawyers in the USA still use the word “pray” in formal legal documents when asking the court to hear or consider a certain point they are making. Lawyers are certainly not worshiping the judge. This is the same sense that Catholic use when praying to saints.

I remember when going to catholic school (the 60’s) if we were early then we were ushered into “mass” and the priest and altar boys would walk around the room with smelly incense burning in a pot hanging from the end of a stick and waving it around…what’s the significance of the incense?

Incense represents our prayers rising to Heaven. It is based on several references including one in Revelation.

I remember our class going to confession…and it was so hard to try and think up a sin or two when you were put in that booth that I made stuff up…really, I felt if I didn’t have anything the priest would think I was lying or something. Is the confession thing mainly for serious sins? or all sins?

This may be due to poor teaching, you have to know what a sin is. That you made things up in confession was itself a serious sin, but then I suspect you know that. As was stated by another poster, it is important that one perform an examination of conscience before confession.

Confession is primarily for grave (mortal sins). However, as we become better at resisting temptation, many people begin to confess less serious (venial) sins in an effort to become more holy.

To obtain a divorce in the RCC I remember that you had to pretty much dive through burning hoops and it took forever…is this still the case?

Divorce is not permitted nor is it recognized in the Catholic Church. However, if one has gotten a civil divorce, a person can petition the diocesan tribunal to investigate the marriage to see if it was a valid sacramental marriage. This is known at the “nullity” or “annulment” process. If a person has married and divorced, they cannot remarry a different person as long as their first spouse is alive, unless that marriage was declared invalid. By the way, it may appear that there is a loophole here; if a person were to cause the death of (murder) their first spouse. In those cases, the surviving spouse still cannot marry.

And lastly, I heard recently that the RCC had changed it’s position on baptizing babies or something like that, maybe it was on unbaptized babies not going to hell or something. Can anyone elaborate?

The Church has not changed it’s position on Baptism or the fate of unbaptized babies that die before baptism. As for the later, the Church recently stated that it has not made a determination as to what happens. However, many mainstream news media outlets mis-reported this and stated that the Catholic Church had eliminated “Limbo”. The Church has never declared any doctrine or firm teaching regarding Limbo.

 

[Tietjen]

I am a former RC (converted to LDS 28 years ago) and I have some question I am hoping some of you might answer for me as I have forgotten so much.

Hello and welcome to the forums.

The rosary bead thing. I remember in catholic school we were taught to “say the rosary” which was a bunch of hail mary’s and our fathers. Why do RC’s “say the rosary”? What’s the significance of repeating the same prayers over and over?

Well, we say the rosary as a prayer. And while I can understand that some may get hung up on the repetition, I don’t see where it is a problem. Our Lord prayed repetitiously as we see in Matthew 26:44. In Luke 18:13 we see that God was pleased with the tax collector’s repetitive prayer. Rev 4:8 shows us that even the angels pray in a repetitive way. God doesn’t throw out a prayer that he has already heard. He looks at the heart of the individual and that is what is important. Not the words, or how often they are spoken.

Why do RC’s worship mary and the saints by praying to them? I always felt uncomfortable when I was told to do this because I felt that I should only pray to God. I don’t see anything in the Bible that says you can’t but it just seemed odd to me even back when I was RC.

First, we do not worship Mary or the Saints. Yes, we do pray to them, but prayer and worship mean two different things. Prayer is a request. Worship is for God alone. In merry old England for example, it wasn’t uncommon to hear a person say, “I pray you sir…” This statement simply meant that a request was about to follow. Protestants and I assume the LDS Church ask members of their families, friends, and other Church members to pray to them, correct. Well, we Catholics do the same thing. When we pray to the Saints we are asking them to remember us in their prayers. We view our living brothers and sisters AND those brothers and sisters who have passed on, as family (the Communion of Saints). Families pray for one another. As for praying to God, we do that as well.

I remember when going to catholic school (the 60’s) if we were early then we were ushered into “mass” and the priest and altar boys would walk around the room with smelly incense burning in a pot hanging from the end of a stick and waving it around…what’s the significance of the incense?

Well, in Luke 1:8-12 we find that Zachariah used incense in worship. In Rev 8:3-5 we again see incense used in worship. Matthew 2:11 we even see the magi presenting Christ with incense. And of course there are many many OT passages which support the use of incense in worship. So, I am sorry if the significance of it eludes you, but incense has been a part of the Christian Church for a very very long time and a part of the Jewish worship for even longer than that.

I remember our class going to confession…and it was so hard to try and think up a sin or two when you were put in that booth that I made stuff up…really, I felt if I didn’t have anything the priest would think I was lying or something. Is the confession thing mainly for serious sins? or all sins?

Confession is for sins. Certainly for mortal sins, but venial sins can be confessed as well. It is indeed sad that you actually sinned while IN Confession as a child. When you were at that Catholic school, did they not instruct you as to how to go about making an examination of conscience? This is a method Catholics use to help them recall the sins that they have committed.

To obtain a divorce in the RCC I remember that you had to pretty much dive through burning hoops and it took forever…is this still the case?

Yes, that is because we are a Bible believing Church. We actually believe that “what God has joined, no man can put asunder.” We don’t simply hear those words on our wedding day and then forget about them. How can man, undo a Sacrament from God?

And lastly, I heard recently that the RCC had changed it’s position on baptizing babies or something like that, maybe it was on unbaptized babies not going to hell or something. Can anyone elaborate?

Catholics leave it to God alone to determine the final destination of any soul. We do not judge the souls of other men (including babies).