What is your own personal proof you are in the right Church?

[gcnuss]

Della,

Thank you for your gracious reply. I only hope that I don’t come across as acting in opposition to my signature tag line.

As a former non-Catholic (one not in communion with any of its 27 rites, ordinariates, sub juris, etc.) I understand how all the baptized are in communion with the one, holy, catholic and apostolic church. So, I am not at all saying that non-Catholics have no place in the household of God. Rather, I am saying that within the Catholic Church one has an overflowing abundance of grace due to the sacraments, especially Holy Eucharist. Here I cannot be ecumenical, I’m afraid. There is a divide and it is over the meaning of this most holy of sacraments. But I shall not belabor it because I’m sure you know what I mean.

I understand Catholic teaching on the Eucharist even though I don’t believe that it is binding on Lutherans – that we don’t have a valid Eucharist. I have to respect, in practice, the Catholic belief, i.e., that I shouldn’t receive the Sacrament in a Catholic mass, but then I don’t believe that I miss anything in a Lutheran Eucharist.

By referring to the Anglican Ordinariate, I was hinting, rather poorly I’m afraid, that it may be possible that such a way might be made for traditional Lutherans to reunite with the Church. I think it would be wonderful, for your liturgy is so close to ours and we both really do hold to the same meaning of saving grace. Let us pray that a way will be made, be an ordinariate or however God chooses to bring us into full fellowship again.

I am aware, too, of a number of Lutheran pastors who have converted and, in some cases, entered into formation for ordination as Catholic priests so that path has already been forged. I’m not ready to follow them, but I hope to remain open to hearing God’s call if it comes.

 

[pete_29]

The feeling I had after Confession Sunday!

 

[fhansen]

My question is this, we all have our own personal reasons for the Church we go to and why we go there.

I belong to the RCC. Why do I feel that it is the True Church started by Christ?

Here are my reasons. I look at Peter, my personal proof what I mean by that is in my own common sense mind I see it this way. (this is what I mean by our own personal proof). I see that Peter and the Apostles we all commanded by Christ to begin the Church in this world.

Now Peter was at the Actual Church in Rome where the Pope is today. To me the RCC was for sure the true Church because Peter was the original Aposlte of Christ and he is buried there to this day.

God said you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. He did, And to make thisgs easier, Peter is buried under that Church.

But truly to me in simple terms I know Peter was a part of the RCC. I know Peter was a true disciple of Christ, So beings he is tied to the RCC I feel that is my own true personal proof.

Just wondering how to do you guys feel about your Church.

Please remember it is the Holiday Season and lets all be kind.

Before returning to the CC one thing became strikingly clear: one could not hang their doctrinal hats on interpretations of scripture alone. There were just too many plausible arguments for too many differing interpretations. I learned this simple fact by debating scripture, trying to defend my own beliefs.

But that leaves only two options: 1) we can’t know the truth of the gospel -what Jesus came to tell us-with certainty, or 2) the truth must reside somewhere outside scripture and any individuals’ personal interpretation. That left only one possibility, a possibility I wasn’t too keen on at first: the truth, if at all accessible, would have to be held within a church with direct historical connection to that church which Jesus established in the beginning.

 

[rainman10]

“As the Church of Jerusalem, Alexandria, and Antioch, have erred, so also the Church of Rome hath erred, not only in their living and manner of Ceremonies, but also in matters of Faith.”

The Church of England has also erred. But as a Protestant I assert my right to disregard the unbiblical teachings of the Church to which I belong. Were I Roman Catholic, I would not be able to do so.

Yes, there are many people who take the easy way out. Pick and choose the teachings YOU want to believe, not all that Jesus taught. It is not always easy being Catholic, but it is worth every ounce of effort put forth to stay true Christ’s teachings.

 

[vera_dicere]

The Truth never changes. God never changes. The Catholic Church has always taught the same stuff. It never changes. Never alters. Never falls prey to social pressures of a secular nature. LIke Anglicanism, I pity them, look at the mess their church is in!

Then there’s the fact Christ started the Church, the name Catholic might not have been used from the get go, but humans have a habit of placing names to things, even retroactively.

Do I want to be a member of a Church started by God, or by a fat British Monarch who wanted a divorce? Or a Church started by a disgraced priest who had the wrong end of the stick? God or man? It really is just that simple for me. Sure, its not chartiable, but those the breaks. Each faith, each religion has snippets of teh truth, but only Catholicism has teh whole Truth, and a half truth is still a lie.

OF course, there is the personal spiritual affirmations I’ve had, they just reinforce what I know.

The mroe I study Church history and theology, the more I realise the Catholic Church has the objective Truth.

 

[Bob_Crowley]

My question is this, we all have our own personal reasons for the Church we go to and why we go there.

I belong to the RCC. Why do I feel that it is the True Church started by Christ?

Here are my reasons. I look at Peter, my personal proof what I mean by that is in my own common sense mind I see it this way. (this is what I mean by our own personal proof). I see that Peter and the Apostles we all commanded by Christ to begin the Church in this world.

Now Peter was at the Actual Church in Rome where the Pope is today. To me the RCC was for sure the true Church because Peter was the original Aposlte of Christ and he is buried there to this day.

God said you are Peter and upon this rock I will build my Church. He did, And to make thisgs easier, Peter is buried under that Church.

But truly to me in simple terms I know Peter was a part of the RCC. I know Peter was a true disciple of Christ, So beings he is tied to the RCC I feel that is my own true personal proof.

Just wondering how to do you guys feel about your Church.

Please remember it is the Holiday Season and lets all be kind.

Well, it’s a strange story, but one day I woke up, and bingo! There were two gold plates under my pillow. One had inscribed on it “You’re in the right church, boyo!” so I pulled out the other one, turned it over, and it said, “Ditto! I told you already!”.

Just kidding.

I used to be atheist. At the lowest point in my life, I was getting this persistent spiritual push to go to a church I went to as a kid in Sunday School. It was pretty persistent. So I went, and became Christian. It just “happened” that the pastor in charge turned out to be the wisest and most prophetic man I’ve met. He incidentally predicted I’d join the Catholic Church at a later date.

A few years after I got married, and left his church at about the same time (he did too - he died a few months after I got married), I started getting this spiritual push towards the Catholic Church. It was pretty much the same as the original push to my Protestant church. Other factors were a Catholic psychiatrist I met at around the same time; a dissatisfaction with the divisions in the Protestant Church and some of the “it’s all in the Bible” stuff while hearing conflicting points of view about what was “all in the Bible”; and the final straw - an argument with a Protestant pastor.

Some time after I joined, my original pastor turned up one night in a vision and simply said “The Catholic Church is closest to the truth”. He’s turned up a couple of other times too. Each time he’s made a brief statement, with a definite message, and then disappeared just as quickly. The night (or early morning) he died, this real sense of peace descended on me for a good half an hour. It was quite noticeable. So I was being assured I suppose.

Anyway I suppose you could say I’ve been pushed, prodded and advised by supernatural means.

 

[acarlson]

Apostolic succession and the beauty of the Eucharist But the more I grow in my faith, the more I see that the wisdom of the Magisterium has an answer, in some way or another, for any questions about life you could have.