What makes someone a "Good Catholic"?

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Really looking for advice on this. Someone that I trust “has the faith” was relating an experience about a friend we both know. She prefaced the story with “she’s a good Catholic woman”, then proceeded to tell a story where this woman behaved in a way that I would not consider Christian, let alone Catholic.

What do you consider the traits of a “good Catholic”? I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”? It would seem to me that there should be more than that, that maybe we should live the way Jesus taught us to live, put others before ourselves, put God before everyone and anything. That we should live our faith. But, the woman in the story certainly didn’t do that. And I know others that reprimand for missing Sunday Mass, but harbour bitterness and pride willingly.

What makes you a good Catholic?
 
Actually to be a good Catholic might require that you check your mind at the door.and trust Jesus and His Church, the Catholic Church. Maybe not so much as checking your mind at the door but conforming it to Jesus and His Church.

Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may prove what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
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Interesting that I am doing a study on this week’s Mass readings and it kind of deals with this question. A snippet…the pearl of great price…the merchant who gives away everything for the sake of this one pearl. He is doing what Jesus calls His disciples to do. Jesus is calling them to be foolish in the eyes of the world. Live a radical life of discipleship where nothing else matters except the one thing. And that one thing is the Kingdom of God…the pearl of great price. To be Catholic is to be counter culture. Especially in regards to life issues.

Jesus says…if you love me you will obey my commandments.
 
For starters, not stating “I’m CAtholic, but…,”.

What exactly are you saying with that statement?
 
Rahn said:
Really looking for advice on this. Someone that I trust “has the faith” was relating an experience about a friend we both know. She prefaced the story with “she’s a good Catholic woman”, then proceeded to tell a story where this woman behaved in a way that I would not consider Christian, let alone Catholic.

What do you consider the traits of a “good Catholic”? I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”? It would seem to me that there should be more than that, that maybe we should live the way Jesus taught us to live, put others before ourselves, put God before everyone and anything. That we should live our faith. But, the woman in the story certainly didn’t do that. And I know others that reprimand for missing Sunday Mass, but harbour bitterness and pride willingly.

What makes you a good Catholic?
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A good Catholic is one who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and body, and loves his neighbor as himself. It is that simple. To love is God’s perfume of attraction.
 
tgGodsway said:
A good Catholic is one who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and body, and loves his neighbor as himself. It is that simple. To love is God’s perfume of attraction.
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Are you Catholic?
 
tgGodsway said:
A good Catholic is one who loves God with all his heart, soul, mind and body, and loves his neighbor as himself. It is that simple. To love is God’s perfume of attraction.
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Yep, and loving God means following his commandments 🙂
 
Rahn said:
I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”?
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In regards to this of course attending Mass and receiving the Sacraments are necessary to being a good Catholic. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life. You should be thankful for that priest. He is doing his job which is to help get you to Heaven. A true personal relationship with Jesus must include the Church that He founded, the Catholic Church, the Sacraments He instituted for us (I will be with you always) and His teachings (Doctrine…If you love me you will obey my commandments).
 
Rahn said:
Really looking for advice on this. Someone that I trust “has the faith” was relating an experience about a friend we both know. She prefaced the story with “she’s a good Catholic woman”, then proceeded to tell a story where this woman behaved in a way that I would not consider Christian, let alone Catholic.

What do you consider the traits of a “good Catholic”? I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”? It would seem to me that there should be more than that, that maybe we should live the way Jesus taught us to live, put others before ourselves, put God before everyone and anything. That we should live our faith. But, the woman in the story certainly didn’t do that. And I know others that reprimand for missing Sunday Mass, but harbour bitterness and pride willingly.

What makes you a good Catholic?
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You were gossiping. That does not make a good Catholic. Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, tells us not to gossip. You are also putting a Priest down. Bad Catholic right there.
 
Rahn said:
Really looking for advice on this. Someone that I trust “has the faith” was relating an experience about a friend we both know. She prefaced the story with “she’s a good Catholic woman”, then proceeded to tell a story where this woman behaved in a way that I would not consider Christian, let alone Catholic.

What do you consider the traits of a “good Catholic”? I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”? It would seem to me that there should be more than that, that maybe we should live the way Jesus taught us to live, put others before ourselves, put God before everyone and anything. That we should live our faith. But, the woman in the story certainly didn’t do that. And I know others that reprimand for missing Sunday Mass, but harbour bitterness and pride willingly.

What makes you a good Catholic?
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I hear you

BUT please take care not to fall into the trap of judging others?

Keep your eyes on your own page; look to your life and living it in your faith. Not looking at others and accusing and judging.
 
In my experience, the phrase “s/he’s a good Catholic” is usually used to indicate that a person is seen going to Mass every Sunday and receiving the sacraments and is often followed by a story of some behavior the person did or opinion they expressed that shocked the story teller because they can’t believe a “good Catholic” would do or say such a thing.

When you are truly a “good Catholic” in terms of living your faith by not only going to Mass every Sunday and receiving sacraments, but also making an honest effort to love and serve God and keep His commandments and love and serve your neighbor as well, much of the time nobody notices or at least they don’t talk about it because you are not a good topic for gossip. I would note that while your priest might not be an inspiring speaker, going to Mass and the sacraments is a huge step in the right direction in terms of gaining grace and getting your mind on what you should be doing as a “good Catholic”, especially if you haven’t been going to Mass or getting the sacraments as frequently as you should (which is a huge number of people), so his advice is not so bad.

I also think a “good Catholic” doesn’t go around minding other people’s business in terms of whether/ how they are practicing their faith, unless s/he is either a clergy or religious leader tasked with this area or if not, happens to see a way they can genuinely help somebody else to grow or strengthen their faith. I realize there are a range of opinions on what constitutes “genuinely help” but to me a lot of people are only too willing to be taking the stick out of their brothers’ eyes while ignoring the plank in their own.

Regarding your question “What makes you a good Catholic?”, I am the last one who’s going to be proclaiming myself a “**good **Catholic”. I would prefer to say, “Lord have mercy on me, a sinner” than make a speech about being a “good” anything when it comes to religion.
 
Rosebud77 said:
Quite frankly, MYOB!
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It came up in discussion because the person gave some advice to a lady regarding whether she should go to Confession that was way far off from anything a Catholic on here would normally say and I noted that it wasn’t the Catholic standpoint, and the discussion went from there. I would note that you just posted suggesting not to judge people, so perhaps it would be better if you did not judge those who say they asked such a question without finding out the reason the question was asked.

Edited to add, it is also helpful, given that this board is called “Catholic Answers”, to have some idea of what tradition a person is coming from when they answer a question that has to do with Catholicism.
 
I think a good Catholic is someone who loves God, follows His Words and adheres to the doctrines and traditions of the Catholic Church.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
It came up in discussion because the person gave some advice to a lady regarding whether she should go to Confession that was way far off from anything a Catholic on here would normally say and I noted that it wasn’t the Catholic standpoint, and the discussion went from there. I would note that you just posted suggesting not to judge people, so perhaps it would be better if you did not judge those who say they asked such a question without finding out the reason the question was asked.

Edited to add, it is also helpful, given that this board is called “Catholic Answers”, to have some idea of what tradition a person is coming from when they answer a question that has to do with Catholicism.
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My dear;I knew fine well why the question was asked and it was in such a way as to try to invalidate the poster which is far worse than being judgemental.

This is how so many react to ???

And no, not judgmental to remind of the words of Jesus re judging others.

Have a lovely Monday!
 
I don’t mind hearing perspectives from non-Catholic religions, given honestly. I find them interesting and enlightening as long as the person is just discussing and not proselytizing. But I do not like it when I ask someone whether they are Catholic on a forum called “Catholic Answers” and they do not give a clear answer, as to me that detracts from their credibility and makes it impossible for me to put their responses in any sort of context. I presume this need for context is one reason why there is a line in our profiles to list “religion”.

In any event, this being a “Catholic Answers” forum, to me it is a reasonable question to ask “Are you Catholic?”, just like if this was a forum for pug dog discussions, it would be reasonable to ask “Do you own a pug?” People on here seeking to learn or discuss about the Catholic faith have a right to inquire whether the person they are talking to and getting “answers” from is a Catholic or not. It would not be reasonable to ask a person where they were employed, or how tall they are, etc. so those to me are the types of questions where “MYOB” would be appropriate.

Have a nice day yourself.
 
And not to mention what the poster lists as Religion is completely insulting to Catholics.
 
Rahn said:
Really looking for advice on this. Someone that I trust “has the faith” was relating an experience about a friend we both know. She prefaced the story with “she’s a good Catholic woman”, then proceeded to tell a story where this woman behaved in a way that I would not consider Christian, let alone Catholic.

What do you consider the traits of a “good Catholic”? I was listening to another homily from a rather uninspiring priest this evening who seems to think that Sunday Mass and the Sacraments are the answer to what we should do in response to any Gospel story. Is that being a “good Catholic”? It would seem to me that there should be more than that, that maybe we should live the way Jesus taught us to live, put others before ourselves, put God before everyone and anything. That we should live our faith. But, the woman in the story certainly didn’t do that. And I know others that reprimand for missing Sunday Mass, but harbour bitterness and pride willingly.

What makes you a good Catholic?
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Yes, I remember a couple of little old ladies admonishing a young mother… as they left before Mass was finished :rolleyes:

Anyway, everyone seems to be focusing on your tagline (eta) as an intro to my answer to your original question. Do Catholics have to check their mind at the door? I think not, and as an analogy, I will bring up climate change *as an example, not a topic for discussion. *Barb agrees that CC is happening, and is the result of human activity. Has she checked her mind at the door?

I would say no. She considered the evidence and concluded that the scientists are believable authorities. She believes the issue is important enough that she (and others) ought to rally round and do things to reduce the factors which lead to CC. When scientists suggest that a certain course of action would reduce CC, she tries to follow that. Has she checked her mind at the door because she believes in the authority of these well-trained scientists who spend their work hours studying the phemonena while she works at something else?

In the same way, Catholics are supposed to accept the teaching authority of the Church. We as a whole received our instructions from the Ultimate Authority, Christ. We have maintained those teachings with the help of the Holy Spirit. There are regular human beings who have spent their “working hours” considering God’s teachings and how they function and work in our lives, and how we ought to live.

Does the fact that we made the initial determination that the Catholic Church is right mean that we checked our minds at the door? I would say no. And I would say that all the arguments on CAF prove it, as we tug each other back and forth over various issues: How can this be, considering … ?

So I would suggest that a “good Catholic” is one who accepts the authority of the Church and who *works with God *to grow in virtue. Each of us fails at this from time to time, so God gave us Cinfession; in addition, knowing ourselves to be weak, we refrain from discussing the failures of others without sufficient reason.
 
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