What Should I Know?

[ez3714]

I didn’t know much about Catholicism growing up (sadly, there was significant antipathy, but that’s a subject for another thread another time). However, I bought myself a copy of the Catechism and got a profound respect for the Church, even if some of the teachings were different than what I was accustomed to.

I now find myself hoping to attend a Catholic University (in order to study Nursing because I think it ludicrous to ignore the spiritual aspect of healing; again, best for another thread).

Folks, I’ve never been around you. I’m afraid of saying The Wrong Thing. Y’know, I saw three Sisters during my campus tour today, and I didn’t even know the proper form of address.

What’s the solution? Keep the conversation light, and don’t bring up religion?

Feel free to take this thread as seriously or as lightly as you like…

 

[Roman_Catholic_1]

I didn’t know much about Catholicism growing up (sadly, there was significant antipathy, but that’s a subject for another thread another time). However, I bought myself a copy of the Catechism and got a profound respect for the Church, even if some of the teachings were different than what I was accustomed to.

I now find myself hoping to attend a Catholic University (in order to study Nursing because I think it ludicrous to ignore the spiritual aspect of healing; again, best for another thread).

Folks, I’ve never been around you. I’m afraid of saying The Wrong Thing. Y’know, I saw three Sisters during my campus tour today, and I didn’t even know the proper form of address.

What’s the solution? Keep the conversation light, and don’t bring up religion?

Feel free to take this thread as seriously or as lightly as you like…

Congrats and God bless you on your pursuit of nursing.

The biggest thing for me would be not that you agree with me on everything (or anything for that matter) but to be respectful in your disagreements. As it looks like you have no problems in this area I think you will do just fine.

God bless

 

[Always_For_Him]

Welcome ez3714,

I am glad to hear that you bought and have read the Catechism!!! Wow!!! If you are interested in learning more about the Catholic Church, read the Early Church Fathers (ECF’s). They are awesome to read because you ARE reading the magisterium of the Church - Christ’s Church. There is a lot to the 2,000 year-old Catholic Church that was dropped through the reformation by man. We live in a different day and time now, but Jesus’ Truth and how we are to live our lives by His requirements, will never change. Always keep your heart open to the truth and humble to receive it.

I think if you are just open to hearing whatever it is people have to say about their religion and respectful to it, all will be well. You don’t have to agree with it. What Catholics in this forum get tired of is non-Catholics telling us what we believe. We correct them, but they won’t hear it. They truly believe whatever error it is that they are espousing.

In regards to how to address nuns, just say hello. I was always taught to say “hello Sister.” If you run into a priest, “hello Father.” If you know their first names, add it, “hello Father John”, “hello Sister Mary.”

We are like anyone else, just be gracious and respectful as you would to anyone else!!!

Bless you on your journey! Let us know what college you are looking at and what decisions you make, if you will.

 

[promethius]

I didn’t know much about Catholicism growing up (sadly, there was significant antipathy, but that’s a subject for another thread another time). However, I bought myself a copy of the Catechism and got a profound respect for the Church, even if some of the teachings were different than what I was accustomed to.

I now find myself hoping to attend a Catholic University (in order to study Nursing because I think it ludicrous to ignore the spiritual aspect of healing; again, best for another thread).

Folks, I’ve never been around you. I’m afraid of saying The Wrong Thing. Y’know, I saw three Sisters during my campus tour today, and I didn’t even know the proper form of address.

What’s the solution? Keep the conversation light, and don’t bring up religion?

Feel free to take this thread as seriously or as lightly as you like…

Most catholic universities these days aren’t even much more than slightly majority catholic. As long as you’re respectful (even in disagreement) you should never run into any problems. Just understand that some of the code of the school is going to be based on catholic moral teaching, and that those are going to be rules that don’t change (for example, my Catholic University prohibited distribution of recreational prophylactics at the student health clinic)

As to proper forms of address:
Office - Address
Nuns - Sister
Monks - Brother
Priest - Father (Monsignor if the priest has earned the title)
Bishop - Your Excellence
Archbishop - Your Grace
Cardinal - Your Eminence
Pope - Your Holiness

This is all very traditional of the medieval form though, such as:
Nobles - My Lord
Prince/Princess - Your Highness
King/Queen - Your Majesty

Today addressing a bishop as “[arch]Bishop” or “[arch]Bishop LastName” is generally acceptable chances are you won’t be receiving any cardinals or the pope, so I wouldn’t even worry about those

Oh, and one other thing: if you take the time to visit mass while you’re there, respectful following of those around you in posture (kneeling, standing, sitting, etc) is encouraged with one exception: non-catholics may not participate in going forward to receive communion. We ask this for your own protection as well as out of respect for our sacrament. Since we believe in the real presence, to take the sacrament without proper disposition both morally (which you may have), spiritually (which is attained through the rite of entrance, most generally the RCIA program) and mentally (through education and acceptance of the meaning of the sacrament and the real presence). We believe that if you do not have these three properly disposed that you commit a sin of sacrilage and thereby hurt yourself while doing damage to one of our sacraments. It’s NOT meant as an insult, but rather done out of concern for you and our love of Christ.

 

[Bill_Pick]

I didn’t know much about Catholicism growing up (sadly, there was significant antipathy, but that’s a subject for another thread another time). However, I bought myself a copy of the Catechism and got a profound respect for the Church, even if some of the teachings were different than what I was accustomed to.

I now find myself hoping to attend a Catholic University (in order to study Nursing because I think it ludicrous to ignore the spiritual aspect of healing; again, best for another thread).

Folks, I’ve never been around you. I’m afraid of saying The Wrong Thing. Y’know, I saw three Sisters during my campus tour today, and I didn’t even know the proper form of address.

What’s the solution? Keep the conversation light, and don’t bring up religion?

Feel free to take this thread as seriously or as lightly as you like…

You may not believe it but Cathloics are like all people We are just people and about the sisters just say good day sister,just be you and please just talk to Cathloic like you talk to any one else,Cathloic are no better or wrost then all the other people in the world

 

[ez3714]

Always keep your heart open to the truth and humble to receive it…
What Catholics in this forum get tired of is non-Catholics telling us what we believe. We correct them, but they won’t hear it. They truly believe whatever error it is that they are espousing…
Bless you on your journey! Let us know what college you are looking at and what decisions you make, if you will.

Humility shouldn’t be a problem; I have much to be humble about; lol.

One of the best lines I have read (and wish I were brazen enough to take credit for it) is that the vast majority of people don’t have a problem with the Church. They have a problem with what they think is the church, and rarely will they have done their own research.

Prometheus, regarding your note that much of what I will find, “…is going to be based on Catholic moral teaching”: That’s a big reason I want to be there (U. of St. Francis). The amoral method seems to have failed us.​

Oh! While I’m at it! Regarding the Sacrament: I once spent some time at another church that didn’t think it was A Good Idea for me to participate. Theier alternative was to have me come forward with the rest, but to cross my arms over my chest. That would indicate to the officiator that I was asking to be blessed, but not to recieve the elements. Is this considered proper in the Catholic Church?

 

[promethius]

Oh! While I’m at it! Regarding the Sacrament: I once spent some time at another church that didn’t think it was A Good Idea for me to participate. Theier alternative was to have me come forward with the rest, but to cross my arms over my chest. That would indicate to the officiator that I was asking to be blessed, but not to recieve the elements. Is this considered proper in the Catholic Church?

That really depends on who you’re talking to. Lay ministers (the people who assist the priest with handing out communion) don’t ACTUALLY have the power to render blessings. So while they can ask God Himself to bless you (“May God bless you and keep you away from sin” for example), the wording must not indicate that they are assuring a blessing for you. A lay minister cannot act “in Personae Christi” in this regard.

So what does that mean? Generally if you’re going to go forward with the arms crossed, most will not fault you for it (you might want to ask locals if that practice is in place at that church first though). Some consider it a good idea to make sure you step in the line of the priest, lest lay ministers not realize that they cannot give out blessings of their own and accidentally overstep their bounds.

Personally, when I’m NOT in a state of Grace, I tend not to go forward because I fall among those who view the sacrament of the Eucharist as the sign of unity of the church and I think that going forward is a move designed to lessen any discomfort someone might feel from being left sitting in the pews while the remainder of the congregation receives… but that’s the point, in my mind. What we see is a supreme act of Catholic unity, and I’ve never thought we needed to offer an alternative to communion, which could never in any portion substitute for the Eucharist anyway. Blessings, in my opinion, can be asked for from the priest after mass. That’s why he gets paid to stick around for a bit . At the same time, I nor anyone else is going to look down upon you negatively for following an established practice of the American Catholic Churches, it’s a matter of personal conviction and what you’re comfortable with (never saw this done while i lived in Europe, though it may have changed in the three years since)