What to believe?

[engdlyzp]

Hello,

Let me start off by saying that I like to research a lot and read about different topics. While reading certain topics they lead to other and so on. Most of the topics today end up with religion in one way or another, and to be more specific, about Catholicism. Some are for religion and others are against it.

What got my attention is that most of those that are against Catholicism tend to get a random quote from the bible and use it to say why Catholicism is wrong or bad. When someone responds to them, to prove they are wrong and Catholicism is the right way, they do the same. Get random quotes from the bible to prove their “right” point. I don’t see any chronological order on either point of views.

Many will argue and say they are “right” because the Catholic church back them up, the Popes have had similar point of views, and so on. But what should we believe? Who is to say that the teaching that have been going on for over 2000 years have not been corrupted? The USA is 226 years old (depending on what we go off by. I’m going off by the signature on of the Constitution) in just 226 years, the USA has gone corrupt, as well as any other nation. Should we believe that the Church has remained untouched? Throughout history there have been many cases on which Popes have not lived up to their name. So what is right and what is wrong?

One thing that really catches my attention is the following. We are told we can pray to Saints so they can intercede for us to God. One of the most powerful prayers we know of is the Rosary, which goes to the Virgin Mary. Where is God? Many argue that in the bible itself it says we can pray to Saints and the importance of Virgin Mary. But, throughout the Bible, and numerous times, it says how God does not approve other gods or worships to others. The verses in which God says he does not like us worshiping others, outweigh the few verses that we go off by saying why we can pray to others, other than God. I do believe in Saints and in the Virgin Mary, don’t get me wrong.

So in the end, I’m asking. What is right? Have we been thought correctly? What we are following is right? Aren’t we suppose to keep an eye open for everything? Are the interpretations we know so far the right ones? Or are we just following what other said without questioning it?

I am coming here with an open mind and ready for FRIENDLY discussions/arguments. I am not wanting to fight. I am just here to get other points of view and work on my faith.
I am sorry if this was posted on the wrong forum, but I am a Roman Catholic and feel this should be asked here. Also, when I say “we” I usually mean “me/I”, I’m not wanting to speak for anyone that doesn’t agree with me.

God bless you all.
S.P

 

[scrupulousGirl]

“And the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”-Jesus

 

[seagal]

This question has been discussed so many times on these forums you can probably find all the answers you want by using the Search tool on the menu bar. Click on Search, then Google Search, and type in your question. That’s how I found this answer forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=627296.

One thing to keep in mind about all those people who point to the bible to try to disprove Catholic beliefs: It was the Catholic Church that compiled all the books of the bible, the same bible the protestants use. There is nothing in the bible that goes against Catholicism; it just takes the proper understanding.

 

[Megan7]

Hello,

Let me start off by saying that I like to research a lot and read about different topics. While reading certain topics they lead to other and so on. Most of the topics today end up with religion in one way or another, and to be more specific, about Catholicism. Some are for religion and others are against it.

What got my attention is that most of those that are against Catholicism tend to get a random quote from the bible and use it to say why Catholicism is wrong or bad. When someone responds to them, to prove they are wrong and Catholicism is the right way, they do the same. Get random quotes from the bible to prove their “right” point. I don’t see any chronological order on either point of views.

Many will argue and say they are “right” because the Catholic church back them up, the Popes have had similar point of views, and so on. But what should we believe? Who is to say that the teaching that have been going on for over 2000 years have not been corrupted? The USA is 226 years old (depending on what we go off by. I’m going off by the signature on of the Constitution) in just 226 years, the USA has gone corrupt, as well as any other nation. Should we believe that the Church has remained untouched? Throughout history there have been many cases on which Popes have not lived up to their name. So what is right and what is wrong?

One thing that really catches my attention is the following. We are told we can pray to Saints so they can intercede for us to God. One of the most powerful prayers we know of is the Rosary, which goes to the Virgin Mary. Where is God? Many argue that in the bible itself it says we can pray to Saints and the importance of Virgin Mary. But, throughout the Bible, and numerous times, it says how God does not approve other gods or worships to others. The verses in which God says he does not like us worshiping others, outweigh the few verses that we go off by saying why we can pray to others, other than God. I do believe in Saints and in the Virgin Mary, don’t get me wrong.

So in the end, I’m asking. What is right? Have we been thought correctly? What we are following is right? Aren’t we suppose to keep an eye open for everything? Are the interpretations we know so far the right ones? Or are we just following what other said without questioning it?

I am coming here with an open mind and ready for FRIENDLY discussions/arguments. I am not wanting to fight. I am just here to get other points of view and work on my faith.
I am sorry if this was posted on the wrong forum, but I am a Roman Catholic and feel this should be asked here. Also, when I say “we” I usually mean “me/I”, I’m not wanting to speak for anyone that doesn’t agree with me.

God bless you all.
S.P

 

[DevotedChild]

For one thing, the reason that the church has lasted so long and remains true is that it is protected by the Holy Spirit. The Pope has infallibility only issues of Morality and Theology. The Doctrines of the Church, stating what we believe and why, have never changed over these 2,000 and more years and never will change, nothing can be added or taken away from it. The reason that some other things have gone corrupt over the years, like the US government, is because it is completely made and run by imperfect humans with no authority or protection from the divine.

Popes and priests may not always live up to the vision of their office at times because, like the rest of us, are imperfect human sinners. It is in our nature to fail at things sometimes.

On the issue of prayer and worship, they are not the same things, like our protestant brothers and sisters believe. Prayer is a conversation with those in the spiritual realm. We can pray to the Saints in heaven for their help and at the same time not worship them, for we know that they were humans too and not gods or goddesses like God, who has always existed, with no beginning nor end. God does not like it that He isn’t the first in our lives but by speaking with those who are with Him in heaven, who have made it there, does not bother God because what we ask of them is help in some form of getting to the same place they are, to get ever closer to God, to be with God. They our heavenly brothers and sisters, but not our God, our Heavenly Father, Creator of the Cosmos.

What we believe and have been taught, hopefully correctly, is the Truth, for God is Truth, the Ultimate Truth. Christ established this Church on earth as Peter as the Rock, the first Pope. Christ gave his Church, His Bride, the protection of the Holy Spirit so that it would never be corrupted. As scrupulousGirl quoted from the Bible in Jesus’s own words, “Even the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

God Bless

 

[DevotedChild]

This question has been discussed so many times on these forums you can probably find all the answers you want by using the Search tool on the menu bar. Click on Search, then Google Search, and type in your question. That’s how I found this answer forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=627296.

One thing to keep in mind about all those people who point to the bible to try to disprove Catholic beliefs: It was the Catholic Church that compiled all the books of the bible, the same bible the protestants use. There is nothing in the bible that goes against Catholicism; it just takes the proper understanding.

Exactly. There was only the Catholic Church until the monk Martin Luther left the Church and created his own, which if I remember correctly was during the Renaissance.

 

[Iron_Donkey]

Hello,

Let me start off by saying that I like to research a lot and read about different topics. While reading certain topics they lead to other and so on. Most of the topics today end up with religion in one way or another, and to be more specific, about Catholicism. Some are for religion and others are against it.

What got my attention is that most of those that are against Catholicism tend to get a random quote from the bible and use it to say why Catholicism is wrong or bad. When someone responds to them, to prove they are wrong and Catholicism is the right way, they do the same. Get random quotes from the bible to prove their “right” point. I don’t see any chronological order on either point of views.

This is one manifestation of the problem of authority. You can find someone who says the bible clearly teaches nearly anything. Clearly they can’t all be right, so if God wanted us to be able to figure out the truth (which we all tend to assume that He does), then in addition to a book that is open to misinterpretation, He would have given us a sure interpreter. We believe that that authority is the Catholic Church.

Many will argue and say they are “right” because the Catholic church back them up, the Popes have had similar point of views, and so on. But what should we believe? Who is to say that the teaching that have been going on for over 2000 years have not been corrupted?

Back to the above. If God wanted us to be able to know the truth, and founded a Church to proclaim it, then He would have to protect that Church from theological error - otherwise His plan would fail, which doesn’t make any sense given all the omni stuff.

The USA is 226 years old (depending on what we go off by. I’m going off by the signature on of the Constitution) in just 226 years, the USA has gone corrupt, as well as any other nation. Should we believe that the Church has remained untouched? Throughout history there have been many cases on which Popes have not lived up to their name. So what is right and what is wrong?

Popes are human and nations are human constructs, and both are susceptible to human error (with Popes having special protection in one area). The Church is the creation of God, and, as we have mentioned, it makes little since for God to allow it to fall into error if He created it to spread the truth. Which He did.

One thing that really catches my attention is the following. We are told we can pray to Saints so they can intercede for us to God. One of the most powerful prayers we know of is the Rosary, which goes to the Virgin Mary. Where is God? Many argue that in the bible itself it says we can pray to Saints and the importance of Virgin Mary. But, throughout the Bible, and numerous times, it says how God does not approve other gods or worships to others. The verses in which God says he does not like us worshiping others, outweigh the few verses that we go off by saying why we can pray to others, other than God. I do believe in Saints and in the Virgin Mary, don’t get me wrong.

Prayer =/= worship. Google agape, dulia, and hyperdulia for more info.

So in the end, I’m asking. What is right? Have we been thought correctly? What we are following is right? Aren’t we suppose to keep an eye open for everything? Are the interpretations we know so far the right ones? Or are we just following what other said without questioning it?

We are absolutely supposed to apply our reason to test absolutely everything. We weren’t given brains to keep our heads from floating away. We should not be in a rush though - if at first pass something seems to contradict what we’ve been taught, we should examine the issue more closely. So far, at least in my experience, this has always supported the Church’s opinion, and I believe it always will, but that’s no excuse to disengage the brain.

I am coming here with an open mind and ready for FRIENDLY discussions/arguments. I am not wanting to fight. I am just here to get other points of view and work on my faith.
I am sorry if this was posted on the wrong forum, but I am a Roman Catholic and feel this should be asked here. Also, when I say “we” I usually mean “me/I”, I’m not wanting to speak for anyone that doesn’t agree with me.

God bless you all.
S.P

Welcome. We’re generally down for friendly arguments, although occasionally one of us will have a bad day and snap at something we’ve heard before. Lots of information can be found through the search feature, but of course dialogue is a better aid to understanding, so ask/argue/debate away.

I do recommend browsing the “Ask an apologist” forum, though, there are lots of answers there.

 

[Victor2211]

To the OP,
Welcome to the forums! As a suggestion, listen to the Catholic Answers Live radio show, especially the Open Forum shows where Tim Staples is the guest. He answers many questions similar to those you are asking and gives a thorough amount of biblical support for his answers. It really helped me (and still does).

 

[1ke]

But, throughout the Bible, and numerous times, it says how God does not approve other gods or worships to others.

Are the Saints othere gods? Are we to worship them?

Does the Catholic Church teach either of those things?

 

[klm120861]

What has always amazed me with the Church and her teachings is that I can grab my Catechism and I can read the Early Church Fathers and what is in the Catechism is exactly the same was what I would read from the Early Fathers. It may be further explained in the Catechsim, further clarified, but the nuts and bolts of the teachings are all there in the early writings. Which means, either the Catholic Church got things really wrong really early on, or we’re still teaching the Truth today.

As for the Prot. ability to take a passage and use it to support anything, as I former Prot. I could go out tomorrow and start The First Church of the Green Sky. And I could biblically support it. My passage? How about Romans 4:17: “He is our father and calls into being what does not exist.” (NABRE) Just so you know, I have totally taken the verse out of context and carefully edited it. The verse actually reads, “He (referring to Abraham) is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.” But, with a little editing, I could use it to support the concept that the sky is actually green (hence the name, The Green Sky Church.) You definately couldn’t do that as a Catholic. Thank God.
Kris

 

[chimo]

Hello,

Let me start off by saying that I like to research a lot and read about different topics. While reading certain topics they lead to other and so on. Most of the topics today end up with religion in one way or another, and to be more specific, about Catholicism. Some are for religion and others are against it.

What got my attention is that most of those that are against Catholicism tend to get a random quote from the bible and use it to say why Catholicism is wrong or bad. When someone responds to them, to prove they are wrong and Catholicism is the right way, they do the same. Get random quotes from the bible to prove their “right” point. I don’t see any chronological order on either point of views.

Many will argue and say they are “right” because the Catholic church back them up, the Popes have had similar point of views, and so on. But what should we believe? Who is to say that the teaching that have been going on for over 2000 years have not been corrupted? The USA is 226 years old (depending on what we go off by. I’m going off by the signature on of the Constitution) in just 226 years, the USA has gone corrupt, as well as any other nation. Should we believe that the Church has remained untouched? Throughout history there have been many cases on which Popes have not lived up to their name. So what is right and what is wrong?

One thing that really catches my attention is the following. We are told we can pray to Saints so they can intercede for us to God. One of the most powerful prayers we know of is the Rosary, which goes to the Virgin Mary. Where is God? Many argue that in the bible itself it says we can pray to Saints and the importance of Virgin Mary. But, throughout the Bible, and numerous times, it says how God does not approve other gods or worships to others. The verses in which God says he does not like us worshiping others, outweigh the few verses that we go off by saying why we can pray to others, other than God. I do believe in Saints and in the Virgin Mary, don’t get me wrong.

So in the end, I’m asking. What is right? Have we been thought correctly? What we are following is right? Aren’t we suppose to keep an eye open for everything? Are the interpretations we know so far the right ones? Or are we just following what other said without questioning it?

I am coming here with an open mind and ready for FRIENDLY discussions/arguments. I am not wanting to fight. I am just here to get other points of view and work on my faith.
I am sorry if this was posted on the wrong forum, but I am a Roman Catholic and feel this should be asked here. Also, when I say “we” I usually mean “me/I”, I’m not wanting to speak for anyone that doesn’t agree with me.

God bless you all.
S.P

I believe Catholicism is correct and I am not even a Catholic. I am an Eastern Orthodox who supports all what the Catholic Church has been given right up to the present. I see the development of the Catholic Church with her many ups and downs as pretty normal for any family that goes through and the Church of Rome has given indeed that and much more. Her testimony and witness to her Lord and Saviour is the abundance number of Saints she has given to us and we are able now to know her saints and the love they have professed to become saints. There will be no shortage of saints since we are all called to follow after their footsteps. The real criteria and revelation that a Church has the Lord Jesus in her body is the saints by which are lived within that Body. The Church of Rome has indeed many saints and even today many more are within her gates. God is indeed with her.

I see Rome as a great gift God has given for us. We need to find out why her saints became saints and utilize that same love and power to make it our own. The Eastern Orthodox will have to their advantage this great witnesses of the Catholic Church and hopefully they will also learn of the greatest treasures of Rome to make it their own as well. I have often see in the Catholic saint a wish to be like them. I often see in the Eastern Orthodox saints another treasure to behold yet they often are much older than the Catholic saint tends to be. The Catholic saint tends to be more youthful and energetic from that young age and we can learn much from them as we do from our own saints. I would not listen to those who object to Rome because they do not really know her greatest contribution that of her saints who reflect that love which our common Lord has within Himself. By sharing His love to many Catholics He raises many of them to the heights by which He knows they can be. If we only allow the love of our Lord to penetrate us we too can become His saints and to be that “light to lighten the gentiles.” Rome may have her many ups and downs but what family does not? It is good that every family has their share of struggles and responsibilities for how can any saints be raised in any other way. Look to her saints I would say and that is confimation that God is with her.

 

[DevotedChild]

I believe Catholicism is correct and I am not even a Catholic. I am an Eastern Orthodox who supports all what the Catholic Church has been given right up to the present. I see the development of the Catholic Church with her many ups and downs as pretty normal for any family that goes through and the Church of Rome has given indeed that and much more. Her testimony and witness to her Lord and Saviour is the abundance number of Saints she has given to us and we are able now to know her saints and the love they have professed to become saints. There will be no shortage of saints since we are all called to follow after their footsteps. The real criteria and revelation that a Church has the Lord Jesus in her body is the saints by which are lived within that Body. The Church of Rome has indeed many saints and even today many more are within her gates. God is indeed with her.

I see Rome as a great gift God has given for us. We need to find out why her saints became saints and utilize that same love and power to make it our own. The Eastern Orthodox will have to their advantage this great witnesses of the Catholic Church and hopefully they will also learn of the greatest treasures of Rome to make it their own as well. I have often see in the Catholic saint a wish to be like them. I often see in the Eastern Orthodox saints another treasure to behold yet they often are much older than the Catholic saint tends to be. The Catholic saint tends to be more youthful and energetic from that young age and we can learn much from them as we do from our own saints. I would not listen to those who object to Rome because they do not really know her greatest contribution that of her saints who reflect that love which our common Lord has within Himself. By sharing His love to many Catholics He raises many of them to the heights by which He knows they can be. If we only allow the love of our Lord to penetrate us we too can become His saints and to be that “light to lighten the gentiles.” Rome may have her many ups and downs but what family does not? It is good that every family has their share of struggles and responsibilities for how can any saints be raised in any other way. Look to her saints I would say and that is confimation that God is with her.

How beautiful and thoughtful. Thanks for sharing. It is inspiring to me to hear this from someone who is outside the Church but yet holds it in such high regard.

God Bless you.

 

[engdlyzp]

This question has been discussed so many times on these forums you can probably find all the answers you want by using the Search tool on the menu bar. Click on Search, then Google Search, and type in your question. That’s how I found this answer forums.catholic-questions.org/showthread.php?t=627296.

One thing to keep in mind about all those people who point to the bible to try to disprove Catholic beliefs: It was the Catholic Church that compiled all the books of the bible, the same bible the protestants use. There is nothing in the bible that goes against Catholicism; it just takes the proper understanding.

Yes, I usually search before I ask, but I wanted answers more specific to what I was thinking and I didn’t know how to word it.

For one thing, the reason that the church has lasted so long and remains true is that it is protected by the Holy Spirit. The Pope has infallibility only issues of Morality and Theology. The Doctrines of the Church, stating what we believe and why, have never changed over these 2,000 and more years and never will change, nothing can be added or taken away from it. The reason that some other things have gone corrupt over the years, like the US government, is because it is completely made and run by imperfect humans with no authority or protection from the divine.

Popes and priests may not always live up to the vision of their office at times because, like the rest of us, are imperfect human sinners. It is in our nature to fail at things sometimes.

On the issue of prayer and worship, they are not the same things, like our protestant brothers and sisters believe. Prayer is a conversation with those in the spiritual realm. We can pray to the Saints in heaven for their help and at the same time not worship them, for we know that they were humans too and not gods or goddesses like God, who has always existed, with no beginning nor end. God does not like it that He isn’t the first in our lives but by speaking with those who are with Him in heaven, who have made it there, does not bother God because what we ask of them is help in some form of getting to the same place they are, to get ever closer to God, to be with God. They our heavenly brothers and sisters, but not our God, our Heavenly Father, Creator of the Cosmos.

What we believe and have been taught, hopefully correctly, is the Truth, for God is Truth, the Ultimate Truth. Christ established this Church on earth as Peter as the Rock, the first Pope. Christ gave his Church, His Bride, the protection of the Holy Spirit so that it would never be corrupted. As scrupulousGirl quoted from the Bible in Jesus’s own words, “Even the gates of hell will not prevail against it.”

God Bless

I really like your last sentence. In your first sentence you mentioned that the doctrines have never changed and will not change, and that is true. However, the interpretation might change, for the best or for the worst. That is something I think about a lot since a Pope could have easily changed something to benefit him, and we might still be following a lie. But as you said, “What we believe and have been taught,hopefully correctly” We won’t know if something was changed, all we can do is have faith that it is correct. I never thought of it that way.

This is one manifestation of the problem of authority. You can find someone who says the bible clearly teaches nearly anything. Clearly they can’t all be right, so if God wanted us to be able to figure out the truth (which we all tend to assume that He does), then in addition to a book that is open to misinterpretation, He would have given us a sure interpreter. We believe that that authority is the Catholic Church.

Back to the above. If God wanted us to be able to know the truth, and founded a Church to proclaim it, then He would have to protect that Church from theological error - otherwise His plan would fail, which doesn’t make any sense given all the omni stuff.

Popes are human and nations are human constructs, and both are susceptible to human error (with Popes having special protection in one area). The Church is the creation of God, and, as we have mentioned, it makes little since for God to allow it to fall into error if He created it to spread the truth. Which He did.

Prayer =/= worship. Google agape, dulia, and hyperdulia for more info.

We are absolutely supposed to apply our reason to test absolutely everything. We weren’t given brains to keep our heads from floating away. We should not be in a rush though - if at first pass something seems to contradict what we’ve been taught, we should examine the issue more closely. So far, at least in my experience, this has always supported the Church’s opinion, and I believe it always will, but that’s no excuse to disengage the brain.

Welcome. We’re generally down for friendly arguments, although occasionally one of us will have a bad day and snap at something we’ve heard before. Lots of information can be found through the search feature, but of course dialogue is a better aid to understanding, so ask/argue/debate away.

.

Thank you for those words! I will Google them. To tell you the truth, I was a bit confused about prayer and worship. Now I understand thing in a different way.

I do always try to think outside the box and try to look at different perspectives or reason, it usually brings me back to things discussed on this site, but at times it just leaves me more questions. Thankfully, you guys/gals are amazing!

Thank you for the welcome I have spent enough time at a car forum to know that it gets annoying when people ask the same or similar questions over and over. So its OK. I’ll understand if someone gets upset. I just didn’t know how to word my question.

 

[engdlyzp]

To the OP,
Welcome to the forums! As a suggestion, listen to the Catholic Answers Live radio show, especially the Open Forum shows where Tim Staples is the guest. He answers many questions similar to those you are asking and gives a thorough amount of biblical support for his answers. It really helped me (and still does).

Thank you! I will listen to that live radio show. I hadn’t paid much attention to all the good info on the main page. I usually go straight to the forums section.

Are the Saints othere gods? Are we to worship them?

Does the Catholic Church teach either of those things?

No, I know Saints aren’t gods, so that’s why I was confused why some pray to them. I was thinking that praying is worship, so that was my confusion.

What has always amazed me with the Church and her teachings is that I can grab my Catechism and I can read the Early Church Fathers and what is in the Catechism is exactly the same was what I would read from the Early Fathers. It may be further explained in the Catechsim, further clarified, but the nuts and bolts of the teachings are all there in the early writings. Which means, either the Catholic Church got things really wrong really early on, or we’re still teaching the Truth today.

As for the Prot. ability to take a passage and use it to support anything, as I former Prot. I could go out tomorrow and start The First Church of the Green Sky. And I could biblically support it. My passage? How about Romans 4:17: “He is our father and calls into being what does not exist.” (NABRE) Just so you know, I have totally taken the verse out of context and carefully edited it. The verse actually reads, “He (referring to Abraham) is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into being what does not exist.” But, with a little editing, I could use it to support the concept that the sky is actually green (hence the name, The Green Sky Church.) You definately couldn’t do that as a Catholic. Thank God.
Kris

It’s crazy what people out there do to try and get followers or confuse people. I usually accept everything until I can prove it wrong (if I didn’t know about it prior to reading it) I have found so much stuff that actually makes me laugh, but for some reason some people actually believe it.

I believe Catholicism is correct and I am not even a Catholic. I am an Eastern Orthodox who supports all what the Catholic Church has been given right up to the present. I see the development of the Catholic Church with her many ups and downs as pretty normal for any family that goes through and the Church of Rome has given indeed that and much more. Her testimony and witness to her Lord and Saviour is the abundance number of Saints she has given to us and we are able now to know her saints and the love they have professed to become saints. There will be no shortage of saints since we are all called to follow after their footsteps. The real criteria and revelation that a Church has the Lord Jesus in her body is the saints by which are lived within that Body. The Church of Rome has indeed many saints and even today many more are within her gates. God is indeed with her.

I see Rome as a great gift God has given for us. We need to find out why her saints became saints and utilize that same love and power to make it our own. The Eastern Orthodox will have to their advantage this great witnesses of the Catholic Church and hopefully they will also learn of the greatest treasures of Rome to make it their own as well. I have often see in the Catholic saint a wish to be like them. I often see in the Eastern Orthodox saints another treasure to behold yet they often are much older than the Catholic saint tends to be. The Catholic saint tends to be more youthful and energetic from that young age and we can learn much from them as we do from our own saints. I would not listen to those who object to Rome because they do not really know her greatest contribution that of her saints who reflect that love which our common Lord has within Himself. By sharing His love to many Catholics He raises many of them to the heights by which He knows they can be. If we only allow the love of our Lord to penetrate us we too can become His saints and to be that “light to lighten the gentiles.” Rome may have her many ups and downs but what family does not? It is good that every family has their share of struggles and responsibilities for how can any saints be raised in any other way. Look to her saints I would say and that is confimation that God is with her.

I have always had a strong spiritual side, I just recently started paying attention to it. It is amazing how much there is to learn, and I agree with you. Rome is a great gift. There is a lot to out there to be studied. It’s beautiful how much one can learn.

 

[engdlyzp]

Thank you all for your great answers. This is a beautiful community. My doubts have been cleared
I apologize for initially posting this on the wrong forum.
I also deleted certain words when I replied since I wend over the 6000 letter limit. Everything that was said was important, but I needed to fit everything

God bless you all!! Hope you all have a wonderful weekend. And don’t miss mass on Sunday

 

[DevotedChild]

I really like your last sentence. In your first sentence you mentioned that the doctrines have never changed and will not change, and that is true. However, the interpretation might change, for the best or for the worst. That is something I think about a lot since a Pope could have easily changed something to benefit him, and we might still be following a lie. But as you said, “What we believe and have been taught,hopefully correctly” We won’t know if something was changed, all we can do is have faith that it is correct. I never .

What I meant by hopefully correct is that the catechumens teaching religion don’t let the own personal interpetation of the doctrine blind them from the true interpetation of the doctrine. The only way the interpetation may change is through a better understanding of the orginial language it was written in, hense in the change of wording of the mass due to the correction of a bad translation of Latin by Vactican 2. The Pope by himself can’t change a lot of anything, ezpecially if it deals theology, only the the authority of the Spirit can changes of any form can be made and what can changed is small compared to the things that are and will remain the same.

Sorry for not clarifying sooner.
God Bless

 

[gardenswithkids]

…One of the most powerful prayers we know of is the Rosary, which goes to the Virgin Mary. Where is God?..

Hello and welcome. I encourage you to reflect on the Rosary to answer this question. Your protestant friends may not know or understand the actual prayers we pray when we say the Rosary. God is at the front and center of the rosary.
The rosary starts with the Creed: “I believe in God, the Almighty Father…”
As we continue the Rosary, we pary the Our Father.
Then we say some Hail Marys "Hail Mary, full of grace, the** LORD** is with you…blessed is the Fruit of your womb, Jesus…Mother of **God **pray for us…
We also pray, “Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit….” as we pray the rosary.

At we pray each decade, we’re invited to reflect on Jesus’ life, from His conception at the Annuciation, through His birth and early years, to His baptism, first miracle and ministry and then continuing up to His crucifixion, resurrection and ascention into heaven, then onto His sending of the Holy Spirit, and lastly, to the way our Lord Himself honors His mother, Mary.

The “Hail Holy Queen” conclude with “Pray for us, holy mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.”

By the way, calling Mary “the mother of God” refers to her role as Jesus’ mother and the recognition that Jesus is God.