Why is it so important to be Catholic?

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aubreyL

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Here’s a question I get a lot…

“What’s so important about joining the Catholic Church if you can get to heavan just by having a living faith in Jesus as Saviour?”

Just wanting to see how others would respond to this…
 
The real question here is, why is it so important to accept all the gifts God has given us, rather than just a few? Why accept all God’s graces when we can get by with only some? Why accept all God’s guidance instead of going through life half spiritually blind?

Seems like a dumb question to me, what do you think? 🙂
 
aubreyL said:
Here’s a question I get a lot…

“What’s so important about joining the Catholic Church if you can get to heavan just by having a living faith in Jesus as Saviour?”

Just wanting to see how others would respond to this…
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Off the top of my head, first approach would be community.

Yes, any individual can have a relationship with Christ and therefore “get to heaven.”

But part of the Christian faith inevitably deals with the reality that God calls us a community, family, Body, etc. We are not alone. It’s not just about “me and Jesus.”

My salvation is worked out not only with God, but with the Christian community.

I’m not in this alone.

Plus…for those who have not heard the Good News, it’s my AND the community’s obligation to evangelize/witness. Not just me…but all of us, commissioned to spread the Good News. Not as a personal opinion or preference, but as a truth that all of us, individually and together, stake our lives on.

Off the top of my head, just thoughts.
 
VociMike said:
The real question here is, why is it so important to accept all the gifts God has given us, rather than just a few? Why accept all God’s graces when we can get by with only some? Why accept all God’s guidance instead of going through life half spiritually blind?

Seems like a dumb question to me, what do you think? 🙂
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Best answer! 👍
 
When God opened my eyes to the truth that He exists, I then had an overwhelming need to find a place/way of worshiping Him.

Having spent most of my life in the Darkness of Atheism, I knew that God was TOTAL Light. After much study and prayer to God, I was lead Home to the Catholic Church. I wanted the Entire light of God, not light AND shade that other Christian faiths had.

In the Catholic Church, I can worship the Entire Lord, both His Written Word and His Body and Blood.

That is why being a Catholic is important to me.👍
 
Because Jesus established the Church to enable us to follow Him, to protect and pass on the Truth, and to feed us with His Body and Blood. It was His stated will “that they may be one.” How can I refuse to do what He willed?

Of course, to the extent that our Christian brothers and sisters share in the salvation procured by Jesus, they are a part of the Church already. But they sit in the darkened outer room, living on bread and water, while the doors to the banquet hall stand open, the tables laden and the music rising and light streaming through the doors and windows. . . .
 
  1. Because no one gets to heaven unless he brings somone with him and I want to be in good company to have lots of friends to travel with.
  2. Because outside of the true flock the chances of being picked off by the wolfs are very high as the hired shepherds mislead their flocks or run away from the sins that they don’t want to teach their flocks to for fear they will upset some that hired them and lose their preaching contracts.
  3. Because to be forgiven of sins outside of the apostolic authority to forgive sins one must be make a perfect contrition and repentance in order to be forgiven (which is impossible without God’s grace and help). By perfect contrition I mean one must be 100% sorry for offending God out of love for God rather than because of fear of hell. If its a fear of hell motive - its not going to cut it.
  4. Because we are commanded to eat of The Lord’s Body and Drink His Blood or else we have no life within us.
  5. Because those who reject the apostolic succession and ecclesial authority are also rejecting Christ. (luke 10:16)
  6. Because through the merits of the church one may find endless support and inspiration of the saints and also through indulgenced acts bypass the purgatory that most people will have to go through after death (assuming they don’t go to hell)
  7. Because I want to attain to a higher reward in heaven and not be “the least” in the Kingdom since the greater rewards permit one to draw deeper into eternal beatitude with God and attain to higher stations of grace.
And basically because I don’t think too many Protestants are making it to heaven…

James
 
aubreyL said:
Here’s a question I get a lot…

“What’s so important about joining the Catholic Church if you can get to heavan just by having a living faith in Jesus as Saviour?”

Just wanting to see how others would respond to this…
Click to expand...
I wouldn’t respond to it exactly this way, but here’s the blunt truth: we have, historically at least, an exclusivist soteriology – that is, with few exceptions only Catholics have the chance to go to heaven and share eternal life with God. You have to be baptised and in communion with the Catholic Church in order for God to allow you into heaven. There is something called baptism by desire, by which a non-christian who has never heard of Jesus Christ yet who yearns to be close to God does come into communion with the Church; and there is the acknowlegement that trinitarian Protestants are by virute of their baptism in imperfect communion with the Church. But generally speaking belonging to the Church and participating in her sacramental life are necessary for salvation.
 
tomarin said:
with few exceptions only Catholics have the chance to go to heaven and share eternal life with God.
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Thankfully, this is not what the Catholic Church teaches. Nowhere does the Church teach that only Catholics, with few exceptions, will go to heaven.

See Catechism para 604-605, and in general more in that area.

Also, it would be helpful to review what Vatican II taught in Nostra Aetate and Unitatis Redintegratio (vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm)
 
diggerdomer said:
Thankfully, this is not what the Catholic Church teaches. Nowhere does the Church teach that only Catholics, with few exceptions, will go to heaven.

See Catechism para 604-605, and in general more in that area.

Also, it would be helpful to review what Vatican II taught in Nostra Aetate and Unitatis Redintegratio (vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/index.htm)
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Are these recent formulations not to be seen in light of the Church’s repeated strong assertions of “outside the Church there is no salvation”? Remember, the Church’s doctrines do not change.
 
tomarin said:
Are these recent formulations not to be seen in light of the Church’s repeated strong assertions of “outside the Church there is no salvation”? Remember, the Church’s doctrines do not change.
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Yes. Of course.
 
aubreyL said:
Here’s a question I get a lot…

“What’s so important about joining the Catholic Church if you can get to heavan just by having a living faith in Jesus as Saviour?”

Just wanting to see how others would respond to this…
Click to expand...
I remember thinking…

Well it really doesn’t matter what church you belong to as long as you love Jesus.

I mean don’t get me wrong I was Catholic when I thought this way, but I had no idea what I was thinking. There is sooooooo much more involved then just believing in Jesus. I remember the first time I read James 2:19

You believe that God is one You do well;** the demons also believe**, and shudder.

Think about that. Are the demons “saved”? They believe too. But no that’s not enough.Read further on…

24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone.

Yes all churches have some truth. But only one was founded by Jesus Christ Himself who is one with His Church, and is the Truth. Saint Paul leads me…

1 Timothy 3:15 but in case I am delayed, I write so that you will know how one ought to conduct himself in the household of God, **which is the church of the living God, the pillar and support of the truth. **

To wanting to be part of His household, part of His family. And when I read the Gospel according to Saint John

**John 6:56 **

56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

If I wasn’t a part of His household how could I share His flesh and blood at His table? How could I abide in Him in His words? I couldn’t.

All you have to do is look around. How many churches are against “playing” God?
How many are against abortion, euthanasia, embryonic stem cell research, contraception.

How many have changed with the times?
How many have women clergy, homosexual bishops living with their partners.

How many were founded 20000 years ago?

How many abide in His words?

**John 6:53-57 **

**53So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves.

54"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.

55"For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink.

56"He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.

57"As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also will live because of Me. **

one holy catholic and apostolic church these are the 4 marks.
 
aubreyL said:
Here’s a question I get a lot…

“What’s so important about joining the Catholic Church if you can get to heavan just by having a living faith in Jesus as Saviour?”

Just wanting to see how others would respond to this…
Click to expand...
Scripture tells us that the Church is the Pillar and Foundation of Truth.

Truth and Love and Mercy are all Good and from GOD.

Shouldn’t we all want to have the gifts of God in this world?

The Catholic Church has all 7 Sacraments and no other church can provide these gifts of God (only the RCC and EOC and OOC).

The Catholic Church has the Eucharist. The Eucharist is the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ. This is the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.

As men we suffer from Concupisense after Baptism and it is with these 7 Sacraments and with the great Eucharistic meal that we Catholics find strength and forgiveness as guaranteed by God himself.

The better question is “why would anyone settle for less”?

Paul tells us to fight for the Prize and it is with the Church that we can.
 
Thank y’all for your replies. I’ll come back to read them better later. I gotta run right now; just wanted to say thanks. 🙂
 
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