AgentCimorene
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- Posted: Sun, 24 Jul 2005 05:33:46 +0000
Hi! I haven't had time to chat on Gaia and it's changed quite a bit from the quaint, quiet little message board site I loved to frequent. I have been busy with my college career and growing up (currently I'm nearly finished with my Education degree). I hope to eventually get at least a minor in religious studies and theology since it is so interesting.
I have stopped considering myself Catholic for some time but I still have my knowledge and respect for the church. I hope to help some people out still. New information will follow towards the end so go ahead and scroll on down smile
This is going to be an FAQ on Catholicism. Why? Well, there is a Mormon FAQ and a Wiccan FAQ and I am constantly seeing questions about Catholics repeated on Morality and Religion. Then those questions have been getting answered wrong. People know that Catholics have a pope, nuns, and little school girls. But I’ve come to see that many people don’t really know much about the inner workings of the religion. There are many traditions and practices followed. It’d be hard to list them all here so I’ll list a few of the questions I see most often. If any more big ones come up in discussions they can go here on the front page. If anyone wants to help me that is knowledgeable about Catholicism, then PM me. I really need and appreciate the help. I'm no expert and can't do this on my own.
1. Are Catholics Christians?
Yes! According to dictionary.com a Christian is - adj Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. - noun One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Catholics believe in Jesus and follow his teachings. So Catholics are a Christian religion. Not all Christians, however, are Catholic. Again from dictionary.com a Catholic - noun A member of a Catholic church, especially a Roman Catholic.
Catholic also means universal.
2. What do Catholics believe?
This is easily summed up in the Creeds that are said in Catholic mass, or service.
Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate
was crucified died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit
the holy catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints
the forgiveness of sins,
the Resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Nicene Creed was made at the first Ecumenical Council in 325 AD which was the First Council of Nicaea. After the fall of the Roman empire two worlds of thought on Christianity had rose. These were the Roman Catholic belief which was centered in Rome, and the Orthodox Catholic which was centered in Constantinople, Turkey. They quibbled over small details like whether the practice of communion was actually Jesus, or if it was just symbolic. This creed is what they created to state the basic beliefs of Christianity. For more information if this interests you study the Great Schism.
For more info:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s2.htm
3. So Catholics are like other Christians, but they pray to Mary and the Saints?
Catholics only pray to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. That’s called the Trinity. Many see Saint statues or Mary shrines and automatically condemn Catholics as idol worshippers. Statues are there just to decorate the church. Stain glass windows are generally used to illustrate stories from the Bible or explain the life of a saint. Saints are holy people who the church honors. Mary is considered the mother of God, not to say she is more powerful of God, but it was through her Jesus became God and human. Mary was to be kept from original sin. Original sin was when Eve and Adam ate the Fruit of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Original sin is thought to be washed away when we are baptized. In the Hail Mary people request Mary to pray for them, since she is so close to God. Mary was bodily taken up to heaven, she did not die, and she was crowned as the Queen of Heaven, but, she is still a servant of God.
Some use the example of Mary being the easier parent to talk to. If you want to borrow the car Friday night and know your mom will talk your dad into it, then you ask her first. The practice is called intercession. The same is with the saints. If you’re having computer trouble there is a patron saint of electronics, if you are having surgery there is a patron saint for cancer. There are chants in Latin and many of them are just requesting saints to pray for us. A Catholic just invokes the saint’s name like, “Saint Bernadette, pray for me.” If a close relative has died, many people talk to them in their mind. Speaking to Mary or a saint is no different. Many people just talk to God in addition to their prayers, too. Mary and the saints are not worshipped.
For more info on Mary, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p6.htm
For more info on Saints, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p5.htm
4. What's a Holy Trinity?
The Trinity is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as one entity. A lot of Christians consiter this to be against monotheism. This doesn't however go against it. For some scripture on different people/parts of the Trinity SEPERATED:
The Holy Spirit:
Jesus's Baptism: Matthew 3: 13-17 This verse shows the dove, representing The Holy Spirit (Ghost) desending to Jesus from the Heavens. This shows that God sent his Son the Holy Spirit.
Pentacost: John 20:19-29 This shows that when Jesus left, the Holy Spirit was his entity that stayed after and is still with us.
Jesus
Before Jesus was born John 1: 1-2 This first verse is representing Jesus as "the Word". John often has Jesus refer to himself as "the Word of God". So, from the begining of time God was with Jesus and Jesus was with God and they were seperate but one.
Garden Gethsemane: Mark 14:32-42 When Jesus is praying to His Father in Heaven. If Jesus is God, why would he need to pray if there aren't seperate entities that are intertwined? He mentions God as his Father constantly. God never left Heaven even though he walked on the earth.
God is, well, I'm not going to cite the entire Bible =).
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p2.htm#II
5. I heard Catholics are cannibals! What’s that about?
Catholics believe that in communion the priest prays over the hosts and wine and it becomes the body and blood of Jesus. We are supposed to treat each other how we want to be treated and how Jesus would treat us, with love. We all have a part of Jesus in us, especially when we share in the body and blood. He did it at the Last Supper and we continue the practice. Other Christians believe it is just symbolic and don’t do it every week and just have scripture readings whereas Catholics believe Jesus is really there on that alter.
Who Can Receive Communion During Mass?
For more information, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a3.htm
6. What are some of these other kooky Catholic traditions?
Catholics have seven sacraments. They are Baptism, Communion, Reconciliation (better known as confession), Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and The Anointing of the Sick. The sacraments are broken into three groups: Christian initiation, Sacraments of healing, and the sacraments at the service of communion.
Baptism is pretty much the same in all Christian faiths. If you’re baptized Lutheran and want to become Catholic they don’t require a second baptism. This goes for all other Christian faiths I was just using Lutherans as an example. I was baptized when I was seven where most people are baptized as babies. There is also oil they anoint you with. There is oil for Baptism, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick. New oil is given to every parish once a year at Easter time.
Communion is receiving the body and blood of Jesus for the first time. Children and adults have to take classes to understand the importance of the sacrament and what it means to receive it. However, if someone from another kind of Christian church is visiting they are welcomed to partake in communion. I had my first communion the year after I was baptized.
Reconciliation, or confession, is always shown in movies. Someone goes into the booth and kneels and tells the priest all the things they’ve done wrong. In the Middle Ages they charged people to be forgiven which caused many Protestant faiths to spring up in Europe.
Confession, again there are classes to take before you go in to speak to the priest. There is the Rite of Contrition:
O my God I am heartily sorry
for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of Heaven
and the pains of Hell,
but most of all because I
offend Thee, my God,
Who art all-good and deserving
of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help
of Thy grace to confess my sins,
to do penance
and to amend my life. Amen.
It is good to get something you’ve done (sinned) wrong off your chest to a priest. Plus, priests don’t sit around talking about “Whoo boy! You should’ve heard the last nut job that came in here!” And they can’t tell the police if someone has broken a law, which, a lot of time law enforcement tries to force them to. And they can’t tell parents without children’s permission. So if you go into see a priest for Confession and bring up something that has been bothering you and are too ashamed to tell your parents, the priest won’t call them up and rat you out. Priests make vows to uphold their go between from people to God.
Confirmation is when you confirm your Baptism and past sacraments and agree to become a Catholic. You are blessed with holy oils that come from Rome and it’s an initiation in the faith. This waits until a person is in high school or an adult because it is a serious decision. You have to have the first three sacraments to be confirmed and there are classes for that, too! They anoint you again with the special holy oil. The teaching is that you receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Awe (fear) of the Lord. Seven gifts. This is like a second baptism with a "fire". The Holy Spirit came to the apostles locked in the room they held the Last Supper after Jesus ascended into Heaven. They had tongues of flames over their heads and could speak in tongues. They went outside and began preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem and everyone could understand what they were saying no matter what language they spoke or where they came from. Also, once you are confirmed you have permission to baptize anyone under emergency circumstances. So any confirmed Catholic can baptize, not just the priests!
Holy Orders is the sacrament of the cloth, for the priests. Nuns do not get Holy Orders. I haven’t gone through Holy Orders, nor can I, being a female. I know you have to take a LOT of classes to get ordained.
Marriage, again, you have to take classes to be married in the church. If one of the spouses isn’t Catholic, they make them convert if they want to be married in the church. My sister had a huge Catholic wedding and they do an entire service plus the wedding. Pretty boring in my opinion.
Anointing of the Sick used to be called “Last Rites” but it isn’t always done on someone's death bed. Again, they use the oil. It can be given before someone has a baby, surgery, for serious illnesses, or someone who is dying.
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2.htm
7. Catholics sound alright, but they don’t read the Bible.
Catholics very much read the Bible. It is different than some Protestant Bibles because they removed books. Seven books are not in the traditional King James version. Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus/Sirach, Baruch, I Maccabees, and II Maccabees, 3 chapters of Daniel and 6 chapters of Esther were all removed, but are in the Catholic Bible. So technically, Catholics have a more complete Bible. These books were in use during the time of Jesus, but at the time new, Protestant versions of the bible were assembled they were left out or modified because the Jewish community no longer used them regularly. This set of books is known as the Apocrypha.
The way the readings in mass are set up there is one reading from the Old Testament, then one for the New Testament, then the Gospel. The priest gives a homily on the reading (or the deacon), there is collection, the Our Father, praying over the Eucharist for communion, songs... I think the main difference from other Christian churches is that they only do two readings, generally, and only have communion once a month. If a person went to church every Sunday for three years they would hear the entire Bible. That’s the way Catholic readings are set up Sundays for mass. Universally, all Catholics, every part of the world, every Sunday read the same books of the Bible. You could go into a church in France and even though the prayers and readings were in French they’d be doing it in America the same way, just in English.
In the 70s Vatican and Vatican II councils held meetings and modernized the church. Before you had to kneel to receive communion, everything was in Latin, and the priest and alter servers kept their backs to everyone. They revamped the church so now all masses are in the language of the area and priests face the congregation.
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm#II
8. So how come my pastor can marry and priests and the pope can’t?
Early on marriage of priests was an issue. Many priests had secret families. The disciples of Jesus had wives and families and left them to follow Jesus. It was decided that it is easier to work at a church without a wife and family. Imagine you’re trying to make your son’s little league game and someone calls needing Anointing of the Sick and they can’t wait. Priests are expected to marry the church in a sense and be a guiding role model to all families within their parish. With the lack of men joining seminary school and the recent abomination of child molestation in the church I believe that within the next several decades priests will be allowed to marry and possibly even women will be able to become priests.
For more info, consult: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I
9. What about this pope guy? Don't you pray to him?
I’ve been told by other Christians that being Catholic is wrong because we follow the pope and we should only follow God. The first pope was St. Peter when Jesus said, ?Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven? (Matt. 16:17-19). In the front of any Catholic Bible you can find the listings of all the popes.
Historically, Pontiff of Rome was the highest priest of Rome. Pontifix maximus. Now Vatican City in Rome the pope leads the country that is just Vatican City and the Catholic faith. Rome is the Capital of Italy and Vatican City is within Rome. If you've read Angels and Demons (the book before the Da Vinci Code) you can see the difference between the two and how they run. He is leader of the Catholic faith and used to be considered infallible. I believe it was in the Vatican counsels where the infallibility of the pope was changed. Especially, since countries have claimed to have the real Pope, so there have been more than one pope at one time.
For more info, consult: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I
10. Why is Jesus dead on your cross? Don't you know he got off of it?!
I had a friend attack me once when I decided to wear my crucifix to school. He kept asking me "Why are you wearing a sign of a dead god?". Catholics wear crucifixes and crosses, but the crucifix is to remind people the sacrafice Jesus gave us. It's just a constant reminder of how much he loved our world. It isn't saying he didn't get off that cross, it's just saying that he _did_
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a4p2.htm
11. Catholics wait until a child is at the age of reason to be baptized.
Nope. Babies are baptized all the time. In fact, every person can baptize anyone in the state of an emergency. Even an athiest can baptize another person. All they have to do is baptize you in the "Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." They could use their spit if there was no water available. They believe if you aren't baptized you go hell. What about babies? They go to limbo.
12. What's limbo? What's Purgatory?
In theological usage the name is applied to (a) the temporary place or state of the souls of the just who, although purified from sin, were excluded from the beatific vision until Christ's triumphant ascension into Heaven (the "limbus patrum" wink ; or (b) to the permanent place or state of those unbaptized children and others who, dying without grievous personal sin, are excluded from the beatific vision on account of original sin alone (the "limbus infantium" or "puerorum" wink .
In literary usage the name is sometimes applied in a wider and more general sense to any place or state of restraint, confinement, or exclusion, and is practically equivalent to "prison" (see, e.g., Milton, "Paradise Lost," III, 495; Butler, "Hudibras," part II, canto i, and other English classics). The not unnatural transition from the theological to the literary usage is exemplified in Shakespeare, "Henry VIII," act v, sc. 3. In this article we shall deal only with the theological meaning and connotation of the word.
Taken from:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09256a.htm
To read more, follow that link. In a nutshell Limbo is from the Latin to mean "boarder" or "Hem" of the Father " originally called Limbus Patrum. It is where righteous people without personal sin, or unbaptised babies go. It is a place of perfect happiness excluding the beatific vision of God. This is where people who had been alive before Jesus came were kept.
Matthew 27: 51-53 "And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many spirits who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many."
In another nutshell Purgatory is the place where people go for final purification before they enter into Heaven. If all their sins are not attoned for they go to Purgatory.
Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. The faith of the Church concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by the Council of Florence (Mansi, t. XXXI, col. 1031), and in the decree of the Council of Trent which (Sess. XXV) defined: "Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical synod (Sess. VI, cap. XXX; Sess. XXII cap.ii, iii) that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar; the Holy Synod enjoins on the Bishops that they diligently endeavor to have the sound doctrine of the Fathers in Councils regarding purgatory everywhere taught and preached, held and believed by the faithful" (Denzinger, "Enchiridon", 983). Further than this the definitions of the Church do not go, but the tradition of the Fathers and the Schoolmen must be consulted to explain the teachings of the councils, and to make clear the belief and the practices of the faithful.
Taken from:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm
13. Explain that there Apocrypha!
I've been having trouble finding WHY the Apocrypha isn't in Protestant Bibles but it is in the Catholic Bible other than "it didn't fit Protestant beliefs." But if anyone knows why, please enlighten me.
The Seven Deuterocanonical books in question are:
Tobit
Judith
Wisdom of Soloman
Ecclesiasticus or Sirach
Baruch
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Then there are various chapters in Daniel and Esther left out. When there was just Orthodox Catholic and Roman Catholic the Bible was accepted, no variations. But when Martin Luther split, they took books "out" of the Bible although there wasn't any _set_ perminant rule of what was in the Bible. Christians claim that Catholic's "added" books, when in reality they were removed. Why? I still haven't found a good answer to that.
NEW 3/3/09
14. Catholics don't believe in evolution/aren't good scientists, etc.
Well this has certainly irked me for a while and I can't believe I'm posting it now, especially since my first degree was going to be in biology!
I want to start off with Galileo. In 1633 Galileo had proof that the Earth revolved around the sun. The Church knew he was right but deemed that it was a threat to public order and decency to publish this and put him on trial. He was held on house arrest until his death. In October of 1992 Pope John Paul II apologized and took responsibility of the wronging of Galileo and the scientific community. Heck, even now the pope has his own astronomer and there are observatories owned by the church.
As for evolution Catholics generally believe in an 'intelligent design' hand in evolution. That Genesis isn't completely literal and that evolution is guided and shaped by God.
Anyone who would like to dispute this must not be an avid studier of biology because the father of genetics was a Catholic priest of the Augustinian order! Gregor Mendel, the guy with the pea flowers, Mendel boxes? Bah you'd know about it if you paid attention in high school biology.
I do not deny that with the Inquisition and many other periods of intolerance within the church has led to the destruction of much scientific knowledge (like any history of ancient Meso American cultures advances) and has certainly delayed the scientific growth of the human race. But modern day Catholics are not to be lumped together with Fundamentalist Christians who are against evolution and many other scientific ideas or discoveries.
That’s all for now. More questions will be added as soon as they're asked! PM me if you're concerned if anything is wrong or have questions.
~Cimorene >^..^<
I have stopped considering myself Catholic for some time but I still have my knowledge and respect for the church. I hope to help some people out still. New information will follow towards the end so go ahead and scroll on down smile
This is going to be an FAQ on Catholicism. Why? Well, there is a Mormon FAQ and a Wiccan FAQ and I am constantly seeing questions about Catholics repeated on Morality and Religion. Then those questions have been getting answered wrong. People know that Catholics have a pope, nuns, and little school girls. But I’ve come to see that many people don’t really know much about the inner workings of the religion. There are many traditions and practices followed. It’d be hard to list them all here so I’ll list a few of the questions I see most often. If any more big ones come up in discussions they can go here on the front page. If anyone wants to help me that is knowledgeable about Catholicism, then PM me. I really need and appreciate the help. I'm no expert and can't do this on my own.
1. Are Catholics Christians?
Yes! According to dictionary.com a Christian is - adj Professing belief in Jesus as Christ or following the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus. - noun One who professes belief in Jesus as Christ or follows the religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus.
Catholics believe in Jesus and follow his teachings. So Catholics are a Christian religion. Not all Christians, however, are Catholic. Again from dictionary.com a Catholic - noun A member of a Catholic church, especially a Roman Catholic.
Catholic also means universal.
2. What do Catholics believe?
This is easily summed up in the Creeds that are said in Catholic mass, or service.
Apostle’s Creed:
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God's only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate
was crucified died, and was buried.
He descended into Hell.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into Heaven
and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit
the holy catholic Church,
the Communion of Saints
the forgiveness of sins,
the Resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen
The Nicene Creed:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty,
Maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen.
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God,
eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light,
true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in Being with the Father.
Through him all things were made.
For us men and for our salvation he came down from heaven:
by the power of the Holy Spirit
he was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man.
For our sake he was crucified under Pontius Pilate;
he suffered, died, and was buried.
On the third day he rose again in fulfillment of the Scriptures;
he ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father.
He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
And his kingdom will have no end.
We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the Giver of Life,
Who proceeds from the Father and the son.
With the Father and the Son he is worshipped and glorified.
He has spoken through the Prophets.
We believe in One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church.
We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.
We look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Nicene Creed was made at the first Ecumenical Council in 325 AD which was the First Council of Nicaea. After the fall of the Roman empire two worlds of thought on Christianity had rose. These were the Roman Catholic belief which was centered in Rome, and the Orthodox Catholic which was centered in Constantinople, Turkey. They quibbled over small details like whether the practice of communion was actually Jesus, or if it was just symbolic. This creed is what they created to state the basic beliefs of Christianity. For more information if this interests you study the Great Schism.
For more info:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s2.htm
3. So Catholics are like other Christians, but they pray to Mary and the Saints?
Catholics only pray to God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit. That’s called the Trinity. Many see Saint statues or Mary shrines and automatically condemn Catholics as idol worshippers. Statues are there just to decorate the church. Stain glass windows are generally used to illustrate stories from the Bible or explain the life of a saint. Saints are holy people who the church honors. Mary is considered the mother of God, not to say she is more powerful of God, but it was through her Jesus became God and human. Mary was to be kept from original sin. Original sin was when Eve and Adam ate the Fruit of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Original sin is thought to be washed away when we are baptized. In the Hail Mary people request Mary to pray for them, since she is so close to God. Mary was bodily taken up to heaven, she did not die, and she was crowned as the Queen of Heaven, but, she is still a servant of God.
Some use the example of Mary being the easier parent to talk to. If you want to borrow the car Friday night and know your mom will talk your dad into it, then you ask her first. The practice is called intercession. The same is with the saints. If you’re having computer trouble there is a patron saint of electronics, if you are having surgery there is a patron saint for cancer. There are chants in Latin and many of them are just requesting saints to pray for us. A Catholic just invokes the saint’s name like, “Saint Bernadette, pray for me.” If a close relative has died, many people talk to them in their mind. Speaking to Mary or a saint is no different. Many people just talk to God in addition to their prayers, too. Mary and the saints are not worshipped.
For more info on Mary, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p6.htm
For more info on Saints, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p5.htm
4. What's a Holy Trinity?
The Trinity is God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit as one entity. A lot of Christians consiter this to be against monotheism. This doesn't however go against it. For some scripture on different people/parts of the Trinity SEPERATED:
The Holy Spirit:
Jesus's Baptism: Matthew 3: 13-17 This verse shows the dove, representing The Holy Spirit (Ghost) desending to Jesus from the Heavens. This shows that God sent his Son the Holy Spirit.
Pentacost: John 20:19-29 This shows that when Jesus left, the Holy Spirit was his entity that stayed after and is still with us.
Jesus
Before Jesus was born John 1: 1-2 This first verse is representing Jesus as "the Word". John often has Jesus refer to himself as "the Word of God". So, from the begining of time God was with Jesus and Jesus was with God and they were seperate but one.
Garden Gethsemane: Mark 14:32-42 When Jesus is praying to His Father in Heaven. If Jesus is God, why would he need to pray if there aren't seperate entities that are intertwined? He mentions God as his Father constantly. God never left Heaven even though he walked on the earth.
God is, well, I'm not going to cite the entire Bible =).
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p1s2c1p2.htm#II
5. I heard Catholics are cannibals! What’s that about?
Catholics believe that in communion the priest prays over the hosts and wine and it becomes the body and blood of Jesus. We are supposed to treat each other how we want to be treated and how Jesus would treat us, with love. We all have a part of Jesus in us, especially when we share in the body and blood. He did it at the Last Supper and we continue the practice. Other Christians believe it is just symbolic and don’t do it every week and just have scripture readings whereas Catholics believe Jesus is really there on that alter.
Who Can Receive Communion During Mass?
Today's Missal Copyright 2001 by Oregon Catholic Press
Guidelines for the reception of Communion
For Catholics. As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, the participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (Code of Canon Law, canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.
For our fellow Christians We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us "that they may all be one". (John 17:21).
Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 3).
For those not receiving Holy Communion All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.
For non-Christians We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and unity of the human family.
For Catholics. As Catholics, we fully participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when we receive Holy Communion. We are encouraged to receive Communion devoutly and frequently. In order to be properly disposed to receive Communion, the participants should not be conscious of grave sin and normally should have fasted for one hour. A person who is conscious of a grave sin is not to receive the Body and Blood of the Lord without prior sacramental confession except for a grave reason where there is no opportunity for confession. In this case, the person is to be mindful of the obligation to make an act of perfect contrition, including the intention of confessing as soon as possible (Code of Canon Law, canon 916). A frequent reception of the Sacrament of Penance is encouraged for all.
For our fellow Christians We welcome our fellow Christians to this celebration of the Eucharist as our brothers and sisters. We pray that our common baptism and the action of the Holy Spirit in this Eucharist will draw us closer to one another and begin to dispel the sad divisions which separate us. We pray that these will lessen and finally disappear, in keeping with Christ's prayer for us "that they may all be one". (John 17:21).
Because Catholics believe that the celebration of the Eucharist is a sign of the reality of the oneness of faith, life, and worship, members of those churches with whom we are not yet fully united are ordinarily not admitted to Holy Communion. Eucharistic sharing in exceptional circumstances by other Christians requires permission according to the directives of the diocesan bishop and the provisions of canon law (canon 844 4). Members of the Orthodox Churches, the Assyrian Church of the East, and the Polish National Catholic Church are urged to respect the discipline of their own Churches. According to Roman Catholic discipline, the Code of Canon Law does not object to the reception of communion by Christians of these Churches (canon 844 3).
For those not receiving Holy Communion All who are not receiving Holy Communion are encouraged to express in their hearts a prayerful desire for unity with the Lord Jesus and with one another.
For non-Christians We also welcome to this celebration those who do not share our faith in Jesus Christ. While we cannot admit them to Holy Communion, we ask them to offer their prayers for the peace and unity of the human family.
For more information, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2c1a3.htm
6. What are some of these other kooky Catholic traditions?
Catholics have seven sacraments. They are Baptism, Communion, Reconciliation (better known as confession), Confirmation, Marriage, Holy Orders, and The Anointing of the Sick. The sacraments are broken into three groups: Christian initiation, Sacraments of healing, and the sacraments at the service of communion.
Baptism is pretty much the same in all Christian faiths. If you’re baptized Lutheran and want to become Catholic they don’t require a second baptism. This goes for all other Christian faiths I was just using Lutherans as an example. I was baptized when I was seven where most people are baptized as babies. There is also oil they anoint you with. There is oil for Baptism, Confirmation, and Anointing of the Sick. New oil is given to every parish once a year at Easter time.
Communion is receiving the body and blood of Jesus for the first time. Children and adults have to take classes to understand the importance of the sacrament and what it means to receive it. However, if someone from another kind of Christian church is visiting they are welcomed to partake in communion. I had my first communion the year after I was baptized.
Reconciliation, or confession, is always shown in movies. Someone goes into the booth and kneels and tells the priest all the things they’ve done wrong. In the Middle Ages they charged people to be forgiven which caused many Protestant faiths to spring up in Europe.
Sage of Faith
What you're actually thinking of is indulgences... it would never be permitted to charge for confession or even for an indulgence, but what happened was that there was (and still is) the practice of indulgences, which is basically the remittance of temporal punishment due to sin, and has absolutely nothing to do with having your sin forgiven. Basically, a person can recieve an indulgence based on
a) prayer
b) fasting
c) almsgiving
Now the issue arising with that was that many priests (though this was and is heavily frowned upon by actual church doctrine) abused this in order to obtain money. In other words, 'give money to those in neec and your punishment due to sin will be lifted' was twisted into 'give money to us because we need it and your punishment due to sin will be lifted'
a) prayer
b) fasting
c) almsgiving
Now the issue arising with that was that many priests (though this was and is heavily frowned upon by actual church doctrine) abused this in order to obtain money. In other words, 'give money to those in neec and your punishment due to sin will be lifted' was twisted into 'give money to us because we need it and your punishment due to sin will be lifted'
Confession, again there are classes to take before you go in to speak to the priest. There is the Rite of Contrition:
O my God I am heartily sorry
for having offended Thee,
and I detest all my sins,
because I dread the loss of Heaven
and the pains of Hell,
but most of all because I
offend Thee, my God,
Who art all-good and deserving
of all my love.
I firmly resolve, with the help
of Thy grace to confess my sins,
to do penance
and to amend my life. Amen.
It is good to get something you’ve done (sinned) wrong off your chest to a priest. Plus, priests don’t sit around talking about “Whoo boy! You should’ve heard the last nut job that came in here!” And they can’t tell the police if someone has broken a law, which, a lot of time law enforcement tries to force them to. And they can’t tell parents without children’s permission. So if you go into see a priest for Confession and bring up something that has been bothering you and are too ashamed to tell your parents, the priest won’t call them up and rat you out. Priests make vows to uphold their go between from people to God.
Confirmation is when you confirm your Baptism and past sacraments and agree to become a Catholic. You are blessed with holy oils that come from Rome and it’s an initiation in the faith. This waits until a person is in high school or an adult because it is a serious decision. You have to have the first three sacraments to be confirmed and there are classes for that, too! They anoint you again with the special holy oil. The teaching is that you receive the Gifts of the Holy Spirit: Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Fortitude, Knowledge, Piety, Awe (fear) of the Lord. Seven gifts. This is like a second baptism with a "fire". The Holy Spirit came to the apostles locked in the room they held the Last Supper after Jesus ascended into Heaven. They had tongues of flames over their heads and could speak in tongues. They went outside and began preaching to the crowds in Jerusalem and everyone could understand what they were saying no matter what language they spoke or where they came from. Also, once you are confirmed you have permission to baptize anyone under emergency circumstances. So any confirmed Catholic can baptize, not just the priests!
Holy Orders is the sacrament of the cloth, for the priests. Nuns do not get Holy Orders. I haven’t gone through Holy Orders, nor can I, being a female. I know you have to take a LOT of classes to get ordained.
Marriage, again, you have to take classes to be married in the church. If one of the spouses isn’t Catholic, they make them convert if they want to be married in the church. My sister had a huge Catholic wedding and they do an entire service plus the wedding. Pretty boring in my opinion.
Anointing of the Sick used to be called “Last Rites” but it isn’t always done on someone's death bed. Again, they use the oil. It can be given before someone has a baby, surgery, for serious illnesses, or someone who is dying.
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p2s2.htm
7. Catholics sound alright, but they don’t read the Bible.
Catholics very much read the Bible. It is different than some Protestant Bibles because they removed books. Seven books are not in the traditional King James version. Tobias, Judith, Wisdom, Ecclesiasticus/Sirach, Baruch, I Maccabees, and II Maccabees, 3 chapters of Daniel and 6 chapters of Esther were all removed, but are in the Catholic Bible. So technically, Catholics have a more complete Bible. These books were in use during the time of Jesus, but at the time new, Protestant versions of the bible were assembled they were left out or modified because the Jewish community no longer used them regularly. This set of books is known as the Apocrypha.
The way the readings in mass are set up there is one reading from the Old Testament, then one for the New Testament, then the Gospel. The priest gives a homily on the reading (or the deacon), there is collection, the Our Father, praying over the Eucharist for communion, songs... I think the main difference from other Christian churches is that they only do two readings, generally, and only have communion once a month. If a person went to church every Sunday for three years they would hear the entire Bible. That’s the way Catholic readings are set up Sundays for mass. Universally, all Catholics, every part of the world, every Sunday read the same books of the Bible. You could go into a church in France and even though the prayers and readings were in French they’d be doing it in America the same way, just in English.
In the 70s Vatican and Vatican II councils held meetings and modernized the church. Before you had to kneel to receive communion, everything was in Latin, and the priest and alter servers kept their backs to everyone. They revamped the church so now all masses are in the language of the area and priests face the congregation.
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p3s2c1a3.htm#II
8. So how come my pastor can marry and priests and the pope can’t?
Early on marriage of priests was an issue. Many priests had secret families. The disciples of Jesus had wives and families and left them to follow Jesus. It was decided that it is easier to work at a church without a wife and family. Imagine you’re trying to make your son’s little league game and someone calls needing Anointing of the Sick and they can’t wait. Priests are expected to marry the church in a sense and be a guiding role model to all families within their parish. With the lack of men joining seminary school and the recent abomination of child molestation in the church I believe that within the next several decades priests will be allowed to marry and possibly even women will be able to become priests.
For more info, consult: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I
9. What about this pope guy? Don't you pray to him?
I’ve been told by other Christians that being Catholic is wrong because we follow the pope and we should only follow God. The first pope was St. Peter when Jesus said, ?Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, for this was not revealed to you by man, but by my Father in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven? (Matt. 16:17-19). In the front of any Catholic Bible you can find the listings of all the popes.
Historically, Pontiff of Rome was the highest priest of Rome. Pontifix maximus. Now Vatican City in Rome the pope leads the country that is just Vatican City and the Catholic faith. Rome is the Capital of Italy and Vatican City is within Rome. If you've read Angels and Demons (the book before the Da Vinci Code) you can see the difference between the two and how they run. He is leader of the Catholic faith and used to be considered infallible. I believe it was in the Vatican counsels where the infallibility of the pope was changed. Especially, since countries have claimed to have the real Pope, so there have been more than one pope at one time.
For more info, consult: http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p123a9p4.htm#I
10. Why is Jesus dead on your cross? Don't you know he got off of it?!
I had a friend attack me once when I decided to wear my crucifix to school. He kept asking me "Why are you wearing a sign of a dead god?". Catholics wear crucifixes and crosses, but the crucifix is to remind people the sacrafice Jesus gave us. It's just a constant reminder of how much he loved our world. It isn't saying he didn't get off that cross, it's just saying that he _did_
For more info, consult:
http://www.vatican.va/archive/catechism/p122a4p2.htm
11. Catholics wait until a child is at the age of reason to be baptized.
Nope. Babies are baptized all the time. In fact, every person can baptize anyone in the state of an emergency. Even an athiest can baptize another person. All they have to do is baptize you in the "Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." They could use their spit if there was no water available. They believe if you aren't baptized you go hell. What about babies? They go to limbo.
12. What's limbo? What's Purgatory?
In theological usage the name is applied to (a) the temporary place or state of the souls of the just who, although purified from sin, were excluded from the beatific vision until Christ's triumphant ascension into Heaven (the "limbus patrum" wink ; or (b) to the permanent place or state of those unbaptized children and others who, dying without grievous personal sin, are excluded from the beatific vision on account of original sin alone (the "limbus infantium" or "puerorum" wink .
In literary usage the name is sometimes applied in a wider and more general sense to any place or state of restraint, confinement, or exclusion, and is practically equivalent to "prison" (see, e.g., Milton, "Paradise Lost," III, 495; Butler, "Hudibras," part II, canto i, and other English classics). The not unnatural transition from the theological to the literary usage is exemplified in Shakespeare, "Henry VIII," act v, sc. 3. In this article we shall deal only with the theological meaning and connotation of the word.
Taken from:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/09256a.htm
To read more, follow that link. In a nutshell Limbo is from the Latin to mean "boarder" or "Hem" of the Father " originally called Limbus Patrum. It is where righteous people without personal sin, or unbaptised babies go. It is a place of perfect happiness excluding the beatific vision of God. This is where people who had been alive before Jesus came were kept.
Matthew 27: 51-53 "And behold, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened, and the bodies of many spirits who had fallen asleep were raised. And coming forth from their tombs after his resurection, they entered the holy city and appeared to many."
In another nutshell Purgatory is the place where people go for final purification before they enter into Heaven. If all their sins are not attoned for they go to Purgatory.
Purgatory (Lat., "purgare", to make clean, to purify) in accordance with Catholic teaching is a place or condition of temporal punishment for those who, departing this life in God's grace, are, not entirely free from venial faults, or have not fully paid the satisfaction due to their transgressions. The faith of the Church concerning purgatory is clearly expressed in the Decree of Union drawn up by the Council of Florence (Mansi, t. XXXI, col. 1031), and in the decree of the Council of Trent which (Sess. XXV) defined: "Whereas the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has from the Sacred Scriptures and the ancient tradition of the Fathers taught in Councils and very recently in this Ecumenical synod (Sess. VI, cap. XXX; Sess. XXII cap.ii, iii) that there is a purgatory, and that the souls therein are helped by the suffrages of the faithful, but principally by the acceptable Sacrifice of the Altar; the Holy Synod enjoins on the Bishops that they diligently endeavor to have the sound doctrine of the Fathers in Councils regarding purgatory everywhere taught and preached, held and believed by the faithful" (Denzinger, "Enchiridon", 983). Further than this the definitions of the Church do not go, but the tradition of the Fathers and the Schoolmen must be consulted to explain the teachings of the councils, and to make clear the belief and the practices of the faithful.
Taken from:
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12575a.htm
13. Explain that there Apocrypha!
I've been having trouble finding WHY the Apocrypha isn't in Protestant Bibles but it is in the Catholic Bible other than "it didn't fit Protestant beliefs." But if anyone knows why, please enlighten me.
The Seven Deuterocanonical books in question are:
Tobit
Judith
Wisdom of Soloman
Ecclesiasticus or Sirach
Baruch
1 Maccabees
2 Maccabees
Then there are various chapters in Daniel and Esther left out. When there was just Orthodox Catholic and Roman Catholic the Bible was accepted, no variations. But when Martin Luther split, they took books "out" of the Bible although there wasn't any _set_ perminant rule of what was in the Bible. Christians claim that Catholic's "added" books, when in reality they were removed. Why? I still haven't found a good answer to that.
NEW 3/3/09
14. Catholics don't believe in evolution/aren't good scientists, etc.
Well this has certainly irked me for a while and I can't believe I'm posting it now, especially since my first degree was going to be in biology!
I want to start off with Galileo. In 1633 Galileo had proof that the Earth revolved around the sun. The Church knew he was right but deemed that it was a threat to public order and decency to publish this and put him on trial. He was held on house arrest until his death. In October of 1992 Pope John Paul II apologized and took responsibility of the wronging of Galileo and the scientific community. Heck, even now the pope has his own astronomer and there are observatories owned by the church.
As for evolution Catholics generally believe in an 'intelligent design' hand in evolution. That Genesis isn't completely literal and that evolution is guided and shaped by God.
Anyone who would like to dispute this must not be an avid studier of biology because the father of genetics was a Catholic priest of the Augustinian order! Gregor Mendel, the guy with the pea flowers, Mendel boxes? Bah you'd know about it if you paid attention in high school biology.
I do not deny that with the Inquisition and many other periods of intolerance within the church has led to the destruction of much scientific knowledge (like any history of ancient Meso American cultures advances) and has certainly delayed the scientific growth of the human race. But modern day Catholics are not to be lumped together with Fundamentalist Christians who are against evolution and many other scientific ideas or discoveries.
That’s all for now. More questions will be added as soon as they're asked! PM me if you're concerned if anything is wrong or have questions.
~Cimorene >^..^<
