Being Catholic

[The Irish Ram]

DG, You sound like a Godly man who is Catholic, and blessed because of it. No struggling to fit dogma into your Christian walk, and discerning what is important and what is not in your relationship with God. There isn't a demonmination out there that gets it all right.

Art Rooney was a Catholic who attended church every morning. He was being discussed at a men's meeting in an extremely leaglistic rather anti-Catholic church. My Dad sat and listened for a while then stood up and said, "Do you know what God said to Art when Art passed? Just put your cigar and rosary down at the gate and come on in. I love you son."

You sound well grounded in your faith. Props to the Catholic Church for their help in getting you there.

 

[hobelim]

Fortunately I don't care what other people think.

"If I cared enough to be authentic with my beliefs"


LOL... apparently you don't even care about what you think!


Maybe after a few more decades on your knees every Sunday eating god as if he was a cheep snack food you might begin to wonder why?

 

[vanityofvanitys]

As a "born & bred" Catholic, I understood exactly what she meant (although I trust she is burning in hell right now for killing all those babies).

A very ill-advised and un-Catholic thing to say.

To illustrate, I am so neurotic about not missing Mass on Sunday, that I have often gone to churches in foreign countries (Thailand, Germany, France, Luxembourg, Costa Rica) where I didn't understand a word of what they were saying, because I am constitutionally incapable of going a Sunday without attending Mass.

You call that neurosis? Avoiding missing Sunday mass (for a devout Catholic) is just as important as avoiding committing adultery. Would you call us neurotic for constantly avoiding adultery?

We Cafeteria Catholics pick up the things we find palatable and leave everything else, while still considering ourselves "good Catholics." Like I say, it drives Priests nuts.

I don’t follow? For one, it surely matters what it is you are picking up on and what it is you are leaving behind. You know anyone perfect? Secondly, I do not see priests going “nuts” towards those at least willing to come to mass each Sunday.

I don't go to confession. As an adult, I am responsible for what I do. For my purposes I don't do anything that is sinful, and if I happen to do something "bad" then I don't do it again. The idea of going to confession, having my sins forgiven and starting with a clean slate strikes me as perverse.

How noble. You have decided you know more than the Church or that what Jesus preached in Scripture about confession? Ok. I find the Sacrament of Penance on par in importance with Sunday mass and with the Holy Eucharist.

I don't "love" everyone, and I make no attempt to do so. It is a totally fatuous idea and frankly I wouldn't take seriously anyone who claimed to "love everyone." I treat people with respect and consideration of their humanity. We are all Children of God. That's enough.

Maybe you need to better understand what to love everyone actually means? God is not asking you to write a letter of affection to Putin on his birthday. You do not wish for anyone to be in hell and you must be willing to forgive. That would be a very good start.

I don't "tithe." I give my church a couple thousand dollars a year (maybe 1% of my household gross income), and I give another couple thousand to assorted charities.

What Catholic teaching says you must “tithe?” which I assume you take as giving 10%? You are making an issue where none exists.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a Christian couple using "artifical birth control" to manage the size of their families or space the kids appropriately. I simply disagree with the teachings of the church, and I honestly think that the Church would change its position on BC if it were not so embarrassing to do so. ("What about the people who are now burning in hell for using BC before?")

Who you decide is in hell or who the Church allegedly says are in hell is totally bogus. Maybe ignorance is your problem and not Church teaching?

Incidentally, decades ago the priests were instructed by the pope and/or the magisterium to go lightly on those in the confessional who confess the sin of artificial contraception. The Church recognizes this ongoing practice for most as “invincible ignorance” and does not deem such a sin to be mortal in most cases. [That is my interpretation (not verbatim) of the document that was issued.]

I am totally unconcerned with the bizarre little uniquely-Catholic beliefs that some people fret about. I don't care about the virgin birth, purgatory, papal infallibility, or whether taking communion is a form of cannibalism. Who cares? I have bigger fish to fry. Especially on Fridays, during Lent.

So how does your not agreeing with Protestants or opponents of the Church on these matters make you less Catholic?

I am very disturbed by the decline of Catholic education in the U.S. There is simply no way for children to get a mature understanding of the Church's history, theology, and other teachings through an hour of Sunday school, even if it's continued through 12th grade. The instructors are so intent on making it enjoyable (so the kids will keep coming), that it is nothing but fluff.

Well, ok. I am disturbed by Catholic education myself, and even more so at the university level. Our culture and our lukewarm parenting dominates how the minds and values of our youth are formed in this country, IMO. And it is rare to find that young person who sets out on their own to learn about God and the Christian faith.

Bottom line, the kids whose only exposure to the Church is through Sunday school and going to Mass with their parents will, at best, be the sort of "Catholics" who only go to church on Christmas and Easter when they are adults. Pity.

Yes, we may agree on that. However, where I come from Sunday school is pretty much non-existent for Catholics. I doubt it is found hardly anywhere, but that does not bother me. They should be at mass. I just wish the homilies took on a little more danger or conviction.