Post by PopeADope on Apr 29, 2016 21:11:19 GMT
I'm not a good Catholic as I see what is most important is a fervent Relationship with God and placing him first. Many people who receive the sacraments don't. Many who don't receive the sacraments do (at least from what I can tell.)
But if you have any questions about Catholicism please ask away.
Here are some that have been asked:
What draws you to the Catholic Faith?
Well, the Catholic spirituality has a lot more interaction with females in heaven , especially the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Rosary.
Females can help me more than males.
The Catholic church has an unbreakable chain of Popes that date back to the Apostle Peter who was the first Bishop of Rome.
The Catholic Church put together the first Bible. Catholic Church decided The Nicene Creed ,which is the most important dogmas that a Christian is supposed to believe, and Protestants agree on this.
The Catholic Church does more to care for the sick, shelter the homeless, and feed the hungry than any other institution on the face of the Earth.
It was the Catholic church that started hospitals and universities and founded much of Western Civilization.
Many of the practices that Protestants object to about Catholicism regard to communication with the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Saints. Those practices were taking place in virtually every Christian Church for roughly 1500 years. God isn't very loving or trustworthy to let everyone go astray that long after redeeming us and promising to be with us.
If God was so offended by those practices, surely Jesus or the Apostles would have warned against them or not waited 15 centuries to raise up a Church to condemn them.
Also, Solascriptura, the Doctrine upon which Protestantism is built, was not a Christian Doctrine for more than 1500 years. Protestants believe that the Bible is to be the Sole Rule of Faith. In order for the Bible to be the Sole rule of Faith, a Protestant needs to find a Scripture verse that says it is.
They can't. So the Bible is not sufficient alone, and even says not everything Jesus taught is in there. If the Bible was the only rule of Faith, Jesus would have left the early Church with such a book, no doubt.
Protestants often quote:
2 Timothy 3:16-17
6 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
Yes, we know that absolutely no one can be thoroughly equipped for every good work without Scripture. Scripture is absolutely necessary and is the word of God. However, at the time that 2 Timothy 3:16-17 was written, there was no New Testament. He was referring to the Old Testament.
Also, if Scripture equipped us for every good work, then Scripture would have told Christians which writings belonged in the New Testament Canon or told people to compile Scripture into a single volume book. No where was that commanded. Because of this, Christians debated for hundreds of years on what the correct canon was and when the first Bible was put together, people still debated on whether the correct decision was made.
People often provide Scripture verses to promote two totally different views. It happens all the time. That is why Luther and Calvin studied the same Bible but had totally different beliefs. You will find many pastors who have studied Scripture all their lives and have Doctorates in the study of Sacred Scripture who have completely opposite beliefs of what various passages mean or how they apply.
For instance:
JO1 3:9 Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. "
Some people take a verse to literally mean what we read in English, and it obviously doesn't mean that.
Or this for example:
JOH 10:30 I and my Father are one.
JOH 14:28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Luke 18:19 ►
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good--except God alone.
It is clear that the Bible alone is not sufficient without an outside Holy-Spirit inspired authority to settle disputes on Doctrine, Faith, and morals. Nothing has divided Christianity more than SolaScriptura
Why do you have repetitious prayers?
A repetitious prayer can silence and still the mind, which even many secular people have proven is good for a person , even physically, but also , when the mind is still and void of thought, it enables a person to better hear the still small voice of God.
The Rosary always brings me a lot of Peace when I am anxious , even if I just recite a decade or half a decade, or pray small prayers on the beads.
If such prayers don't do anything for you , the church doesn't say anybody has to pray those prayers, and your emphasis should be focused primarily on relationship with God. If it doesn't bring you into a deeper relationship with God , then I wouldn't recommend it.
Jesus discouraged babbling with vain repetition. Not all repetition is vain. Any prayer is vain and babbling like a pagan if you are simply reciting words and the heart is far from God.
In Heaven the same prayers are recited night and day.
Revelations 4:8
"Day and night they never stop saying: "'Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty,' who was, and is, and is to come."
That is more repetitious than ANY Catholic prayer or practice.
In the garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed the exact same prayer 3 times in a row.
And let's not forget the persistent widow who got what she wanted by annoying the judge