Ask a Catholic

[Deidre]

No, I absolutely cannot utter some words over a wafer and turn it into the body and blood of Christ , and neither can any human being.

God can

Hmmm....I thought that belief was a tenet of the Catholic faith (priests being the ones who have been given Divine authority to do this)

 

[Spiderman]

Hmmm....I thought that belief was a tenet of the Catholic faith (priests being the ones who have been given Divine authority to do this)

the Catholic belief is that God does it through the priest. It is entirely the work of God though.

The church also teaches that God can grant any sacraments without the help of a priest if He so pleases.

In scripture God often uses priests and rituals to to bring Graces to the people. And yes, in scripture God always used male priests.

I'm not saying I agree with everything the church or God does, but what I am saying is that it is Biblical

 

[Spiderman]

Why does the Bible say that the fatherless & the widow should be visited in their affliction but not that the motherless and the widower should be visited in their affliction.

read Matthew 25, the church and the Bible says that we are supposed to console people in all of their afflictions, and that what we do for the least of God's people ,we do for him, and shall receive our reward on Judgement Day.

 

[Spiderman]

In regard to what the church teaches about Evolution, yes you can believe in evolution.

Regarding repetitious prayers, in the Book of Revelation it talks about the Angels reciting the same prayer and praises to God over and over again night and day.

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.

 

[Spiderman]

As a practicing roman catholic who considers himself a christian(only). 1. Why does the church continue to try and legislate instead of educate.

Christ was pretty direct about his feelings of government and also on what you should do when people ignore your word and its not take over their government.

The church does more to educate people than any other institution on the face of the Earth.

 

[Spiderman]

To my beloved Catholic brothers and sisters; How does ritual help you in your faith? Does it play a large part in your religion? One of the reasons I deviated* from traditional Christianity is that ritual helps me feel closer to God. It's like a spiritual bridge to the supernatural realm.

The deviation wasn't that great. I still beleive the core values of Christianity and Jesus Christ remains my lord and savior. I do practice more ritual and maybe sacrament is more prevalent as is other somewhat unusual practices in a modern Christians opinion.

You hit the nail on the head. Throughout the Old Testament God instituted rituals, and the early Christians had rituals closer to a Catholic mass than any other denomination.

I have often come out of the confession booth feeling like a new , light, and refreshed man , when moments before I had a burden so heavy I wanted to kill myself.

I have had that experience at a mass , and I get more out of a Catholic mass than a Protestant service , even if the homily sucks.

To each their own. More incense please!

 

[Spiderman]

Catholics often ponder the forgiving of sins.....
and over look John the Baptist washing them away.

so ....siin was forgiven even before John

Sin was forgiven even before John the Baptist, but the sins of the Earth had not been completely atoned for, neither was mankind redeemed, neither was there much grace for Gentiles before the new covenant and final sacrifice.

 

[Thief]

Sin was forgiven even before John the Baptist, but the sins of the Earth had not been completely atoned for, neither was mankind redeemed, neither was there much grace for Gentiles before the new covenant and final sacrifice.

and then some Catholics insist no one before Christ was saved....
no redemption before Him

how about you?

 

[Spiderman]

and then some Catholics insist no one before Christ was saved....
no redemption before Him

how about you?

Scripture teaches that Christ descended into the Earth and preached to the souls in prison. Scripture says that the gospel was preached to the dead. Scripture says that the Gospel was preached even to the wicked that drowned in the flood in the time of Noah.

I absolutely believe that no soul is going to Eternal damnation unless they go before the Judge having been fully enlightened, knowing the truth, knowing who God has, and like the Devil and the Fallen Angels, reject him anyways.

 

[Thief]

forgiveness and worthiness are not the same thing

a particular truth in mind?

 

[Spiderman]

forgiveness and worthiness are not the same thing

a particular truth in mind?

If you are alluding to the false accusation that the church says we can make ourselves worthy of Salvation through works, that is not what I believe, neither is it what the church magisterium believes.

But in Matthew chapter 25, the sheep were saved because of the suffering people they consoled.

The Damned were damned on account of the fact that they did not serve the poor, the needy, and the suffering.

It says nothing about them being damned for not believing some Dogma.

 

[Thief]

If you are alluding to the false accusation that the church says we can make ourselves worthy of Salvation through works, that is not what I believe, neither is it what the church magisterium believes.

But in Matthew chapter 25, the sheep were saved because of the suffering people they consoled.

The Damned were damned on account of the fact that they did not serve the poor, the needy, and the suffering.

It says nothing about them being damned for not believing some Dogma.

last I heard....some of that dogma is required
not that I agree or follow

 

[Spiderman]

last I heard....some of that dogma is required

The Bible speaks of the Gospel being preached to the dead, and also speaks of souls being released from Hades to be judged.

What is to say they weren't enlightened in Hades and embraced all the Dogmas there. If they didn't know the truth , they would not have sin, said Christ of the Pharisees.

Some people do not know the truth. Some people do not want to know the truth. Some people know the truth and reject it.

The latter two are the ones who are in danger of hell.

I have spoken of a lot of scripture verses lately and haven't given the Chapter and verse, but I know the scripture says that. When I get to a computer shall cite the verses you want me to.

I'm in rehab and on a slow cell phone doing 9 groups a day. I should be able to get to a computer at a library this weekend.

 

[Thana]

I am well versed in Catholic Apologetics for I spent a year in a monastery studying it all.

I put this in the debate section that you may challenge and fire your arrows at the Pope!

Mmkay.

No one in the bible, from Moses to Paul, ever needed a Pope or a Priest or a Church for anything. So my question is: why do you?

 

[Spiderman]

Mmkay.

No one in the bible, from Moses to Paul, ever needed a Pope or a Priest or a Church for anything. So my question is: why do you?

Moses had the equivalent of the church with the levitical priesthood. I needed the church to decide which books were to be in the Bible and to settle disputes about dogma and faith and morals.

The sacrament of confession, the mass , the Rosary, the beautiful shrines and basilicas, and so much more help me out tremendously.

I have a YouTube video uploading right now where I explain more of your question, but the problem is this phone is so pathetic it takes an hour and a half of uploading for every minute.

So your question provokes a very long and complicated answer. If you have a repugnance for the church, I understand , as I experience it myself sometimes, and cannot fault you for despising what you believe to be false and misleading to people.

I shall with many others wrestle with God that he not hold you accountable.

Anyhow, I'm about to sleep and I temporarily lost my rosary.I went looking all over to find it because when I go to sleep without a Rosary in my hand, I feel incomplete. To each their own.

The verse about the gospel being preached to the dead is First Peter 4:6

 

[bobhikes]

The church does more to educate people than any other institution on the face of the Earth.

Why do they feel the need to legislate as well then. Where did Christ tell them to form their own government and to influence and force change on the other world governments.

 

[Spiderman]

Why do they feel the need to legislate as well then. Where did Christ tell them to form their own government and to influence and force change on the other world governments.

What the hierarchy does regarding government is never infallible.

The Church is to combat evil in the world , and some governments are very evil.

Regarding the Pope's opinion on global warming and his opinion on many issues, who cares? Those Are not Church teachings anyway.

Some more questions answered here including why I need a Church:

 

[Thief]

The Bible speaks of the Gospel being preached to the dead, and also speaks of souls being released from Hades to be judged.

What is to say they weren't enlightened in Hades and embraced all the Dogmas there. If they didn't know the truth , they would not have sin, said Christ of the Pharisees.

Some people do not know the truth. Some people do not want to know the truth. Some people know the truth and reject it.

The latter two are the ones who are in danger of hell.

I have spoken of a lot of scripture verses lately and haven't given the Chapter and verse, but I know the scripture says that. When I get to a computer shall cite the verses you want me to.

I'm in rehab and on a slow cell phone doing 9 groups a day. I should be able to get to a computer at a library this weekend.

no need to work that hard at it....

now that hell has been mentioned.....and let me point out....
God's Favored knows scripture
the old book.....the new book.....other books....
he knows the poetry and the art.....
he knows the truth.

but for all that he might know.....
he no longer stands before God or heaven.

truth is not the saving grace.....so it seems

 

[metis]

Yes, Peter's name means a small stone or pebble. And Jesus is the rock. So Jesus is telling Peter that he is just a small stone and the church will be built on the rock of Jesus. Notice Jesus never told Peter that the church would be built on "you". He said, Peter you are a little stone and the church will be built on me ( the rock). Any church that has a human for it's foundation is not God's church. God's church is built on the foundation rock of Jesus.

But in Aramaic, the word used is "Kephas" (some Bibles use "Cephas" instead), which means "rock" in Aramaic. So what we see is a play on words that is quite evident that it must refer to Peter. The problem is that when the Aramaic was translated into Greek, a problem arose because gender is important (masculine v feminine).

Matt.16[18] And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the powers of death shall not prevail against it.

Now notice how this is structured above, and if it were written in Aramaic, both "Peter" ("Petros" in Greek) and "rock" ("petro" in Greek) would be from the word/name "Kephas". And notice that Jesus says "... you are Peter...", as if Peter didn't remember that Jesus had already assigned him that name.

So, what we see is a play on words using both Peter's given name and the word "rock".

 

[NewChapter]

read Matthew 25, the church and the Bible says that we are supposed to console people in all of their afflictions, and that what we do for the least of God's people ,we do for him, and shall receive our reward on Judgement Day.

Well, why did James single out the fatherless and the widow?