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positive experience of Catholicism

Eddi

Agnostic
Premium Member
This Sunday I attended evening Catholic mass with a Catholic friend (I’m a protestant)

Wow. Totally different to what I’m used to at a church yet also somehow similar

I joined in but declined Communion as I don’t believe in Transubstantiation

Today I met with the priest

He was very wise, very astute, and very helpful re: my spiritual problems

I now feel much more at peace with myself and much less troubled

I'd say he's the best clergyman I have ever met

So basically, I’ve had a very positive experience of Catholicism
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
This Sunday I attended evening Catholic mass with a Catholic friend (I’m a protestant)

Wow. Totally different to what I’m used to at a church yet also somehow similar

I joined in but declined Communion as I don’t believe in Transubstantiation

Today I met with the priest

He was very wise, very astute, and very helpful re: my spiritual problems

I now feel much more at peace with myself and much less troubled

I'd say he's the best clergyman I have ever met

So basically, I’ve had a very positive experience of Catholicism
Well quite a lot of people do. But you put your finger on a key point: so much depends on the clergyman. There can be a lot of formal rules and legalism in some old-fashioned Catholicism, which can put people off. Good priests de-emphasise that, in my experience. Most of the Catholic priests I have known personally have been like the one you met. Perhaps I've just been lucky, but there does seem to be a pattern about them.

One big thing about Catholicism, as with the Orthodox, is the theatrical, ritual element, which is nearly absent in Protestantism. People have a variety of reactions to this. Some think it silly, superstitious or distracting. Others, including myself, find it helps create a sense of being in a different time and place, and of continuity with past humanity, which is calming and an aid to getting one's thoughts in the right place.

Horses for courses, I suppose.
 

PureX

Veteran Member
This Sunday I attended evening Catholic mass with a Catholic friend (I’m a protestant)

Wow. Totally different to what I’m used to at a church yet also somehow similar

I joined in but declined Communion as I don’t believe in Transubstantiation

Today I met with the priest

He was very wise, very astute, and very helpful re: my spiritual problems

I now feel much more at peace with myself and much less troubled

I'd say he's the best clergyman I have ever met

So basically, I’ve had a very positive experience of Catholicism
I grew up Catholic, and went a Catholic grade school as a child. And I had many good and some bad experiences with the priests and nuns involved in my early education. Mostly good, though. And later in life, when I needed but could not afford a professional psychologist's help, Catholic Charities in Chicago hooked me up with an excellent psychologist at very minimal cost, and asked nothing of me in return. I didn't have to become a Catholic, or promise to become one (I had long since 'lapsed'), or attend church, or do anything in relation to religion.

My impression of Catholicism is that, like most institutions, it's made up of a lot of very good, well-meaning people, with a few real jerks scattered in between. But for me, organized religion is a no-go. I'm just not cut out for it. Even though I am grateful for my over-all experience with that particular religious organization.
 

exchemist

Veteran Member
I grew up Catholic, and went a Catholic grade school as a child. And I had many good and some bad experiences with the priests and nuns involved in my early education. Mostly good, though. And later in life, when I needed but could not afford a professional psychologist's help, Catholic Charities in Chicago hooked me up with an excellent psychologist at very minimal cost, and asked nothing of me in return. I didn't have to become a Catholic, or promise to become one (I had long since 'lapsed'), or attend church, or do anything in relation to religion.

My impression of Catholicism is that, like most institutions, it's made up of a lot of very good, well-meaning people, with a few real jerks scattered in between. But for me, organized religion is a no-go. I'm just not cut out for it. Even though I am grateful for my over-all experience with that particular religious organization.
True, the jerks you will always have with you, as Christ didn't quite say.
 

RedDragon94

Love everyone, meditate often
This Sunday I attended evening Catholic mass with a Catholic friend (I’m a protestant)

Wow. Totally different to what I’m used to at a church yet also somehow similar

I joined in but declined Communion as I don’t believe in Transubstantiation

Today I met with the priest

He was very wise, very astute, and very helpful re: my spiritual problems

I now feel much more at peace with myself and much less troubled

I'd say he's the best clergyman I have ever met

So basically, I’ve had a very positive experience of Catholicism
Cool, I too am protestant. I too have visited the local Catholic Church. More power to you.
 

Salvador

RF's Swedenborgian
This Sunday I attended evening Catholic mass with a Catholic friend (I’m a protestant)

Wow. Totally different to what I’m used to at a church yet also somehow similar

I joined in but declined Communion as I don’t believe in Transubstantiation

Today I met with the priest

He was very wise, very astute, and very helpful re: my spiritual problems

I now feel much more at peace with myself and much less troubled

I'd say he's the best clergyman I have ever met

So basically, I’ve had a very positive experience of Catholicism

I'm not Catholic, but I've attended Catholic mass; Honestly, I've enjoyed the nice work-out there with all the kneeling and prayers.


 
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exchemist

Veteran Member
As a Catholic, I found the rituals to be too formal for my taste.
So did Calvin. It's a point of view.

In my case, the music of the church is part of the magic. I've always liked Baroque music and about a decade ago while living in The Hague I joined a small choir that sang Renaissance music. I had not realised that the Low Countries was the centre of musical excellence in that era. Through it and attending the Latin mass, as I don't speak Dutch, I learned to read neumes and sing Gregorian chant, as well. I found there was something wonderful about singing music from 1500 (really complex and difficult - most people have no idea), or in the case of chant almost a thousand years old. So I'm one of those people for whom atmosphere is an aid to devotion.

Good priests have a way of combining due reverence for ceremonial with lightness of touch and humanity in their personal relations.
 
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