DOMINUS PARS HÆREDITATIS MEÆ

Father, I'm writing an article, can you explain a thing to me? Why the dating is the construction of the marriage?

Sun, 19 May 2013 23:30:52 -0700

Hello anon:

I’m not sure that I understand the question. Are you wondering why dating, from a Catholic standpoint, is important in deciding whether to get married? Or are you asking how dating should be done by a Catholic man or woman? If English is not your first language, maybe you can ask the question in your own language and I can translate it? Let me know. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Hi Father! Would you please give your insight into the phrase "the near occasion of sin"? I try, but I think I often fail in avoiding the near occasion to sin by watching inappropriate movies or tv (those with bad language, nudity, sexual relationships, etc). I'm not sure how to tell when "the near occasion of sin" comes in to play, and when I should confess about it. Any help is appreciated. God Bless you Father!

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:31:00 -0700

Hello anon:

The near occasion of sin simply refers to putting yourself in a situation where you believe you will draw yourself into too much temptation, which you could have avoided if you had just not gone into that situation.

If a daughter-in-law fights too much with her mother-in-law, then it would be a near occasion of sin to start up arguments with that person when you know it’s going to turn into a nasty fight and feelings will be hurt, unnecessarily. That would be an example where the two can be around each other, but need to avoid too much conversation and basically ignore when the other one is trying to start something.

In your case, you are watching TV and something happens which is a near occasion of sin. It does not seem to me as if you are sinning because you did not go looking for that temptation, but it sort of found you. In the case where it gets to tempting, just use the remote to put the TV on mute and turn away during scenes you find bothersome. Otherwise, if you know that certain TV programs or channels always cause you to be in the near occasion of sin, you should not watch those programs or channels at all. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Hi Fr! I have a question-- when I was younger a religious ed teacher taught me that it is completely incorrect to receive the Eucharist with the right hand on top (as a lefty would naturally do) I feel like the hand I am using shouldn't be what I am worrying/ thinking about when I am on the way to receive! If she is the eucharistic minister she always gives me a look when I have my left hand on bottom. Is it wrong to do that? Thanks!

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:24:57 -0700

Hi anon:

“Eucharistic minister” although the popular term to use for an extraordinary minister of Holy Communion is not correct. I recently saw where someone had a hissy fit because they wanted to be called eucharistic minister.

The reason why the term is incorrect, however, is because the Eucharist refers to offering Mass. The Mass is a “eucharistic celebration.” Who would be the “minister” for “eucharist?” A priest! So only someone who has the sacrament of Holy Orders and is an ordained priest can be a “eucharistic minister” because “eucharist” or Mass, cannot be ministered by a lay person.

This is why the correct term is Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion. When someone gives the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Christ, they are ministering Holy Communion, NOT “eucharist.” And they are not an Ordinary Minister, because in the liturgy only priests and deacons are ordinary ministers. Only when there are not enough priests and deacons do bring in lay people, who are “extraordinary” ministers of holy Communion.

As far as using your left hand, that comes from a very old custom of regarding the left as the side of darkness. Remember the Last Judgment of Christ? He is going to put the condemned, the reprobate, on His left and yell at them “GET OUT OF MY SIGHT” and so the Church has traditionally considered the left side of anything to have a negative connotation.

In the Tridentine Latin Mass, up until 1969, priests were always told to pick up things with their right hand, to turn to the right when they wanted to face people, to close the Missal from the right to the left, etc. Priests who were left handed were told never to give Communion with the left hand. In Catholic schools, children were told never to use the left hand but to relearn to write and do things with the right hand.

It looks like the person you are dealing with was brought up in that mentality. However, I think it is silly if you ask me and the Catholic Church has no rule now that you cannot touch the Host with the left hand. But why don’t you just start receiving holy Communion on the tongue? Problem solved. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

I'm hoping Yahoo buying Tumblr will have a positive effect on policing the porn here. Tumblr has a policy but doesn't seem to enforce it much. Flickr (part of Yahoo) allows porn but and utilizes a filter system that relies on users correctly labeling adult oriented content. Users that don't identify this material end up being reported by other users. Flickr's default is for "safe search" on, the vast majority of people on the site never see it. It would be nice if there was enforcement here.

Sun, 19 May 2013 19:12:12 -0700

Hello anon:

Very good points, and yes, that would be great if there would be a policing of material. I find it amazing that it sold for 1 billion. So I guess we’ll start having a lot of ads to make it a profitable venture for Yahoo. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:49:44 -0700

Yahoo to Buy Tumblr for $1.1 Billion:

Yahoo’s move aims to make up for years of missing out on the growth of social networks and mobile devices.

I wonder what this will do to Tumblr.

Hello Father! I have been reading up on homeschooling as my husband and I are thinking of doing it this year and I noticed in Church texts it says that the parents have the "grave duty" and "grave obligation" to educate their children. I even found a text that says parents who send their children to public school without serious reason cannot receive absolution in the SoP. This was pre-Vatican II-- do you know if this still stands? And what is meant by "grave duty" and "grave obligation"?

Sun, 19 May 2013 12:01:02 -0700

Hello ayearningsigh:

When the Church speaks of parents having the grave duty to educate their children, in official documents, it is not referring to homeschooling but to being vigilant over what your kids learn. In other words, don’t just drop them off at school and expect that your parental wishes will be respected. See what they are teaching them, and don’t hesitate to speak up and make your voice heard when you are not happy with what is happening at school with your kids.

This is also a way for the Church to say that the State has to back off and not coerce and pressure parents with compulsory education to give up their primary rights as the educators of their children.

As far as prohibitions against sending children to public school, that applied to American Catholics in the last century, when U.S. public schools were bitterly anti-Catholic and were allowed to disseminate all sorts of anti-Catholic propaganda during the classes. It was very common back then not only for teachers to read the King James Bible, but to give instruction on the errors of Catholic “idolatry” and “papal subservience.”

The Catholic response was to set up a school in almost every parish and to withdraw Catholic children from public schools. Nowadays, those penalties of the Church do not apply because the public school system is not longer managed by anti-Catholic, Protestant churches but is completely secularized.

If a parent is able to instruct their children at home, that is fine and within their rights as the primary educators of their children. As public education becomes more and more of a problematic option, thousands of families flee the public education schools and begin to teach their kids at home. Although the government may not like this, they should not interfere with the fundamental rights of parents over their children. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Father, I am an atheist, but I am a former Catholic of 15 years. Most of my family are Catholic, and when I try to explain my personal reasons for leaving the faith, I am met with scorn and hatred. What can I say to them to remind them that I am the same person they have always loved? I thought that Catholics were supposed to be forgiving, but my mother tells me that I am an "embarrassment" to the family for being the first one to leave the faith.

Sun, 19 May 2013 09:49:00 -0700

Hello oceanofbliss:

There is a disconnect here. On the one hand, you have stated that you used to be a Catholic. Then, you state that you are now an atheist. But yet you believe you are “the same person” which your family has always loved?

No, you are not the same person, unless your Catholicism was atheistic all along or your atheism is Catholic—both propositions are unlikely. That your mother feels you are an embarrassment is because she feels a certain betrayal to the belief system she tried to hand on to you.

It is not lack of forgiveness—it is deep, parental disappointment. Parenting is at times almost unbearable. It is certainly a thankless job at many times. You put up with more bs and selfishness and nonsense from your brats than you can ever tally up. But when they grow up and start to become human beings with some evidence of having the values you consider essential and core, it makes you proud.

On the other hand, if I raise my kids to be atheists and one runs off and becomes a born again Christian with all that entails, I am going to feel disappointment. If I raise my kids to be pro-choice, pro-gay marriage and pro-spread the wealth Democrat, and they grow up and join the far right-wing of the Republican and deny every principle I fought for them to believe in, I’m not going to be a happy camper. I’m going to feel betrayed, and somewhat judged, because I know they will repeat over and over “Yeah, I’m a recovering Democrat..” or “My dad was hard-core liberal and raised me that way, but I’ve since seen the light.”

So, it is not that your mother is being unforgiving, but that you have turned out to do the opposite of what she would have wanted. For a devout Catholic, Jesus Christ is the core and center of our life, our thoughts, our values, and our vision for a better future. The Catholic worldview is pro-natural marriage, pro-family with discipline and honoring of elders, pro-life, it is pro-law and order, it is pro-nature and not doing things against nature, it is in favor of sobriety and self-control, and it is pro-truth that is clear, objective, and eternal, having been revealed by God.

For a Catholic, atheism is not just doubt or saying “I’m not sure if there is a God” but it is denial and negation, saying “There IS NO God.” So where does that leave conscience and morality? You have no more Ten Commandments, because those are from God. And even if you follow them, there is no obligation to do so since there is no God or judgment to answer to for breaking whatever rule you want to break.

Some parents who are Christian suspect deep down that their son or daughter who confesses atheism does so for ulterior motives of lifestyle choice. In other words, they resent the rules, the expectations of the home, based on Christianity, and they want to make a clearly defined break that will send a message to their parents.

For some children, atheism is a way to punish parents, and the family. Then, it is an excuse to get out, whore around, be hedonistic and selfish, and say “eff you and the horse you rode in on” to anyone and everyone you reject. It is a sort of pseudo emancipation so that you are no longer held to any exterior guideline for growth and self-improvement, because the atheist can always hide behind, “eff you, whatever you’re into and preaching at me, I’m not into that.”

A parent will naturally wonder, once their son or daughter confesses to no longer believing in God, “Where is he or she going to take this?” Deep down, you as a parent feel like a failure also, and there is a sense of anger. Parents don’t do this, but they would certainly like to say, right back to their son or daughter, “Oh really? Eff me and my religion? No, kid, eff you and eff all the bs and crap I put up with, literally from the day I changed your crapped diapers to now.” Parents don’t talk like that, but they certainly would like to in some cases where they feel the sting of disappointment in a child who has renounced the belief system they thought was the core of the family life.

Perhaps this will give you some perspective into the issues you have caused by renouncing the Catholic Faith.

God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

foodtester75: Happy feast of Pentecost! #pentecost #50days...

Sun, 19 May 2013 07:43:04 -0700

foodtester75:

Happy feast of Pentecost! #pentecost #50days #holyspirit

Whoops, sorry for the lack of info about my friend Father! He is in his early 20's and lives with family. I think he is mostly struggling with prayer. He is turning away from God as he suffers. Three people have died this year that he was very close with and I think he's really fed up with what he and those close to him are going through. Hope this helps clarify, thank you very much Father!

Sat, 18 May 2013 23:57:07 -0700

Hi anon:

Wow, poor guy. Yes, that helps me very much. In fact, I sympathize with him more than you can know. I have lost five very close friends in the last year plus an uncle. After working through grief through the years, I kind of know what is going to happen, but a young person in their 20’s does not yet know how to process the sorrow and confusion that comes with death of a loved one.

It is also very normal for any person to have anger. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross identified anger as the second stage of grieving, after denial, and said the anger is followed by bargaining, depression, and acceptance.

http://grief.com/the-five-stages-of-grief/

It should be noted that for each person, grief and loss is complicated and doesn’t go through set stages. Nonetheless, my experience is that anger, including anger at God, accompanies the grief that many people go through when a loved one dies.

In the Bible, Martha seemed upset when her brother Lazarus died and when she saw Jesus, she said that Lazarus would not have died if Jesus had arrived on time to see him. And Jesus also seemed angry as He grieved at the Last Supper His impending passion. Jesus told Simon Peter that he would deny his Lord three times; Jesus said the Apostles would scatter and abandon Him; Jesus tells Judas Iscariot, basically, to get lost after he dipped his morsel of bread with Jesus; and finally, at the Agony of Gethsemane, Jesus seems angry as He asks the Apostles, “Could you not stay awake with me for one hour?”

Perhaps if you could read through the passion of Christ in the Gospels, and find some meaningful passages to share with your friend, it will help him to see that Christ is with us in that sense of powerlessness and loss, because He trod that road of having everything taken from Him.

In their sadness, friends need us to just listen and let them vent. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help him find meaning in his own version of Good Friday that he is going through. And pray a lot for him to recover his faith and the desire to pray. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Thank you for answering my question about Fatima. It was very helpful, Father. I wanted to ask you another quick question (I know, I ask too many! I'm a curious girl, y'know!). Are there any other Priests on Tumblr, besides you and Father Shane? I'm assuming not. I've been looking with no luck. Thanks, Father! :) "Pray for us bishops and priests. We have such need in order to stay faithful, to be men who watch over the flock and also over ourselves.." -the Holy Father- God bless! ~Hannah

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:41:13 -0700

Hello Hannah:

No need to apologize. I’ll bet that there are others who are helped by your curiosity :)

Yes, there are other priests on Tumblr. However, I’m not sure if they answer questions. Some don’t have a question box, and others use the question box only for taking prayer requests. Besides the priests, I recommend badwolfcomplex, nikosnature, and crusadermaximus for questions. Here are some other priests on Tumblr that I know of:

http://fatherelroy.net/

http://frpete.tumblr.com/

http://stephencuyos.tumblr.com/

http://cuncta.tumblr.com/

http://uncleeddy.tumblr.com/

http://mimagree.tumblr.com/

http://lawrenceop.tumblr.com/

God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Hello, I have a question about confession. I was in there today, and I meant to say that I don't know if something I did was mortal. However, I accidentally said it was nothing mortal and didn't realize it until I said the priest was already giving me absolution. Am I in mortal sin because I didn't correct myself? Should I have interrupted the priest to correct myself? I mean to go back next week and restate my original meaning.

Sat, 18 May 2013 19:02:32 -0700

Hi anon:

Don’t worry. The important thing is that out of love for Christ, and the desire to give God glory, you made the attempt and went down to the church for a confession. And yes, it is all right to interrupt the priest. I have been interrupted many times and I just simply say, “yessss?” LOL. And I have this look on my face:

If you are curious about a particular sin, ask the question before you begin telling the other sins. But like I said, you can still go to Communion because whatever sins you took into confession with you were absolved and they no longer exist. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Hello Father, I have a friend who is struggling with their faith at the moment. They have been through a lot of heart ache recently. Do you know of any prayers that I can suggest to them; any saints I can tell them about; or any advice on how I should approach this situation to try and help them? Many thanks Father, God bless!

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:59:22 -0700

Hello anon:

It would be helpful if I had an idea of their age, whether they still live with their family, what kind of faith problems they are having (doctrine, or prayer problems?) and very generally speaking, what kind of heartache they have gone through (illness, loss, family conflict). Thanks. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Father Angel, it is always a great pleasure to read all of your posts and answers to questions. There are many that I wish to reblog (your responses to questions). Is it possible for you to make it doable? God bless, Mackenzie

Sat, 18 May 2013 14:22:35 -0700

Hi MacKenzie:

Bless you for such a nice compliment; it is a pleasure to help people on Tumblr. I get so many requests about making stuff rebloggable, that I simply ask people to just do a screen shot or the other option is to just cut and paste the question and then my words into a blog entry (just give me credit) and post onto your blog. Would that work? God bless and take care!

Hi father, I've been thinking about Mary Magdalene's importance in the Christian churches, given that she is called "Apostle to the Apostles", however reading some stuffs i found, I find it confusing because some Churches, mainly E. Orthodox, claims that Magdalene had always been 'pure', even before and after her discipleship with the Lord. Also it is still vague to me what the Catholic Magisterium's view of her is, knowing that undoubtedly ours have a long history of venerating her. [+]

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:27:37 -0700

Hello iammarcksquarepants:

Mary Magdalene is an important figure because she was a woman, and in His relationship with her, Jesus shows a certain intimacy of friendship and an abiding respect. Beyond that, we cannot say positively what the Magisterium should think of her because the Scriptures are vague and sketchy. There are almost no biographical details.

The veneration and respect paid to Mary Magdalene is based on her having repented of sin and given her life over to Jesus. She is a faithful hearer, and doer, of the Word of God. It is not really necessary to know more than that, because essentially you and I are called to imitate her repentance and love for Jesus. Anything beyond that is playing a guessing game with what happened in her life, and your guess is as good as mine. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

What about papal infalliblity? Because doesn't that mean when the pope is speaking ex cathedra, you are required to accept the dogmas of the Church without question? What if the popes has been wrong for centuries about the doctrines they instituted?

Sat, 18 May 2013 13:17:00 -0700

Hello gloryofgod3:

First and foremost, infallibility is a charism or special gift of the Holy Spirit to the entire Church. Jesus Christ promised this gift to the Church so that the believers would rest in peace that the Word of God is true:

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you (John 14:26).

This promise is necessary first of all to avoid the bickering so common in any group where there is not an assurance of truth. Secondly, it is necessary so that the Church will not deviate from or alter the teaching of Christ.

Since Jesus the Lord has returned to the Father, how do people have access to His Word, and how do they come to understand this Word if someone does not explain it? “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. (Acts 8:30-31).

Like the Ethiopian, if we rely on our own device or inspiration, we fail to understand God’s Revelation properly. A living, Apostolic authority must explain the Word, and if we cannot rely on that Apostolic witness handed on in the Church, its authority and teaching is useless.

In fact, the entire Church would fail to be the pillar of truth and would be useless (”which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth” 1 Timothy 3:15).

The Council of Jerusalem was an example of firm, Apostolic authority laying down the law, guided by truth, under the protection of the Holy Spirit. But Scripture also reveals that this infallible teaching authority was communicated by the Lord Jesus to Simon Peter for the purpose of confirming the brethren in their faith:

But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers (Luke 22:32).

Some will say, “Of course, Jesus wanted Simon to be strong, since He was the head of the Apostolic college, but he personally, as an individual, cannot wield the Church’s charism of infallibility. Only Church Councils can do that, with Simon or his successor present.” Yes, that seems logical, except when we examine what faith is, it is not just a biblical description of strength in God, or trust—it is also a description of the things that are believed, the doctrines.

So, if Simon were to believe false doctrine or not properly explain the Word of God, that would certainly lead the Church astray in error. And yet this is precisely what Jesus does not want, ever—for the Church to lead the believers in error concerning the doctrines of the faith.

That is why the Holy Spirit was promised. That is why Christians always trusted in the ancient Church that they were receiving, in essential matters of faith and morals, only true interpretation of the Word of God.

If we go past the years of the Apostles, when the written Word of God could no longer be added to and the canon of Scripture was fixed (Revelation 22:18), we see that in the ancient Church the believers constantly looked to the See of Rome, the Chair of Peter, for guidance on disputed matters of the Church.

When Pope Leo I enunciated the doctrine of Christ having two natures in one, divine Person, the Council of Chalcedon erupted with the words, “Peter has spoken through Leo.”

Now we arrive at a correct understanding of infallibility when exercised from the Chair of Peter in the See of Rome. It is not something divorced or broken off from the faith of the entire Church. It is not a chance for the Pope to re-invent a new doctrine which the rest of the Church does not approve of, as if he can bypass the Word of God as it has always been believed in the Church.

Rather, it is an individual teaching from the Successor of Peter that a certain essential teaching of faith or morals has always been believed and handed on in the Church, and therefore Christians are to embrace this doctrine as coming from the Word of God, revealed by God and taught constantly in the Church.

This infallibility is not to be confused with impeccability, which is the inability to sin. The Pope sins all the time, like any human. Nor is this to be confused with perfection in thought, as the Pope can say things in an imperfect way and other teachers in the Church will have to improve on his words with greater eloquence.

Finally, the Holy Spirit’s protection upon the teaching office of the Pope does not cover non-essential matters outside the realm of faith and morals. What infallibility covers is the Revelation of God found in Sacred Scripture and the Apostolic Tradition, concerning faith and morals. The Pope cannot infallibly teach that dogs don’t go to heaven (not found in the Word of God) or that Obama was not meant to be the U.S. President (a matter of politics, not faith or morals).

Infallibility is nothing more and nothing less than a protection of the Holy Spirit upon the entire Church in general and the Successor of Peter in particular, that when certain doctrines of faith and morals are taught from the Chair of Peter, the entire Church cannot be led into error and perdition as a result of that teaching. Papal infallibility is a way of saying that Jesus is true to His promise: “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift you like wheat. But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith may not fail, and when you have turned back, turn and strengthen your brothers.”

To answer your question, the infallibility of the Church in general and the Pope in particular makes it necessary for a Christian to believe that the Holy Spirit is protecting the Revelation of God as contained in His Word. I am not accepting the “dogmas of the Church without question” but rather am accepting the Word of God as legitimate revelation and the Church as its Teacher.

If the Popes have been wrong, and their preaching is from the deposit of Scripture and Apostolic Tradition, then the Word of God is wrong, and if the Word of God is wrong and does not reveal truth, and if the Holy Spirit is not protecting that truth, that makes Jesus Christ the greatest liar and deceiver in all history. Jesus should never have said that the Holy Spirit would protect the Apostles and the Church in the truth if He didn’t mean it. God bless and take care! Fr. Angel

Reason to become a religious order priest: Because diocesan...

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:09:49 -0700

Reason to become a religious order priest: Because diocesan priests have to file income tax.

I heart German Shepherds.

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:08:00 -0700

I heart German Shepherds.

Armed Forces Day.

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:06:36 -0700

Armed Forces Day.

Question for Catholics:

Sat, 18 May 2013 11:01:37 -0700

nikosnature:

Do you believe it’s right for members of the hierarchy to bow down to one another? (ie. priests bowing to bishops, archbishops bowing to cardinals). More importantly, what about everyone bowing down to the pope?

Yes, the bible tells us continually that we should honor just authority. For example, 1 Peter 2:13-17

¹³Submit yourselves for the Lord’s sake to every human institution, whether to a king as the one in authority, ¹⁴or to governors as sent ^[p]by him for the punishment of evildoers and the praise of those who do right. ¹⁵For ^[q]such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men. ¹⁶Act as free men, and ^[r]do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God. ¹⁷Honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the ^[s]king.

There is also this passage about King David:

Then Bathsheba bowed down with her face to the ground, prostrating herself before the king, and said, “May my lord King David live forever!” (1 Kings 1:31).

Nathan, the prophet, also bowed down before the king, and supposedly Nathan always did what was pleasing to the Lord:

And the king was told, “Nathan the prophet is here.” So he went before the king and bowed with his face to the ground (1 Kings 1:23).

In fact, King David had shown that same respect to King Saul and the Bible does not rebuke either custom before sovereign authority:

Then David went out of the cave and called out to Saul, “My lord the king!” When Saul looked behind him, David bowed down and prostrated himself with his face to the ground” (1 Samuel 24:8).

And Ruth the Moabitess bowed before Boaz when he allowed her to glean from his field, and he wasn’t even a king, and the Bible does not rebuke Ruth for this sign of respect, but holds her up as a great woman of faith and even a book of the Bible is named after her:

At this, she bowed down with her face to the ground. She asked him, “Why have I found such favor in your eyes that you notice me—a foreigner?” (Ruth 2:10).

The prophet Elisha was also bowed down to when he received the spirit of Elijah:

The company of the prophets from Jericho, who were watching, said, “The spirit of Elijah is resting on Elisha.” And they went to meet him and bowed to the ground before him (2 Kings 2:15).

If someone is going to attack the Catholic Church, they could at least use some fresh and new attacks, as opposed to repeating the same old, same old stuff that has been repeated for the last hundred years, such as “it is a sin to bow to the Pope.”

http://www.askacatholic.com/_webpostings/answers/2010_04APR/2010AprAreThesePracticesWrong.cfm

RE: Catholics:

Sat, 18 May 2013 10:42:08 -0700

nikosnature:

Michael, thank you for your kind message. Now, in the interest of treating each other with respect, I have listened and considered what you have said, below are my comments: now, in return, consider the possibility, that perhaps, the Catholic Church, the one who made the bible, is the one following the truth and that where you are getting your information may be mistaken.

gloryofgod3:

Let me say that I love Catholics and want to treat you with respect. We are all human and need JESUS as Our Lord and Savior. I pray for your hearts to be open to Biblical truth so you can develop a relationship with HIM. I know you’re going to argue with me, but you can’t argue with what the Bible says. :)

1. Peter was NOT the first Pope! He referred to himself as a fellow elder. (1 Peter 5:1). Also see 1 Peter 2:3-4—Peter called Jesus the rock of the Church.

Actually he didn’t.

1 Peter 2:4, “⁴And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is ^[b]choice and precious in the sight of God,

The title living stone is applied at times to Christ, and at others to all Christians. It is very different than the term “Rock upon which I will build my Church.” That specifies a uniqueness about that particular rock.

If you do want an accurate look at the bible though,

Compare Matt. 16:18-19 with Isaiah 22:20-23. The prophecy foretells that the king will entrust the keys of the kingdom to another.

From a comment on Catholic Forums by Todd Easton,

The office of the pope was prefigured in Isaiah 22:15-24 in the office of the steward over the royal household of King Hezekiah. To him was entrusted the key of the royal household to open and shut and upon him, as a peg in a sure spot, would hang the whole household.

Jesus promised to make Peter the pope in Matthew 16:18-19 in promising Peter the keys of the kingdom to bind and loosen and promising to make him the rock upon which He would build His Church.

Jesus instructs Peter on how he should exercise the office of the pope in Luke 12:41-46, saying that as steward set over His household he should give His household their food at the proper time until His return and not abuse his fellow servants or face His wrath.

Jesus prays for Peter in Luke 22:32 that he receive the grace necessary to exercise the office of the pope, a faith that may not fail, so that he might strengthen his brothers.

The risen Jesus installs Peter as pope in John 21:15-17 telling him to feed and tend his lambs and sheep.

Peter exercises the office of the pope in the first 12 chapters of Acts (especially Acts 1:15, 2:14, 2:37-38, 5:29) as the leader and principal spokesman for the Apostles. Also notice Peter’s decisive role at the First Council of Jerusalem concerning the issue of circumcising Gentile converts as described in Acts 15.

Peter’s leadership role among the Apostles is also indicated by the fact that his name appears first on the list when the twelve Apostles are named in the Gospels and Acts (Matthew 10:2, Mark 3:17, Luke 6:14, Acts 1: 13)

2. Jesus says that Scripture has priority over Tradition. (Matthew 15:8-9, Mark 7:7-8) Take a moment to examine your Traditions, and see if they conflict with the Bible. I know you believe that God entrusted Tradition to the Church, but He didn’t. God tells us to test EVERYTHING we believe against the Bible.

In neither of those passages does Jesus say scripture has priority over tradition. What He does say is “‘But in vain do they worship Me, Teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.” Obviously, there’s a difference between the precepts of man and the precepts of God. Everything the Catholic Church teaches as doctrine is supported by scripture, and therefore is a precept of God. After examining the traditions of the Catholic Church there is not one that conflicts with the Bible, and I defy you to find me one.

3. Purgatory isn’t needed.

Actually it is.

1. Heaven is perfect.

2. For Heaven to be perfect, that means everything in it has to be perfect.

3. People are not perfect, even after Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross. This is evidenced by the fact that even the most holy people still sin, showing an imperfection in their nature, for if their nature were perfect, they would not sin. Furthermore, we know that no one is perfect because scripture tells us that Christ died for every man. A perfect person, would be sinless and therefore not need Christ to die for him. Therefore, no one is perfect

4. If people are imperfect, and everything in heaven must be perfect, there are only 2 possibilities.

a. Every person goes to hell. Which we know is false because in scripture Jesus told the man crucified next to him that he would be with Him in paradise.

b. There must be a state of purification where the imperfections are “purged” from people so that they may enter paradise.

5. This state of “purgation” is what the Catholic Church knows as purgatory.

JESUS cleansed us of our sins when he died on the Cross with HIS Blood.

This is true, but that does not mean that we do not still have to pay, or make penance, for our sins. Consider the story of Zaccheus. Why did he not just say sorry? Why did he give back what he stole, (and more!) Because being sorry for our sins means being willing to make amends for what we did. We don’t say, “sorry Jesus, my bad, I sinned and you have to suffer for me,” and blow him off. We do our best to give back to God through our prayers and our service to the poor in penance, because we know that making amends for our crimes is good for us.

We don’t need punishment for our sins because JESUS already took them away!!

But the sorrow of our sins still effect us. Just because Jesus has forgiven your sins doesn’t make sinning okay. It is still wrong. So, when we sin, we accept God’s forgiveness, and we go out and try to make it up to God, and because God’s a nice guy, He gives us purgatory to do it if we don’t do it here on Earth.

Think about it, if I were to punch you, I could say sorry and you could forgive me, but I wouldn’t be a good friend if I left it at that. I’d do something nice for you to make it up to you, because that’s what friends do. Why would you treat God with any less respect?

Jesus couldn’t be any more clearer about this when HE said, “It is finished.” (John 19:29-31) HE was sent into this world to die for us! NOTHING we could ever merit ourselves would ever come close to earning HIS Grace. HE gives it to us freely; that’s what’s so wonderful about it!!! :)

Yes, but accepting his grace doesn’t mean we get to sit back and call it a day. It means we have to go out and truly love God by doing what he commands of us, serving Him and each other, especially the poor among us. That’s what it means to be a Christian. It’s a gift yes, but it is also a commission, and sometimes, it’s a cross.

Now, I have some questions for you too.

1. Do you read the bible?

2. If so, How often?

3. How do you know you are reading it right? After all, a lot of people read the bible, and they say it says many contradictory things.

4. Does someone help you interpret the bible?

5. If so, who? How do you know they are right?

6. Do you know how the bible came to be? How did people know which books were supposed to go in and which were not?

God bless Michael, and if you ever want to learn what the Catholic Church teaches, feel free to ask me.