There can be no such thing as Christianity that's "more Jewish." The New Covenant is not called to conform to the Old; it's the fulfillment of the Old. Far better to wish that Judaism would be more Christian.
The fact that you're confused about why Christians don't worship on the Sabbath is not surprising, but you really owe it to yourself to have a look in the catechism. We celebrate the sacrifice of the eucharist, as Jesus commanded, and we do so on Sunday -- the first day of the week -- because as Christians we are a new creation, living in a new eschatological "day". Christ is the new man, who makes all things new in him. The world is re-made with his victory over death. In the creation story of Genesis, God's work is finished on a friday. In the NT, Jesus's work ends when he says "it is finished" -- on a friday. In the OT, God rests on the Sabbath. In the NT, Jesus's body rests in the tomb on the Sabbath. Christians celebrate the 8th day -- the day of the new creation.
We never say in church, "Hear, O Israel the Lord thy God is one" as Jesus did. I was moved when I attended a Jewish funeral and the congregation said those words. It is read as part of the scripture readings though.
Your answer is a good one, but I'm still not quite right in my heart about it. The catechism requires keeping of the commandments, all of them, only now according to Catholic interpretations and exceptions since icons and images were allowed since about the sixth century. The Virgin Mary herself would never have prayed before a statue or icon.
Catholics are required to believe that Mary's conception was immaculate, yet some church fathers claimed she at least sinned venially once or twice. Mary's perpetual virginity is still something I have mental reservations about. I've read the sides fighting to the point of nausea, but it still isn't 100% convincing, and regardless, the early Christians were not required to believe that.
All the bickering over the changes in the mass seem kind of silly to me since the first mass was probably said in Aramaic and the early masses were probably much different, simpler affairs than anything we know today.
There are other minor points that one has to consider if one wants to be completely honest and not go along just because the church says so. Some of the things the church says so today were not said so centuries ago. Some of those things are lost to history, but some can be dug out if you have the resources to seek out the ancient documents. Even then, the church fathers didn't always agree on everything. The winners won out and the others were silent.
I have read discusions about the church joining with the state politically in both east and west which made it very powerful. I often wonder if Christianity would have survived or in what form it would be if it had survived, if it had not become intertwined with politics.
Just things most people don't ask questions about. And there's little sense in asking them because tradition with the small t is so ingrained in people. The early Christians would probably be shocked to walk into a modern version of Christianity, even those who trace back to the beginning.
Then there became the matter that St. Peter founded two churches. From scripture we know that he was in charge of the church at Antioch which still exists today. What is one to do with that little factoid?
What is really sad is that you can't have an honest discussion about any of this because you are being disloyal to your particular brand of Christianity to even question certain things.
So all I can do is try to do the best I can do. I recently returned to church. It was hard on Immaculate Conception day. Among other things we were told we had to be like Mary or we couldn't go to heaven. Nobody could possibly be that holy. The only way the rest of us can be holy enough to get to heaven is to repent of our sins and confess them so we can approach the communion table with clean hands and a clean heart.
I just hope God isn't as hard on us as some of our fellow Christians are when we have reservations and questions about certain things. When push comes to shove, I doubt any two Christians of any stripe have the exact same understanding about every point of doctrine.
Funny you mentioned the catechism. There are some things that aren't even in there and some of it isn't very clear. My daughter wanted to borrow mine and I told her (for now) if she does a serious sin, I'll let her know about it. It's like reading a medical manual for some people. You start imagining you have all those diseases.
For people like that it is is better to just trust in God to save us for our faith and doing the best we can. Sometimes I think it's not so much about how much we know as how we treat other people. That's what it boils down to for me. Belief in certain basics, trying to avoid serious sin, and treating other people as Jesus would want us to treat them.
The guy who climbed the sycamore tree to see Jesus was a serious sinner, probably more than most, and Jesus chose to invite him to his home that evening. I would like to think that Jesus would come to my home, serious sinner that I am. I can tell you one thing for sure. That man's wife was probably a better housekeeper than me. I don't know if Jesus would want to come to my house or not, but I have tried really hard to make it better lately and there are just too many things that need fixing than I am ever going to deal with. Funny though. Jesus was a carpenter, and he would have known how to fix them. And he would have done it at a price I could afford and in a manner that wouldn't need to be redone 10 years later.
My kitchen cupboards fell off the wall. They are now in the dining room. A Christian man who did the job at a price I could afford didn't hit all the studs with the bolts. The rest of it wasn't his fault. The studs were rotted because the roof had leaked for so many years and we didn't know the whole wall needs to be replaced. I just paid $3000 to have a new roof put on and now the ice still backs up in that one spot and leaks into my kitchen. So there's no sense in fixing the kitchen wall until I get another roof person up here and have that redone.
So that's how it is for some people. I have different spiritual priorities now. I just try to be kinder to people as best I can. I took a lady to the hospital for surgery today. My son doesn't even want to give her a ride home, and he is capable of great kindnesses to certain people. Whatsoever we do to the least of his people, we do unto Him. Today I took Jesus to the hospital for double hernia surgery because the lady's daughter had to work and she was going to take the bus. I would feel terrible if no one would drive me to the hospital for surgery and I had to take the bus.
Being nice to people could be our salvation. We don't have to make a career of it. Just help out here and there when someone in need crosses our path.
That's what my version of Christianity is really about. Helping people some people don't want to mess with when they cross our path. We don't have to do it every day.
Some people are so nice they devote their whole lives to helping the less fortunate. If they are paid for it, it doesn't seem as if it would count for as much, but some people do it as volunteers.
That's my homily for today. Sorry I put you through that. Hope it didn't get you upset. I think you are one who is very careful to follow all the rules and get religion as far as churchgoing and believing, genuflecting, etc., is concerned just right.