I'm joining the Catholic Church next month. Advice/Books/Etc.?

[Ultra Sonic 007]

Hello fellow Freepers. I believe this is my first post on the Religion forum.

Over the past week or so, I put some thought into something I've been pondering for a while; my spiritual welfare. As it was, I had been part of the 'Sola Scriptua' school of thought (Evangelical Christian). By the Bible and only the Bible. Sounded good enough.

Well...what about before the Bible was put into word? It stuck in my head when reading an article earlier on FR concerning a deconstruction of Sola Scriptura and its inherent weaknesses as a foundation for one's faith.

This, combined with a genuine lack of churchgoing (as a family, we've been uncertain about going to various churches, given that top-down problems with Episcopal/Methodist/etc. churches and their increasing liberalization are a genuine problem for one's spiritual welfare), compelled me to make a decision.

I don't know if my family will follow me, persay, but I'm going to go ahead and take the plunge.

Next month, I'm going to the Church of St. Thomas the Apostle near my home, and I'm joining the Roman Catholic Church.

As is, I have a few volumes of the Magnificat pamphlet and the Catechism of the Catholic Church to read.

Any other pointers from other Catholic Freepers?

[markomalley]

Gee, you might also want to recommend “Babylon Mystery Religion,” as well (good insightful reading).

/sarc

[John Leland 1789]

The thread title states that it is “OPEN.”

[markomalley]

The thread title states that it is “OPEN.”

Did I dispute your right to post? No.

Did I whine about your right to post? No.

Did I suggest another "valuable" resource for you to suggest? Yes. (albeit a slightly snarky suggestion)

As you said, the thread title states that it is "OPEN"

[sneakers]

I have nothing to add as far as recommended books, except the Douay Rheims Bible, and the Baltimore Catechism. I CAN add that my heart is so very full of joy for you! :-)

Welcome home, Ultra!

[sneakers]

Wonderful! I love the book and website suggestions on this thread! Going to bookmark it for a reading list! These are valuable resources for even cradle catholics like me!

[fetal heart beats by 21st day]

Ok.

[John Leland 1789]

“Snarky” is okay by me.

BABYLON MYSTERY RELIGION it is then. Recommended.

Hyslop’s works, okay too.

And Good News For Catholics web site.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The terms "Roman Catholic" and "Roman Catholic Church," though popular even among some Catholics, are technically wrong.

Incorrect. The term is correct and distinguishes between the Latin Rite and the Eastern Rites which comprise the Catholic Church.

194 The Apostles' Creed is so called because it is rightly considered to be a faithful summary of the apostles' faith. It is the ancient baptismal symbol of the Church of Rome. Its great authority arises from this fact: it is "the Creed of the Roman Church, the See of Peter the first of the apostles, to which he brought the common faith".13

1059 "The holy Roman Church firmly believes and confesses that on the Day of Judgment all men will appear in their own bodies before Christ's tribunal to render an account of their own deeds" (Council of Lyons II [1274]: DS 859; cf. DS 1549).

CHAPTER III : THE CARDINALS OF THE HOLY ROMAN CHURCH

Roman

Roman

[Petronski]

Hyslop is an even bigger liar than Foxe.

[A.A. Cunningham]

The ignorance of some is what is tiring.

[fetal heart beats by 21st day]

Picture having a child that you love, but who does reckless things, or who is away for a long time, or who has gotten caught up in a relationship that you think is not wholesome.

Now, picture that child returning home, freed from those troubles.

The parent will be joyful that the child has come home safe.

The child will be welcomed home.

That does not mean the child’s life will be free from struggles, only that the child has entered a wiser stage of life, better prepared to handle life’s challenges.

Even if the lost or separated person is 55 when they return home after a long separation, the joy at their return home remains that- joy that the person has come home.

For those of us with a very sound conviction that the Catholic Church is the home that Christ built, we are happy for the person who has come home.

There is no negative projection intended.

[John Leland 1789]

Oh, I wasn’t thinking about Foxe. Yes, I recommend his works, too, without hesitation. (Neither snarky nor sarcastic).

[OpusatFR]

God Bless You!

“On the Way to Jesus Christ”, by Pope Benedict16.

He brings the Scriptures and Christ Jesus to us in his writings so clearly in spirit.

[Petronski]

That is virtually all I ever need to know about you.

[OpusatFR]

“The ignorance of some is what is tiring.”

Offer it up as a mortification for the holy souls ( -;

[John Leland 1789]

“That is virtually all I ever need to know about you.”

****************

Doesn’t much matter.

[Petronski]

Doesn’t matter to me at all.

This thread is announcing that another soul is coming home to the Church that Christ founded, and no petty anti-Catholic sniping can ruin that.

[Robert Drobot]

UNITY

and

Archangel Uriel

Sometimes described as the Archangel of Salvation, Uriel teaches the path of the heart, the fire of pure Love. Without this pure Love and devotion to Spirit, all spiritual study remains an intellectual pursuit, fairy gold. This understanding of true spiritual study is further supported by the tradition that Uriel brought to Earth: Alchemy, the heavenly arcana and was the giver of the Cabala to man.

Blessed Pope John Paul II, said to be an exponent of Christian unity, is said to have made a variety of overtures to non-Catholics. He was especially interested in increased communicationinsistent between Eastern and Western Churches, saying that The One True Church must "breathe with both lungs."

With all due respect to irishjuggler's perspective on the Roman Catholic Church, those loyal to the Vicar of Christ on Earth, The Pope, are Roman Rite Catholics faithful to :

The Holy Mother Church / The One True Church / The Roman Rite Catholic Church.

Those claiming membership in the Eastern Orthodox Church refuse to accept certain Sacred Dogma of the Roman Rite Catholic Church, and and for this reason they are held to be non-Catholics, much the same as Lutherans, the Church of England, and other non-catholic heretics and schematics.

The East-West Schism, or Great Schism, (1054) divided medieval Christendom into Western (Latin) and Eastern (Greek) branches, which later became the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church, respectively. Relations between Rome and the Eastern Patriarchs had long been bitter, due to political, ecclesiastical, and theological disputes.[1] Pope Leo IX and Michael Cerularius, Patriarch of Constantinople, heightened the conflict by suppressing Greek and Latin in their respective domains. In 1054, Roman legates traveled to Cerularius to deny him the title Oecumenical Patriarch and to insist that he recognize the Roman claim to be the head and mother of the Church.[1] Cerularius refused. The leader of the Latin contingent excommunicated Cerularius, while he excommunicated the legates.

The Western legate's acts are of doubtful validity because Leo was dead, and Cerularius's excommunication applied only to the legates personally. Still, the Church split along doctrinal, theological, linguistic, political, and geographic lines, and the fundamental breach has never been healed. Western cruelty during the Crusades, the capture of Constantinople in 1204, and the imposition of Latin Patriarchs made reconciliation more difficult. On paper, the two churches actually reunited in 1274 ( The Second Council of Lyon ) and in 1439 ( The Council of Basel ), but in each case the councils were repudiated by the Orthodox as a whole, on the grounds that the hierarchies had overstepped their authority in consenting to reunification. In 1484, the Synod of Constantinople repudiated the Union of Florence, marking the final breach. In 1965, the Pope and the Oecumenical Patriarch nullified the anathemas of 1054. Further attempts to reconcile the two bodies are ongoing to this day.

A schism is a break in the Church's authority structure and communion, different from a heresy, which means false doctrine. Church authorities have long recognized that the sacraments function even if their minister is in schism. There have been many other schisms, from the 2nd century until today, but none as significant as the one between East and West.

The Second Ecumenical Council whose contributions to the Nicene Creed lay at the heart of the famous theological disputes underlying the East-West Schism. (Illustration, 879-882 AD, from manuscript, Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus, Bibliothèque nationale de France)

It may be helpful to you to read and research a thread posted here weekly ( See Below. ), as it lays a foundation upon which new Roman Catholics can better comprehend those Sacred Dogmas the Church through which all are commanded to implement, defend and obey.

Last Sunday's thread

This thread contains Holy Mass Propers for the Feast of Corpus Christi - presented in both Latin and English; the Four Creeds of the Roman Rite Catholic Church all faithful must profess; a prayer for Holy Priests; commentary on the saints of the day; Petitions; and other worthy remembrances.

With your approval, I'll include you on the ping list for receipt of this timely posting.

[John Leland 1789]

I’ve been a member of the Church of which Christ was made the Head at His Resurrection and Ascension now for 31 years. I’m recommending that to the dear one.

[fetal heart beats by 21st day]

“I’ve been a member of the Church of which Christ was made the Head at His Resurrection and Ascension now for 31 years. “

Fascinating choice of words.

You say you are “a member of the Church of which Christ was made the Head at His Resurrection and Ascension.”

How nice! Is that like an honorary doctorate or something? Does Jesus get an endowed chair, too, so this church can demonstrate its symbolic commitment to being tolerant to His thoughts?

Catholics belong to the church which Jesus Himself founded, the One where He Himself IS the Head - not one in which someone “made” Christ the “Head.”