“How sad that this woman has missed out on such a sublime and helpful truth and follows her whim rather then His truth.”
And how even more sad that probably less than one catholic in 10,000 has even a clue what you are talking about...
I didn’t leave the Catholic Church on a whim. I went back to the church as a high-schooler looking for God. I attended Catechism, made first Communion, got confirmed, read the autobiographies of saints... all in a search for reality. I won’t allow you to judge my sincerity. Through all this I came up empty. Finally a priest told me that I, “just had to believe”. I left disappointed and disillusioned. Ten years later I met some Christians who seemed to really ‘know’ God. It was not in a Catholic Church or a Protestant Church but on my way to work, in my car that I asked God to forgive me and change me and gave Him my life without and reservations and a commitment to obedience. God gave me what I was looking for. As the Apostle Paul said, “He revealed His Son in me.”
It is nonsense to think that the ‘sacraments’, ‘rituals’, and prayers of the Church will save anyone. The Bible says, “whosoever CALLS upon the Name of the Lord will be saved.’ You must ‘repent and believe’ to the point of total commitment and total obedience, which only God can give you the power to actually live out. As you said, “in mystical union with Him.” Easter Sunday is a poor time for a religious argument. If you truly have confidence of Christ living in your heart and can serve Him in Roman Catholicism, I wish you the best. But what I can’t understand is how you can sit there knowing that many like this young lady have no idea about the real Christ or knowing Him and you don’t reach out to them in love and tell then how they can. You just let them leave in their ignorance and disillusionment and judge them. This is a common failing of Protestant believers and churches as well.
Grace to you!
1. “Easter Sunday is a poor time for a religious argument,” according to what you wrote, so I am sure you will agree that this anti-catholic thread to which I responded is an ill-conceived and ill-timed thread. And if you believe what you wrote, why are you here engaging in religious argument early on an Easter Sunday morn? Contrary to your stated belief, I myself think that the day of Resurrection is one of the strongest days to make a religious argument.
2. And you say, “I won’t allow you to judge my sincerity” yet in the next breath you judge my sincerity, saying to me “you don’t reach out to them in love and tell then how they can, you just let them leave in their ignorance and disillusionment and judge them”. First, I did not judge your sincerity - rather I lamented this woman’s lack of understanding of a fundamental Christian truth and her description of here self-centered quest. Second, you actually have judged me particularly, when you have no facts to reach the conclusions that you post: my entire life involves reaching out to people in love and telling then how they can meet Christ and have this mystical union with Him - never passing up an opportunity to help someone walk that path. I would be happy to recommend a non-dogmatic short volume that anyone seeking to know Christ would benefit from reading, a volume that helps one to discover the essential idea that this woman missed.
The old soldier.
On further reflection,
having led catechism classes and welcomed my brothers-in-arms into the Christ’s Church at Easter while I was deployed in Afghanistan
I can only chuckle at your hollow criticisms of me and pray you will enjoy some of His peace today.
Semper Fi oldmarine. Fighting over doctrinal issues is Satan’s way of divide and conquer. I am not a Catholic but I beleive that we Christians must find common ground no matter what Church we attend. We live in dangerous times, maybe even the End Times and we need each other for the horror that is soon to be upon us. God bless America.
“on my way to work, in my car that I asked God to forgive me and change me and gave Him my life without and [any?] reservations and [with?] a commitment to obedience. God gave me what I was looking for.”
Praise the Lord.
I guess that would include Judas Iscariot.
Sir, with all due respect.
I am sorry that you felt you weren’t getting ‘fed’. But my experience is just the opposite. I became Catholic because I wanted to be in His Church and not in opposition to Him.
Please, don’t put this up on Easter. I realise that you were unhappy with the Catholic church, but this is neither the time nor the place.
Amen...And those on the other side who criticize you and me don't have any idea what we are talking about...Reveal His Son in you??? Why, that's foolishness to them...
The Sacraments were instituted by Christ, so they ARE important. As for the 'rituals' and 'prayers', they are based on Scripture, so they are also important. But they don't 'save' anyone, and as far as I know, the Church has never taught they would. They are just part of the whole life in Jesus that is at the basis of what the Church teaches.