Posted on 05/31/2013 2:44:05 PM PDT by NYer
Do our Catholic children and most adults know what these images teach?
All of us know one of the elephants in the room of the Catholic Church. Our religious education programs are not handing on the essence of our Catholic Faith, our parents are befuddled about their role in handing on the faith and the materials we use are vapid or if good do not make an impression on young minds. We are afraid of asking for memorization and thus most don't remember anything they've learned about God and Church other than some niceties and feel good emotions.
I teach each class of our grades 1-6 (we don't have 7th or 8th) each Thursday, rotating classes from week to week. For the last two years I have used Baltimore Catechism #1 as my text book. It is wonderful to use with children and it is so simple yet has so much content. If Catholics, all Catholics, simply studied Baltimore Catechism #1, we would have very knowledgeable Catholics.
These past two years I've used Baltimore Catechism #2 with our adult religious program which we call Coffee and Conversation following our 9:30 AM Sunday Mass, which coincides with our CCD program which we call PREP (Parish Religious Education Program).
This #2 book has more content and is for middle school, but upper elementary school children must have been more capable of more serious content back when this book was formulated and used through the mid 1960's because it is a great book to use with adults and not childish at all. We all use this same book as a supplemental book for the RCIA because it is so clear, nobly simple and chocked full of content!
Yes, there are some adjustments that need to be made to some chapters, but not that many, in light of Vatican II and the new emphasis we have on certain aspects of Church that are not present in the Baltimore Catechism. But these are really minor.
What is more important though is that when the Baltimore Catechism was used through the mid 1960's it was basically the only book that was used for children in elementary and junior high school. It was used across the board in the USA thus uniting all Catholics in learning the same content. There was not, in other words, a cottage industry of competing publishing houses selling new books and different content each year.
The same thing has occurred with liturgical music, a cottage industry of big bucks has developed around the sale of new hymnals, missalettes and new music put on the open market for parishes to purchase. It is a money making scheme.
Why do our bishop allow this to happen in both liturgical music and parish catechesis? The business of selling stuff to parishes and making mega bucks off of it is a scandal that has not be addressed.
In the meantime, our liturgies suffer and become fragmented because every parish uses a different resource for liturgical music and the same is true of religious formation, everyone uses something different of differing quality or no quality at all.
Isn't it time to wake up and move forward with tried and true practices that were tossed out in favor of a consumerist's approach to our faith that has weakened our liturgies, our parishes and our individual Catholics?
Too many parents and too many Faith Formation personnel believe that Confirmation means graduation from catechism and we are losing people at the most critical time in their formation, their teen years. Too often we don't see them again until they are shopping for a parish that will marry them and then not again until Grandma insists that the babies get baptized.
When we look at the religious education materials, as compared to the high school texts and materials we see the equivalent of comic books, concentrating on "hip" imagery and void of any real theological content. Banners and Balloons are not what young adults need when they are first learning about and struggling with the temptations of all of that new hard ware they just grew and the social and peer pressure to take it for a test drive.
To get this thread back on track and answering the original question appropriately from a Catholic POV, I vote this best post. The only thing I would add is that the poor catechesis we're experiencing isn't just in CCD class. It's at Mass as well. Too many of our priests give watered down versions of our Faith. Probably afraid of upsetting the apple cart. It's not just the kids that are being poorly catechized.
Why don't you tell me. How many times may someone marry and divorce? The Bible does talk about contraception ... but where is that pesky in vitro fertilization?
“it is not good that man should be alone.” Evidently a command ignored by the RCC in their establishment of a celibate Priesthood.
It may surprise you to learn that the Catholic Church allows for married priests. Celibacy is a discipline chosen by others, like Paul.
Obviously a plan that backfired, considering all the molester Priests working in all those charitable organizations setup by the RCC.
You need to update your dossier. Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year
Worse still, is the sex abuse of children in the education system.
WHEN BOYS ARE MOLESTED BY TEACHERS AND OTHERS IN POSITIONS OF AUTHORITY
And then there are the camp counselors, Big Brothers of America, Boy Scouts of America and the list goes on and on. There is plenty of guilt to go around.
Know you're right about what?
There isn't a Catholic around who is sure of making it to heaven. Officially, Catholicism claims it is the only true church and the way to get to heaven, and yet can't even guarantee that it works.
So one becomes a Catholic and does all that for their life for what? To burn anyway because they missed something, like going to mass one day and forgot to confess it?
That's not being saved.
I’ve posted the Scripture to show that sin comes through the man. Go back and read it.
Sure she sinned, but it wasn’t until Adam ate that the eyes of them were both opened and sin entered the world.
Sin enters through the man because Adam wasn’t deceived.
Man's sin was because he ate.
Maybe Catholics are better off with the magisterium interpreting Scripture for them considering the ob I see them doing all on their own.
Luke 18:10 Two men went up into the temple to pray; the one a Pharisee, and the other a publican. 11 The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican. 12 I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all that I possess. 13 And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
Luke 18:9-14 9 He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will behumbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Oh really? Can God sin or disobey His own laws?
“Why don’t you tell me. How many times may someone marry and divorce?”
Figure it out for yourself, it’s not like it isn’t in there for you to read:
Mat 19:4-9 And he answered and said unto them, Have ye not read, that he which made them at the beginning made them male and female, (5) And said, For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife: and they twain shall be one flesh? (6) Wherefore they are no more twain, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. (7) They say unto him, Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement, and to put her away? (8) He saith unto them, Moses because of the hardness of your hearts suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it was not so. (9) And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and whoso marrieth her which is put away doth commit adultery.
Mat 5:31-32 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: (32) But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.
1Co 7:10-15 And unto the married I command, yet not I, but the Lord, Let not the wife depart from her husband: (11) But and if she depart, let her remain unmarried, or be reconciled to her husband: and let not the husband put away his wife. (12) But to the rest speak I, not the Lord: If any brother hath a wife that believeth not, and she be pleased to dwell with him, let him not put her away. (13) And the woman which hath an husband that believeth not, and if he be pleased to dwell with her, let her not leave him. (14) For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband: else were your children unclean; but now are they holy. (15) But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.
“It may surprise you to learn that the Catholic Church allows for married priests. Celibacy is a discipline chosen by others, like Paul.”
This is only allowed as exceptions, particularly with converts. It is not the rule. The RCC does not allow for married men to become Priests, or for a Priest to marry. The exception in minor cases does not void the fact that it is generally forbidden. The scripture considers the Marriage bed Holy, and no “discipline” of celibacy was ever commanded for any evangelist. It was merely suggested by Paul during a time when they were always on the move, and under the threat of persecution. Paul stated himself:
1Co 7:6-7 But I speak this by permission, and not of commandment. (7) For I would that all men were even as I myself. But every man hath his proper gift of God, one after this manner, and another after that.
Then again, the scripture does not teach anything about any special office of the Priesthood, since all Christians are regarded as Priests already.
“You need to update your dossier. Report: Protestant Church Insurers Handle 260 Sex Abuse Cases a Year”
There is no centralized “Protestant Church,” where its members claim to be THE voices of God on Earth, who hold the body of Christ and insert it into the mouths of the faithful, and are able to forgive sin, or are shuffled about from one diocese to another whenever they get in trouble. My church has never had a single sex abuse case in its history.
Your guilt is institutional, for us, there is no general institution.
Sure there are things God cannot do.
He cannot lie. He cannot change. He cannot be faithless and deny Himself.
Hebrews 6:17-18 17 So when God desired to show more convincingly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeable character of his purpose, he guaranteed it with an oath, 18 so that by two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled for refuge might have strong encouragement to hold fast to the hope set before us.
Malachi 3:6 “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
2 Timothy 2:10-13 Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory. 11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful— for he cannot deny himself.
Seems like Catholicism is pretty weak on teaching the true character of God from the Bible they claim they wrote.
In fact, thank you for trying to change the topic to something not in question because it shows clearly that folks who weave their own Most High and Holy Self Worship fantasies from the Pharisee Approved Luther Subset of Scripture do not and cannot deal with the Truth of Jesus Christ and have to constantly resort to playing their little games.
The contention you raised was that there was nothing that God could not do.
The exact quote was......
Making the flat statement that God CANNOT do something. Disgusting.
You were shown that indeed there are things that God cannot do by Scripture.
Would you care to address the Scripture I posted instead of throwing out spurious accusations?
BTW, thanks for again confirming that when a Catholic is cornered by the truth of Scripture, the typical knee jerk reaction is to attack the messenger.
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