What is up my Catholic brothers and sisters! For background context, I'm a protestant, moved from a Calvinist church to a Methodist church. My parents are still Calvinists and my dad was a Catholic (changed before I was born).

I noticed recently a worrying rise in the amount of content which blatantly or subtly (by camouflaging itself as a joke or an attempt to spark a healthy debate, for example) ridicule protestants and inspire hate against us. Aren't these actions just causing more division?

‭1 Corinthians‬ ‭13:4‭-‬5‬ ‭ESV‬ [4] Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant [5] or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

So, why do you think this happening? Is this something you agree with? If not, what can we, as Christians, do about it?

I've been studying Catholicism for a few months with the intention of converting, but before that I want to clear up all my doubts. One of them is why is Mary so focussed on religion? As an outsider, it's always been strange to see Mary quoted and venerated more than Jesus (yes, I know that's not worship). Why consecrate children, family and churches to Mary and the saints and not directly to Jesus? Why does Mary have such grandiose images at the centre of churches? Is it just hyperdulia yet?

Hi all, I'm newly coming back to my faith after years away, and I have some big weights I need guidance to resolve. I feel like I need more than just a classic confession, as I have some theological questions for the priest as well regarding my situations. I have looked at Catholic therapists, but I really think Im just looking for a confession with a conversation. So, how do I find this in the church? Do I call my priest and ask to chat, or do I just go to normal confession? I hope this makes sense as I really need some guidance right now.

I recently started to think about my relationship with God and started seeing posts about "Judgement Day" and stuff like that. It then just hit me on whether or not I am truly saved or if I'm just some lukewarm Christian. I'm nervous and scared because I'm so lost right now, I can't tell whether or not I'm praying because I love God or if I just fear punishment.

Looks like I have to be approved to reply to posts. I tried to contact the moderators to see how I could get approved. No response. Chances are that you won’t be able to respond either.

To put it simply, if a man has anal sex with a woman he is unmarried to, and if a man does the same with a man he is obviously unmarried to since two men can't marry, is the latter in any way different than the former in terms of what the sin is being committed or do they constitute different sins of different severity?

Essentially what I'm asking is, is there anything inherently sinful about homosexual relations, or is it just the fact that they involve unmarried people and often Sodomy?

Hello Catholics.

I was raised Presbyterian but had my first crisis of faith in 2008, my freshman year in high school after my brother's best friend was murdered. The family of the slain are Catholic and had the funeral in a Catholic church in town. I remember feeling such anger and disdain and mistrust throughout the services and such because the same line, the same idea kept being repeated. "God wanted another angel, so He took so-and-so". But isn't stealing wrong? You aren't allowed to covet another's things, so why can God covet and just take a child? I stopped going to church that year.

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I've lived happily and contentedly as an agnostic/atheist ever since... well until 2022. In 2022, after a mental health crisis, sabbatical, and more, I began working as a music teacher at a Catholic high school. When I interviewed and when asked about my faith, I told the principal that I was not Catholic, but did envy those who have had a faith journey or a life in faith. At the time, it was a bit of a white lie. But in the year and a half I have taught at the school, attended weekly chapel, bi-monthly Mass, and befriended monks, nuns, and theology teachers... I have begun to see a lot of good in Catholicism (but let me be clear - this is Benedictine Catholicism so Jesus was a brown Socialist kind of Catholic, not the bible thumping right wing kind...)

​

Today I found out a friend of mine (26, a nurse, an equestrian) has had a stroke and will probably not survive. And again I am thrown back to the internal discourse of 2008 - it's not fair, the good and the young cannot and should not die young. Not unexpectedly, not undeservedly. In 2008 my brother's friend was an 11 year old playing video games and a victim of a serial killer. Today my friend is 26, young, healthy, and a victim of the cruel joke that is nature... or God?

​

I guess here is my question for Catholics: Is the saying/thought of "God wanted another angel, so He took so-and-so" the actual teachings? What is the thought and process around the unexpected death of a young person? I can't find peace in the faith that would allow all of this.

In advance, I'm very sorry for the wall of text. I (M23) am posting here to see if I could get some advice from the Catholic perspective. I was born to Protestant parents and attended a Reformed and then later a non-denominational Christian church when I was growing up. I quickly rejected Christianity as a child and started resisting going to church from a young age (probably around age 8 or 9). My reasoning was primarily that some of the stories in the Bible (e.g. Noah's Ark) could not have literally happened as I was being taught. I have read the complete Bible (including the deuterocanonical books and sometimes extensive commentary from either Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, or secular perspectives) several times, and still do not consider myself a Christian as of today. I would describe my position best as agnosticism as I am very skeptical of every field of knowledge, including science and philosophy, both of which I am also very interested in (I have read Aquinas's Summa Theologica carefully and also some of the works of St. Augustine, but have otherwise exposed myself to little Catholic philosophy). I am married, and my wife is also unreligious (but probably leans more towards "New Age" spirituality compared to Christianity or other traditional religious beliefs). I have recently (a few months ago) started attending a Catholic church each week, partially because of some religious (Protestant) family members requesting that I attend church, partially because of a longing for spiritual knowledge and community, and partially due to a cultural interest in Christianity/Roman Catholicism.

I am especially attracted to Christianity compared to other religions for a variety of reasons. I'm not especially interested in primarily ethnic religions such as Hinduism or Judaism due to not being apart of those respective ethnic groups (I am an American of primarily German and English ancestry). I am not attracted to the teachings of Islam, many of which I feel are quite wrong (e.g. I see Islamist extremism and culture sometimes leading to violence and instability, authoritarianism, the oppression of women, polygamy, etc. - values which I tend to disagree with). I don't say this to judge Muslims, and do believe that there are many valuable and good teachings of Islam as well, but as a non-religious person, if I had to choose between Christianity and Islam, I would choose Christianity in a heartbeat. I view some forms of Buddhism quite positively as well, but identify more closely with Western culture and cultural values than Eastern.

I am especially attracted to Roman Catholicism compared to other Christian denominations for a variety of reasons as well. Some of these include the more traditional (and what I view as more authentic) transmission of early Christian beliefs, what I view as a more solemn and reverent church service, a more authoritative structure (I believe that for many non-denominational or Baptist Christians, too many forgive themselves in the name of God instead of truly repenting, and it is easy for someone that is not well-versed in the Christian tradition to misinterpret the Bible), a focus on Christian (and global) unity, less focus on materialism and more focus on spirituality, greater respect and love for those who disagree in the contemporary world, less contemporary politicization, and, anecdotally, the Catholics I have met are more rational and loving people than the Protestants from my perspective. I feel positively about some other denominations, especially more traditional Lutheranism, and potentially Anglicanism and Eastern Orthodoxy. I lean decisively towards these denominations compared to Calvinist-influenced denominations such as Reformed/Methodist/Baptist/non-denominational/etc.

I stopped praying as a young child when I left the faith, and have only recently begun to pray again as I've been attending the Catholic church each week. My prayer is that I will be shown a way to have faith - that I will know the truth and be led to do good in the world. I guess I am posting here to point out some of the struggles that I have with faith to see what sort of advice I could be given or resources I could be referred to. I am not trying to criticize Catholicism or Christianity, but genuinely expressing my thoughts so that I can understand how and why the Catholic perspective differs from my own.

1.) I struggle heavily to believe in the miracles of the Bible. Some examples of this include the different accounts provided by contemporary science and Christianity concerning the creation of the world (the order of creation especially) and the creation of mankind (I tend to believe that evolution well accounts for the emergence of man), the apparent absurdity of a literal interpretation of the diluvian flood (not enough room in the ark for all the animals, geological evidence does not support the idea of a global flood), the lack of archaeological evidence for the Exodus, and the chronology of the Bible which seems to literally support a 'New Earth Creationism'. It is hard for me to divorce these literal ideas from the core of Christian beliefs, since they were more or less universally accepted by Christians until relatively recently in history. I view these stories as allegory/metaphor with deep and powerful psychological/spiritual/metaphysical meanings without being literally true.

2.) If some parts of the Bible are meant to be interpreted allegorically (which I think most Catholics would agree with - for example, we can look at Jesus's heavy use of parable), and these parts were traditionally interpreted as literal for centuries, then I feel lost as to what criteria should be used in order to determine what should be interpreted metaphorically vs. literally. In particular, I understand that it is a (or the) central part of the Christian/Catholic faith to believe in Jesus's literal resurrection. I tend to believe that, like the other stories of the Bible that were interpreted literally for centuries until accepted as allegory, perhaps even the stories of Jesus's miracles and resurrection will one day be accepted as metaphors instead of literal truth. In this regard, I can still respect a deep spiritual meaning in the Christian faith and tradition, but struggle to see why people necessarily believe that the stories of Jesus's life in particular are literal. For me, such remarkable claims require remarkable amounts of evidence to be believed, and, compared to other religious traditions, I don't find a particularly remarkable degree of evidence to support these claims.

3.) When inspecting and analyzing the Bible closely, I've tended to see many aspects in the composition of the work that appear quite human. These include strong evidence of editing and other marks of human composition, self-contradiction (I could elaborate more on this, but to do so comprehensively would take quite some time), issues concerning authorship (there are some cases where there is strong evidence against the traditional claims of authorship), and lack of distinct supernatural insight (I believe there are deep truths and metaphors in other religions as well).

4.) If faith is opposed to reason, I don't feel as if I can force myself to be unreasonable. If faith is not opposed to reason, I cannot understand why I should have faith particularly in Christianity instead of another religion. Every reason given seems to point out arbitrary characteristics of Christianity as a good reason, but a Muslim or a Buddhist may argue for their faiths analogously. The fact that country of birth is such a strong predictor of religious beliefs suggests to me that the vast majority of people tend to believe whatever they are indoctrinated with as children instead of rationally choosing between options.

5.) I do have some disagreements with both historical and contemporary Christian teachings and actions. For example, I think of the Spanish colonization of the Americas as a great evil, the (historical) authoritarian and theocratic rule of the Catholic church to be wrong, and have some doubts about the Catholic church in particular due to its proneness, like any institution, to corruption (e.g. sexual abuse cases, the historical case of indulgences, etc.) I would think that the one true church would exercise greater oversight to prevent these misuses of power by lower-ranking members of the church. I also have some strong doubts about the church's teaching on contraception in particular, but also reservations on some other issues.

I would love to hear some of your Catholic perspectives on these issues in particular, as well as any general advice as to what I can do to foster faith in the trinity other than attending mass and studying the Bible regularly. I also try to live a life as free from sin (as defined in the Christian sense) as possible, but I recognize that I am imperfect, a sinner, and heavily entangled with the world, along with lacking Christian faith. I long for greater guidance and certainty in my life, freedom from sin and guilt over past sins, and the type of transformation that the local Bishop recently spoke about during the Christmas service. If you got this far, thank you for reading, and I will carefully read and appreciate any responses.

So I’m not entirely sure how to do this. For context: Me and my mom are no longer Catholic as of about 10 years ago. I identify as agnostic at best, and while Mom still believes in God, both of us agree that we don’t like organized religion. We were both raised Catholic and my father’s side of the family for the most part are still very staunchly Catholic, or so they claim.

My father about 3 months ago now dropped a bomb on us, that he had been cheating on my mom with another woman for the last year or two and wanted a divorce so he could be with his affair partner. He, his affair partner, and his mom all work in the Catholic school district in our hometown. My father and his affair partner actually met because they worked at the same Catholic school, along with his mom. My father’s mother is one of the religious educators, my father was the gym teacher and his affair partner was the secretary, and their affair really amped up when my father left that Catholic school to be an athletic director at a different Catholic school, and his mom and affair partner still work at the original Catholic school they met in.

I want to ask the priest at the church connected to the Catholic school they met in, as they used school property and resources to meet and speak in private. I want him to know he has people who are committing adultery who met because they were part of the school connected to his church’s staff, and were part of his congregation. That one of those adulterers and my father’s mother who knew about the affair and actively encouraged it are still employed by the school connected to his church despite her violating a morality clause they signed to work in the Catholic school district that specifically said they agree adultery is wrong, they do not condone it and they will not commit adultery and if they do, they will be terminated and the school knows she violated that morality clause because someone ratted them out in an email to the principals of both schools, the principals have both said they aren’t going to do anything because if they fired people for violating the morality clauses they sign, they wouldn’t have any staff despite the morality clauses literally saying whoever violates them will be fired. I want him to know that both of them are not just still employed by the school connected to his church, but both of them are still part of his congregation.

I want to hear from the priest who works for the church where the whole school would attended mass in the middle of the week as part of the religious education, that no matter what my father says, this was adultery. Because at this point, I almost don’t care that my father cheated on my mom. I’m more angry that he’s trying to say that because he didn’t have sex with his affair partner, we can’t call it adultery or infidelity. Even though he did everything else with her, had sneaky talks, told her he loved her, hugged her, held her hand, went on dates with her, kissed her. I’m mad that I can immediately think of the Bible verse that says “if you so much as look at someone else outside your marriage with feelings that you are only supposed to have for your spouse, you’ve already committed adultery.” When I’m not even Catholic or any Abrahamic faith, yet he wants to say this wasn’t adultery or infidelity because he didn’t have sex with his affair partner.

This has all left me with a lot of trauma, some of it being religious given the circumstances of how and where they met and how religious he and his mom always claim to be. There’s so much more I could get into as the whole situation is messed up, but it’s not relevant and I think I gave enough context, I just came on here to ask how I go about going to a priest to ask some questions so I can get some closure and try to start moving on. Can I just simply walk into the church at any time and talk to him? Do I have to call someone to make an appointment to meet with him? Do I just go in during a time during the week I know he’s holding confessionals and just wait until the very end so everyone who’s actually there for confessionals can get through and just explain “not here for this sacrament and don’t even believe in your religion so this isn’t even asking for religious guidance, but I have questions only you can answer and I need them answered for peace and closure and to move on.” I do not know how to go about this, does anyone know?

Good day everyone (I'm on mobile so please excuse any weird formating and also please excuse any incorrect grammar or spelling as English is not my first language.)

I was wondering if anyone could had any good recommendation for a good catholic "journal" Bible? I've been in search of one for a bit now as I've seen the other none catholic "journal" bibles and thought that would be a marvelous way to help me study my Bible. Also, they look just over all lovely with some of the extra designs added on/in throughout including some spaces to possibly color in.

The reason Im currently trying to look for one is honestly just a change of pace as ive found it hard to focus on my study with my regular bible and also my stufy bible. I think maybe if i "spiced" it up a bit with being able to write in the actual bible rather then go between my bible and my journal/ notebook might help. If anyone happens to have a good rec for one please send it my way!

I hope everyone has a blessed day!

I was baptized Lutheran. During my undergraduate years I was solidly Episcopalian. Then around 3 years ago I became Catholic. I consider myself liturgically traditional but dogmatically progressive. The way I see Catholic leaders use reactionary conservative politics to advance their own agendas rather than worrying about the least fortunate among us is a major turn off for me. I haven't been to Mass in months. Haven't prayed my breviary in months. Also, my parents aren't Catholic and I don't have any acquaintances where I live now that are. Honestly, I'm just discouraged. Which is unfortunate because the parish that I did my conversion at was a spiritually fulfilling place. The parish in my current town doesn't feel that way.

I tend to enjoy Jordan Peterson's lectures about Christianity and find much of his arguments intriguing regarding the interplay of human psychology, evolutionary forces, and Christian religious ideology.

As a child I was dragged along to various churches by my parents which I generally despised.

I've been an "atheist" since I was about 10yrs old, and have explored various religious and spiritual teachings, including hippie crystal healing and energy and etc.

Ultimately I don't believe in anything supernatural--the concept of a supernatural anything existing is nonsensical to me as anything that exists would do so in the realm of existence, and thus be in scope of the natural world.

However, I would like to participate in and attend some church in order to further explore and practice the various traditions and cultural practices which I find valuable by themselves (without thinking it will result in any sort of eternal afterlife or anything like that).

I'm curious if maybe Catholicism might be a good fit in this regard as I tend to enjoy the philosophical and intellectual aspects, and I also value the adherence to traditions and established cultural practices (I strongly dislike the "pandering" of modern churches, the self-gratifying narcissism of "oh wow you're so special and Jesus loves you so much for no reason, isn't that great?" types of "used car salesman" preachers are a huge turn off for me).

Based on what I've described, do you all think I should give catholic churches a try? Or are there perhaps other variations that might be a better fit? (also curious about eastern orthodox maybe).

I'm wondering why women cannot have a role as men do when it comes to the decision-making circles of the catholic church. My understanding is that they cannot be priest nor bishop or pope. So it's only men that can decide what both men and women should do as catholics. Thanks for enlightening me.

How does everyone remember all the steps and mysteries for praying the rosary? I have a guide saved to my camera roll but hoping there is a better way. Pocket guide, cheat sheet? Or is it more of you remember it better as it becomes a daily routine?

Friend intends to attend what he calls a Low Mass of the TLM on a Sat evening in a Sspx church (I think thats the Catholic church he is going to recently), and he is wondering if this covers his sunday duty (or was it Sunday obligation)?

Thanks

Hey r/AskCatholics, I'm a 14-year-old male teen. Recently I've been on a better path, my mental health going up and everything been better, my skin, but that's where My question comes in. See because I'm getting into taking care of my skin, I've seen Curley eyelashes, right? now I'm not sure me using eyelash curlers would be feminine or what. I've been researching yet no answers! so that's why I went onto here to try and get answers from long time Catholics and Catholics who have studied the bible. Again, I'll take any advice, answers. Thank you very much and God bless.

tl;dr Fairly basic question here, just trying to establish why a given person should accept authority of the papacy and the church.

Extended reading: I left evangelical Christianity about five years ago and I've recently been double-checking, so to speak. I've listened to the Book of Mormon audio book (they do not care for you guys), I've recently reread the book of Luke, I'm planning to listen to the Qur'an next. Just atheist house keeping.

So why should I care what the Pope says? Why not Sola Scriptura? If Sola Scriptura is false, why then the Catholic Church? Thanks for your time.

For example, we are to pray the Hail Mary and the rosary. However the Bible scrictly says that you can only come to God through Jesus. No where in the Bible does it say you should pray to anyone but God (And by extension Jesus). So what gives?

Shouldn't church offer that shit if they want people to get married? What if someone can't pay for the materials that are "required"? Seems exclusionary to me.

do I need to confess to using my bidet recreationally?

Doing research for a story, and can’t seem to find the answer online. Who is the patron saint of ghosts or the undead?

I know there may not be one, but I kind of assumed there would be one for restless spirits or the undead or ghosts. I can’t find any answer in my research- Google itself points me to St. Januarius but I can’t find anything in my research of him that points to why he would be the patron saint of ghosts/undead/spirits.

The closest saints I’ve found are St Margaret of Antioch (for dying people) or St Andrew Arellino (invoked against sudden death).

What I’m looking for more is if someone wanted to pray for the souls of people left behind or people who have restless spirits to give them rest or peace. Any recommendations of saints to pray to or invoke for these reasons?

As I was taught, one of the commandments is “Keep holy the Sabbath”, basically go to church on Sunday and things like that, correct? Well, I’m in a situation. On Sundays my mom encourages me to go to CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine), aka church school. My parents are divorced and usually I go to my dads on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and he is unable to take me on weekdays because of how far is he from my school. My dad is moving across the country next year. I don’t know what to do, I want to spend as much time as I can with my dad before he leaves, but I’m so close to getting the sacrament Confirmation, and I want to do it so badly. What do you think I should do?

I'd like to preface this by saying I am not Catholic, but I hold no issue with the religion at all.

Every year, the school does this haunted house type thing for the public. I, (17F) was appointed head scare actor last year. It was my first time doing something like that and I absolutely loved it. I used SFX makeup to create a very realistic yet horrifying clown. The response of people who entered the haunted house was hilarious.

This year, I have been given the responsibility of scare actor again, and with the new The Nun II coming out, I figured it would be a great creepy costume to wear. I'm NOT mocking real Catholicism in any way, I simply want to dress up as the demon from the movie, as it's not only an affordable costume, but it's genuinely scary. However; I live in a small and religious town, and I'd hate to upset anyone. Is this a problem?

Hello,

I am attending my first mass on this Sunday. Can you please tell me what to expect and how to act? I honestly don't know what to do or how to pray other then what I have seen online. Thanks :)

I dont want to have a rude debate with anyone or offend them. I'm interested in how you guys view things which I personally believe rule out God or at least an all powerful one. I accept god as a logistical possibility, but only as a scientist who created the universe and evolved from his own. So I just want to know what the response is to these questions from a theists point or view.

Again I am not trying to convert you or be converted. I want intelligent conversation with some good people.

First: The omnipotence problem. Ill just say for this point God does exist. Can god make a bowl of chili so hot he cant eat it? Can god commit suicide if he wanted? What is the first memory God has and how can even God be sure he is eternal and not created? It seems to me there are things God cant do or cant be sure of.

Second: The fine tuned universe argument cant be true. It implies because our world is so finely tuned for us God must have done it, because otherwise we couldnt exist. The issue is, this directly conflicts with an all powerful God. If God is truly all powerful we should be able to exist in any set of rules he chooses. Therefore, either you have to admit God is not all powerful or the world is NOT finely tuned because it could be any way God wanted and still work.

Third: The morality problem. I've often heard that absolute morals must stem from God, because without God there is no higher standard to be held to. My question, who holds god to his moral standards? Why can the morals of God be an innate gift it has always had but our morals need something higher? Why, using logic, is God absolute without requiring his own God to be held accountable by?

Again, I dont want to cause fights or drama. I'm looking for legitimate, honest, and logical answers to my questions.

Edit: I guess #2 isnt a question so much as a statement I'd like to understand the rebuttal to.

Note: Thank you for providing a place to ask these questions. I've actually emailed EWTN's Called to Communion show, but as I'm waiting on their response, I'm very glad to have this space. I'll be excited to compare the answers I receive.

Verses like Hebrews 10:26-27, Hebrews 6:4-6, the Parable of the Sower, 1 John 2:19, and Matthew 12:22-32 all seem to suggest that falling away is permanent. All over the New Testament, there is language of "abiding in Christ," "persevering until the end," "holding on to the faith..." I know Catholic teaching holds that apostates can be forgiven on reversion. Where does this doctrine come from? What's the history? Is it not in direct contradiction to an explicit New Testament teaching? I don't know if this language can be any clearer.

Thank you in advance!

This is one of the biggest (no matter how it sounds) things that is keeping me from becoming a Catholic. The relevant chapters are Revelation 13, 16, and 17. Many extreme Protestants claim that Rome, being famously founded on seven hills, allegedly often referred to as Babylon, and the Holy Roman Empire/the Vatican later becoming a Kingdom-Church, are the claims that would support this doctrine. (The "VICARUS FILLI DEI" claim has been quite disproven from what I have seen, with scant physical evidence that the Pope was ever officially referred to with that title.) Seeing as Rome was such a large persecutor of Christians in that day, and famously founded on seven hills, wouldn't early Christians be incredibly skeptical of these things too? I'm at a loss to understand. Any help would be appreciated.

I was raised Lutheran, so I was taught the doctrine of penal substitutionary atonement. I did not realize until now that this is contrary to Catholic doctrine—honestly, I didn't even know there were other doctrines. I cannot find a clear explanation of what the Catholic teaching on the Atonement actually is. Passages like Isaiah 53 seem, to my hereditarily Lutheran eyes, to suggest penal substitution ("Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief... He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied... he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." vs. 10-12.)

What is the definitive Catholic teaching on the Atonement, and how is Isa. 53 interpreted? Thanks!