So, I know during a certain period of time during lent we use a purple cloth to cover items but what do we need to cover and what is the reason for covering those items?

Yesterday, Ryan from NeedGod.net talked with a relatively knowledgeable Catholic for about 150 minutes. The Catholic knew most of his stuff well but Ryan…ended up giving the best case for non denominational Protestantism I’ve heard in my five years of studying the history of Christianity. His main points were basically that when we are told in the Bible to follow word of mouth, it only means of the apostles in context, and not of any of their successors. He also talked about repentance in Greek meaning “a change of mind” in the original Greek, the church only being a body of believers, and believing baptism and following the commandments are not necessary for heaven(and to deny this would be to deny the true gospel, talking about works based salvation). He concluded by saying that if a violation of the Ten Commandments is not paid for by Jesus(that is if we break one but still trust in him for salvation) then salvation is not a gift to Catholic, but a condition. He also said Jesus would be a thief to take our salvation, and the Bible says nothing can take us out of his hands. A lot of this was hard to reconcile, and although I had answers to a lot of it, I struggle to reconcile how we could lose our salvation when the Bible says nothing can take us from him, as well as why we should follow the church fathers when the parts in the Bible following word of mouth is in context about the Apostles(Paul, Peter, etc), especially with people like Ignatius of Antioch saying they were not apostles and couldn’t give commands like them. If anyone saw the debate or could help me reconcile these, I would greatly appreciate it. God bless you all!

Link to mentioned debate: https://www.youtube.com/live/hyJD81RcpgU?si=fNxIx3xmLi-cp3UZ

I heard a Muslim make multiple claims about the early church

The first claim I heard him make was that there is nowhere does it say that polycarp heard from John, this true, what evidence is there that polycarp heard from John

Next he said that the we only have iranaeus from quotes of eusibious who came 200 years later. Is this true?

What evidence is there against this I can show you guys the video if you want to see it

Uma dúvida sincera: profetas podem ser usados pelo Espírito Santo para falarem para mim coisas que eu já fiz no passado? Ou até mesmo pecados que eu já cometi, mas que eu já confessei e não os cometo mais?

Depois de serem usados pelo Espírito Santo para fazerem profecias, eles lembram do que falaram?

Thought you guys might appreciate it.

So I'm being forced to go to Sunday classes to get my 3 sacraments baptism, communion, and confirmation. I never go to church neither when I was a kid. So yeah I'm going there and I don't believe in the religion but I do believe their morals like adultery and abortions are wrong. But I dont think I can keep going somewhere where i don't believe the religion.

I’ve been having issues with my roommate for nearly a year and recently I’ve hit a breaking point. I was sick of her bad attitude, her talking junk, treating me like I’m her servant and lying about me behind my back.

For the past couple of days I’ve been mainly ranting to my bf about how upset I am. I said some insulting things about her and he called me out on it best it was mean. He told me that she was still God’s creation and He still loves her. He also voiced his concerns on how he was worried about if I’d treat him the same if we ever got into an argument.

I reassured him that I would never, I never get this mad. I’ve only been upset because she’s been giving me hell for almost a year and I’ve tried to be nice and mature but nothing works. I got frustrated and decided to rant to my bf to let out frustration and to avoid me cursing at her. But now I feel terrible, I insulted someone who’s still an image of God and I made my boyfriend feel like that’s anger is my nature.

I feel so terrible and embarrassed.

Hi - tomorrow I am going back to church for the first time in 20 years. I just felt God calling my back, and as the weeks went on they became so intense I found a church and made the decision it was time. I never abandoned my relationship with God, I’ve always said my prayers every night.

Before Mass tomorrow I am going to Reconciliation.

I don’t know why but I am so nervous. I used to go to Mass twice a week, and went to private school K-12, so religion had always been a part of my life.

I don’t even know if this is the right place to share, but just wanted to with someone. My husband is an Atheist, and while her supports me I find it hard to talk to him.

Hey everybody I had some questions about demonic posession. I stumbled upon a podcast about possesion stories so it made me curious.

1. can anybody get possessed or do they have to allow it to happen
2. can catholics get possessed ?
3. can demons just appear to you whenever

Ngl it’s a little terrifying thinking of it so this is why I ask

Thanks for giving me peace of mind

For as long as I can remember (early childhood onward) I have had a strange enjoyment of the physical feeling of empathy pain. You know, that feeling in your gut when you see someone else's suffering and your heart goes out to them. For me, I only enjoy it when it's fictional, so I tend to consume very violent content because I enjoy seeing my favorite characters get hurt. It's not even about them getting hurt and then comforted; I actually just like to see them in pain. Oftentimes I imagine violent scenes when I'm trying to fall asleep. It's not a sexual thing at all, and has never affected the way I view or treat real people. Is this a sin? I know it's not normal and is probably disordered, but is it something I should be confessing?

I’ve been away from the church for a number a years now. I really miss my faith. But for a number of reasons I won’t go into here, I just don’t believe anymore. I’m looking for something that’s not apologetics or Catechism oriented—I already know those topics through and through. I’m just wondering if there’s anything else out there that might be helpful. Please, no Latin mass, SPPX, or Traditionalist stuff. Thank you!

I’ve started reading True Devotion to Mary by St. Louis de Montfort. While researching online, I’ve seen Marian consecration described both as consecration to Mary and as consecration to Jesus through Mary.

This has been a bit confusing for me, as I would think that the person one is consecrating oneself to is an important distinction.

Which do you think is a more accurate descriptor? Is there a meaningful difference between the two terms, or do they essentially express the same idea? Do you think people should be more consistent in the terminology they use?

Thanks in advance!

Hello all♥️ I am starting my lessons on Monday to become a part of the Catholic Church. My husband is Baptist and I am having a hard time finding the right words to change his mind on our son (7m) being baptized. We do not hold grudges, respect each others slight difference in belief, but we also don’t see completely 100% eye to eye on every subject. I can not find actual definitive proof in the Bible of WHY infants should be baptized in order to counter his arguement of “they should make that choice themselves.” Can anyone help me out with concrete evidence? I feel like I know what I’m trying to say but I can’t convey it.

I wouldn’t say I’m struggling per se, but I’m questioning the purpose behind it all. How does suffering bring us closer to God? How does giving up sweets actually strengthen our relationship with Him? What’s the purpose of the Memorare or the 90-day novena?

I’m in high school, so I guess I’m just trying to understand things more deeply. Right now, a lot of it feels obligatory—like I have to go to Mass every day, but I don’t quite understand why. I don’t mind doing it, I just want to grasp the meaning behind it.

One thing that does make sense to me is the Heroic Minute—not pressing snooze, overcoming the first battle of the day and making a choice to be with the Lord, saying Serviam, and starting the day with a mindset of service to the Lord. That clicks. But for the rest, I’d love to hear how others have come to understand these things.

I mean, come on...

Both were ordinary guys who lived over a millennia after Christ. One left the Catholic Church because he wanted a second wife. The other simply decided that Christianity and the Bible canon as they had been understood for centuries were wrong and that we should rip books out and begin practicing a different way.

Do Protestants not realize that this is where their religion descended from?

I mean, I sort of get it if you've simply lived in a particular Protestant community and have just sort of gone with the flow your entire life when it comes to Christianity, but as for these militant types, I'm simply puzzled. It's not rational.

I have had difficult relationships in the past and am ready for marriage. I have never had a shortage of suitors/interested men and despite trying my best to vet them - many end up being very disappointing. I prayed to God recently to remove a certain man I was very interested in and who seemed very interested in me if he would not lead to sacrament of marriage. He suddenly became more distant and I have decided to stop engaging with him. I’ve prayed to God to remove my desire for people too. I will have to pray that now because I am still attracted to that man though believe God has intervened!

Anyways, it’s a bit sad but it’s easier to bounce back after a flirtation of two weeks than two years of a nowhere relationship. Praise God and his intervention!

I feel like such a piece of garbage, I have doubt, I get mad at my family, I’ve sinned and done a lot of things I’m not proud of in my past. Why am I so flawed? Everyone else has everything right and under control, everyone else has faith and never doubts. How can I improve? I feel like such a failure of a person, a lost cause. I’m just a shell of my former self. Not really the place to post this I guess but I’d really love to hear from likeminded people.

why most women stop veiling since the pope said it not obligatory. He never said that it encouraged to stop wearing a veil or that it better to not veil.

It seem like the one that where rebellious are now accusing the one that keep veiling of been too dress up/too much /more pious when it is preferred to begin with! Even when you go meet the pope you NEED to be veil.If it was not important it would be abolished.

I got accused of wearing a costume ,when i wear modest summer dress only neckline nothing below the collar bone and sleeve must reached my elbow but all my dresses are long sleeve and i wear a black veil (im married) my husband brouth to me when i said i wanted a proper veil not a hat that represent that we the church are the bride of Christ but the other women at the parish are mostly not veil apart 2 others women who wear white lace but don't seem to be judged for it since their wardrobe is more "modern" .

I don't know i find it hurtful, the whole women liberation sex thing is an error in my eyes it causes more women in the parish to be nasty to women that actually like been a mother and caring for her husband and respect their authority .Now im look at has a victim when it literally MY CHOICE .

I'm not abuse by my husband .im the one who brought the Christian faith in the household we were pagan. (to be more precise i was a pagan witch) so yeah im very irritate when i see more "loose Christian " assuming I'm been controlled by a man that all men's are bad.I did a full U turn since i have meet christ plus i see that in the bible thier is more arguments to veil then not to veil .You cannot cover your glory with your own glory aka your own hair.

I’ve been experiencing something unusual involving my girlfriend, who claims to have a “gift” from God. According to her, God allows angels and archangels to come into the world and incarnate within her for about 3 to 5 minutes. During these moments, I’ve had the opportunity to speak with them. However, I’m not entirely sure if this is true because, despite these conversations, they’ve told me there are many things they can’t reveal, as God won’t permit it. They explained that they are here to let God’s warriors on earth know that He still loves humanity.

These entities have made many promises and spoken beautifully about God, but over the past year, I’ve experienced nothing but letdowns. They’ve instructed me to do certain things, only for those actions to lead to no results. The more I interacted with them, the more I began to doubt their authenticity. Adding to my skepticism, they claimed that the Bible is not 100% correct and that God only acknowledges 3 amendments instead of 10.

The issue is, I don’t believe the Bible or any of the other 10+ spiritual books can help me in this situation. While this phenomenon might be real, spiritual books often feel limited to me, filled with procedures and what I consider to be corny or overly simplistic content. The only thing that feels genuinely real to me is a strange spiritual presence I sometimes sense during prayer—though it doesn’t happen every time I seek it.

Any recommended approach? I am just trying to understand God better and get closer to him.

I'm 42, I can't say I was raised Catholic, but i've gone through all of the milestones one does as a Catholic. I've never read the bible or gospels and i'm at a point in my life where i'm curious about god. Where do I start? What do I read? Thank You

Hi, I am in my late teens and came to beautiful Catholicism a year ago, so my understandings of church teachings and my faith is not as good as it could be. I fear I am about to be fired (for no harsh reasons) from my job. I study marketing at University and have been really heavily looking into affiliate marketing instead to make money since it seems I might be getting fired. Since I’ve been heavily researching affiliate marketing, this loss of my current job makes it seem like the Lord is shifting me towards AM. But I feel I am doing it out of greed. Which personally I’m not sure, as I do want to make money, and want my family to live without the stress of finance, but I am scared that the wealth I could potentially gain could be used not for its proper use. I.e possibly not enough given to charity, or more deadly, shift my focus off of God. Please help me! It’s something that I feel quite passionate and confident about but not sure if it is in Gods will for me! May Mary pray for all of you!

https://preview.redd.it/n5ldfu1avege1.jpg?width=4435&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=14bf6bc07563b79921c0e84c330e94026a056b50

Saint Teresa of Avila - Interior Castle- Fifth Dwelling Places - Losing Fire

And even when the soul has itself lost this fire, the inclination to benefit others will remain, and the soul delights in explaining the favors God grants to whoever loves and serves Him.

I know a person to whom this happened. Although she had gone far astray, she enjoyed helping others through the favors God had granted her and showing the way of prayer to those who didn’t understand it; and she did a great deal of good. Afterward the Lord again gave her light. It’s true that she still hadn’t experienced the effects that were mentioned; but how many there must be, like Judas, whom the Lord calls to the apostolate by communing with them, and like Saul, whom He calls to be kings, who afterward through their own fault go astray! Thus we can conclude, Sisters, that, in order to merit more and more and avoid getting lost like such persons, our security lies in obedience and refusal to deviate from God’s law. I’m speaking to those to whom He has granted similar favors, and even to everyone. 

I think this entry should be encouraging for a lot of Christians because all of us at various times in our walk with God become the soul which has “lost this fire” for God. I get this feeling sometimes when I'm in Church physically but not so much spiritually, or when I'm halfway into prayer with God and halfway distracted by some incident at work. Saint Teresa's entry reminds me that despite these spiritual annoyances which put distance between ourselves and God, we can still remain tethered to Him by just continuing to act on good changes He put upon us when we were more fresh in His Spirit. And more importantly, by continuing to act on those changes despite our spiritual dryness, we moisten the ground for renewed and greater spiritual growth in the day when the Lord will again give us light as He did with Saint Teresa's wayward friend

Saint Teresa speaks of a person not lost but distant from God, who despite her distance, still helped others spiritually, in the way of prayer, and “the Lord again gave her light.” Corporeal help for others would seem to be just as qualified though for folk who might be more inclined to do volunteer work or financial charity for the poor. Whatever gift or charism God gives us for our dealings with others, whether spiritual or corporeal, should not be thought of as only a gift for others. Saint Teresa’s friend helped others in their prayer life but that exercise helped her as well, maybe even more so for her than others. Exercising her gift of being able to help others in prayer kept her bound to God even during her wayward times. She’d become distant from God but never lost or adrift from God because the faithful practice of those gifts given by God acted as her own spiritual lifeline.

The effect which God has had on us in regards to our dealings with others is not a vapid, passing effect that just disappears at the first sign of spiritual stagnancy. Everything God does is at a supernatural level that is beyond our finite understanding and reverberates eternally in our lives and the lives of others. We usually don’t pick up on that effect because the spirit is subtle and we’re dense in the spiritual sense but as with Saint Teresa’s friend, God’s touch from above still bears ongoing results below. And when those results lead us to either spiritual or corporeal charity for others, especially amidst our spiritual dryness, our resiliency in God is strengthened going forward. God gives light to our darkness and then shines that light into the lives of others and to the fallen world at large.

Supportive Scripture - Douay Rheims Challoner Bible

Phillippians 1:6 Being confident of this very thing: that he who hath begun a good work in you will perfect it unto the day of Christ Jesus.

Say a person want to substitute the friday penance of not eating meat. What is the rule to follow to determine a good penance (besides rosary)? And how does one know if he is not being too lax in his substitution, thus not fulfilling the penance?

Edit: grammar

Why wouldn’t God choose a woman who was of the lineage of David rather than Joseph who shares no DNA with Jesus?

Hello brothers and sisters,

Recently, I've been exposed to a lot of information surrounding the Church's horrific conduct in Northern Ireland and Northern England through schools, homes and laundries ran by Nuns and the Church.

The crimes committed by these Nuns of our holy Church are despicable, cruel and were often it seems intentional. Often these were directed at the most vulnerable women or even worse poor children. I've read there have been graves found with a lot of dead children in them.

I'm really struggling to reconcile just how this could actually happen inside this church which I love. The pain and outrage and heartbreak it has made me feel is vast. It is not causing me to question the Church or my place in it but my goodness how could this stuff have happened and been allowed to happen? How do I reconcile this with the church I know and love?

I've decided to return to the church after 8-9 years of absense. I never faltered in belief of god (in my eyes) but I was non practicing. Recently through some mental struggles I found myself praying more, listening to the Bible etc. And finally made the decision to go to confession. Going back to church on Sunday. I dont feel like god has failed me or anything like that, rather that I at some point turned my back on what God has asked of me. I was wondering if there was any advice I could be given in essentially restarting my faith. Thank you for your time.

My church was lucky enough to host this relic today and it is a blood stained clothed from Padre Pio when he cleaned up his stigmata.