Ask A Catholic

[Red Door]

Okay, I've seen all these Ask a X threads, and I decided to make one of my own.

Ask a Catholic. Also, you can consider this Ask A Teenager, Ask a Liberal, Ask a Liberal Catholic, or whatever you want that you know of me.

Anyways, happy asking everyone.

BTW, no trolling please.

-AlCosta

EDIT: Feel free to ask me about interpretations of Catholicism and Scripture and Papal Infallibility, etc.

 

[Adamb0mb]

You asked for it:

Do you go to confession? What do you think of the priests roll in assigning penance? What do you think of the penance itself (the value of repeating prayers)?

What do you think of infant baptisism? Is this required to cleanse the soul (are infant souls corrupt prior to baptism)?

From where in the bible does the pope derive his authority?

thanks in advance for your time in addressing any of my questions.

 

[Rhymes]

How is your faith gonna affect your life in the following aspects:
Job
Relationships
Love/Dating
Hobbies

 

[GenMarshall]

Do you go to confession?

Not at the moment, I am still going through RCIA and wont be making my first confession.

What do you think of the priests roll in assigning penance?

I feel that it is nessicary because he himself is in persona Christi and has the power to forgive my sins that I have commited.

What do you think of the penance itself (the value of repeating prayers)?

Repeating prayers is most oftenly not part of the penance itself. Some times penance involves more than a set of repeating prayers to reenforce our faith. Sometimes there are penances that involves having us write out and correct our wrong doings. Such as doing volunteer work and other good deeds.

What do you think of infant baptisism? Is this required to cleanse the soul (are infant souls corrupt prior to baptism)?

Infant baptism is esential because it ensures that the child is within God's Covonent and it is required to clense the soul of original sin. Also the beauty of adult baptisms of Catholic converts is that it also washes away their personal sins and original sin.

From where in the bible does the pope derive his authority?

Matt.16:18-19: "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld will not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven."

How is your faith gonna affect your life in the following aspects:
Job
Relationships
Love/Dating
Hobbies

The only thing that my faith effects my life is no sex before marriages and condoms and other artifical contraception are a big no no to the church.

 

[Sidhe]

How do you see the future of Catholicism PJP was very much about bringing other faiths together in tolerance, do you see the new guy as continuing his work?

Contraception, now we all know the bible is in favour of life, but it certainly couldn't of forseen that the world would grow towards overpopulation.

Also how does the issue of AIDS in Africa strike you, should we for example say that Uganda shouldn't use condoms because they prevent life, but at the same time they kill thousands of people every year because they feel they shouldn't use them, how do you balance life against a disease ending life? Essentially more people are dying through advocation of non use of contraception than would be born. How do you keep consistent in this case? If life is valuable why not advocate a case where life actually is increased, instead of one where it decreases?

 

[Thorvald of Lym]

Are you Roman or Ukrainian (Eastern) Catholic?

 

[Rhymes]

The only thing that my faith effects my life is no sex before marriages and condoms and other artifical contraception are a big no no to the church.

You should have mentionned that in the flirting thread. Might be one of the reasons

 

[Adamb0mb]

thanks CivGeneral, well said.

 

[GenMarshall]

How do you see the future of Catholicism PJP was very much about bringing other faiths together in tolerance, do you see the new guy as continuing his work?

I have faith that Pope Benedict XVI would continue to have Pope John Paul II's work where he left off.

Contraception, now we all know the bible is in favour of life, but it certainly couldn't of forseen that the world would grow towards overpopulation.

Also how does the issue of AIDS in Africa strike you, should we for example say that Uganda shouldn't use condoms because they prevent life, but at the same time they kill thousands of people every year because they feel they shouldn't use them, how do you balance life against a disease ending life? Essentially more people are dying through advocation of non use of contraception than would be born. How do you keep consistent in this case? If life is valuable why not advocate a case where life actually is increased, instead of one where it decreases?

The church are moraly opposed to contraception, such as condoms are because it syntheticaly divides and separates what God intended to always be together. The sex act that occurs between man and woman must be directed towards two ends: love and life which is the intimate union between the two individuals between man and woman (love) and the possibility of procreating another human being (life).

The intamacy between man and woman is the most profound union on Earth at the natural level. The physical union between the two indivudals represents the spirituality reality of two becoming one flesh. When love and life - unity and procreation - are separated, then sex becomes an end in itself rather than a means to an end.

Hopefully I have gave you enough background on this.

 

[Red Door]

You asked for it:

Do you go to confession? What do you think of the priests roll in assigning penance? What do you think of the penance itself (the value of repeating prayers)?

Yes, Catholics are required, IIRC, to go to confession once a year. I usually go every 3 months, we have it during lunch at school, and it's quick. The priests role can differ from priest to priest. I have had priests give me 2 Hail Marys and an Our Father for the same thing I've gotten 10 of each before. I think it ultimately depends on the mood of the priest. I think penance is good, it shows that you're truly sorry for what you have done and it really makes you look into your soul.

What do you think of infant baptisism? Is this required to cleanse the soul (are infant souls corrupt prior to baptism)?

I think infant baptism is wrong, but it's tradition, and it's not something the Catholic Church is about to change. In my mind, a person should choose whether they want to be baptized or not. I believe I chose to be a Catholic when I got confirmed. If you're an adult, baptism frees you from Original Sin.
Infant souls, however, are not corrupt yet. Once they begin to be able to do stuff on their own (3 or 4), then their souls can begin to corrupt.

From where in the bible does the pope derive his authority?

I knew this one was coming. Anyways, the Catholic Church believes that Jesus invested his power in his apostles and especially St. Peter, who he called "his rock". St. Peter went on to found the Catholic Church in Rome and was the first pope technically. That's where we believe the Pope derives his authority from.

thanks in advance for your time in addressing any of my questions.

You're welcome, just trying to clear up any confusing things for non-Catholics, even I get confused with this religion sometimes.

How is your faith gonna affect your life in the following aspects:
Job

Ah, a good question. I currently do not have a full-time job, as I am still in high school, so I'll answer for that. There's never really been a conflict of interest between my school and my faith, which is not surprising since my school is a Catholic School. If it came down to a choice, I really don't know which I would choose.

Relationships

At my age, it's not common for people to be truly interested in relationships, so, so far, my faith has not interfeared with any of my relationships.

Love/Dating

A very interesting question. When the time comes around, I do want to try and find a Catholic girl that I love, so there's no conflict of interest. Saying this, I am not saying I won't date/marry a woman of another religion, just my first interest would be a Catholic.

Hobbies

My main hobby is sports, and it the only way my faith has impacted it is that I'll say a quick prayer before playing so that God will help me do my best.

 

[MjM]

blah
blah blah
blah

I thought this was Al's thread?

 

[Red Door]

Are you Roman or Ukrainian (Eastern) Catholic?

Roman Catholic Church.

How do you see the future of Catholicism PJP was very much about bringing other faiths together in tolerance, do you see the new guy as continuing his work?

Pope John Paul IIwas one of the greatest popes, IMO, in recent years. (Recent being the last 500 years) Pope Benedict XVI was a step back in my opinion. As CivGeneral said, I hope BXVI continues John Paul work, but I do not believe he has the tolerance to do so.

Contraception, now we all know the bible is in favour of life, but it certainly couldn't of forseen that the world would grow towards overpopulation.

Also how does the issue of AIDS in Africa strike you, should we for example say that Uganda shouldn't use condoms because they prevent life, but at the same time they kill thousands of people every year because they feel they shouldn't use them, how do you balance life against a disease ending life? Essentially more people are dying through advocation of non use of contraception than would be born. How do you keep consistent in this case? If life is valuable why not advocate a case where life actually is increased, instead of one where it decreases?

The issue of AIDS in Africa does strike me as a problem. But, I believe there's another solution to the problem. One easy solution would be the keeping of one sexual partner, preferably one's spouse. This could help reduce the risk of the spreading of AIDS.

 

[skadistic]

Are catholic masses still boring as all get up like I remeber? Are they still so repetative week in and week out I could do it my self? Sit. stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sit, kneel all that kills the knees. Atleast my last 10 years in church were as an altar boy. I got to watch the sheeple, get the wine and waffer out the box and hold the book.

 

[Red Door]

I thought this was Al's thread?

It says Ask A Catholic. CivGeneral is a Catholic, he can answer if he wants. Zarn and Ansar the King and other Catholics can feel free to answer as well.

 

[GenMarshall]

This might be odd that a Catholic is going to ask another Catholic a question. Though I consider myself an unconfirmed Catholic (Been baptized in the Catholic Church as an infant) in the process of returning to my faith and getting ready to recive the rest of my sacrements of initiation. And yes I did gone through the Rite of Acceptance three weeks ago .

As for Confession, I never even had my first confession, How does one go about making a good first confession? I would be admit that I would be very nervous and scared telling the prest the sins that I have comitted. Plus I have a long long list as well and not sure if a General Confession would be appropreate, since I do have to confess EVERYTHING since baptism.

Are you Roman or Ukrainian (Eastern) Catholic?

If you're referring to rites of the Catholic Church. I am a Latin Rite Catholic . There is another rite in which you described which is the Byzantine (Eastern) Rite.

 

[Red Door]

Are catholic masses still boring as all get up like I remeber? Are they still so repetative week in and week out I could do it my self? Sit. stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sit, kneel all that kills the knees. Atleast my last 10 years in church were as an altar boy. I got to watch the sheeple, get the wine and waffer out the box and hold the book.

I don't know when you grew up, but at least they're in the Vernacular now.
I believe the mass is a different spiritual celebration every week, and sometimes the message does get repitetive. It really all depends on your parish. At a conservative (in Church terms) church, where, by your post, it sound's like you went, mass was probably very boring. But, I go to a very Liberal Parish and we help make the mass fun by singing and clapping, almost like a Baptist parish.

 

[Red Door]

As for Confession, I never even had my first confession, How does one go about making a good first confession? I would be admit that I would be very nervous and scared telling the prest the sins that I have comitted. Plus I have a long long list as well and not sure if a General Confession would be appropreate, since I do have to confess EVERYTHING since baptism.

Don't be scared, you don't have to have the Priest face you, and that helps out a lot. Remember, the priest doesn't usually want to hear your fancy church terms like usury, just say I stole blah, I masturbated, etc. in simple terms. He'll know what you're talking about. It's really up to you, plus try to remember the words to the Hail Mary and the Our Father, you'll need them.

 

[Elrohir]

Do you believe in total depravity?

Do you believe that man has free will in regards to whether to accept Christ, or does God choose who accepts Christ, and who doesn't?

What's with the whole "masturbation is wrong" thing?

Where in the Bible does it say that a priest has the ability to forgive sins? Isn't God the only one who can forgive sins? Or do the priests just tell you that you are forgiven, but not actually do it?

 

[GenMarshall]

Are catholic masses still boring as all get up like I remeber? Are they still so repetative week in and week out I could do it my self? Sit. stand, sit, stand, kneel, stand, sit, kneel all that kills the knees. Atleast my last 10 years in church were as an altar boy. I got to watch the sheeple, get the wine and waffer out the box and hold the book.

We only do the kealing and standing during the breaking of the bread part of the Mass (The Liturgy of the Eucharist). I know there are some people who go to daily mass (Mainly the retired parishoners) and some who attend Sunday (or Saturday Night Vigil) each week.

Plus the experience verries from parish to parish.

 

[skadistic]

I don't know when you grew up, but at least they're in the Vernacular now.
I believe the mass is a different spiritual celebration every week, and sometimes the message does get repitetive. It really all depends on your parish. At a conservative (in Church terms) church, where, by your post, it sound's like you went, mass was probably very boring. But, I go to a very Liberal Parish and we help make the mass fun by singing and clapping, almost like a Baptist parish.

I had a good time at the Baptist services I went to. Very uplifting.

My church was as old school as you can get without it being in Latin.

A good part of the repitition for me was being on the otherside I think. When you up there you have to be on top of the game and know when and where to go one mis-que and you break the flow. Like passing out from the heat and dropping the gobblet during comunion. It didn't help I did 3 masses a week at times either.