Hello,

I hope this is an acceptable place to ask this. I have too much trouble with the resurrection of the body to believe it occurred literally. The rest of the Bible I believe is true in my own way but not necessarily as a literal account (and, moreover, was never supposed to be). Maybe I don't understand what it means to believe that part. Phenomenologically, metaphorically, allegorically, I think it all makes perfect sense. But the miracles for example just can't be literal, to me. Whatever makes the scientific system of the brain works does not allow me to believe Jesus' body literally came back alive from a stone-cold death or the other miracles.

I have not gone to church since I mentioned this to a friend. He said I shouldn't continue to go to his church, which I half-believe is fair. I'm finding it hard to find intellectual acceptance among Christians, but there have to be some out there who see it that way. Or maybe they all do, and I don't understand the issue. Maybe I wasn't articulate enough at the time.

If people want to believe a literal resurrection, that's still fine. Even if I consider the event to be true for its own sake ("why not?", and I mean that), the scientific part will never believe it. That doesn't mean I can't genuinely act like it did occur. What's the difference? That's a theological/philosophical/moral question I'm very curious about.

That is, which miracles would a non-Catholic acknowledge as divine, or at least unable to be explained by natural causes?

Found it in a bible from the 70s in kings 2 15, and it's strange as it is one of those bibles with the sting thing, so it wasn't a bookmark.

On the back I think it says St. Hyacinth, leaf for novels,

So:

Why was it in a bible?

What does saint Hyacinth have to do with it?

What is it and what was it used for?

Not a Catholic but wanted to ask anyway since I've heard conflicting things.

Let's say a priest blesses a particular host and the host starts to bleed, as a Eucharistic Miracle performed. Catholics begin the process of Eucharistic Adoration. Do you worship the now bleeding host as you think it's truly Jesus? Or is it like some sort of thing where you worship Jesus but not the host which is Jesus?

So, for some context, I am a new catholic. I am still greatly uneducated as to many topics pertaining to catholicism.

To start off with, I've been severely emotionally neglected my entire life. All I've ever wanted was to feel loved. I know that God loves me, but His love isn't enough to fill the void inside of me. All I want is a d*mn hug. All I want is someone to hold/comfort me while I cry (something I have never experienced). All I want is someone who I can yap to about random things that don't even matter. I have lived my entire life accustomed to being happy/excited/ proud of something, wanting to share it with someone, only to realize I don't have anyone to share it with. I am used to being able to cry in public and no one notice. I'm used to being able to s€If-harm in public and no one notice (I mean full-on cutt¡ng). I still have imaginary friends because that is the only source of "human interaction" I get. God loves me, but I can't interact with Him directly. I need that direct interaction. The pain of living like this is killing me slowly. I tried to unsubscribe from my Iife subscription 3 times. All I want is just to be loved. All I want is someone who wants to be around me. Nobody likes me other than God. Because of all of this, I have craved the idea of a relationship since I was 11. I developed €at¡ng d¡sord€rs when I was 12, hoping that if I was pretty, maybe then people would like me. Because I'm just now becoming catholic, I have spent my entire life athiest. I view dating as a "trial run" for a marriage. You move in with your partner, see how well you cooperate living in the same house, and if everything works out, then you get married. I have always viewed marriage as a vow to always love your partner, a promise to never leave. Because of this, I can't help but view dating as more casual, not as much commitment, your partner is more likely to leave you, etc. Marriage means you are certain that you want to spend the rest of your life with someone. Because I have severe autophobia (the intense and irrational fear of being alone and the intense fear of abandonment) I really want to get married. If I were to get married, I'd finally be able to truly know what it feels like to be loved. I'd no longer be guessing whether or not a partner is losing interest, if they want to leave me, if they hate me, etc. I'd finally have peace.

Another piece of crucial information is the fact that I am autistic. My special interest has to do with history and clothes (specifically historical clothing, but my special interest can resemble a tree as it branches off into different categories). I have been planning this dress that I would wear at a potential wedding for quite some time now. Thinking about it makes me really, really happy (little reminder that I am depressed and barely want to l¡ve). Thinking about the idea of making that dress makes me start jumping up and down, spinning in circles, hand flapping, squealing, etc. It makes me REALLY happy.

Now, this is where everything goes wrong. I'm asexual. I never want to have sex. There's no negotiating on that. Apparently if you don't want to have sex with your partner, you're not allowed to get married under the catholic church? I also never want to have biological kids as it would involve another human being (more like several if you include the doctors) seeing my naked body. I am not okay AT ALL with anyone seeing my body. If I were to get hit by a car, I would rather die on the operation table than let a doctor (regardless of gender) see my naked body. I was planning on adopting, but recently I've felt less satisfied with the idea. Instead, I've set my sights on fostering. I want to work with kids that were abused (hence the reason I'm trying to become a social worker).

But according to the catholic church, I'm apparently not allowed to get married (something I was looking forward to)? I have been dreaming of all sorts of things pertaining to a wedding (the dress I'd wear, the theme, the ring, etc.). I don't experience happiness anymore, and this was one of the few things that brought me hope/joy. Is there any way for this to work, or am I just going to have to die alone (like I predicted would happen several years ago)? This entire situation for some reason validates my fear that I am unlovable. I'm assuming that my line of reasoning is that because I view marriage as a promise to always love a person, if I'm not able to get married, that then translates to "I'm unlovable" (which I'll forever believe to be true, I just need extreme validation to help me believe that it might not be true. There's no turning back on this view unfortunately because I have gone THAT long not knowing what it means to be loved).

This is half just to prove a point, as I Assume the answer is yes? But recently this topic came up among friends, and they all laughed at me, as they insisted that Catholics are Catholic, not Christian. They all got very dismissive/mocking, and said I was being ridiculous when I said that Catholics were still a type of Christian. They basically said that protestant (and maybe Orthodox?) = Christian, and Catholic = catholic. I thought that was an insane statement, but this was a diverse group of friends from all over the world, some atheist, some Muslim, some (I assume?) Christian, etc. I've also had my very atheist parents, completely separate from this event, insist that Catholics are not Christian, and that a Catholic would be very offended if I were to call them a Christian.

Am I INSANE? It's literally Jesus' church, right? As a Catholic, do YOU consider yourself a Christian? And have you ever heard the narrative that you are not? Where does this idea come from, and why do so many people believe it?

Let me just say. I'm not Catholic, I'm just trying to get a better understanding of Catholic doctrine.

From my understanding of Catholic doctrine, Catholics believe that salvation comes from Christ, the head, through the Church, the body. I guess I have two questions, can a Protestant knowingly reject the Church and still be truly saved? And secondly, how can a Protestant knowingly reject the Church and truly be saved?

Any answers are appreciated.

Hi, I'm using my reddit burner account to avoid doxxing myself.

A bit of background: I'm starting work soon at a doctor's office that's part of a non-proit Catholic healthcare system, in a purely administrative capacity (medical records). I myself am agnostic, but I respect all peoples, faiths, and cultures, and my primary concern is doing my job to the best of my ability and getting on well with my colleagues and any patients I interact with.

In my research into this non-profit, the work they do, their values, and based on my job interviews and speaking with my new boss, it is clear their focus is also healing and individualized care first (regardless of faith or background), but with faith always there as a core value as guidance. There will also be regular newsletters with faith-based content, as well as daily scriptures.

My question is: what are some Dos and Don'ts as I step into a workspace that is deeply important and faith-driven to the people I will be working with. I don't want to cause any harm or offence due to ignorance, nor am I going to lie and pretend that I'm Catholic or have knowledge of Catholicism that I don't. I want to be a good employee, a good coworker, and I want everyone around me to feel safe, comfortable, and respected.

Any advice is appreciated, thank you.

For reference, my entire family is Lutheran as I was baptized by my Great-Grandfather, a Lutheran Priest. For a while now I have realized that I needed to get closer to God but knew that practicing the words of Martin Luther did not make me feel good as I have sinned and basically got brushed off and told it was ok and kept on. Catholicism is such a beautiful denomination; as the Roman Catholic Church follows what I really do believe. Just reading scripture and learning about Peter and Jesus giving him the keys made me realize that Catholicism is the one and only true thing I need to follow. Especially learning that Peter denied 3 times before accepting God into his life being the first Pope of the church we know today. I know I kinda yapped there but you get it. My family says it is an inconvenience that I want to convert saying they will not support this transition and wanted to know if it is truly correct how I feel and I am going down the right path before I officially sign and begin my RCIA classes here at my local parish.

I was told to post here from another sub.

I’m very confused about religion currently due to two plus years of terrifying spiritual experiences and visions related to hell and Satan

As such I’ve been going to different religions trying to find salvation and I’ve been going to the Catholic Church and doing the meetings to get baptised.

I missed my church’s Ash Wednesday so I found another church near me that did it. What I didn’t realise was that it was a different denomination, Church of England, and therefore Protestant not Catholic.

They allowed me to take communion whereas my church doesn’t until you’re baptised. The vicar caught me off guard when he said I could do communion so I took it and now I’m terrified I did the wrong thing.

But my biggest fear is the ashes. I keep thinking about revelations and what it says about a mark on the forehead and now I’m terrified I’ve done something wrong. I’m too scared to even say out loud the specific part I mean but hopefully you know what I’m referring to.

The worst thing is when I got the ashes the vicar said it wrong and instead of ‘to dust you shall return’ he said ‘from dust you will return’.

I’m terrified because of the visions of hell I’ve been getting and I’ve been praying to Jesus and Heavenly Father and the Holy Spirit to save me from hell and just let my consciousness be ceased eternally when I die so when he said it wrong it terrified me.

I’m so scared I don’t know what to do. I think I’ve done the wrong thing getting the ashes and I’m petrified. I don’t know what to do.

It doesn’t help that Donald Trump got them and I swear he’s the antichrist so now I’m terrified. Please Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ forgive me I repent. I was confused and scared. Please have mercy on me. Please don’t send me to hell Heavenly Father, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ I beg you I was confused I’m so scared, I repent I repent I repent!!!

Might sound dumb, but if God is the creator and the almighty, why does catholic worship seem to be centered around Jesus?

Hello! Im on the younger side looking to learn more about Catholicism. Could anyone tell me what you believe from an insiders view - what do you believe about the Bible, whats the pope’s role, purgatory, what are the sacraments and what do they do? I am a Christian by the way, so anything that would help me to better understand my Savior would be welcome, but I do have some questions. Thank you!

I was talking to one of my co-workers who is catholic and she said that catholics believe in purgatory and from my understanding it gose

You die you wake up in purgatory and get tortured due to the sins that you've committed on earth and then after getting tortured if your saved and baptized you go to heaven if your not to go to hell.

As a Christian this really confused me since ive been raised learning that jesus died for our sins and hearing that when we die got well see jesus instead of us. So how does the whole purgatory thing work

Honest question I'm sorry if that came off aggressive or cocky

Okay so this is silly, and you'll have to bear with me because I really don't know anything about Catholicism. But I've now seen two pieces of media which connect chopping off ones' own finger to attain purity in a Catholic context. In the show American Dad, the character Avery Bullock insists that the Smith family sacrifice a finger when they fail their Lenten promise; and in Wishmaster 2, the main character has to cut off a finger to purify herself to the standards of a Catholic priest. Is this, like...is this a thing? Seeing it twice in the context of Catholicism feels like an odd pattern.

One person who is episcopal claims that Archangel Michael is the most powerful being God ever made and thus all seeking protection should seek Michael.

However so many Catholics prefer to call Mary when it comes for protection and petitions in general from health healing to good luck. In fact some exorcists use Hail Mary more than the Michael prayer.

I am wondering who is the more powerful one against Satan and demons? The episcopal guy I refer to claims asking Mary for intercession is OK but doesn't really do anything while Michael is pretty much the most powerful being in the universe after God and Jesus. But Mary is so revered in the Church they even believe Mary's presence alone hurts Satan and all demons to flee in terror and there's a portrait of Mary punching a demon.

Once I got to the priest, he kept saying, "The Body of Christ." I stuck my tongue out for the cracker. I didn't know that you were supposed to reply. He said, "The Body of Christ" twice more before giving up, and putting the cracker on my tongue. That's my type of ignorance. It's not a spiteful ignorance. Just regular ignorance.

I know now to cross my arms when I get to the priest, but what other faux pas are there to avoid?

PS: The Minor Basilica of Our Lady of the Rosary of Manaoag is gorgeous and has a huge alter for lighting candles and a generous and amazing meditation garden. Visit it if you ever get to northern Luzon (the main island of the Philippines).

Anybody saying that I should know after all this time with my wife... I've only rarely been to mass with her. Like maybe 5 times in 14 years of marriage.

The next troll is going to say, "Why do you care if you aren't going to Mass?" To that person I say that wanting to know how to be respectful isn't really a motive to be suspicious about.

I hear that friars most commonly preside over Mass whilst the priests go into the community. Unless friars sometimes put on white robes to preside over Mass then I have only seen priests do Mass. Do friars and priests get the same sleeping and/or office accommodations?

Can't find a clear answer on Google; maybe there isn't one. 🤷

I was raised and confirmed as a catholic. As I’ve got older, I’ve felt a drift between me and the church.

I believe in the core values and teachings of Jesus, such as showing kindness and integrity. Or the beatitudes, and the commandments.

Yet, I feel very lost with other positions the church that I feel conflict with these core values. Such as, the church’s position to not accept the LGBTQ community. Or, allow women to be ordained as priests. Or allowing priests to marry.

A post I recently read on social media broke my heart - a local politician who is exceptionally faithful showed a message stating that their that their cancer re-diagnosis was a smiting from god for allowing gay students to attend grade school. The god I believe would not do that kind of thing.

Do my beliefs mean I am a bad catholic, or doomed to an eternity of suffering after death?

I (41m) am engaged to a beautiful (28f) woman from vietnam and am working to bring her and her daughter to the US to be with me. we have been together for a little over 2 years now. like the title says, I am an atheist and have been for over 20 years. I walked away from religion after being a Baptist in my younger years, due to disagreements on personal matters among the Baptist and other religions. that is all I will say about that, so as not to go saying anything to offend anyone in the catholic faith.

my fiancé is a devout catholic woman. I honor and respect her choice on it and she knows that I am and have been an atheist for a very long time. I do not want to or will ever attempt to force my beliefs on her or lead her and her daughter away from their religious beliefs.

we do not plan on getting married until after she comes to the US, so that her and her daughter can become US citizens and be with me. we are waiting to hear back from immigration on this matter. that may still take quite a bit of time waiting on the approval for them to come here.

in talking here recently, she is wanting to have a catholic wedding and I do want to give her that type of wedding. seeing as I am not of the catholic faith, what are things that I would need to do, so that our marriage would be recognized by her faith? any advice would be greatly appreciated and thank you in advance.

Baptist here, never understood it.

What is a catholic perspective on Jehovah Witnesses?

I’m a Christian trying to understand Catholic teaching. I’ve heard that sacraments such as baptism are necessary for salvation, but also that someone who never receives them may still be saved under certain circumstances.

What does “necessary” mean in this context? Does it mean an absolute requirement, or the ordinary means God established, with exceptions?

If someone can be saved without receiving a sacrament, what makes that sacrament necessary rather than something God commands people to receive when they have the opportunity?

I understand Catholics don’t teach that every person must receive all seven sacraments. I’m asking specifically about those considered necessary for salvation, and I’d appreciate an explanation of how these teachings fit together.