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I have a number of questions. I was born Catholic but
really don't know everything I should.
I read the Bible all the time however I don't currently
attend a Catholic parish and I've really wondered about
these questions.
Why does the Church believe in sacraments?
Why do you make the Sign of the Cross after prayers?
Why do Catholics say prayers in repetition like the
Hail Mary, Glory Be and the Rosary?
Why do Catholics pray to and worship Mary and saints?
Why do you have to confess to a priest?
What does Confirmation mean?
Who says that kids should be making their First Holy Communion when they are 7 to 8 years old?
Where in the Bible does it say kids should be making their Confirmation when they are 7 to 8 years old?
How come Sunday Church services don't use the Bible
more?
There are a lot of man-made traditions in it.
Why does the Church have so many man-made rules?
What is the difference between:
Protestant
Jewish
Catholic
Methodist
Born again Christians, and
Jehovah
Witnesses?
What does it mean to be saved?
How do you get to Heaven according to Catholic teachings?
Thank you in advance for all your help.
God Bless,
Dana
{
Can you answer some questions on the sacraments, praying, different faiths, and getting saved? }
Mike
replied:
Hi, Dana —
You said:
Why does the Church believe in
sacraments?
The Church believes in sacraments because history
tells us they were all instituted by Christ before
He ascended into Heaven. Most of the early Christians
who lived from 100 A.D. to 850 A.D. attest to this and
have written about this.
I would suggest you check out a book called: Faith of the Early Fathers; a little pricey, but worth every penny!!
You said:
Why do you make the Sign of the Cross after prayers?
Making the Sign of the Cross either before (and/or)
after prayer reminds us of our Baptism in Christ
and is a way of saying:
"Jesus, we offer up
this prayer to you!" or
"We are addressing
this prayer to you or one of your holy friends."
You said:
Why do Catholics say prayers in repetition like the
Hail Mary, Glory Be and the Rosary?
First we must understand what they are: meditations.
When Catholics recite the twelve prayers that form
a decade of the Rosary, they meditate on the mystery
associated with that decade. If they merely recite
the prayers, whether vocally or silently, they're
missing the essence of the Rosary.
It isn't just
a recitation of prayers, but a meditation on the
lives of Jesus, Our Lord and His parents, Joseph, His foster father, and Mary, His mother. Critics, not knowing about the meditation
part, imagine the Rosary must be boring, uselessly,
repetitious, and meaningless, and their criticism carries
weight if you reduce the Rosary to a formula.
Christ
forbade meaningless repetition (Matthew 6:7), but
the Bible itself prescribes some prayers that involve
repetition. Look at Psalm 136, which is a litany (a prayer with a recurring refrain) meant to be
sung in the Jewish Temple. In Psalm 136 the refrain
is His mercy endures forever. Sometimes
in Psalm 136 the refrain starts before a sentence
is finished, meaning it is far more repetitious
than the Rosary, though this prayer was written
directly under the inspiration of God.
It is the meditation on the mysteries that make praying the
Rosary meritorious.
** Note: Mary's Assumption and Coronation are implied in Revelation Chapter 12 and in other Biblical references. Both events are part of the (Oral) Tradition of the Church which has been passed down through the centuries to this day.
For more of the Biblical passages to meditate on when praying the Rosary go here:
Holy Scriptures in the Rosary. A Biblical Basis for Meditating On Jesus Christ in the Rosary Mysteries with Old Testament Prophesies and Types and New Testament Gospel Witness From Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, The Acts of the Apostles, and Revelation.
You said:
Why do Catholics pray to and worship
Mary and saints?
We Don't Worship Mary Or The Saints!
We pray to Mary and to the saints. We honor those,
God honors.
Your possible reply:
But why can't I pray
straight to Jesus?
You can!
I do, all the time!! but . . .
We see prayer as a family affair because that's
the way the Bible sees it.
Because the Bible tells us in John 20:19-23. Jesus is speaking to his very first priests:
19 On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I send you." 22And when He had said this, he breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained."
In confessing to a priest, I'm obeying Jesus! This is the way Jesus instituted the Sacrament
of Reconciliation. The priest is Jesus for the parish and (any priest of any parish) is prohibited from mentioning anything said in any Confession he hears under the pain of being excommunicated from the Church. We refer to this as the Seal of Confession.
The Early Church Christians wrote a lot about this.
You said:
What does Confirmation mean?
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
Article 2: The Sacrament of Confirmation.
.
. 1285 Baptism, the Eucharist, and the sacrament of Confirmation together constitute the sacraments of Christian initiation, whose unity must be safeguarded. It must be explained to the faithful that the reception of the sacrament of Confirmation is necessary for the completion of baptismal grace. (cf. Roman Ritual, Rite of Confirmation (Ordo Confirmarionis), Introduction 1) For by the sacrament of Confirmation, [the baptized] are more perfectly bound to the Church and are enriched with a special strength of the Holy Spirit. Hence they are, as true witnesses of Christ, more strictly obliged to spread and defend the faith by word and deed. (Vatican II, Lumen Gentium 11; cf. Ordo Confirmarionis, Introduction 2)
You said:
Who says that kids should be making their First Holy Communion when they are 7 to 8 years old?
Where in the Bible does it say kids should be making their Confirmation when they are 7 to 8 years old?
Why does the Church have so many man-made rules?
First, the Church was founded by Christ before
he went to Heaven. Jesus, gave the authority
of His (Christ's Church) to St. Peter and his successors
to govern his Church and protect it from incorrect/wrong
teachings. See Matthew 16:13-19 and 1 Timothy 3:15.
So when the Church makes a decision on faith or
morals or even on matters of discipline, it is a decision made by Christ.
Example: Why do people go to Church on Sunday?
The Bible says the Lord's Day is Saturday. The
reason: Christ rose from the dead on Sunday; and the
Church, using the wisdom of Christ, changed the
day from Saturday to Sunday.
I find it semi-humorous that Protestants protest the Teachings of the Catholic Church, yet obey Her moral discipline to change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. No where in the Bible is it taught to worship the Lord on Sunday.
The same is true for your question, Who says that kids should be making their First Holy Communion when they are 7 to 8 years old?
Because
Christ (through the Church) has decided that the age of
reason for a person is age seven. As you may know,
Catholics believe Jesus is really present in the
Eucharist: Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity! It
would be incorrect for the Church to decide that
some boys/girls should receive Our Blessed Lord when they
don't understand what it is they are receiving; they would then be receiving Our Lord with no
reverence or understanding.
You said:
How come Sunday Church services
don't use the Bible more? There are a lot of
man-made traditions in it.
I don't understand?
The liturgy of the Mass is 96 percent made
up of Bible verses.
The first part of the Church ceremony, or Holy
Mass, is listening to the Word of God, the Bible.
The second portion of the Mass is the Eucharistic
prayer which is almost all biblical.
Why do we
have the Eucharistic Prayer?
Because Jesus, on
the night before His death, said: Do this in remembrance of Me.
Once again, Catholics are just obeying Jesus. We
are Biblical Christians.
You said:
What is the difference between
Protestant, Jewish, Catholic, Methodist, Born again
Christians, and Jehovah Witnesses?