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Hamid from Tehran, Iran wrote:

Hi, guys —

  • How are you?

My name is Hamid from Tehran and I am doing a research paper about the Catholic religion. If it's possible, can you please help me with the following questions?

  • What are the ways to achieve spiritual Catholicism?
    • By being a priest or higher level clergy?
  • Should I spend money on a university course?
    There is no university in this area.
  • Ritual wear spiritual authority in the Catholic religion (e.g., priest, etc.) How?

Thanks a lot. If you can answer quickly it would be appreciated.

Hamid

  { Can you answer some questions for an Iranian from Tehran doing a paper on the Catholic religion? }

Mike replied:

Dear Hamid,

Thank-you for your questions. We welcome them!

It is always good and spiritually healthy to ask questions about the faith. For this I applaud you. I will do my best to answer your questions based on where you are currently living. Allow me to preface my answers with a mini-commentary.

You said:

  • What are the ways to achieve spiritual Catholicism?
    • By being a priest or higher level clergy?
  • Should I spend money on a university course?
    There is no university in this area.

Everyone who has been born into this world, has a special calling. God calls us to serve Him in different ways. We can discover this calling by praying to Him. Although the Catholic Church has formal prayers, we encourage every one to also answer this call with your own private prayer, like:

"Lord Jesus Christ, if you are the True God, who created me for a purpose in life, please show me what my calling is in this life."

Simple! Just say this prayer on a daily basis.

There is no one calling that is better than another.

  • some are called to be married, become Christian mothers and raise a family
  • some are called to be married, become Christian fathers and raise a family
  • some are called to be religious, either priests, or religious monks or nuns, or
  • some are called to serve the Lord, individually, as single people, in a special area.

If you wish to learn more and you have ways to get around Iranian government censorship, this posting link (below) from a visitor from Iraq may help. It has favorite resources to on-line versions of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. This will allow you to read about what we believe as Catholics and to grow in knowledge of the Catholic faith:

Finally, let me answer your question directly. We can grow in spiritual Catholicism by:

  • developing a prayer life
  • if possible in Iran, becoming a Catholic Christian, and
  • receiving the sacraments (The sacraments Hamid are very powerful helpers for Catholics.)

You should only spend money for university courses on Catholicism if you know the Church or Pope has approved them. My advice: As long as you have an internet connection, use the favorite resources in the posting (above) to learn more about what we believe.

https://www.scborromeo2.org/catechism-of-the-catholic-church <- Send this Catechism link to others in Iran who want to know more about the Catholic faith.

You can also try to get a physical copy of a Catechism sent to you in Tehran. Below is a link to Amazon.com where you can have one shipped to you:

Catechism of the Catholic Church: Revised in Accordance With the Official Latin Text Promulgated by Pope St. John Paul II

You said:
Ritual wear spiritual authority in the Catholic religion (e.g., priest, etc.) How?

I am having a hard time understanding your question.

The spiritual authority in the Catholic religion comes mainly from deacons, priests, bishops and cardinals. These are special people who are called by the Lord to serve Him.

  • How?

By a special sacrament called Holy Orders. Holy Orders is a sacrament that makes a man a priest; only men can be priests because Jesus was a man. This posting will tell you more about the vestments priests wear:

We have received similar questions to be interviewed about our faith by people who know nothing about the Catholic faith. I think you will find these postings helpful in your understanding of what Catholics believe:

I would encourage you to make connections with other Iranians and Iraq Christians via the web interested in the Catholic faith. Maybe you can make some friends!

Try to buy a physical copy of the Catechism here:

I hope this helps,

Mike

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