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Nour Haidar wrote:

Hi, guys —

I am taking a Philosophy/World's Religions course and I need to interview someone of a different religion. If interested, please reply to this post and I can send you my e-mail to respond to the interview questions I will post below:

  • How/when did you become Catholic?
  • How do Catholic people differ from Christian people?
  • As a Catholic how do you view the world?
  • What are some things you practice being Catholic?
  • Is there anything you find challenging about being Catholic?
  • Is there anything that being Catholic conflicts with modern American culture?
  • Have you ever doubted your religion?
  • What are your religion's greatest challenges?
  • What kind of holidays do you celebrate being Catholic?

Thank-you for any help you can provide.

Nour Haidar

  { Can you assist me in a Philosophy–Religions course; I need to interview someone of another faith? }

Mike replied:

Dear Nour,

As one who strives to be a faithful, practicing Catholic let me take a shot at your questions.
My colleagues may or may not wish to take part.

You said:

  • How and when did you become Catholic?

I was blessed to become Catholic by birth.

This was the faith of my parents and since they wanted the best for me, they imputed their faith to me at birth by Baptism, like those who did so in the Bible. See the following Biblical passages.

You said:

  • How do Catholic people differ from Christian people?

First, let's state the obvious: Catholics are Christians. Period. Catholics are the very first Christians!! The word Catholic means universal and also according to its totality so the Catholic faith is the Christian faith in its totality.

That said, we have to bring up where we (Catholic Christians and Protestant Christians) agree and where we disagree.

For Christian faith groups that practice a valid Trinitarian Baptism, we are one sacramentally with them, though most reject many of the other six sacraments of the Church; it varies from Protestant congregation to Protestant congregation on this issue.

On faith teachings and doctrines, there are teachings and doctrines we agree on but, in most cases, many more that they reject. What they don't see is that in rejecting the Church's Teachings, they are rejecting Our Blessed Lord's teachings. Remember it is His Church, the Church He founded on St. Peter and his successors. (Matthew 16:13-19).

We are just passing the Good News on!!

The Catholic faith is the first and only Christian faith founded in 33 A.D. by Jesus and His Church teaches all the teachings He wishes His followers to believe.

We do have a very sad state of affairs in our Church today because many, who call themselves Catholic, like Joe Biden and Nancy Pelosi, based on their words and deeds, act like anti-Catholics. (I could care less how many children Ms. Pelosi has had!) They say they are Catholic, but their words and deeds don't reflect the values and actions of faithful, practicing Catholics.

Dissenting Catholics like these depend on the stupidity and ignorance of uncatechized Catholics and cowardice priests afraid to speak up against them in the Church.

We turn to the Catechism of the Catholic Church and the Teaching Magisterium for what we should believe.

You said:

  • As a Catholic how do you view the world?

I view the world as mankind pilgrimaging its way through life, having thrown away his spiritual weapons, with many being spiritually torn to bits, not even knowing it, being led away from basic Christian values and a Christian culture. (Just look at any Massachusetts Congressman or Senator for an example of this.)

When Americans are given the most pro-Catholic president in USA history:

President Donald J. Trump

yet allow a deep state of local election Democrat cheaters rig an election, this country has big problems and when you ask the voter, why didn't they vote for him, they will tell you:

"He hurt my feelings?"

We call this stupid reasoning. President Trump (acting on words and deeds) implemented more pro-Catholic policies than John F. Kennedy!

You said:

  • What are some things you practice being Catholic?

    1. I renew my Christian Covenant every Sunday by going to Sunday Mass in the morning.
    2. I pray my Rosary.
      (I'm a big fan, though it is optional for the faithful) on a regular basis.
    3. I wear a five-fold Scapular which has several devotions to Our Blessed Mother, Mary.
    4. I start each work day with a Prayer to St. Joseph the Worker for his and Our Lord's help at work for that day.
    5. I go to Confession on a regular basis (monthly or more often).

You said:

  • Is there anything you find challenging about being Catholic?

Yes, evangelizing non-Catholic Christians and non-Christians who look at phony false Catholics like Biden and Pelosi, and say, "What a bunch of hypocrites!"

Catholics, whose words and deeds do not reflect Catholic Christian values, are a great scandal in the Church and I pray the Lord will have Mercy at their Particular Judgment. If you don't know what one's Particular Judgment is just google it.

You said:

  • Is there anything that being Catholic conflicts with modern American culture?

Everything we believe conflicts with modern American culture, just as everything Jesus preached rubbed the scribes and Pharisees the wrong way.

Sometimes issues may not appear to conflict with American culture but that's just because:

  • we have way too many uncatechized and poorly-trained Catholic Christians in the Church, and
  • weak, cowardice clergy (including the pope) who don't speak out publicly when they should on important issues of the Church. (i.e. Biden not receiving Communion because he is not in a Common Union with the Church.)

You said:

  • Have you ever doubted your religion?

There may have been a few teachings I had a hard time understanding but despite those struggles, I know based on Jesus' Own Words that the Gates of Hell will not prevail. (Matthew 16:13-19)

  • Why?

Not because it's the pope's Church, but because the Catholic Church is Jesus' Church with Jesus being the King and the pope being like his Prime Minister. (Matthew 16:13-19, again)

You said:

  • What are your religion's greatest challenges?
  1. Cleaning up the terrible seminaries and anti-Christian cultures they have. You can read my commentary here:
    What do the faithful Pittsburgh laity do at this time?
  2. Getting back credibility in the Church, after all the scandals that have happen and continue to happen among clergy and lay people alike.

You said:

  • What kind of holidays do you celebrate being Catholic?

Within the Church's liturgical calendar there are obligated holidays and non-obligated holidays.

Obligated Holidays are called Holy Days of Obligation. The Church celebrates six of them on an annual basis and one on a weekly basis.

There are certain years where these six days may be moved or (abrogated/removed) due to the day it falls on the calendar. The six annual Holy Days of Obligation are:

  • Mary, Mother of God (Saturday, January 1, Obligatory for 2022: No)
  • Ascension Thursday (Thursday, May 26, Obligatory for 2022: Yes)
  • Assumption of Mary (Monday, August 15, Obligatory for 2022: No)
  • All Saints Day (Tuesday, November 1, Obligatory for 2022: Yes)
  • Immaculate Conception (Thursday, December 8, Obligatory for 2022: Yes)
  • Christmas (Sunday, December 25, Obligatory for 2022: Yes)

Although not considered a Holy Day of Obligation by members in the Church, the faithful are obligated to obey the first commandment by going to Sunday Mass on a weekly basis.

The First Commandment:"You shall worship the Lord your God and Him only shall you serve."

We call them obligations because the Precepts of the Catholic Church tell us that celebrating those feast days is a part of the minimum level of commitment to the Catholic faith.

For almost every other day of the year, the Church celebrates other non-obligatory holidays. There are several types of celebrations that fall into the following categories:

• Solemnities
• Feasts
• Memorials, and
• Optional Feasts.

(Optional Feasts are not universally celebrated.)

Almost every day throughout the Church's year, we celebrate one of these non-obligatory holidays. These are days which the Church has set aside as having a special meaning.

Some are events in the life of Christ. Some are days dedicated to a particular saint.

For short: Catholics are party animals : ) We love to celebrate!!

I hope this helps your World Religions course; sorry if it is late : (

Final Note: Each one on the AskACatholic team has to evaluate whether a question infringes on the "Questions we do not answer" criteria, especially No. 1.

When I think that the assignment query in the e-mail is needed to do the assignment and it cannot be done by the questioner, I will go ahead and answer it.

I tend to be more on the liberal side when doing this evaluation.

It goes back to a saying I strongly believe in, and I'm sure my team will agree with me:

  • The only dumb question is the one that is not asked.

Hope this helps,

Mike

Nour replied:

Hi Mike,

  • How are you?

I appreciate you answering my questions for my school interview. If you don't mind, I have just one more question if you are able to answer it.

  • The question is what motivated or inspired you to be a part of a Christian blog?

I also wanted to let you know, in case you were wondering, that I am a third-year student attending California Polytechnic State University of Pomona.

Thank you again for taking time out of your day to respond to my questions.

Nour

Mike replied:

Hi Nour,

Great to hear from you!

We all have callings and vocations in life whether we are aware of them or not. Whether people know it or not, whether it is being taught to them or not, every person born into this world has a specific purpose in life.

At one time, I had a small interest in being a priest; I was very influenced by the Benedictines which, though I am not officially a Benedictine, I have a heart for the order.

Before meeting some Benedictines, I was just as uncatechized as many Catholics are today. After learning a lot from the Benedictines at one point from 1990 to 1995 I discovered the word, "Catholic Apologetics" and was encouraged to follow it by a Presbyterian convert to the Catholic Church, Scott Hahn. If you are not familiar with him you should read some of his literature whether it is via books, videos, CDs, audio tapes etc.

At the same time, I met other like-minded faithful Catholics who also had an interest in Catholic Apologetics. We got together and with the permission of our Cardinal at that time, Cardinal Law, we started a monthly meeting with the Director of Evangelization on how to bring Catholic Apologetics down to the parish level.

You can read more about it here:

To get the word out there, one of my colleagues, Bob Kirby also started broadcasting a radio show, the Catholic Forum on WROL, which he produced and hosted for several years until the financing dried up. When the finances dried up we just when to a at home method of Catholic Evangelization and Apologetics. By the year 2000, we had a searchable on-line database of questions with answers we had given to seeking visitors.

As a side note: I really don't consider my website a blog, as blogs, to my understanding, echo opinion, commentary, and personal stuff.

AskACatholic is generally about none of that. As our header graphic states:

We are a new breed of Catholic Christians who listen, clarify teachings, and correct misperceptions about the True Church Our Blessed Lord Jesus established on St. Peter and his successors in 33 A.D.: the Roman Catholic Church. Dialogue with us!

Yes, we do have helpful resources in various areas to help people but the bread and butter, meat and potatoes of our work is found on the AskACatholic.com Knowledge base tab:

I hope this answers your question.

Mike

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