Hi, Matt —

Thanks for the question.

You said:
I wish to be confirmed but I am having difficulty in choosing the right church.

Confirmation in the Catholic Church is the personal choice the candidate makes in choosing Jesus as their Personal Savior and His Church. That said, you wouldn't be able to be confirmed in the Catholic Church and attend a SDA church because when you receive Holy Communion at Mass, you would be saying that you are in a Common Union with the Church when you are really not — by attending a SDA service.

You said:
They both hold the right doctrines.

No they don't. Someone should not choose a Church because:

• they are challenged
  
• it makes them feel good, or
  
• encourages them.
  

No, one should choose a Church because they believe it is a truth-telling Church on matters of faith and eternal salvation. Any Christian should choose the Catholic Church because despite:

• occasional bad behavior in the Church, and
  
• counter cultural teachings that won't make you popular
  

it is the only Church Jesus founded on St. Peter and his successors.

Our Lord could have chosen to stay on earth from generation to generation to save mankind,
but He Chose to have the faithful of His Church run and administer Her until His Second Coming. The behavior in the Church may be occasionally bad, sermons may not be as good as
they could, but the teachings will never change from what Jesus wants all His Christians to believe.

You may be interested in my favorites page:

• My Favorites page

The best way I can think of addressing issues raised by Seventh Day Adventists is by reading some of the postings from our knowledge base:

https://www.AskACatholic.com/SiteSearch

There are a lot of quick answers there, so give it a try. I searched the knowledge base for you and found these web postings that should help.

Plus look at my:

• When was your Church founded page

Seventh Day Adventism was originated by Ellen Gould White in 1860 over 1820 years after Jesus' Ascension into Heaven by a woman Jesus said nothing about. There is no ill-will here.
I'm just presenting the historical reality of the issue.

• How can you know that she is not one of the false prophets Jesus and St. Paul warned all Christians about?
  

If you have any other questions just reply or use the AskUs quick link:

https://www.AskACatholic.com/AskUs

You said:
The biggest question I have relates to Saturday observance. I feel compelled to worship on the Sabbath (Saturday) but Catholic parishes do not hold any formal Mass on Saturday.

• Why, when as Christians, we all acknowledge that Jesus rose from the dead on
  Easter Sunday?
  

If you were an orthodox Jew, what you say would make sense but as a Christian, as St. Paul say:

If Christ has not been raised, then our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain.

1 Corinthians 15:14

All Christians worship on Sunday and if you are in a situation where your company does not respect Christian worship and forces you to work on Sunday, all Catholic parishes have a vigil Mass on Saturday evenings for this reason so don't be concerned about that.

Finally you said:

• Will God punish me for attending a Seventh-Day church instead of a Catholic parish?

Those who know the Catholic Church to be the true and only Church Jesus founded, yet refuse to enter, cannot be saved.

Those who don't know this, yet seeking God and His Church with a sincere heart will be judged based on (what they knew) and (what they didn't know) and the actions that accompanied that knowledge. Everyone has some knowledge. The Church calls it the Natural Law.

Check out my new site too. I think you will find it any eye opener:

• BibleBeltCatholics.com
• The Early Church Fathers on Sunday or the Sabbath.

I hope this helps,

Mike

Matt,

Thank you for your sincere and heartfelt inquiry into the truth.

There are many differences between SDA and Catholic doctrines and the Sabbath worship is one of them. First let me say that you can worship on Saturday at any Catholic Church at a vigil Mass which is usually held at either 4pm or 5pm. This counts as your Sabbath observance.

The issue of Sabbath observance comes down to a question of authority. The SDA believes that no man has the right to change the Sabbath observance for God established it in the Ten Commandments. Almost all other Christians observe Sunday because the Early Church had changed observance to the Lord's Day of Resurrection, Sunday. They did this because they had been given the power to make laws governing the Church, for example cf. Matthew chapters 16, 18, and 28 for starters. Then look at the councils of the early church and how many observances were changed just in Acts alone.

The Catholic Church is the only Church that is consistent on this issue. We accept the unbroken continuity of authority transmitted by Christ to His Church built on the Apostles and Peter.

• Why do the rest of the Protestants go along with us on this but not so many other things?

They are picking and choosing. The Canon of Scripture is another formidable issue that they rely on the authority of the Catholic Church — for there is:

• no criteria
• no list
• no imperative to write
• no formula whatsoever

for determination of what belongs to the Canon of Scripture without the authoritative Church, guided by the Holy Spirit, to ratify it. The best Protestants can give you is a very fallible collection of infallible books, which amounts simply to fallibility.

When you are looking to discern the right church, keep the broad view in mind. The Catholic claims to authority are the only ones that can be verified through a historical investigation.

Read some good Catholic books that debate these issues and you will find the depth and scope of Catholic teaching you never imagined. Try a classic like Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating, anything by Professor Scott Hahn [other Scott Hahn books] and the Catholic Catechism, which has scores of historical, scriptural and patristic sources cited.

Theology is exciting and challenging, keep going. I am confident that you can come to the truth for all who seek shall find.

Peace,

Bob Kirby