Hi Maribel,

Thanks for e-mailing.

We usually don't reply to e-mails like these because there is no question in your e-mail. (Check out, Questions we won't answer. #4.) The title of this posting is what I think you meant to ask us.

Comfort should not be the primary factor when choosing what church to attend.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 states:

That said, it is sad that some Catholic parishes do not offer a comfortable atmosphere and a challenging, intellectual environment, that encourages the "lay faithful of Christ" or Christifideles. Nevertheless, there is only one Church that has the fullness of Truth that Jesus wishes all mankind to have: the Catholic Church.

If a Catholic "leaves" the Church to attend another non-Catholic Christian denomination, he/she may be more intellectually challenged, but has stopped believing many of the teachings Our Lord would wish them to believe. This probably is because they were poorly catechized, like me, when they were young. Whether they know it or not, they have implicitly accepted the general teaching agreed on by all Protestant denominations: that is, the Catholic Church is wrong in what She officially teaches. As a matter of fact, many Protestant congregations consist of former Catholics who were hurt by a scandalous member of the Church or who have rejected one of the Church's teachings because it would require them to change their lifestyle.

One important note, is when a Catholic makes their Sunday obligation, by attending Mass and receiving the Blessed Sacrament, then goes down the street to a non-Catholic Christian denomination for their service and for their "communion", they are living a lie!

• What do I mean?

When a Catholic receives the Blessed Sacrament on Sundays they not only receive the grace to guide them morally throughout the week, but they are also making a public statement to their Catholic parish, that they believe all of what the Catholic Church teaches. They are in a Common Union or Communion with Jesus!

When Sunday Mass ends, and they go down the street to another non-Catholic Christian congregation, they are publicly making another statement, in the non-Catholic Christian congregation, that contradicts the statement they publicly made in the Catholic parish.

If a Protestant becomes a Catholic, they are believing more, and really receiving more. Not only are they accepting all of the Teachings Jesus wishes them to know, they are also receiving His own Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity in the Eucharist, to assist (him/her) in fulfilling the unique calling Our Lord has for each of us from the beginning of time.

You said:
Nevertheless, I still go to the church here.

You shouldn't be going to another friend's Baptist church while going to your local Catholic parish and receiving Holy Communion for the reasons I've stated.

As I stated earlier, when you go to a friend's Protestant Bible Study, you are implicitly accepting the basic premise that not all the teachings in the Catholic Church are correct. You are saying your are in a "Common Union" or Communion with the Catholic Church but also in "communion" with a Protestant congregation that does not believe in the Catholic Church.

You said:
The other day, I told my mom that I accepted Jesus there.

Well, when you were to young to speak for yourself at your baptism, your father and mother stood in your place and accepted Jesus for you. When you get older, at Confirmation, you make this decision for yourself.

You said:
I ate the bread and drank the wine.

You ate the bread and wine at the Protestant congregation, not at the Catholic parish. Because Protestant Holy Orders are invalid, any attempt to consecrate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ is fruitless. Only a validly ordained Catholic priest or Orthodox priest (who has valid Orders) can do this.

After the consecration at a Catholic Mass, the bread may still taste and look like bread just as the wine will still taste and look like wine. The accidents or senses of the bread and wine: the taste, touch, look, and smell don't change, but the substance, the thing that keeps the bread and wine together, have changed into the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of Our Lord.

I would go out and buy a copy of the Catechism of the Catholic Church and just read a few sections each day.

Start with the section on the Sacraments.

I hope this helps,

Mike

Hi Maribel,

You said:

• I can have two churches right?

No, there are not two Jesus', so you can't have two churches.

There is one Jesus and one Church, He founded on St. Peter and His successors. This was not any Catholic's choice nor was it any Pope's choice. It was Jesus' choice to establish His Church on
St. Peter and His successors, and ascend into Heaven, promising to send the Holy Spirit to guide the Pope and his colleagues, the bishops of the Church, on issues of faith and morals as they arise from generation to generation, and culture to culture.

Many will falsely tell you it's the Pope's Church. That's crazy!

It's Jesus' Church, but He has given Divine authority to the successor of St. Peter, to safeguard and protect the Divine Teachings He wants us to believe. Read 1 Timothy 3:15.

Mike