What Catholics Believe: Part 1

It's been awhile hasn't it?

I want to return to the conversations I've had with "Joe." We've met twice so far. I have posted the entire conversation from our first meeting. I am going to begin posting the conversation from our second meeting. He was not sure when he'd be able to meet again with Thanksgiving coming up and so he hasn't scheduled another meeting yet.

I met with “Joe” on October 23^rd to have our second discussion. I have been keeping him up-to-date on my health issues so he knows that I have not forgotten our agreement regarding the blog. He understood and also wanted me to again relay his thanks for all the comments. He especially has found great relief in the comments of those who have spoken of struggling to grasp their faith. He said “I don’t feel so alone or that I am odd for asking questions.” So, I want to also thank you for your comments and encourage you to continue to post them. Although I cannot always respond to all the comments, I will certainly try.

Our second conversation began with me simply asking him what he would like to discuss. I wanted to allow him to choose where and how our conversation would go. He began saying:

Joe: “I want to talk about some of the things that Catholics do that confuse me.” We talked about both faith and good deeds last time and I have prayed on that a lot. “Now I want to know why Catholics do certain things that seem to go against the bible.”

Fr. Chris: We can discuss that. What specifically do you have questions about?

Joe: “Why do Catholics pray to saints? Why do Catholics pray to statues? Why do Catholics worship Mary? Why do Catholics have to go to confession?”

Fr. Chris: Those are all good questions, so let’s take them in order ok?

Joe: That's fine with me. Starting with the saints, “Catholics pray to the saints instead of praying to Jesus. It’s like they are lesser gods that they worship. The bible says you shall have no other gods but me” (probably a reference to Deut. 5:7). Catholics worship the saints as gods.

Fr. Chris: I see how that might be confusing to you. Let’s begin with how Catholics view saints. Catholics don’t worship the saints, but we do honor them.

Joe: “I don’t get it. What’s the difference between worship and honor? They seem the same to me.”

Fr. Chris: We worship God. He is the only God who we worship. We honor the saints. Honor is giving respect for someone because of who they are or what they have done. We call a court judge “Your Honor” as a sign of respect for his position. We honor the U.S. veterans for their service to the country. In the same way, we honor the saints for how they lived their lives and for how they can be an example to us in living our lives.

Joe: Ok, I can see that, but that still leaves Catholics praying to saints. “If the saints are not gods why do Catholics pray to them?”

Fr. Chris: Actually Catholics are asking the saints to intercede for us to Jesus. We are not praying to the saints like they were gods. We are asking the saints to pray to Jesus for us…to intercede on our behalf.

Joe: “Ok, but we are only supposed to pray to God through Jesus. St. Paul says, 'There is only one mediator between God and us, Jesus Christ.' Asking the saints to pray to God for us goes against that“(a reference to 1 Timothy 2:5).

Fr. Chris: It might seem so, but we do it all the time. Have you ever said to a friend, “Pray for me?”

Joe: “Well, yes. But that’s not the same thing.”

Fr. Chris: Why not? Aren’t you asking your friend to intercede on your behalf?

Joe: “Well, yes but its different.”

Fr. Chris: Why? Doesn’t it go against what St. Paul said?

Joe: “No. He’s right there beside me and I am just asking him to say a prayer for me.”

Fr Chris: We are doing the same thing. We are asking the saints to pray for us. If your friend is right there beside you and you are asking him to pray for you, doesn’t it make even more sense to ask the saints, who are in heaven with Jesus, to pray for us?

Joe: I never thought of it that way. I think I am ok with that. "I’m not sure I would pray to the saints, but I guess its not really different then asking a friend."

posted by: crossman at 16:04 | link | comments (1) |
blog

I have an ouchie!

I am sorry for not blogging in almost 2 weeks but unfortunately I had a minor accident...I broke my foot. The short story is that I was helping the high school youth on Oct. 28th and turned my ankle. I thought I had a bad sprain but it kept hurting. Finally I went to the doctor on Monday and was told that I have a probable hairline fracture and that I'd been walking on it for over a week. Today I got fitted with a walking boot which is much better than the crutches I had.

Anyway, I've been just trying to do my responsibilities at the parish and so blogging, I am sorry to say, dropped on the list of things to do. However, Monday I will post part 1 of our second conversation I had with "Joe" and also respond to the comments we received, which I would like to thank all those who posted them for their insights. Hopefully, in my conversation with "Joe" some of the questions raised in the comments can be answered as well. Until next time...God bless.

posted by: crossman at 17:56 | link | comments (1) |
blog