What Catholic teaching or doctrine do you find most challenging or difficult to understand and why?
The 5th Commandment (just kidding ; )
I really donât find anything struggling, because the Catholic Christian Faith makes logical sense to me.
If I had to choose one though, it would be the Holy Trinity. I believe in the Trinity, but I find it difficult to understand. Jesus and the Holy Spirit existed before angels and human beings, but God the Father was not content in loving and being loved by His Son and the Spirit, so He created us to love and be loved? I mean Iâm glad He did and Iâm glad He does.
I do get it, because I hate it when individuals without children will say, I donât know if Iâd have enough love or resources to have more than x amount of children. But, those of us who do have children certainly do know that there is more than enough love to go around.
Does any of this make sense?
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Learning everything, it is isnât as isnât. However, the challenge is what keeps me thriving in the knowledge.
Iâm in agreement with all Catholic Dogma, and Truths.
Iâm not in agreement with those trying to change the Church and her Truths.
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I must clarify something. The Son and the Spirit have existed with the Father and equal to Him as one God from all eternity. But JESUS did not exist until Mary said ââŚbe it done to me according to your wordâ because He is both human and divine. All Christian dogma about God is drawn from revelation and is impossible to understand; theology tries to find words to explain what we believe, but it all concerns the infinitely mysterious God who will be eternally beyond our human reason.
At present, though, the revelation that befuddles me is how the Son can be both infinite and finite at the same time. I have to try to remember that God transcends space and time and so He is whole and entire everywhere. I suppose soon it will be some other Divine Truth that takes over my mind. But I believe everything that the Church sets forth as Divine Truth. What I try to focus on is that all our faith and hope depend on two things that God cannot do. He cannot cease to exist and He cannot stop loving.
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Ecumenism. We used to want those around us to become catholic to get to heaven. Now it doesnât matter?
I have been on both sides of this. I want individuals to come to Jesus first. I Pray that the Holy Spirit will lead these individuals into a deeper relationship with Him, which Jesus offers through His apostolic Church.
When you see Baptists standing on the street corner shouting that people are going to Hell will this win them to Christ? It might work on some, but more than likely will push most further away. Similarly, I donât think many will be converted to Christâs Church by similar actions. I have a friend who is returning to her Mormon Faith. We can have interesting and respectful conversations about what each of us believes. I Pray for her conversion often and Iâm sure she Prays for me.
If she told me I had to convert to Mormonism, it would not sway me to do so. Likewise, if I told her she has to convert to the Catholic Christian Church (which Mormons already believe is not the Church founded by Jesus through the Apostles). I can share with her where the Mormonâs are wrong on this. She is free to accept the truth or to reject the truth.
Christ led with mercy and then shared the truth with the humble and led with the truth to those who are prideful. You have to know your audience. Are they heart people (lead with beauty). Are they head people (lead with truth). Have they been hurt by the church (lead with mercy). Have they never been to Church (lead with friendship).
There is a balance between sharing the truth and gentleness (1 Peter 3:15; Philippians 4:5; Titus 3:2). We must not present one at the expense of the other.
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Our Readings this Sunday kind of have to do with speaking the truth.
Regarding ecumenism: Yes, it matters. The Second Vatican Council, in Lumen Gentium, #14, wrote, âthe Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is mediator and the way of salvation.â But that does not mean that only Catholics will get to heaven. I am not a theologian, and there is too much for me to summarize without the danger of serious error. The Decree on Ecumenism of the Council is on the Vatican website: www.vatican.va.
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I appreciate your humility and charity here. I like what Bishop Fulton Sheen said. He said when we get to Heave there will be 3 surprises: One, who is not there. Two, who is there. And three, that I am there.
For me, the reliance on philosophy, especially Aquinas and Aristotle is especially frustrating.
Aristotle was a pagan and Aquinas lived over 1,000 years after Christ and the Apostles. When an apologist or media personality immediately starts an answer to a question with the words âaccording to Aquinasâ or âAquinas saysâ I immediately feel myself getting disgruntled. Christianity did just fine for the first 1,000 years without Aristotle or Aquinas. They werenât Christ, apostles, or popes. Definitely not infallible.
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The living sacrifice is The Host, for animal blood returned flesh the the Bosom of Abraham, the blood of God returns flesh to Heaven.
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To MDD2299
Excellent post, my thoughts exactly.
Aquinas was wrong about some very important issues and I much dislike Aristotle.
I donât have a problem with philosophy in general as I believe some thoughts are guided by the Holy Spirit. Nor do I have a problem with Aristotle being a pagan. King Cyrus who ended the Babylonian exile in the Old Testament was also a pagan . My âlikeâ was in response to the Churchâs strong reliance on Aquinas as opposed to other philosophers of the same era like St. Bonaventure and Blessed John Duns Scotus.
I do not believe in the Catechism teaching on conscience. It says conscience must always be followed no matter what. I have had a Bishop and a priest tell me they would commit murder if they believed in conscience that they should. This is revolting and demonic.
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Corruption or Perception of corruption in our Hiracky. Diocese politics. Very disturbing to see some of it happening.
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I see this happening in our country now.
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Awesome thoughts jmj! I really like what you had to say here. I wouldnât discount understanding theology all together, but I definitely agree that we donât know it all, and that there is a lot of mystery, especially when it comes to The Holy Trinity.
two teachings puzzle me. One is catholic, the other is kind of âwhy is this not in catholic teachingâ?
The teaching on marriage, I mean the annulment concept, that you can actually divorce someone that you are married to and marry another, which Jesus says would in all cases be a matter of adultery. I am puzzled by how that would work out
The teaching of Lordship salvation, that Jesus must be the Lord of your life, how it is that that teaching is not prominent in the catholic church like it is in evangelical churches. I get the impression, that it rates as some kind of âextraâ only for the holy order people.
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Hi Peter, Iâm Jason, nice to meet you. 
I know what you mean about Lordship salvation, what kind of Christian thinks they can get into heaven without making Jesus Lord of their life? Right?
Luke 6:46
The Two Foundations
(Mt 7:21â27)
46 âWhy do you call me âLord, Lord,â and do not do what I tell you?
The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989), Lk 6:46.