What Catholic teaching or doctrine do you find most challenging or difficult to understand and why?
The 5th Commandment (just kidding ; )
I really don’t 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 I’m glad He did and I’m glad He does.
I do get it, because I hate it when individuals without children will say, I don’t know if I’d 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 isn’t as isn’t. However, the challenge is what keeps me thriving in the knowledge.
I’m in agreement with all Catholic Dogma, and Truths.
I’m 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 “…be it done to me according to your word” 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.
Ecumenism. We used to want those around us to become catholic to get to heaven. Now it doesn’t 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 don’t think many will be converted to Christ’s 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 I’m 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 Mormon’s 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.
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, “the Church, a pilgrim now on earth, is necessary for salvation: the one Christ is mediator and the way of salvation.” 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.
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 “according to Aquinas” or “Aquinas says” I immediately feel myself getting disgruntled. Christianity did just fine for the first 1,000 years without Aristotle or Aquinas. They weren’t 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 don’t 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 “like” was in response to the Church’s 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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