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Going to a Catholic Church, what should I know

If the Church was against self-study then I have to wonder why the SOP is to give confirmation candidates Bibles.
This "SOP" - it's consistent throughout all Catholic churches?

You know yourself whether you are contrite. God will not be mocked.
This is true. So who's presuming to forgive the contrite person's sins? The priest, or the contrite person?
 
This "SOP" - it's consistent throughout all Catholic churches?

Every one that I've ever been to.

This is true. So who's presuming to forgive the contrite person's sins? The priest, or the contrite person?

"Whose sins you forgive are forgiven, and whose sins you retain are retained." Christ gave his apostles the power to forgive sins.
 
This "SOP" - it's consistent throughout all Catholic churches?

This is true. So who's presuming to forgive the contrite person's sins? The priest, or the contrite person?

I think there is a lot of misconception about what confession is and how it works (or is supposed to) especially among evangelicals/fundamentalists and even among some lay Catholics (usually of the cradle variety). You are not confessing your sins to a priest nor is it the priest who is offering forgiveness and absolution. The priest is merely the human vessel through which God works. There is something powerful about actually saying your sins out loud and physically hearing the words "You are forgiven." Your forgiveness is not dependent on whether or not you complete the assigned penance-grace is a free gift and cannot be earned-but the penance (in theory) is supposed to be a way to make amends with the world for your sins and you do the penance out of obedience and as an expression of love towards God and your fellow man.
 
I think there is a lot of misconception about what confession is and how it works (or is supposed to) especially among evangelicals/fundamentalists and even among some lay Catholics (usually of the cradle variety). You are not confessing your sins to a priest nor is it the priest who is offering forgiveness and absolution.
If not the priest, then who is in the other half of the confessional box hearing the confession and giving absolution via the Catholic church's sacrament of penance?

The priest is merely the human vessel through which God works. There is something powerful about actually saying your sins out loud and physically hearing the words "You are forgiven."
Psychologically, I'm sure there is. So rather than the priest, it is God then who is hearing the confession and giving penance and absolution? Is God the one who tells the priest how many 'hail Mary's' or 'Our Fathers' the penitent one must recite before He'll absolve them of their guilt and put them back into a state of grace?

Your forgiveness is not dependent on whether or not you complete the assigned penance-grace is a free gift and cannot be earned-but the penance (in theory) is supposed to be a way to make amends with the world for your sins and you do the penance out of obedience and as an expression of love towards God and your fellow man.
If the priest doesn't complete the sacrament of penance then, is the penitent in, or not in a "state of grace?"

But, how is it uttering some 'hail Marys,' or 'our Fathers' works to "makes amends with the world" or express love towards your fellow man? I've not heard that before.

Don't get me wrong, I fully believe in in confession, repentance, forgiveness, and obedience to His Word. I'm just wondering what, for Catholics, the point of the priest is in all that.
 
If not the priest, then who is in the other half of the confessional box hearing the confession and giving absolution via the Catholic church's sacrament of penance?

The priest acts in persona Chrisi.

Sacraments are the visible sign of invisible grace.
 
She's headed to the doctor and suspects she has pneumonia. The church thing will happen, but right now the focus is on her getting well.

Send warmth and prayers her way please.
 
She's headed to the doctor and suspects she has pneumonia. The church thing will happen, but right now the focus is on her getting well.

Send warmth and prayers her way please.

Hope she feels better soon. Report back, will you?
 
I think there is a lot of misconception about what confession is and how it works (or is supposed to) especially among evangelicals/fundamentalists and even among some lay Catholics (usually of the cradle variety). You are not confessing your sins to a priest nor is it the priest who is offering forgiveness and absolution. The priest is merely the human vessel through which God works. There is something powerful about actually saying your sins out loud and physically hearing the words "You are forgiven." Your forgiveness is not dependent on whether or not you complete the assigned penance-grace is a free gift and cannot be earned-but the penance (in theory) is supposed to be a way to make amends with the world for your sins and you do the penance out of obedience and as an expression of love towards God and your fellow man.
I can't help but interject a humorous take on the subject (from one of my favorite movies):



"It was great to be Catholic and go to confession - you could start over every week"! :mrgreen:
 
Hope she feels better soon. Report back, will you?

We finally went. After her feeling better, we kept having things happen last minute. We finally decided we were going anyway and made it happen. I was so frustrated last week at life events I almost went alone while she was dealing with a critical issue, but I am glad I waited, because ...

It was certainly a different experience. I suspect there are a lot of basic assumptions behind what was going on that I have not been exposed to so I can't really say I have any impression at all, at least until I feel I have some basic understanding. For example, the reasons behind all the different positions, the kneeling, the singing responses to things, etc. At least it kept me from being bored though, I liked that it was active. I understand basic Christian theology well enough, but there are also some centuries of tradition in addition to that.

Other than that, the acoustics of the place were simply awful and I could not understand most of what was spoken or sung due to the echo. We are going to sit closer next week to try to account for that. I am debating emailing one of the officials of the place to recommend a good 101 book to see if I can do some studying. I think once I understand some of the theory behind this practice, I might form an opinion.

The people were nice though and could tell I was an outsider and were generally very helpful.
 
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We finally went. After her feeling better, we kept having things happen last minute. We finally decided we were going anyway and made it happen. I was so frustrated last week at life events I almost went alone while she was dealing with a critical issue, but I am glad I waited, because ...

It was certainly a different experience. I suspect there are a lot of basic assumptions behind what was going on that I have not been exposed to so I can't really say I have any impression at all, at least until I feel I have some basic understanding. For example, the reasons behind all the different positions, the kneeling, the singing responses to things, etc. At least it kept me from being bored though, I liked that it was active. I understand basic Christian theology well enough, but there are also some centuries of tradition in addition to that.

The importance of the postures is lost without proper catechesis. For instance, why we stand during the Gospel and Gloria, or why we kneel during the Eucharistic Prayer and elevation. There is plenty to study about the Mass, that's for sure.

Other than that, the acoustics of the place were simply awful and I could not understand most of what was spoken or sung due to the echo. We are going to sit closer next week to try to account for that. I am debating emailing one of the officials of the place to recommend a good 101 book to see if I can do some studying. I think once I understand some of the theory behind this practice, I might form an opinion.

The people were nice though and could tell I was an outsider and were generally very helpful.

Good reference about what happens at the Mass, you say? This is probably the most informative one that I know online. Granted, it is for the Traditional Latin Mass, which is going to be very different than what you went to, but it explains much of what the priest does and the importance of the different parts.

https://www.fisheaters.com/TLMinstructions.html

This is the Mass that Catholics celebrated for 1500 years until Vatican II, so the modern Mass is based greatly on this.
 
And this page is a great reference about Catholicism in general if you're coming from a Protestant perspective. It goes beyond the Mass and answers many questions that you may have.

For Protestants
 
We finally went. After her feeling better, we kept having things happen last minute. We finally decided we were going anyway and made it happen. I was so frustrated last week at life events I almost went alone while she was dealing with a critical issue, but I am glad I waited, because ...

It was certainly a different experience. I suspect there are a lot of basic assumptions behind what was going on that I have not been exposed to so I can't really say I have any impression at all, at least until I feel I have some basic understanding. For example, the reasons behind all the different positions, the kneeling, the singing responses to things, etc. At least it kept me from being bored though, I liked that it was active. I understand basic Christian theology well enough, but there are also some centuries of tradition in addition to that.

Other than that, the acoustics of the place were simply awful and I could not understand most of what was spoken or sung due to the echo. We are going to sit closer next week to try to account for that. I am debating emailing one of the officials of the place to recommend a good 101 book to see if I can do some studying. I think once I understand some of the theory behind this practice, I might form an opinion.

The people were nice though and could tell I was an outsider and were generally very helpful.

I'm so glad you had a positive experience. I always like church services during which the Psalm is sung because that's what David wrote--poems intended to be sung.
 
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