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"Bad" Catholic mom question on getting children become catholic
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Anonymous
I'm going to guess that that your are not Catholic (practicing anyway). The bolded statement (and pretty much your whole post) makes that clear. And "Mass" should be capitalized. Besides, the poster was just telling it like it is. You can call your local parish to confirm. Maybe they'll sugar-coat it for you a little more, but it's the same message. |
Anonymous
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"Love the throw rocks attitude of DCUM catholics- not good enough"
What else is new? |
Anonymous
You are not helping. You are making the point of the PP for him/her. If your parish holds the same nasty tone and opinions as you, please identify it here so we may all steer clear of it. |
Anonymous
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OP, I understand where you are coming from. I grew up in Latin America where everyone is catholic and religious instruction and life is pretty much a given. Hey, I even went to a Jesuit school growing up (very progressive though).
I have to say, I am now as you say a "bad catholic" just like you. I have 3 kids (baptized) but I have not really given any thought to religious education or sacraments and to be quite honest it just seems like a big hassle and no, we don't ever go to Mass (see I capitalized!) though I do take my kids to church regularly and we pray together. I just realized with this thread that we are really far behind with our oldest (1st grader), but well, it does not bother me. We do not belong to a parish and the one we have close by is just too conservative. I wish we had a Jesuit church in the neighborhood but we don't. According to the PP, I am no longer catholic and live in mortal sin even though I pray every night to the same God of my childhood and have unwavering faith in him. I do remember learning about and all forgiving god at some point....did he kick me out? |
Anonymous
Wait, let's talk about how it really is. 1. I have never seen a church deny communion for lack of weekly attendance. 2. On top of that, 58% of Catholics do not attend weekly mass. 3 It is hard to believe that failure to attend weekly mass is something that truly severs your relationship with God. That's what a mortal sin does. 4. It's hard to believe that Jesus would judge in such a way. Everything in the NT suggests that he was more concerned about faith and love than rigidly following church doctrine. 5. Yes, yes, I know what the church teaches. But it is very difficult these days to find Catholics who observe all aspects of church law. An easy example is birth control. How many married catholics have used it? What is the frequency that we use confession? Sex before marriage? If you dig enough, you find that most catholics have one or another area of church doctrine which they have decided isn't right. And you can give me the "church is not a democracy" speech, but if all the Catholics with contradictions left the faith, mass would be a smattering of families. I say this as someone who attended 6+ masses a week for half his life, and 1+ mass a week thereafter. I think it is hypocritical to wave the catechism at another person. |
Anonymous
No...they need to be confirmed. And the age of confirmation really varies by the parish/diocese. If you really want them to be Catholic then you really need to make the commitment to go to church on a regular basis and learn the teachings, traditions etc. You might also want to start saying prayers at bedtime too. |
Anonymous
Catholic NP here. I know this might get us off topic from OP, but wanted to respond. No, I definitely don't think God kicks you out regardless of what religion you practice. But, like it or not, the Catholic faith is one of those that does lay out expectations and (for lack of a better word) requirements for being a practicing member of that faith. I know that will bring out the Catholic bashers, but there it is. And so while I do think it sounds like you are clearly a person of faith and someone who is deeply spiritual, it does sound like you qualify as a "lapsed Catholic". You also mention that you take your kids to church, but not Mass? I assume that means you are attending some other denomination's services. Again, all goodness and I laud you for it, but not exactly practicing Catholicism. OP, agree with others that CCD through 8th or 9th grade is important to lay the foundation and raise your child Catholic since you mentioned that as a goal. Religious instruction is part of the faith. Some teachers are good, others aren't. They're all volunteers from that parish, so I'd encourage you to get involved in the process. If it is a priority, then yes, I do think you need to view it as another activity equally important as brownies or sports or anything else. It's typically 1x/wk for an hour, and so I hope you can find a way to fit that into your and your child's lives.. |
Anonymous
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I am the poster that went to church on Sunday for the first time, in a long time. It's been six months since I attended church and when I spoke to the priest last week about rejoining the church, he never said anything about my not going being a mortal sin. He didn't advice me not to take communion.
http://www.cuf.org/faithfacts/details_view.asp?ffID=164 "With the whole tradition of the Church, we call mortal sin the act by which man freely and consciously rejects God, His law, the covenant of love that God offers, preferring to turn in on himself or to some created and finite reality, something contrary to the divine will (conversio ad creaturam). This can occur in a direct and formal way in the sins of idolatry, apostasy, and atheism; or in an equivalent way as in every act of disobedience to God’s commandments in a grave matter (Pope John Paul II, Apostolic Exhortation Reconciliatio et Paenitentia [1984], no. 17; cf. Catechism, no. 1855). Mortal sin destroys the divine life (i.e., sanctifying grace) in the soul. One who commits a mortal sin needs “a new initiative of God’s mercy and a conversion of heart which is normally accomplished within the setting of the sacrament of reconciliation” (Catechism, no. 1856). In the absence of repentance and God’s mercy, mortal sin leads to the eternal death of hell (cf. Catechism, no. 1861). The question then becomes, “What constitutes a mortal sin?” For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must be present: (1) grave matter (2) full knowledge of the evil of the act (3) full consent of the will (cf. Catechism, no. 1857) " |
Anonymous
I was a very strong practicing Catholic when I was younger, and while I am still faithful, I have stopped attending Mass over the sex scandal and several of the positions the Church has taken over the last several years. As I mull my future kid's faith training, I'm deciding what I want to do. I know I'm planning to baptize, and take the kid to Mass regularly (once they are old enough to understand, so probably 4 or so) but I'm split on continuing education through confirmation. I personally think that confirming in grade 6, 7, or 8 is a little young to ask a child to make such an adult decision, and was curious to see if anyone else feels the same way. I would rather see the kid actively choose to commit to Catholic preparation in high school or later to prepare for confirmation. I may be coloring my view as well in that we have an interfaith household, but I just wanted to question the "They need to be confirmed" assertion of the previous poster. My reaction is that the kid needs to choose to be confirmed, but I'd rather they be an active participant in that choice (which I didn't feel that I was at age 11). |
Anonymous
Do you work, good role model?
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Anonymous
I haven't come across any Catholics who were confirmed before high school. You would be the first. As far as the sex scandal goes you have to put a couple of things into perspective. Keep in mind it's a horrible thing and I am not condoning anything. When priests started out at the Seminary at 17 or 18 they were there to stay. They were in many ways stunted and emotionally teenagers. This is why most of their victims were teenagers not young children. Secondly when allegations were made priests were moved. It wasn't understood that sex offenders would keep offending. It wasn't a malicious act on the Church's part. It was thought that the temptation was being removed. This wasn't just the Church's thought on sex offenders but also the commonly accepted thought during the 60's, 70's and 80's. When the lawsuits started and the Church started settlements they were large settlements. It doesn't take a genius to discover how easy it would be to get a large sum of money and not really have to prove much of anything. Tons of unfounded allegations flooded the Church. The Church has made lots of changes. They won't allow priests to go straight from the Seminary into Priesthood. They now have to take at least a year to experience life as an adult. The Church also removes priests instead of moving them. Now that there is true understanding that sex offenders will continue to find and abuse victims. |
Anonymous
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Wow, this thread is scary and very judgmental . I've been following it as my husband is a semi-lapsed catholic. We baptized our daughter (still a baby) because it was important to her grandparents.
Bare with my ignorance: why is first communion so important? Why do children need 2 years of instruction for it? Can't you just go to confession and take communion at some point? Would that be a mortal sin? After reading some of these posting I think I have no clue what a mortal sin is. Thanks. |
Anonymous
| @ 11:21. Confirmation is 7th or 8th grade, which is before high school. |
Anonymous
11:21 here. Our Confirmation was in 10th grade. We moved a few times and my siblings were Confirmed in other states (TX and MA) while in high school. I have a niece and nephew (OH and NY) that will be making theirs next year when they are in 10th grade. |
Anonymous
The Catholic church has its own rules on all these topics. If you are Catholic, you agree to accept the Church as the authority on things, (and the Pope as the ultimate authority). You don't just decide for yourself how things shold be. IN order to be ready to accept Communion, children need to be educated in the rules of the Catholic church (the catechism) so that they understand how things are. |