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Catholic faith in Christ’s words of his true presence in the Eucharist. Holiness. Love. Faith. We worship God. Beyond your understanding, isn’t it. Brings to mind the verse from Isaiah: ‘No matter how closely you listen, you’ll never understand. No matter how closely you look, you’ll never see.’

So why don’t we spend time talking about your own faith and beliefs?

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Everyone has the right answers, so no one is willing to listen, learn, and exchange.

Apologies, Meri. My eyes are open now. Not one lame atheist, but this in its place.

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Topic is I differ with the Catholic Church on…

Folks have also expressed what they differ with the Catholic church on.

Thanks to this thread, I’ve done some reading on the things I disagree with and can see that there is another side to the story. I still disagree with a lot of it but at least have a better understanding.

The bottom line is if you reach Christ and salvation no matter what the rituals then in the end it doesn’t matter.

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Agreed. People are being mean to each other though.

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Hmm. I didn’t see that? If referring to me, that certainly wasn’t my intent.

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Yes! You have it! There is a huge difference between disagreeing with the actualities and in making something up in order to disagree. The first can be worthwhile to both sides, while the second–not much to be gained.

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No apologies necessary. This can be a vibrant sub-forum for people to explore and to learn. Maybe we can all (including me) work harder at it.

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Y’all are some of my favorite online people, just so you know. :hugs:

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Works both ways, as you are tops on our lists, too!

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If I show you a photograph of my wife and say, “This is my wfe,” i am not making a declaration of my wife’s real presence in the photo. I am stating that this is a likeness of her. Bread eaten in memory of Jesus is a representation/likeness of Christ and His relationship to the church. Catholics put this bread in a fashioned likeness of the sun and bow down to and serve the monstrance and the bread as if it is actually God.

It breaks the second commandment. God is everywhere. He is in the spirit of every believer. It is foolishness to bow down to and serve a created artifact.

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We do not eat “bread in memory of Jesus”. In Catholicism, it is not mere bread, Jesus is nourishing us with his own body, blood, divinity. Even further back than Plato was the teaching that everything here on earth was merely a copy of the reality that exists elsewhere. The Eucharist, to Catholics, IS that invisible reality where we are nourished by Christ, himself. It is what Christ promised and we have faith–and believe–in that promise. We go beyond memory, but memory is priceless as well.

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Yet, do you need the bread? Is this not just symbolic?

When a person is denied this because they go against the teachings of the Church why is it a big deal?

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The visible signs of the invisible reality. If one does not believe that the Eucharist is the true body, blood, and divinity of Christ, why would they pretend and accept the Eucharist as such? Wouldn’t that be a lie not only to Catholics, but to oneself?

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Just like the photo of my wife is not a representation of her, but is her very body, blood and spirit?

As believers in Jesus we are being nourished by his Word (bread/body) and his Life (blood/Spirit) as often as we are putting our faith in these. The bread is a representation of the nature of the Word and body of Christ; and the wine is a representation of the nature of the Spirit and Life of Christ. Communion of disciples with Jesus happens 24/7 by grace through faith without any Roman Catholic eucharist necessary.

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The part quoted: Nicely stated. See how well it stands on its own?

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Does your God see all souls as his perfect works, or are some better than others?

Regards
DL

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As believers in Jesus, what are your thought on these, his teachings?

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him.

Deuteronomy 24:16 (ESV) "Fathers shall not be put to death because of their children, nor shall children be put to death because of their fathers. Each one shall be put to death for his own sin.

Regards
DL

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God sees all souls as marred, imperfect images, marred by wrong thinking, wrong doing and wrong choosing.
God is perfect love and loves all souls perfectly.
God is just and notices all the evil we do.
God is merciful and has paid the price for all sin ever committed, but the benefits of complete forgiveness by that payment are to those who acknowledge His Son as the only acceptable sacrifice and receive His Son as their King.

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It’s one thing to disagree with a theological point from another faith expression.

But countless theologians throughout the millennia have affirmed and reaffirmed the teaching of the Real Presence in the Eucharist. Protestant PhDs in Theology have set out to disprove Catholic teaching on the Eucharist and have ended up converting to Catholicism as a result of their efforts. It’s not just some mythology that Catholic antagonists try to portray it.

For a layman internet participant to redefine it to his own liking is disingenuous. And to declare it idolatry is nasty.

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Thanks. That answered my question. :+1: