Protestant-proofing Our Kids

[Livin_the_MASS]

I am saying if one knows in his heart the Truths of the Catholic Chruch and rejects it, "harden their hearts" could mean trouble. I was watching EWTN the other day and they were talking about when someone dies the soul leaves the body and God calls out to the soul, the soul can still make the choice, but it's up to us!

God wants the salvation of souls, it's our job to pray sacrifice and make reparation for these souls and there salvation. We are partakers of the One Sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

But if one knows and rejects Truth till his death, not good! I always hope, God is always waiting, but He loves us enough to give us a free will and not to impose it. He will call out, but He will not force Himself on us, we inturn have to call out to Him and meet in a total loving embrace.

God Bless
Jason

[littleflower+JMJ]

when im a parent im going to want [i]and give[/i] the best to my children, becuase that is what they deserve and that is what God is going to expect from me.

that they [b]know[/b] Him the way He instructed us to know him.

i want them to be the one to be able to learn from me, their parent, what is truth, and not only that but live it.

as a parent, it is our obligation to God who has given them to us, to show them the way back to Him.

pax.

+JMJ+

[Archangel Raphael]

*nods a bit* So the answer is yes, if they know the Catholic church was found by God, and choose not to go to it, then they are in for damnation, right? Again, just making trying to be sure I understand it right.

About choosing to go to heaven or not. In all respect I don't agree with that, but I do agree that when Jesus comes back and calls us out (in the Rapture), that we do have a choice to go or not. Mainly cause everything is by free will, and when we accept Christ during this lifetime in our hearts, we automatically made the choice to go to heaven. But that's my opinion, don't have to counter it, I just would like to be sure I understood the whole thing about salvation through the Catholic church bit.

[Livin_the_MASS]

[quote]I want my kids to LOVE Christ.[/quote]
Awesome


[quote]I could care less what denomination they belong to.[/quote]
Not good!


[quote]I want my kids to LOVE Jesus.[/quote]
Awesome again!


[quote]And He isn't confined to a building.[/quote]
Ahhh, but He is a prisoner of love in all the tabernacles of the world, He is our Food to become one with us. God and man, The Holy Eucharist such a loving intimate relationship!


God Bless Bruce, been awhile!
Pax
Jason

[Livin_the_MASS]

[quote name='Archangel Raphael' date='May 26 2004, 08:52 PM'] *nods a bit* So the answer is yes, if they know the Catholic church was found by God, and choose not to go to it, then they are in for damnation, right? Again, just making trying to be sure I understand it right.

About choosing to go to heaven or not. In all respect I don't agree with that, but I do agree that when Jesus comes back and calls us out (in the Rapture), that we do have a choice to go or not. Mainly cause everything is by free will, and when we accept Christ during this lifetime in our hearts, we automatically made the choice to go to heaven. But that's my opinion, don't have to counter it, I just would like to be sure I understood the whole thing about salvation through the Catholic church bit. [/quote]
[quote][b]However, for those who knowingly and deliberately (that is, not out of innocent ignorance) commit the sins of heresy (rejecting divinely revealed doctrine) or schism (separating from the Catholic Church and/or joining a schismatic church), no salvation would be possible until they repented and returned to live in Catholic unity.[/b][/quote]

[url="http://www.catholic.com/library/Salvation_Outside_the_Church.asp"]LINK[/url]

Rapture? From what I found in Sacred Scripture there is no Rapture if you want I'll explain I'll leave it here for now

God Bless
Jason

[Archangel Raphael]

Nope thats ok, I just wanted to know, thanks.

[Livin_the_MASS]

I'm board so I post for the sake of boardness

Look

[b]Mattew 13: 36-43.[/b]

[quote]Then, dismissing the crowds, he went into the house. His disciples approached him and said, Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.* He said in reply, He who sows good seed is the Son of Man*the field is the world, the good seed the children of the kingdom. The weeds are the children of the evil one, *and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. Just as weeds are collected and burned {up} with fire, so will it be at the end of the age.[b]*The Son Of Man will send his angels, and they will collect out of his kingdom all who cause others to sin and all evildoers. They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be wailing and grinding of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of thier Father. WHOEVER HAS EAR OUGHT TO HEAR.[/b][/quote]

Bold added by me this shows that at the end when Jesus sends His angel to gather the "weeds" you want to be left here not taken away. He comes to take the evil out of the world!

Forgive my boardness!
God Bless
your servant
Jason

[BeenaBobba]

First of all, parents [b]must[/b] teach their kids the Catholic Faith. If they don't, it will go in one ear and out the other. I was educated in Catholic schools until 8th grade, and while I retained some of what I learnt, I wasn't very well instructed in the teachings of the Catholic Church. (It wasn't until about two years ago that I started learning about Catholicism in-depth.) I don't want to blame my parents or anything because perhaps they weren't taught as well as they should have been. All of that being said, I think that it's vitally important that families pray together and go to Mass together. Children learn from their parents, so if their parents make Mass the center of their day or week, then the children will likely follow suit. Instilling strong Eucharistic devotion is also very important. Strong Catholic parents who love God and the Church will likely raise kids who do as well. I've heard of people leaving the Church because they didn't "feel anything" at Mass. Catholic parents, therefore, need to help to build up a great love in their children for Our Lord, the Blessed Virgin Mary, the saints, the Catholic Church, and the Mass. On the other hand, however, they shouldn't be lead to believe that emotionalism is necessary for faith and the love of God. Of course, the highest premiums should be on faith, hope, and love.

I think that a lot of the problem is a lack of good catechesis. Children aren't learning true-blue Catholicism at CCD, at school, and -- most importantly -- at home. I think Catholic teaching needs to be drilled into childrens' heads from a very early age (figuratively, of course ). They need to be taught what the Catholic Church teaches, but just as importantly, they need to be taught [i]why[/i] the Catholic Church teaches what it does. Kids need to be [b]immersed[/b] in Scripture, Tradition, and Church history. I will even want my kids to have Scripture passages and the correct, Catholic interpretations memorized. So, if they're approached by one of their Protestant buddies who "inform" them that the papacy is unbiblical, and that Jesus never gave Peter special authority, I will make sure that my future kids will be well-equipped to answer that by citing Matthew 16 and Isaiah 22 and the exegeses of those two passages, as examples. I really do think that apologetics needs to be taught from an early age. Too often, non-Catholic Christians will tell Catholic kids or teenagers: "You know, Mary had other biological children. See!" Then they'll show them the passage(s) where the word "brother" is used in English. Not knowing the Greek behind these passages, and not taking the usage and context of the Greek word(s) into consideration, it is all too easy for uneducated Catholics to be like, "Well, hey, I guess the Catholic Church was wrong about Mary. After all, the Bible clearly says that Jesus had other brothers and perhaps even sisters." Had they known the basis for the Catholic belief on this and how to defend it, they'd have never been lead astray.

On another note, there are some heterodox Catholic schools. (Unfortunately, there are [i]too many[/i] heterodox Catholic schools.) If there are orthodox Catholic schools, however, Catholics have a canonical obligation to send their children there (provided that they can afford it). If there's no good Catholic schools around, I'd strongly recommend homeschooling. I will homeschool my kids if there's no good Catholic schools around (and if my future husband and I can afford to do so).

God bless,

Jennifer

[hopeful1]

[quote name='homeschoolmom' date='May 26 2004, 05:19 PM'] I think what the purpose of this thread was (and again, correct me if I am wrong) to understand ways to keep kids from losing their faith either by following the world [b]or[/b] by being lead into other religions-- even Protestant ones. This is not saying that Protestants are horrible pagans, but it is not the same as the Catholic faith. Many Catholics who are [b]poorly educated[/b] in their faith go off and join other Christian churches because they actually learn something about Christ (perhaps for the first time). They learn and grow there... However, they never go back to the Church to find out the rest of the story (as Paul Harvey would say)... many feel the Church has let them down or lied to them. I think the idea of this thread is how to encourage growth in our Catholic children without them leaving the faith.

In my humble opinion it is better to be an on-fire Protestant than a nominal indifferent Catholic. The goal is to create more on fire Catholics. [/quote]
amen to that!

and just to add, if your kids do go to Catholic schools (or CCD) find out about what they are learning and enforce what they are learning at home. too many parents are lazy about that, and just figure "i'll just let the school do the teaching" and not take an active role in their childs religious education. And for those of you who complained, i don't think this problem is just limited to catholics, but it should be applied to protestant homes as well.

happy?

[hopeful1]

ok, hopeful1 sees she got into this thread a little too late... :ph34r:

*runs back out*

*suddenly runs back in*

does it help anyone to understand the situation if say for example, a family from a foreign country, comes to america (like back when we had the immigration in the ellis island days). let's say there from china, a culture very different from ours, and the kid's trying to fit in hanging out with the american kids and he trys out all these "american" type stuff. the parents seem to notice this but are afraid as he's more exposed to american culture, the child may start to lose his cultural identity and reject the chinese traditions (which seem weird to his american friends) for american ones.

ok, i'm trying to use that as an analogy, to help explain the situation for catholic parents, but maybe it was a bad one. but i hope it at least clarifies the situation. on behalf of our protestant friends, i don't believe this post was meant to be offensive, and i apologize if any of you were. but i'm sure you guys struggle with this on some degree with your kids too. but i think this is basically the issue at heart.

[hopeful1]

ok, now i'm curious, did that analogy make ANY sense at all?

[Dusty Fro]

If I were a mother, I wouldn't "Catholic-proof" my children. I wouldn't discourage them from joining the Catholic church if that's where they felt led. As a Christian mother, I would have a responsibility to teach them about God, Jesus' sacrifice and ressurection, and moral living. I would have a responsibility to take them to church and have open conversation with them about these issues. The saddest day for me would not be "Mom, I'm a papist" but "I don't believe this God stuff anymore, and I don't want you to talk to me about it."

[PedroX]

Creeping protestantism is one of the great dangers facing the Church today. Not because Protestants don't worship God, but because it waters down the hard truths of Catholicism. Why recieve sacremental absolution when you can confess only to God? Why treat the liturgy and the Eucharist with respect when its just symbolic? Why bother with beauty in our worship, when it might turn lazy people away?

Catholic parents are true heroes when their kids grow up to be Catholic. There are so many dangers and tempations both from the world, and from heresy. I pray for my friends who are parents what a heavy weight they carry along with their blessings.

peace...

[Katholikos]

[quote name='Dusty Fro' date='May 26 2004, 11:16 PM'] If I were a mother, I wouldn't "Catholic-proof" my children. I wouldn't discourage them from joining the Catholic church if that's where they felt led. As a Christian mother, I would have a responsibility to teach them about God, Jesus' sacrifice and ressurection, and moral living. I would have a responsibility to take them to church and have open conversation with them about these issues. The saddest day for me would not be "Mom, I'm a papist" but "I don't believe this God stuff anymore, and I don't want you to talk to me about it." [/quote]
:laugh: ROFL at the prospect of a new convert coming home and announcing, "Mom, I'm a papist."

"Papist" is not a word that Catholics would ever use to describe themselves. "Papist" is a perjorative term -- an insult -- that is used against them by some Protestants. It was one of Martin Luther's favorite epithets.

It's okay, Dusty. You didn't know.

JMJ Likos

[Mickey's_Girl]

[quote name='PedroX' date='May 26 2004, 11:50 PM'] Catholic parents are true heroes when their kids grow up to be Catholic. [/quote]
And let me tell you, the witness of Catholic parents who raise their children in the Church to love Jesus and live for him, is an amazing thing. It's one of the reasons I am looking at Catholicism today--at my (Catholic) friend's father's funeral, the holiness of his life and the faith of his children were so apparent to me...I walked away saying to myself, "This was a holy man. There must be something going on here."

Just a little encouragement to any Catholic parents out there!

MG