Who I Am........what I Believe

[peach_cube]

[quote name='Laudate_Dominum' post='1345067' date='Jul 31 2007, 01:43 AM']You said, "To be truly absolved from ones sins comes [b]only[/b] from the sinner himself showing perfect contrition."
The Council of Trent teaches that perfect contrition alone does not of itself remit serious sin. When Christ breathed on the Apostles and said "whose sins you shall forgive, they are forgiven them; and whose sins you shall retain, they are retained" he meant it. The ministry of the priest is an essential aspect of this sacrament and he is the voice of Christ and the representative of the Church who pronounces the forgiveness of sins. The acts of the penitent are the proximate matter of the sacrament so you would be correct in saying that without contrition the sacrament would not be valid -- well, depending on what you mean by contrition.
The Council of Trent defined contrition thus: "contrition, which holds the first place among the acts of the penitent, is sorrow of heart and detestation for sin committed, with the resolve to sin no more".
This venerable council goes on to teach that attrition is, however, enough to validly partake of this sacrament.[/quote]

Sorry, further along in my post you would note that I did state that Confession is required for serious sins in the Eastern Tradition. However, their remains no distinction between mortal and venial and the determination of something as being a serious sin is a matter to worked out by the penitent and the confessor. I suppose my use of the word "only" was in regards to those sins that would not require confession. I can see how the wording would lead to confusion.

[hyperdulia again]

i do not have anything to add, but hope the discussion will continue.

[desertwoman]

[quote name='Delivery Boy' post='1345016' date='Jul 31 2007, 01:59 AM']hello.....what exactly is vatican three ??
Likos, thank you.....good stuff
what do you mean ??
??
??[/quote]


LD's avatar. Parliament Funkadelic.... P-Funk. They brought songs like Atomic Dog (Dre sampled and did Whats my Name for Snoop Dogg), Let Me Ride (Dre sampled and did Let Me Ride), and so on.

Did one of the best guitar solos I've heard in Maggotbrain. Check it out!

[ironmonk]

[quote name='Delivery Boy' post='1341202' date='Jul 26 2007, 06:18 AM']hello.......first off i consider myself a catholic christian.....I want to state my beliefs and see which ones people disagree with........I dont think of myself as anyone important or anything......but this is a debate phorum..and mabey it will stir up a debate....which is heathly because for the most part the people posting on this board love God....and all things work out good for those who love God.......

I believe I can confess my sins by myself to God and ask him for his forgivness.......I also believe though I can confess my sins to a fellow christian or to a priest at a parish or to a pastor of a christ believing church...[/quote]


God Bless DB...

Anytime we "believe", we of course can be in error. We must always question what we believe and seek the answers so that we may not drift off from what is true. Truth is the goal... not our egos.

How can we know if we are in error?

We must question our beliefs, then seek the answers to those questions... we must not rely on others opinions, we must follow the facts, we must start in the first century... we must read, read, and read. We must always be open minded - meaning that we must accept that we could be wrong and we must verifiy if we are correct.

All the writings from the first Christians are available for free. The Catechism, the Scriptures, Church documents, and the Early Church Fathers writings can help us know if we are correct or not.

Forgive me for not commenting on your whole post, but a few things in the beginning I think should be addressed first.

You stated that you believed you could confess to a fellow christian, which is in error. The New Testament writings were written to Fathers of the Church (aka Priests)... this is why the Scripture says "confess your sins to one another". Only Priests of the Catholic Church have the power to forgive sins on Earth, because Jesus gave them that power (St. John 20:21-22).

You don't have to say "Catholic Christian" because that's the same as saying "Catholic Catholic" or "Christian Christian".... Christ built the Catholic Church... the Apostles were the first bishops of the Catholic Church. The Pope's Office is the same office of the Apostle Peter... Just as President Bush has the same office that President Washington had... the "Pope" is in the Office from the Chair of Peter... just as in the Old Testament the head Rabbi taught from the Chair of Moses. Pure Christianity is Catholicism... Catholicism is Christianity. All other faiths claiming to be Christian are offshots of the Catholic Church.

Here are some invaluable resources, be sure to use the search features, double check anything you think you know and even things told to you by other Catholics.

[url="http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com"]http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com[/url] <- Where our faith is in the Scriptures
[url="http://www.catholic.com/library.asp"]http://www.catholic.com/library.asp[/url] <- a ton of first Christian writings
[url="http://www.NewAdvent.org/Fathers/"]http://www.NewAdvent.org/Fathers/[/url] <- all the Early Church Fathers writings
[url="http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/entiretoc1.htm"]http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/entiretoc1.htm[/url] <- the Catechism


God Bless,
ironmonk

[Guest]

[quote name='ironmonk' post='1349997' date='Aug 4 2007, 10:34 PM']God Bless DB...

Anytime we "believe", we of course can be in error. We must always question what we believe and seek the answers so that we may not drift off from what is true. Truth is the goal... not our egos.

How can we know if we are in error?

We must question our beliefs, then seek the answers to those questions... we must not rely on others opinions, we must follow the facts, we must start in the first century... we must read, read, and read. We must always be open minded - meaning that we must accept that we could be wrong and we must verifiy if we are correct.

All the writings from the first Christians are available for free. The Catechism, the Scriptures, Church documents, and the Early Church Fathers writings can help us know if we are correct or not.

Forgive me for not commenting on your whole post, but a few things in the beginning I think should be addressed first.

You stated that you believed you could confess to a fellow christian, which is in error. The New Testament writings were written to Fathers of the Church (aka Priests)... this is why the Scripture says "confess your sins to one another". Only Priests of the Catholic Church have the power to forgive sins on Earth, because Jesus gave them that power (St. John 20:21-22).

You don't have to say "Catholic Christian" because that's the same as saying "Catholic Catholic" or "Christian Christian".... Christ built the Catholic Church... the Apostles were the first bishops of the Catholic Church. The Pope's Office is the same office of the Apostle Peter... Just as President Bush has the same office that President Washington had... the "Pope" is in the Office from the Chair of Peter... just as in the Old Testament the head Rabbi taught from the Chair of Moses. Pure Christianity is Catholicism... Catholicism is Christianity. All other faiths claiming to be Christian are offshots of the Catholic Church.

Here are some invaluable resources, be sure to use the search features, double check anything you think you know and even things told to you by other Catholics.

[url="http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com"]http://www.ScriptureCatholic.com[/url] <- Where our faith is in the Scriptures
[url="http://www.catholic.com/library.asp"]http://www.catholic.com/library.asp[/url] <- a ton of first Christian writings
[url="http://www.NewAdvent.org/Fathers/"]http://www.NewAdvent.org/Fathers/[/url] <- all the Early Church Fathers writings
[url="http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/entiretoc1.htm"]http://www.usccb.org/catechism/text/entiretoc1.htm[/url] <- the Catechism
God Bless,
ironmonk[/quote]


ironmonk.....wuts up bro....thanks for the links...im checking them out now as i type....Godbless

[GodChild]

[quote name='adt6247' post='1341297' date='Jul 27 2007, 01:14 AM']I'm only addressing the things you wrote that are in direct contradiction with Catholic dogma.
Venial, yes. Mortal, no. You can not be forgiven from mortal sin unless you either confess it to a priest, or make an act of PERFECT contrition with the intention of confessing to a priest as soon as possible.
Incorrect -- Salvation is granted through sanctifying grace. Sanctifying grace is given at baptism, and if lost by mortal sin, gained back in confession. Faith and good works are necessary to keep sanctifying grace.
"Receiving communion" every week is not what Catholics believe get you to heaven. Remaining in sanctifying grace is. If by not recieving communion weekly, you mean not attending mass weekly, then no, people that do not do so are in a state of mortal sin. It is an obligation to all Catholics to witness the sacrifice of calvary weekly in the mass. And as all men are called to be part of the universal church, this is absolutely necessary for all people who have had the Gospel witnessed to them. And no, heretic "communion services" or "Sunday services" don't count. If a person does not go to a mass or divine liturgy, and they are given the opportunity, they incur the penalty of mortal sin. If you die with mortal sin on your soul that you do not have PERFECT contrition for, you go directly to hell.
True, buy can they really love Him if they don't love His Church? The Church is the spotless bride of Christ, and the body of Christ on earth.
It's not sinful to have such opinions as to where they likely are. I think it's likely that Martin Luther is in hell. Does that mean he is? Not necessarily. He may be. So might Mother Theresa -- she could have died despising God. We cannot assume to know men's hearts. But we can speculate. It's sinful to state with certitute.

The inverse is also true -- it's sinful for a priest, at a funeral mass, to state that the person who's funeral they are saying is in heaven! We don't know that, unless they are canonized! And, it's uncharitable! What if they need our prayers for the moment of their death? What if they are in purgatory, and because everyone on earth thinks they are in heaven, no one prays for them?
There is no contradiction in Catholic dogma with married men being priests. Priests were never allowed to marry once they became priests -- they had to be married first. Priestly celibacy is mandatory because of canon law -- and it can be changed at any time. St. Paul also stated that it is preferable to be celibate so you would be more able to serve the kingdom of God. In the early church, and still in the Eastern churches, celibacy is seen as optional, but the higher, preferable calling.
The body of Christ on Earth is the Church. If you are not members of the One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic church, you are not a member of the body of Christ. Period. That is Catholic dogma. [i]Extra Ecclesia nulla salus[/i].[/quote]

Wow - THAT is Catholic faith?? Talk about hording God for yourself and slavery - thats not the catholicism i was taught at all

[adt6247]

[quote name='GodChild' post='1351894' date='Aug 7 2007, 06:14 AM']Wow - THAT is Catholic faith?? Talk about hording God for yourself and slavery - thats not the catholicism i was taught at all[/quote]
It's not what I was taught growing up, either. I was taught a watered-down Catholicism. I was taught, in Catholic school, that after Vatican II, the church allowed contraception, recognized that other non-Christian faiths were salvific, that Christ was just a nice, friendly hippie that loved you for who you were, and you didn't have to change, and if you were merely a nice person, you would go to heaven.

In recent years, the faith hasn't been taught as it always was. But the fact of the matter is, the church has ALWAYS taught that there is no salvation outside of it. Always. This teaching has never changed, and as it is part of Catholic dogma, never can. All are welcome, but if they reject Christ's own church, how much hope for salvation do they have? If they reject His holy [i]Mater Ecclesiae[/i] on Earth, why would they not also reject it in Heaven? To live in heaven is to be part of the Church Triumphant. Thus, one cannot be in heaven if one is not part of the Church.