Catholicism

[vindemiatrix]

So I was following an interesting idea for a series of short stories in my mind when I realised that a) several of the MCs seemed to be Catholic and b) I know nothing about Catholicism. If anyone could answer the following questions, or add anything else they think may be helpful, I will love them forever. Thanks in advance!

How does one become ordained as a Catholic priest? Once you become a priest, is there any going back?
Is confession always made to priests? Is there any routine it follows, or any specific day?
When is Mass and when would a practising Catholic go?
What would a Catholic consider blasphemy? And what would be safe for them to say?
What do Catholics, in general, not believe in? Is the hatred of contraception methods typical? I know Catholics who are on the Pill, for example.

Yes, I am ignorant on the subject of Catholics. I blame circumstance.

[Tundra]

to clarify, are these modern Catholics?

[vindemiatrix]

to clarify, are these modern Catholics?

Oh. Yes. *grin* Sorry.

[snooze]

So I was following an interesting idea for a series of short stories in my mind when I realised that a) several of the MCs seemed to be Catholic and b) I know nothing about Catholicism. If anyone could answer the following questions, or add anything else they think may be helpful, I will love them forever. Thanks in advance!

How does one become ordained as a Catholic priest? Once you become a priest, is there any going back?
Is confession always made to priests? Is there any routine it follows, or any specific day?
When is Mass and when would a practising Catholic go?
What would a Catholic consider blasphemy? And what would be safe for them to say?
What do Catholics, in general, not believe in? Is the hatred of contraception methods typical? I know Catholics who are on the Pill, for example.

Yes, I am ignorant on the subject of Catholics. I blame circumstance.

Well, I'm Anglican, which is kind of like a very liberal Roman Catholic, but I'm related to some Catholics, so my knowledge is as follows:

You go to a seminary school or something, and go through various stages (I don't know what they are...like, baby priest or something.) Eventually there are vows involved and boom--priest. I believe you can renounce being a priest, but that could mean excommunication--if you wanted to get married afterwards, the marriage would not be valid in the Catholic church.
Confessions are usually a certain time of day, if there's only one priest to hear them. If there's a priest who can always been in the confessional during the day, maybe any time during the day?
Blasphemy is anything said against God or in favour of evil, I suppose. Depending on the devoutness of the individual, they may curse using the name of God, Christ, or Mary, and in some cases, Joseph--they'll confess this later as a sin.
Contraception is frowned upon, I believe, because it's some kind of prevention of the fullfillment of God's will if allowed to follow natural courses of action, a child is concieved otherwise. Or it might be more technical in that they disapprove of barrier or withdrawal methods, which may be why the Pill is accepted, since the sperm go where they're supposed to.
Mass is on Sunday mornings in any Catholic church or Cathedral, and I believe they celebrate the Eucharist during Mass. There's two or three services, I think--I always hear people about going to early Mass, or waiting and going to a later Mass during the course of the morning.

This is all I really know, and even then it might not be all completely verified. Again--Anglican.

[Sulis]

Well, I used to be catholic, so let's see how many of these I can answer...


How does one become ordained as a Catholic priest? Once you become a priest, is there any going back? One joins the priesthood by going to seminary and getting ordained by the bishop (I think). It's supposed to be a lifetime thing, but it's possible to leave the priesthood, though I'm not sure how.

Is confession always made to priests? Is there any routine it follows, or any specific day? It's always to a priest. When it's done kind of depends on how devout you are. I only ever went once, before my first communion. My parents are reasonably devout, and I don't think I've ever seen them go, but some people go every week... Technically, you're supposed to have confession before receiving Holy Communion, so you can recieve it in a "state of grace", but most people don't stress about it much. As for time, most churches have specific times the priest will be available for confessions, but it varies from church to church.

When is Mass and when would a practising Catholic go? Mass is any religious service, and most churches offer a couple Sunday services, and often one on Saturday evening. Some of the larger churches may actually have services daily. A Catholic would go at least once a week, and on Holy Days of Obligation. There are several of these, though I can't remember all of them... Ash Wednesday, All Saints' Day...

What would a Catholic consider blasphemy? And what would be safe for them to say? That's a huuuge category... And really depends on exactly what time period you're in. Unfortunately, I can't even begin to hope to give you a good answer on that one.

What do Catholics, in general, not believe in? Is the hatred of contraception methods typical? I know Catholics who are on the Pill, for example. Again, this varies... But it depends on the era. For instance, this year the Catholic Church decided Limbo does not, in fact, actually exist. And for the birth contro issue, there was talk of repealing the prohibition before Vatican II in the early '60's but they decided against this. Author Andrew Greely, A Catholic priest, called this choice "the greatest betrayal of the Catholic laity since the Inquisition." A lot of people assumed the rules would be changed then, and started using birth control, and never stopped once the rules weren't changed.

Umm... Well, that was long and rambly. Hopefully of some assistance, though.

[Sammi]

Snoozie's Anglican and Sulis used to be Catholic... Now all we need is for Orion (currently Catholic) to post and it'll be a complete set. :D

(Because I feel like it.) Catholicism! :D

[Orion283]

On the matter of getting un-priested: I don't know the particulars of leaving, but I do know that at least one of the acceptable reasons is if you find someone ya wanna marry and have kids with and such. It's specifically set out in there somewhere that if you believe you just can't go through life without a second person to be bonded to don't force yourself to be a priest; go be fruitful and multiply.

On the matter of confession: The procedure can vary depending on the people. There's a formal way things can all go, usually starting with "Bless me father for I have sinned, it's been _______ since my last confession, and my sins are ___________." Then usually ya have a little chat with the priest, maybe get some advice on how to improve and overcome temptation and such if ya want. Then you say a prayer called the Act of Contrition (or freestyle something appropriate if ya want). The priest then gives ya some kinda penance to make up for stuff, there's some absolving of sins, and then you're good to go. Usually the penance is some combination of prayers and good deeds.

On a side note, one question I get asked just about every time confession comes up is what happens if you fake it. Which is kind of an odd question when you think about it; no poker face can beat omniscience. =0p If you really don't care (or even enjoy) that you've done wrong then you're gonna be in trouble. But if you're truly honestly sorry for what mistakes you've made and you're trying your best to reform then you can be forgiven for anything, no matter how terrible. Even excommunication is temporary. It's not getting kicked out of church permanently, just until ya clean up your act a bit.

On the matter of blasphemy: If you're referring to that 'don't use the Lord's name in vain' thing, near as I can figure it means you shouldn't call upon the divine unless you really mean it. It's probably alright if you're just joking around, but calling on God to damn someone because you don't like them is right out. However, calling on God because you're in some seriously deep shite and need a hand that's proper use.

On stuff catholics don't believe in: Well I can tell ya what we do believe in...

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, and born of the Father before all ages. ,God of God, light of light, true God of true God. Begotten not made, consubstantial to the Father, by whom all things were made. Who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven. And was incarnate of the Holy Ghost and of the Virgin Mary and was made man; was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate, suffered and was buried; and the third day rose again according to the Scriptures. And ascended into heaven, sits at the right hand of the Father, and shall come again with glory to judge the living and the dead, of whose Kingdom there shall be no end. And we believe in the Holy Ghost, the Lord and Giver of life, who proceeds from the Father (and the Son), who together with the Father and the Son is to be adored and glorified, who spoke by the Prophets. And one holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We confess (I confess) one baptism for the remission of sins. And we look for the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.

On the matter of the supernatural there's often some disagreement. Though I don't doubt that there's just one God (cause if ya had multiple entities with omnipotence it would get pretty messy), there's more than enough weird supernatural stuff going on that there's gotta be something out there on the power scale between mortal and deific. However, many view it as offensive to God to invest in the supernatural yourself because it could be seen as trying to circumvent God and take power for yourself. I feel it's alright so long as your intent is in the right place. If you want a chair it's not offensive to God to learn how to build a chair instead of standing around and praying until a chair appears. Unless you build the chair and say "Haha screw you God I made a chair!" Then I think it's not alright. =0p

Random fun fact: catholics always refer to Him as 'our God', whereas most protestants refer to Him as 'my God'. This is because most of the protestant groups split off because (among other reasons) they wanted to worship God in their own way. The reason catholics stick with the plural is because we view it as a big family (which is also why we call our religious folks sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers). The word 'catholic' itself even means everything being together in one big family. And now back to your regularly scheduled post...

On contraception: I'm glad this one came up. I forget if I've rambled about this yet or not, but either way here it is; after much pondering, I believe that the key thing that they wanted to get across is that sex shouldn't be wasteful. Back in the day you needed a small army of kids to tend your farm and take care of you when you were old, so the most productive sex was reproductive sex. Viewed through that filter it's easy to see why the folks writing the bible interpreted the inspiration to mean 'don't have sex unless it's to make kids', which ruled out homosexuality and contraception and premarital sex and whatnot. The other factor against contraception is, of course, abortion. Catholics believe that once the sperm hits the egg and you have a fertilized embryo it is now a human, and thus it would be a sin to kill it. So I think it depends on exactly what contraceptive stuff you're using. If it just destroys the sperm or the egg before the fertilization process then that in itself is alright I think. However, if someone were to use the pill so they could have lots of irresponsible sex then it's still bad (though not because of the pill). Intent is often a big factor in whether or not something is bad.

One more divergence: another big split between catholics and protestants is whether to take the bible figuratively or literally. Most protestants see the bible as divinely inspired and infallible. Catholics believe that though it definitely came from God it's possible some stuff got lost in translation, so it's good to look for the hidden meanings to see what He's really trying to tell ya.

So... I think that's everything. If all else fails there's always Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catholicism), and I'd be more than happy to answer any other questions that come up.

[snooze]

Random fun fact: catholics always refer to Him as 'our God', whereas most protestants refer to Him as 'my God'. This is because most of the protestant groups split off because (among other reasons) they wanted to worship God in their own way. The reason catholics stick with the plural is because we view it as a big family (which is also why we call our religious folks sisters and brothers and mothers and fathers). The word 'catholic' itself even means everything being together in one big family. And now back to your regularly scheduled post...

I get that.
Like, I'm Anglican, but I'm also catholic, (with a little c.) Just because I'm catholic, though, doesn't mean I'm (Roman) Catholic. I remember learning the differences ages ago in confirmation class, but I forgot. And in my church we use "our God" and "my God," but I think that depends on the circumstances and whether it's in reference to us all being children of God, or to one's personal relationship with said God.

[jomaca]

I just have a few things to add.

Catholics normally go for confession at least once every month. And confession is usually held before and during the Mass. Sometimes, you can even contact the priest at certain times.
The obligatory days for attending Mass are Saturday evenings and Sundays (either one). In the gulf, Fridays are also included. In fact, since Thursday and Friday are the weekend days here, Friday is equivalent to Sunday for Catholics in the Gulf.
Some very devout Catholic women cover their hair while attending Mass and in some places, people take off their footwear before entering Church.

Hope that helps :)

[dedoublya]

Back when I actually practiced I went to confession every Easter, but I bet its different for everyone. Because of bigger congregations Churches (or Chapels as we like to call them) can have a few masses a day, usually around 10 or 11 in the morning and then around 7 or 8 in the evening. The evening of Saturday mass pretty much counts as a normal Sunday morning mass if you're not too particular.
And one major difference is that protestants believe that communion is a symbol of the body of christ, while Catholics take that literally - they believe that the bread is actually the body of christ.
And Mass is anytime that communion is served. It tastes horrible by the way.

[snooze]

Awww man I have to go to church tomorrow morning.

I wish they'd decide on real bread or the wafers. They keep switching it up and it's getting annoying. The read bread crumbles too easily, and is hard to chew and swallow decently before the wine gets to you, and the wafers, well, oddly I prefer their taste.

[vindemiatrix]

Back when I actually practiced I went to confession every Easter, but I bet its different for everyone. Because of bigger congregations Churches (or Chapels as we like to call them) can have a few masses a day, usually around 10 or 11 in the morning and then around 7 or 8 in the evening. The evening of Saturday mass pretty much counts as a normal Sunday morning mass if you're not too particular.
And one major difference is that protestants believe that communion is a symbol of the body of christ, while Catholics take that literally - they believe that the bread is actually the body of christ.
And Mass is anytime that communion is served. It tastes horrible by the way.

*adds stuff to notes*

Thank YOU. :D

Being completely non-churchgoing, it's all a bit new to me, but I think I am getting the hang of it. Hopefully I won't make too much of an idiot of myself in this damn story.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I know little about Catholicism, but I do like the whole deal with lent and carnival. You need to put that stuff in

[Thin]

I'm catholic; and pretty much most of up there is right. Although i would point out that there are subtle differences between catholics in different countries (for examples I've found Euro catholics to be a lot more old school than Aussies).

The only dogmatic position i will take religously would be in regards to abortion. I'm all for sex, and sex before marriage and certain types of promiscuity dont bother me at all, but I do believe that life begins at conception.

Also;

"Well, I'm Anglican, which is kind of like a very liberal Roman Catholic" is an extremely shallow understanding of *both* liberalism and catholicism, sorry.

orion summed it up quite nicely with;
"One more divergence: another big split between catholics and protestants is whether to take the bible figuratively or literally. Most protestants see the bible as divinely inspired and infallible. Catholics believe that though it definitely came from God it's possible some stuff got lost in translation, so it's good to look for the hidden meanings to see what He's really trying to tell ya."

Most protestants i've met will tell me that Adam and Eve existed, that noah did build an arc and all the other stories in the bible are absolutely true. I've come into the belief that the bible comes from God but ultimately it was written by and for man. The stories in there are messages from god written so that people who (back then were not too bright) could understand and get a meaning from.
As a result, most protestants are exellent with their bible verses and knowledge, where as catholics are hazy at best :).

We also tend to be alcoholics (irish catholic). And we are the only Christian religion that will pray to Mary. protestants understandably see both of these as sin and worshipping a false idol. *shrugs*

[dedoublya]

Yes, Mary has a huge role in the Catholic church. Maybe you should look up some Catholic prayers.
My advice is to write the story, adding in what you think is necessary, and then give it to a Catholic to read over.

[LadyAbby]

We also tend to be alcoholics (irish catholic). And we are the only Christian religion that will pray to Mary. protestants understandably see both of these as sin and worshipping a false idol. *shrugs*

I'm a Baptist, and we don't drink. However, we don't see it as a sin. We believe that we lead others to Christ through the examples that we set in day to day life, and if a non Christian is to see us drinking at all, he might consider it okay to drink to excess, which the bible says is a no-no. We want to teach others to follow in the path of righteousness, and we are supposed to 'cause not others to stumble in their path.' So, we don't drink.

As protestants we believe that praying to Mary is not really worshipping God. We don't think that Mary needs to intervene on our behalf, that's what Christ was for. That's why he died and rose again, which is what our beliefs are based on. Just thought I'd clear that up for the catholics out there.

[vindemiatrix]

This isn't a religious debate, Abby. :)

(all of the post)

Wow, thanks; that is ALL really useful.

Yes, Mary has a huge role in the Catholic church. Maybe you should look up some Catholic prayers.
My advice is to write the story, adding in what you think is necessary, and then give it to a Catholic to read over.

I've looked up prayers already, and I just need to find a willing Catholic once I'm done. :)

This would be a lot more helpful if I could get books out of the library, but.. yeah.

[Sulis]

You have a willing ex-catholic here...

[snooze]

Maybe there's a book of common prayer or something, if you want to read up on liturgies. I know my church lets people borrow the prayer books and the green book of services.
Unless it's all in Latin and there aren't any books to read along with the service...
Sorry if I'm stuck in my Anglican mindset here.
And I can't figure out if I'm technically Protestant or not. Because we're fine with drinking, and although we don't pray to Mary, we give her all due props and kudos for being the Mother of God.
But then my sister was barred from taking the Eucharist because of being raised Anglican, even if in the end they relented and let her have it because it had been a year since she'd had the chance to go to any kind of Eucharist service and she'd really been looking forward to this service and all. I'm not certain what the laws are, here.

[Sulis]

If you are Christian and not Catholic, Eastern, Greek, or Russian Orthodox, or Coptic, you're protestant. Anything that split with or after Luther, basically. And attitudes on Mary and alcohol vary a bit within Protestant sects so that's not really part of the definition. Anglicans are Protestant

Though, the Catholic equivalent of a book of common prayer would be a Missal. I assume, because I'm not quite sure what the book of common prayer is. :oops:

[merrihart]

A point Sulis touched on, but I dont think anyone else did.

It's called the Roman Catholic church because at some point in the...3rd century I think? there was a huge split in the church. It had to do with wether the church rules should follow the rules set down or flow with the minds of the faithful. I forget the name for it, the contraception thing touched on it, and if Roman Catholic church stayed true to it's standpoint, contraception would be allowed...but I digress.

There was a conflict over a change in wording in one of the liturgies, I believe. (My brain is failing to recall, even protestants use it though, and up till just now I would have sworn I had it memorized for life.) The Orthodox church protested and wanted the Roman branch to change it back, and they refused, saying the people wanted to use the changed word and the church should get it's direction from it's laity.

I typed up a manuscript for a priest who was writing his doctorate on the whole thing, but it was several years ago (and apparently not a very popular subject for him to be writing about).

[Sulis]

A point Sulis touched on, but I dont think anyone else did.

It's called the Roman Catholic church because at some point in the...3rd century I think? there was a huge split in the church. It had to do with wether the church rules should follow the rules set down or flow with the minds of the faithful. I forget the name for it, the contraception thing touched on it, and if Roman Catholic church stayed true to it's standpoint, contraception would be allowed...but I digress.

There was a conflict over a change in wording in one of the liturgies, I believe. (My brain is failing to recall, even protestants use it though, and up till just now I would have sworn I had it memorized for life.) The Orthodox church protested and wanted the Roman branch to change it back, and they refused, saying the people wanted to use the changed word and the church should get it's direction from it's laity.

I typed up a manuscript for a priest who was writing his doctorate on the whole thing, but it was several years ago (and apparently not a very popular subject for him to be writing about).

I THINK you're talking about the Nicene/Arian debate, but I'm not sure because that's a bit earlier than my general knowledge. The Nicenes won that one, btw, hence "The Nicene Creed" being recited during Mass...

[Thin]

I'm a Baptist, and we don't drink. However, we don't see it as a sin.

As protestants we believe that praying to Mary is not really worshipping God. We don't think that Mary needs to intervene on our behalf, that's what Christ was for. That's why he died and rose again, which is what our beliefs are based on. Just thought I'd clear that up for the catholics out there.

Thats fair enough. My ex was a Baptist and she went sort of ballistic at me for drinking. of course, I wouldn't want to blame an entire religion for the psychotic ramblings of a girl determined to force other to do her bidding in order to create a perfect life. But stopping an Irish catholic guy with German heritage from drinking beer is pretty nuts in itself. "Alcohol or me" is one ultimatium that I'll never forget.

I've also found catholics a lot less accepting of non-catholics taking the eucharist. I disagree with this.

[Sulis]

I've also found catholics a lot less accepting of non-catholics taking the eucharist. I disagree with this.

It depends on the individual church, but... In large part, it can be traced back to the whole issue of the fact that the Catholics believe that the Eucharist is the real and actual body and blood of Christ. No one who hasn't been properly trained (ie, gone through the appropriate First Communion classes) is going to have the proper respect for the whole thing. I don't disagree with you, thin, but it makes perfect sense for them.

[dedoublya]

Stay away from my eucharist dude!

[merrihart]

Baptists and Methodists drive me nuts. A lot of their rules (no drinking is one of them) were based upon what the English were doing to excess during the time those churches were founded.

The English (and many other countries) were basically drinking themselves to death, from the poorest to the richest, during the 17th & 18th centuries. They were fed rum or gin when they were teething (it deadened the gums) and they drank it through childhood and into adulthood. There are pictures you can find of that time period, people just basically drank alcohol. The water wasn't safe and alcohol was cheaper than anything else.

The Baptists and Methodists taught their laity to not do what the English were doing to excess. Dont drink, dont dance, dont be an actor/actress (actress was synominous with whore in those days), dont have sex with anyone but your spouse...(ok that one dates back alot further, but you get the point). Basically, if you saw the English Aristocracy doing it...it was banned by the Baptists and Methodists.

It was the attempt by those two sects to teach their laity how to have a good life and be happy with what you had.

[Tundra]

aaand, we should go back to what Catholics believe.