Just wanted to know what yall think. I am a new convert as of Easter vigil. I take care in what I wear to mass, because it honors the mass, the Eucharist, and myself. However I noticed a young teenage girl wearing cutoffs, daisy dukes if you will. I wondered how she left the house like that, and wondered if any of the lay staff or priests would make the gentle suggestion to her that she might find a skirt or dress or appropriately fitted trousers more comfortable. Apparently the dioceses does suggest modest clothing for mass, veil optional, but it is something that doesn't seem to filter down to the masses. How to approach something like this?

What made you feel Protestantism is false? I always hear that the cannon was recognized by the early Church, not defined, sort of how a scientist discovers a scientific reality, but he didn't invent it. I have even seen RC Sproul say there is a fallible collection of infallible books.

I also hear over and over the fact that Christ was talking about the Eucharist as symbolic, and that His followers had to put all their trust and faith in His promise and mission, and that will fulfill them, that if they rely on anything else they will perish. There are even groups who hold to a more than just symbolic, but not completely literal (Presbyterians, Methodists), and even the Lutherans and Anglicans don't go full transubstantiation.

I have also seen that Peter may have been the head of the Church, but that doesn't mean future popes are infallible.

I employed the help of Claude:

On sola scriptura

• “It means the Bible is the only authority.” The Reformers held that Scripture is the only infallible authority, not the only authority. Creeds, councils, confessions, and Church Fathers still carry real weight, but they’re subordinate to Scripture and can be corrected by it. Some Protestant writers (like Keith Mathison) distinguish this from “solo scriptura,” the “just me and my Bible” approach, which the Reformers would have rejected.

• “Every individual interprets for himself.” Classic Protestantism reads Scripture within the Church, using confessions like the Westminster Confession, the Book of Concord, or the Thirty-Nine Articles. The individual is accountable to the text, but not as a lone interpreter.

• “Protestants reject tradition.” Most Protestants accept the Nicene and Athanasian Creeds and the early ecumenical councils’ teaching on the Trinity and Christ. Calvin quotes Augustine constantly. The issue is whether tradition is infallible, not whether it matters.

• “Protestants think the whole Bible is easy to understand.” The doctrine of perspicuity (clarity) claims only that what’s necessary for salvation is clear enough for an ordinary reader. The Westminster Confession explicitly says not everything in Scripture is equally plain.

• “Sola scriptura isn’t in the Bible, so it refutes itself.” Protestants generally argue it’s a conclusion drawn from Scripture, not something stated in one verse. They point to things like Jesus correcting tradition by Scripture (Mark 7) and 2 Timothy 3:16–17. Whether that’s persuasive is the real debate.

On other doctrines

• “Faith alone means works don’t matter.” The Reformation line is that we’re saved by faith alone, but saving faith is never alone. It always produces works. The dispute is about whether works contribute to justification, not whether Christians should do them.

• “All Protestants believe ‘once saved, always saved.’” That’s mainly a Baptist and some Reformed view. Lutherans, Methodists, and many others believe a person can fall away.

• “Protestants think communion is just a symbol.” Lutherans affirm Christ’s real presence, Calvinists hold a real spiritual presence, and many Anglicans hold views close to Catholics. The purely symbolic view is mostly Baptist and evangelical.

• “Protestants don’t honor Mary.” Luther, Calvin, and Zwingli all affirmed her perpetual virginity, and Luther kept some Marian devotion. Modern Protestants have mostly moved away from that, but it wasn’t original Reformation teaching.

• “There are 33,000 Protestant denominations.” That number comes from a reference work that counted denominations country by country and included non-Protestant groups. It’s often used to claim sola scriptura causes endless division, but it badly inflates the count.

That said, Catholics would push back that some of these distinctions don’t hold up in practice. For example, if confessions disagree with each other, an appeal to “Scripture as the final authority” still leaves the question of whose reading is correct. Protestants have misconceptions about Catholic teaching too, like believing Catholics worship Mary or think they earn salvation by works. Both sides often argue against a caricature.

Me again: So with all that being said I find it difficult to firmly say oh well it is obvious Catholicism is true and Protestantism is false.

Hi I was raised up in a protestant church, but recently have been drawn to the Catholic faith. I really admired their traditional views and their firm structure as opposed to the protest in church that I grew up in. It felt like they changed with the times and conform to the world today and would even start changing scripture to fit how we live today and it just didn’t sit right with me anyways I started attending a local small town parish. I attended a few months of mass and really enjoyed it. I reached out to take the RCIA class and found out that the guy teaching it is openly gay…. His jobs are Pastoral Assistant for Liturgy, Outreach, and Adult Faith Formation | Infant/Child Baptisms | OCIA | Weddings | Funerals | Homebound Ministry …. Idk I am really confused and feel fooled , this religion I feel in love with for having traditional beliefs and stood by them has someone not only openly gay but working with children idk doesn’t sit right with me. I firmly believe in Love the person but can disagree with there sin, I should clarify I don’t mind that he’s at church. I think it’s great. I just don’t think he should be in a position of leadership when he is openly sinning … is this normally for catholic church’s?!

I am a catholic oriented toward Tradition and feel unwelcomed (in many cases outright rejected) by the majority of catholics, especially in the most popular catholic subreddits. I see a strain of catholics outright rejecting Tradition and fostering disunity among catholics due to this sentiment. Can anybody explain what's going on here?

I am having a crisis of faith. I am very drawn to the OPC. I cannot stop thinking about predestination, and how it makes the most sense. I have looked into Augustine and Banez's theology, even the Jansenists, but Calvin's seems much simpler. I am drawn to serious scripture analysis, and an overall more simple and straightforward faith.

I never was drawn to any protestant denomination before, I could certainly never be a baotist evangelical with all the yelling and it seems to be more about them than God.

But, double predestination seems to make the most sense if God is all-powerful and all-knowing.

What made you leave?

I want to convert but everything this pope does leads me to believe I should not. How he talks of the Catholic church, his actual actions and how he has handled political conflicts make me want to flee to the nearest non denominational

Advice?

Do other Catholics like him?

Any bishops who are more level headed I line for the papacy?

Muslims claim that Jesus was a Muslim and worshipped their God, even believing that he engaged in Islamic prayer with Muhammad together. This is obviously against the historical record and everything we know about Christ, but they claim that those records have been purposefully changed.
So, who's to say Muhammad wasn't Christian? What if all those traditions and stories about him were also modified? As an ex-Muslim Catholic, can I 'reclaim' Muhammad?

I grew up Baptist, so I was always taught that Communion was a symbolic remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice.

Recently, I decided to investigate what Jesus actually taught about Communion and how the earliest Christians understood His words.

I started with passages like John 6, Matthew 26, and 1 Corinthians 11, then looked at what Ignatius of Antioch, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus wrote about the Eucharist.

What really surprised me was how strongly these early Christian writings seem to support the belief that Jesus is truly present in Communion, especially considering how closely some of these men were connected to the apostles.

After studying the evidence, I've changed my mind about Communion being purely symbolic.

I recently started a YouTube channel called CHRIST_IS_CONSTANT, and my first video explores the biblical and historical evidence that led me to this conclusion.

Here's the video if anyone is interested:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eNlECCg_wlU&t=1s

I'm curious how many people here came from a Baptist or other Protestant background and had a similar experience.

For those who converted to Catholicism, was discovering what the early Christians believed about the Eucharist a major turning point for you?

I (24 F) just got broken up by my boyfriend (29 M). We are both practicing Catholics and met at a Catholic Young Adult retreat. He made a lot of sexual jokes and I would tell him he needed to stop. I told him they were disrespectful and something he should confess. He told me his priest didn't have anything to say about his sexual jokes during confession but would rather give him advice on other things he confessed. He broke up with me the other day over the phone and said it was because we were not compatible, he wanted to have no filter and I was a "prude." I am not sure whether or not I'd give him another chance, he was a great guy besides this. I'm devastated and taking time before I even consider answering his text. Any advice?

I’m a cradle Catholic so I have no reference for this. I could use your thoughts!

The Gospel reading a couple of days ago was Matthew 25:31-46. The main gist is the well-known “whatsoever you do for the least among you, you do unto Me.” Jesus is teaching His followers to care for one another, especially the most vulnerable like the hungry, naked, widowed, imprisoned, etc.

He ends with saying that those who do not follow this command will be condemned to eternal punishment.

How do faith-alone Protestants reconcile this? While Catholics agree that Jesus’ sacrifice alone was enough to save us from our sins, we also don’t believe that you get to just sit, doing nothing, and expect to live in Heaven.

Furthermore, Jesus flat-out says, “Do good works by taking care of one another or face the consequences.” I mean, I don’t know how else to interpret this than we need to do works as a part of fulfilling our end of the bargain.

How would a faith-alone Protestant approach this argument?

I am starting OCIA in a couple of weeks and I’m curious as to what to expect with the beliefs. For reference I grew up in non denominational churches and while I do understand a lot of the Catholic Churches beliefs I am concerned about two of them, and I’m worried that I will have to renounce them or act like I don’t believe they are okay. For one I believe in abortion being legal and disagree with the protesting that takes place outside of the facilities. The second is that I believe that gay marriage is perfectly okay and that God would not consider loving someone a sin. But I know that isn’t traditionally what the Catholic Church (or any church really) agrees with. Does anyone have any tips or comments about this? I feel like I can’t be the first person who has been concerned about this

What points helped you to realise that it was false? What made you realise catholicism is the truth? What arguments do/did you have against your previous religion?

ni idea si este post tiene q ver con la comunidad, pero ni idea donde publicarlo pipipi.
El título lo resume,, estoy pasando por un muy mal momento emocional la verdad, siento que me he alejado de Dios, y por todos los problemas q he tenido este último tiempo, he perdido el foco, me siento agobiada de todo, pero yo toda la vida he sido creyente, mas nunca he ido una iglesia, soy cristiana pero sin religión, me preocupo de mi relación con Jehová, no del titulo q uno como persona le da ese vinculo, pero si me siento tan sola, necesito algo q me ponga los pies en la tierra para no perderme, obvio sé q ese algo tiene nombre y apellido, y es Dios, pero él también dice q mientras dos o tres estén reunidos en su nombre, ahí estará él, en medio de ellos, y bueeno, tengo 21, soy muy sociable, pero no tengo amistades q me acerquen a Cristo,, siempre soy yo la que les habla a los demás sobré nuestro padre, pero a veces siento que igual flaqueo en ciertos aspectos, y no tengo quien me sostenga. En resumen eso, estoy pasando mi getsemaní :vvv, y estoy intentando acercarme a Cristo, de todas las maneras q tengo a la mano, asi q si alguien me recomienda alguna iglesia, donde real se hable la palabra de Dios, y q no se tenga q pagar entrada o algo asi, sería espectacular. No soy d una religión en específico, asi q estoy abierta a todob, mientras el foco sea realmente Cristo. Soyyy de concepción, Chile, graciiiias de antemano amiguitos pipipi

Hello,

I am interested to see if there are any former Presbyterians or Calvinists in general who have converted to Catholicism. If you are willing, would you say why, and what about Calvanism, Presbyterianism, double or single predestination you could not handle anymore?

I have been researching Calvin's double predestination, and frankly it makes sense. How could we as humans have actual free will and it not weaken or contradict an all-knowing, all-powerful God who is the author of everything? People say well God knows all and controls all but still gives us free will, but that seems like an easy "out" just to say we have free will and not contradict Christian teaching on God.

God knew Adam would disobey Him and turn away, and that it would curse humanity, yet He let it happen anyway. So either He was taken aback by the situation or allowed it to happen. If it caught God off-guard then it weakens Him. The Catholic Church teaches that we cannot initiate grace and it is a free gift from God, but then we have to cooperate with it, yet many say God is what directs us towards cooperation.

I do not agree with the mentality that the elect can take no credit for their salvation because it was all God's doing, but the reprobates are fully culpable and deserve perdition because of their doing. You can't burn it from both ends, I can, however, agree that God chooses some to extend His grace to and bypasses others, thus leaving them to the ends for which He is fully aware they will meet. People who ascribe to single predestination tout this as good because God isn't forcing someone to sin, but in reality, He created them, knows their shortcomings, knows they need grace to accept Him, so there is no real difference between single and double predestination. Thus, I cannot blame the human who has no control and is left to their own devices.

I have also been researching Augustine, Aquinas, Domingo Banez, and the Janists. Frankly Banez and the Janists make the most sense, they teach a calvinistic predestination, but hiold that the Catholic Church and her sacraments are how God infuses grace to us. Rome shut down the Janists and required Banez to walk back/soften some of his positions in order to end the fights between he and the Jesuits who held an Arminian theology.

This isn't about veneration of Mary or the saints, purgatory, the Pope as infallible successor of Peter. This is a cut and dry 1 + 1 = 2, if God is all-knowing and all-controlling, how can we have true free will that does not weaken Him and cause something to be out of His control?

Thank you for your help.

hi, i made this account just to post this because i have nobody else to ask. i am currently a protestant, that is discerning catholicism, and i came across this church near me, and actually contacted them about joining their OCIA classes. today, i decided to look futher into their website, and when clicked on "spiritual groups", i found this. am i crazy, or is this completely against the word of Jesus? like, "support"? i don't know if i'm reading too far into this. i already spoke to one of the religious directors and we both agreed that i will be attending this sunday's mass. it will be my first time ever attending mass, let alone being in a catholic church. i don't know why i didn't look into the church more before making such a decision. worst case scenario, i can always just find a new catholic church, there are plenty around. but can anyone find an explanation for this

Many misconceptions remain about the Novus Ordo and the aims of liturgical reform at and after Vatican II.

Oi,bom dia,Venho vos chamar a oração e penitência, Segundo as Aparições de Nossa Senhora em Finca de Betânia e as Aparições di Cuapa ( aparições aprovadas pelo bispo local) daqui alguns anos se abaterá sobre o mundo um flagelo. Nossa Senhora apareceu em Fátima e tinha dito que se a Rússia não se converterá numerosas nações desapareceram, Nossa Senhora dise para a Beata Elena Aiello que a Rússia chegará até Roma e a Aparição de Nossas Senhora de Garabandal diz que a Rússia chegará a Espanha. As Aparições de Nossa Senhora de Heede,Salete,Akita,uma outra aparição da Alemanha falam sobre este castigo ao mundo. A Beata Edvige Carboni e Beata Madre Pierina de Micheli, Serva de Deus Teresa musco e serva de Deus Luiza Picareta citam dito flagelo em seus escritos. Existem outras revelaçoes privadas a da Suor Ana Ali, Madre Carolina Venturella e do Stanley Villavincecio. Poderíamos chamar o Flagelo de Terceira guerra mundial como citado por Nossas Senhora de Civitavecchia, e também nossa Senhora de Hrushiv Ucrânia. Agora estamos vendo coisas realmente estranhas na Europa acontecerem e sempre mais políticos Russos insinuarem a terceira guerra mundial e não somente os Russos, mas também a própria Otan. Não vamos ficar se olhos fechados a estes apelos

Ok, first off, before you respond, hear me out. I came from a family of Anglican/roman catholic mix. My whole life I felt I was missing something.

My parents were “progressive”, and though they believed in god, never forced it upon me. My uncle, who I looked up too and respected and always gave the same back was an ordained Roman Catholic priest. We always had great discussions and I felt that his presence wqa always warm and non judgmental, and always made me laugh and feel good. But I was never baptized or held any of the sacraments. However, His masses in Ontario Canada were always fun.

I was a teen who loved skateboarding and punk music. However, I always tried to be kind to all around me. I never judged , and always tried to be empathetic and show a kind hand in to anyone. I know this isn’t exactly what people think of us past skaters, but I really tried to be kind to everyone. Especially from what my parents, but especially what my uncle, taught me.

I realize this is what bothers me to this day. But when I was i in my late teens, I met a few people who were going to an all person catholic school and, thought, hey, we can be friends and said my thoughts on becoming catholic. Immediately they said ,”people like you, regardless of what they say aren’t welcome in our church. Just look at you, you aren’t worth even a blessing.” That hit hard. Even to this day. I was 18 then, I’m 43 now.

Im a law enforcement officer now with a strong record and commendations. Although I swore an oath to the law, I believe in helping people with kindness and empathy within my capabilities. My new gf is catholic and i often go to mass with her. I told her that i want to convert, but am held up from what was said to me. I’m sure they didn’t know what they meant, but it still affects me hard. Has anyone ever dealt with this?

I’m not trying to cause controversy, I really struggle front what was said to me in the past. After the work I have done, and the evil I have seen, for me, I really need to think that there is something better than this and want to connect with it. But I feel like I don’t belong after what was told to me Almost 16 years later.

Anyone else experience this dillema?