Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Any non-Catholics marry a Catholic in the Church?

George I can only speak for myself, but I say that I was in no way offended by your words. I understand your positon since I was raised a Baptist. the first contact with a priest was quite the shock for me. tom

av - I'll tell what I am surprised about. I am surprised that someone would make the kind of comments you make on these issues despite one's total abject ignorance of the topic. Is it possible that you do not have a basic understanding of what this is all about in the RC Church? May I suggest that you do not? I don't care what non-Catholics participate in at other denominations, Lord only knows what they are doing. However, I respect their practices (within reason) and whatever faith system they establish. Why can't you do that? Is it too far out of the realm of possibility that RC's have very good reasons for what and how they do things? Did you know that to become RC you don't just waltz into the rectory and get assigned an envelope number? If you can do that elsewhere, that's fine with me. Find out more facts and I think your opinion would change.

Regards, sse

sse,
easy. George is a good guy and he is trying to find out what he is going to face. tom

Tom,

I screwed the pooch on this one with my open mouth first policy. I believe sse has the right to flame me on this one.

Yerright, but I tapped it out before I saw his "enlightened" post.

My words were not directed solely at him nor intended to offend.

Regards, sse

Surprised to see this thread but thats a good thing and I feel the need to comment. I, too, married a Catholic girl in her church with all the meetings and rituals etc. I was non- Catholic, pretty much non religious for that matter and as I recall we didn't have that much trouble with church or family. Anyway, as we progressed in our marriage, my wife became more conflicted about her religion and had a strong desire to have a real relationship with the Lord. Again I have never felt that compulsion to any great degree but I will give my wife much credit for breaking herself away from the Catholic church and becoming a true christian by realizing that everything you need is in the bible (and some help from a good bible church) and not in a man made hierarchy of leuitenants, rote ritual and mindless obedience. I have attended many small group type meetings with her in the past and as usual, when it comes time to tell "your" story, many of these seekers tell the same story and how painful it was to break away as they followed their hearts. I consider myself fortunate that I was never raised in that church although I will never realize what must be a great amount of joy as one realizes the "truth" after having escaped and crossed over to the "truth". I've seen it happen. BTW, still married after 18 years and it's better than ever.

skpp108,
your bias against Catholics is showing. Someone who claims to be a Christian should be ashamed of attacking other Christians. We consider are Christians. tom

My wife is Catholic, I'm Methodist, so much red tape to get married in the catholic church, and I refused to attend marriage classes.

We got married in a Methodist Church, no questions asked, did not have to swear to raise my children as catholics.

And for some reason my wife still wont attend services at a Methodist church, I guess it was only good enough to get married in, Hmm go figure.

My wife wanted to send our daughter to the catholic church, I put up a big enough stink that she will be attending kindergarten in public school with all her friends next fall.

Ya think? <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />

Regards, sse

Rugerforme,

Interesting! My grandson was having a difficult time in public school. Off he went to Catholic school. What a difference.

Now two years later he's in great shape as a student. His grades are A's. A friend in public school has 30 minutes homework per night-maybe. Jake has a minimum of 2 hours homework per night. He has great pride in his school and himself.

By the way our family was not Catholic at the time Jake started at Our Lady of Grace and most are still not. My daughter decided to convert. She and Jake have had their first communions and the younger ones will soon.

My son-in-law didn't want to undergo the training. He does go to church with his family.

As for old Protestant me. I am happy with the great educations my grandchildren are getting to the degree that I am helping with the tuition payments.

Actually I enjoy attending Mass at OLG and have considered converting myself.

DN:



Thanx for turning this into a more uplifting thread.



I have not regretted joining the Church, and I truly enjoy seeing my children learn the Five R's at St Paul Elementary (Reading, wRiting, aRithmetic, Religion and Respect).



For those who wish to receive communion without education in the meaning and importance of communion in the Catholic Church, I submit that you have mixed emotions. The mixture being: "I want to be treated just like you, but I don't want to be just like you." It is a difficult emotional state. I know, I was there. (Not flaming anyone here, just relating my experience)



But, you are always welcome to get in the communion line and receive a blessing. Simply Cross your arms across your chest and the Priest will gladly bless you.



As for denying communion to non-Catholics, it is not intended as a means to exclude good men. Instead, it demonstrates how serious the church is about such matters.



All Catholics must undertake a certain level of education in the matter. I will attend such classes with my daughter this Spring. She was born Catholic, baptised Catholic, and attends a Catholic school. However, she and I together must complete the seminars prior to her first communion.



The Church views these classes as an important step in a person's lifelong spiritual Journey and a pre-requisite to receiving communion. Again, the Church views faith as a lifelong journey. These classes are not intended, nor taught as "Punches" in one's "Get Into Heaven Card" (despite the conduct of many who treat such things that way).



God Bless,



BMT

Avagadro:

My wife was raised a devout member of the Church of Christ. I was raised as a Catholic but in truth my family was not very devout. We were married in the Catholic Church. We have been married for 28 years this March. The priest was a something of a jackass about our being previously married in City Hall. The priest did not remember that the Church laws had changed and he was a young priest! The Methodist priest would have gladly welcomed us. But yet, we prevailed and got married in the Catholic Church, and I insisted that the same priest marry us (I had our local parish priest who borders on sainthood refresh our vows for our 25th anniversary, and it was a simpler and much more pleasant and meaningful occassion).

My wife decided to convert to Catholicism at about the time that our oldest daughter was getting ready to go to grammar school. Among the many reasons was the fact that the local parish Catholic School provided a better type of education and an opportunity for reinforcing what we consider to be good, decent moral behavior. We felt that it would be unnecessarily confusing for our daughter if both her parents did not try to reinforce at home what she was learning at school.

I rediscovered my faith in Jesus Christ through the Catholic Church. The Church has been basically the same for 2,000 years, and God will always be. We are the ones who screw things up with our ignorance, pride, etc. Reminds me of the old saying that "if you and God drifted apart, who moved?" Some mentioned that a lot of their emotions against the Catholic Church were formulated by the actions of a few bum priests. I have heard the same types of general comments about all hunters from non-hunters who have been exposed to or have heard about the actions of a few slob hunters. There are over 50,000 priests in the U.S.A. Some are more personable and spiritual than others. If you are serious, I think that you will survive the experience and move on to the business of living together in this difficult existence.

There are a lot of random comments about the Catholic Church in this thread. If it makes the writers feel better by expressing their thoughts about what the Catholic Church is, and why they are better informed, or on a better track to salvation than the Catholic Chuch, well then I sincerely wish them all the best. I am 53 years old. Possibly the best comment I have ever read about man's relationship with God was written many years ago in a Newsweek article on Jesus Christ, and to paraphrase: "In the beginning God made man in His own image and ever since man has tried to remake God in his own image."

If you have ever attended a daily Mass, you would know that at each service, we Catholics read at least one part of an Epistle letter (usually Paul) and one part of the four Gospels. Indeed, if you were to attend Mass every single day, within a three year cycle you would have heard practically the entire Bible recited. So you see, we do read the Bible. So did the Pharisees, and they were among the very few groups consistently criticized by Jesus, for apparently reading the Word of God and apparently not truly living it. The fact that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of mankind is not lost on us. There is a crucifix at every Church! However, we have also noted that Jesus's deity was repeatedly recognized by the many demons that he exorcized. That knowledge alone does not appear to have gotten them closer to heaven. Talk is cheap, we believe that actions in accordance with Christ's teachings (which are often very difficult) count for more.

A person may be very patriotic and perfectly willing to give their life for the good old U.S of A, but that alone does not entitle them to wear the uniform of one of our armed forces, at least not until they are properly trained. Same with the Catholic religion. You cannot and should not participate in Catholic sacramental services until you have received sufficient training to understand what it is that you are doing and why.

God bless anyone who kneels through any Litany. I cannot, and neither can my parish priest. He has a bum knee and I have a bad back. You can sit down, or stand, or even walk out. Litanies are by no means a mandatory form of Catholic worship nor are they even even a part of the Mass service.

Finally, we Catholics do not pray to the Virgin Mary (or the Saints and Angels) instead of God. We pray to God. But we honor the Virgin Mary because she was chosen to be the Mother of God, and we honor the Saints and the Angels because they are with God. We ask those who were once mortal and flawed like we are to intercede on our behalf simply because they already are with God. We draw an inspiration from instances like the miracle at the Marriage at Cana, where Mary "influenced" Jesus to keep the party going, even when He was reluctant to do so. We prefer to have that type of influence on our side.

Peace Be to You, and Congratulations!

James.

James,

Thank-you! That was very imformative and nicely written. It certianly helps me understand a few of my concerns. I have my first meeting in less than two weeks and we'll have to see where it goes from there.

Thanks to all for their patience, advice, and blessings.

This is how I feel, We are all Christians, no better, no worse. And I don't care what you are, just treat me with the respect you expect me to treat you with. That is all I ever ask from anyone.

I think the best analogy I ever heard came from my Catholic sister in-law.
"The Methodists church stands there with there arms open, the Catholic church stands there with there arms crossed."

As far as where my daughter goes to school, Maybe it's because of the memories I have. All my friends I had when I was starting school went to the public school.

I went to a private school knowing absolutely no one in my class. I hated school, never felt like I fit in, when I was in the 2nd grade, I can remember asking to use the bathroom and once out of the class running home.
I have absolutely NO GOOD memories of school till around Jr. High when I started attending Public High School, much to my mothers dismay.
I joined the Swim Team, & Track Team, had more friends than I ever did. My best friend from Jr. High is still my best friend now, 24 years after we graduated.

And as little Tim says, "God Bless Everyone"

Ruger,

I have been thinking about this topic quite a bit, for my own edification to put myself at ease with it. I cannot take the answer "that's the way it is and your an idiot if you don't understand".

I personally do not think there is anything more personal or private than a man's relationship with his maker. Many of us choose to share this relationship openly, but it is still personal. A church is private property ... correct ... you may be welcomed to walk in but it is still private property. Just a man's method or worship is personal. If you choose to worship somewhere you must follow there rules. Just like if I invited you to my house for dinner, I would expect you to follow the rule ... no one other than me or my fiance are allowed to feed my dog. I have this rule for several reasons .. whether you like it or not it is my rule.

You are welcomed to enter a Catholic Church and worship the Lord, but that Church has rules which we are expected to follow. Not being able to partake of communion is one of their rules. It doesn't matter if I come to your house and am allowed to feed your dog table scraps ... you still cannot do it at my house. Double standard ... maybe ... but still my rules. Same holds true for the way the Catholics choose to worship in their HOUSE of God. Their PRIVATE HOUSE of God.

Just as the building (Church) is private property, the worship and how they conduct it is also private/personal, and quite honestly probably more so (as it should be), because our relationships with God should be of our most personal and private.

I don't know if this has shead any light on it for you ... but it has for me. I'm sure some could care less if we understood a rational for it, but at least for me, I'm comfortable with it and even more importantly .... Respect it.

Oh BTW ... public school or private school should be the choice of the parent/child. There are cases I'm sure where one is better than the other. Me personally, I was in public schools from K - PhD, but if I feel my children would receive a better education in a private school ... then Private it is.

George, very well thought out and very well stated. tom

Protestant Communion or Catholic Eucharist, is a HUGE issue and source of separation. As a Protestant I would never presume to violate their table, not adhering to their faith. Nor could I participate as the idea of a propitiatory mass blasphemes the finished work of Christ as clearly stated by the author of Hebrews.

When Klinton stumble bummed into a R/C mass, I was glad the R/C was upset as they should have been. It was not right. Klinton should not have been welcome at any Protestant Communion either because he was living in sin, not in fellowship with God, manifest by his persistent lying and fornicating and double dealing false swearing.

Caution when playing with fire!


"Anyway, as we progressed in our marriage, my wife became more conflicted about her religion and had a strong desire to have a real relationship with the Lord. "

Why is it that certain posts describe Catholicism as not a "real relationship with the Lord"?

Are those of that are RC somehow not capable in believing that Jesus Christ is our Savior or is that simply reserved for those that are not Catholic?

This thread couold start a brush fire. Suprised it hasn't so far.

I'm not trying to offend anyone here and hope I haven't.


Mac

Luceo Non Uro

Well said James! I was born and raised Southern Baptist. I converted to the Catholic faith when I met my wife who was and remains a devout Cathloic. I was never pressured by her, her family, or the church to convert. It was my choice alone. I took classes, asked questions, and had complete comfort with the Catholic faith. I can tell you that becoming a member of the Catholic Church has been one of the most rewarding and important things I have ever done. Not only has it been good for me as a person but it made my family and marriage stronger. My wife and I just yesterday celebrated our 22nd anniversary. Our entire marriage has evolved around our faith and I'm glad for my family that it has. Too many people want a religion of convienence. The Catholic church doesn't work that way. It wont change to fit us we must go and embrace the faith. While far from perfect and a work in progress I am happy that I am a Catholic. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />Sam