Hello.
I hope none of you think any of these questions are attempts to bash Catholicism because that is not my intent. The faith is just confusing to me so I am curious about it.
That's understandable.
Do you worship Mary when you say, "Hail Mary!" and call her Our Lady?
We do not. It would be breaking a commandment to worship her. In fact, obviously it would break a commandment to worship anything or anyone except God.
I won't speak for anyone else. But I refer to the Blessed Mother usually as
Our Lady unless there's some pressing need to use her name. The reason for this is that it's simply an issue of respect for me. I would no sooner refer to Our Lady by her name than I would call my parents by either of their first names. It's a question of respect. Others may have their own reasons. But those are mine.
I should say though that similar logic goes into my preference for referring to her Son as
Our Lord. It's a respect thing. But it's not something which I'm prepared to demand of others. If they wish to refer to the mother and the Son by their names... well, that's not my business.
Why do you use Mary and the saints as intercessories when you pray?
I ask my living friends to pray for me sometimes. I also ask the faithful departed to pray for me as well... because they're more alive than we are.
Does the Bible say you must confess your sin to a priset to be forgiven?
1 John 5 says, among other things, that there are sins which bring death and there are sins which do not bring death. The Church teaches that sins which bring death (i.e., mortal sins) are usually to be confessed to a priest.
Tell me what the rosary is, what it symbolizes, and why it is important.
Oh boy, that's a big 'un. I'll circle back to it. Or maybe someone else can tackle it.
Why do you believe the wine is Jesus' blood and the bread is His body?
I take St. John 6 literally when Our Lord says we must eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Catholic Church takes that passage literally as well. Historically, the Church has always interpreted this passage in literal terms.
Why aren't priests allowed to get married and have their own children?
That's a discipline enforced in the Roman Rite. And not entirely in the Roman Rite, as there are occasionally priests who are ordained who are married.
Deacons may also marry, at least in some circumstances.
However, Eastern Catholic clergy are permitted to marry.
Also, Anglican ministers may convert as well and become part of the Ordinariate. These Anglican ministers who have converted can still be ordained as priests in the Roman Rite even if they are married.
For example, I sometimes attend Mass at a nearby Ordinariate parish. The clergy there are obviously entirely Anglican ministers but, to my recollection, they're all married. And they're still official Catholic clergy, no problem.
But for the sake of discussion, the discipline could change. For instance, tomorrow it could be announced that Roman Rite clergy might be permitted to marry from now on. Understand, this is not a matter of dogma. People seem to think that it is. But it isn't. This could change at any moment, in theory, and there would be no contradiction or conflict.
What is the purpose of Mass being spoken in Latin? Is that still a rule?
It is not still a rule. But the Traditional Latin Mass is offered in ever increasing numbers across the United States.
On a personal level, I adore the Latin. I like languages. I also love beauty, elegance and sophistication. And it's tough to get much more beautiful, elegant or sophisticated than the Traditional Latin Mass.
I see the Latin as a unifying experience for the faithful. Latin is likely a foreign language to everybody. So everybody can participate no matter what their native tongue might be.
I'm not denigrating Mass offered in vernacular. It's not my business to ever denigrate the Mass. I'm only saying that as a matter of individual preference, I'll choose the TLM every time. But I absolutely understand if somebody else might prefer Mass in vernacular.
How important is kneeling at pews during Mass, and when do you do it?
My recollection is that the faithful should
genuflect when the Host is in the tabernacle. And it usually is. I welcome correction from others on this point. Me, I usually take the easy way out and genuflect on the assumption that the consecrated host is in the tabernacle.
The reason for the genuflection is a show of worship to Our Lord, who is present in the Mass. I think a proper genuflection is one where my right knee touches the floor. That is me giving something to the Lord that is rightfully His.
One might kneel before a priest. However, it is important to note that it should be one's
left knee which hits the floor. You bend the right knee as an act of worship for God. That's His and His alone. And you bend the left knee as a show of respect to spiritual authorities.
Why do you believe you must obey the Pope even though he also sins?
When the Pope speaks on matters concerning faith and morals, yes. But if a Pope expresses a political (or other) opinion, we are not obligated to agree with him.
On a personal level, one thing I appreciate about Pope Francis and his pontificate is that he is by no means a Tea Party Patriot. He obviously falls somewhere on the left on certain issues. I look to him as a constant reminder that I am in serious error if I ever associate the Christian faith with Republican Party politics.
Christianity is bigger than any political party and Pope Francis challenges subconscious prejudices I never even knew I had.
The concept of papal infallibility does not depend on papal impeccability. Any pope sins. They're only human.
Why do you believe liturgy is very important to do at Mass? What is it?
Everybody has a liturgy. The issue is that Catholics are simply willing to commit their liturgies into writing.
But if you walk into an evangelical community, you will find that each service is conducted in more or less the same fashion each time. They may not define that as an actual liturgy. But it is a liturgy in fact even if it's not a liturgy in name.
Why are services called Mass? Are there any services not called Mass?
Pass. I'll let somebody who actually knows what they're talking about handle that one. Never thought about it before, tbh.
What are purgatories and why are they important to Catholic people?
The Church understands Purgatory as the final purification of the faithful prior to their entry into Heaven.
I reserve the right to be wrong about this but to my knowledge the Church has very little official teaching about Purgatory. Primarily, she teaches that there is such a thing as Purgatory and she teaches the purpose of it. Otherwise, there aren't many other specifics to be known.
It's important to understand that it's possible for the faithful to bypass Purgatory entirely. Purgatory is a possible detour; not a mandatory destination. Not everybody will necessarily end up there.
But for those souls which do end up in Purgatory, we believe that God will refine and purify their souls to prepare them for Heaven. This mortal must put on immortality. Purgatory is a modality whereby this mortal puts on immortality.
