Starting today August 7th, 2024, in order to post in the Married Couples, Courting Couples, or Singles forums, you will not be allowed to post if you have your Marital status designated as private. Announcements will be made in the respective forums as well but please note that if yours is currently listed as Private, you will need to submit a ticket in the Support Area to have yours changed.
I would check out the video on the Holy Eucharist. The Church's teaching on this is often the most difficult thing for people to accept, but it is a central aspect of what we believe. The series on prayer from a Catholic perspective might be also be good, since prayer is the heart of our relationship with Jesus. The video on the Mass should also be pretty central.
If you assert that any specific person has sinned, you must prove it yes. We certainly know that the vast majority of people sin, but the verses you cite do not mean that each and every human being who has existed on the Earth has committed an act of sin.
If your assertion is that every person who was part of the human mortal race has sinned, then you would have to conclude that Jesus sinned. Because Jesus is fully human, and he was certainly mortal unless you deny the cross.
I feel you. From the outside, it can seem as though the rules, the rituals, the art, the crucifixes, the clothing, and the cathedrals is the substance of what the Church has to offer. We bear most of the responsibility for that. We don't often communicate effectively about how these things relate to our personal relationships with Jesus, and about the substance of what is behind the external or visual aspects of the Church. It seems that Pope Francis has come a way in trying to get members of the Church to improve in these areas, and hopefully that is something that we can continue to improve on.
I don't know if you see us this way, but I have seen among some folks a perception that we are just kind of walking around all day shaking in our boots for fear of sin, or that we don't have confidence or peace about our salvation. I have not found those perceptions to be true in general, although some people go through a phase of what we call "scrupulosity" as they develop in their faith. I think that in general we are pretty at peace. Like everybody else we all know that we do not deserve Heaven, that we are not perfect, that Jesus died for us, and that God is a merciful and loving Father. We don't presume that we will go to Heaven, and we put our faith in Jesus and believe that He will save us if we follow Him.
Just keep praying and attempting to follow the Lord the best that you can. I'll do the same. Nobody goes to heaven for having the right religion (be it Baptist, Catholic, Lutheran, or whatever), and Jesus will not reject you if you do not reject Him.My biggest confusion is all the semantics and interpretations.
Same Scriptures different twists for different agendas.
I am a child coming to Christ understanding things in a black and white way I need simple things to draw me closer not intellectual debating rings.
Yo said Mary never died, as if she is not a dead person. As if my use of that term was wrong. But it wasnt. Mary did die. Maybe Colossians 3:3 may have been the wrong verse to quote but The Lord clearly says we will die.
