Hello! I am a theology freshman, and I'm sure I'll learn more about Catholicism and Orthodoxy in my studies, but I have been raised a Protestant all my life and was just looking for some knowledge on the subjects. Example questions:
--What makes the Virgin Mary so significant a figure that we ought to pray to her? (same goes for the saints as well)
--What basis do we have to believe prayer for those saint who have passed will be of any effect?
--How does Purgatory work?
--What kind of feasts and/or traditions do you have and why?
--Are laypeople allowed to minister, or just ordained clergy?
--Where do you believe Protestantism is mistaken?
These are just some examples, like I said I'm just looking for a general understanding of your views and seeking to find what's true! Any other facts/opinions/answers you may have are greatly appreciated as well!
I'll take these one by one, and I'm glad you are interested in Catholicism and I hope I can be of help! I'll do a quick piece on each one just to keep it short, and then if you'd like we can talk more in depth about a specific question.
Mary is so important because she is the Mother of God. You have to affirm this, otherwise you'd be saying that Jesus isn't God, and you'd be separating his natures. Being the Mother of God, she has a special intercessory power. At the wedding of Cana, Jesus's first miracle was performed by the intercession of Mary. One aspect of Mary's importance are her Old Testament archetypes. You see, where there was Adam, there was also Eve. Where there was Moses, there was also the Ark of the Covenant. Where there was Solomon the Wise, who built the Temple, there was also his Queen Mother. Jesus is obviously the fulfillment of many Old Testament archetypes, just some of them being listed above, but so is Mary. For the sake of brevity, I'll just focus on the last two. The Ark of the Covenant was designed by God Himself to carry the Ten Commandments (The Word of God), Aaron the High Priest's Staff, and manna from the desert. It was so pure and holy, that two men who touched it died. Now Jesus is the Word made Flesh, He is the High Priest, and He is the Bread of Life, and He carried in His Mother's womb, so Mary is the Ark of the New Covenant. Being that the New Testament fulfillments of the Old Testament Archetypes are always much greater, just imagine the holiness of Mary, being that the Ark of the Old Covenant was designed by God Himself. Also,in the Apocalypse, St. John sees a vision of the Ark of the Covenant, and instead of going on to describe a gold plated box, he describes a woman clothed in the sun and standing on the moon, crowned with twelve stars who gives birth to a Child. So we see that Mary, being crowned with twelve stars, is the Queen Mother. Jesus will not refuse anything His Queen Mother asks of Him. This is where you get the intercessory power of Mary's prayer. In the Book of James, You see that the prayers of a righteous man are much more effective than those men who have more sinful habits. So how much more powerful are the prayers of the Queen of Heaven?
Now touching on the power of the saints in general, once again in the Apocalypse you see that the Altar of God is built upon the Martyrs, and that they cry out to God to avenge them. Now, God starts entire wars on Earth for the sake of His martyrs. You also see, in the 11th Chapter I believe, that the angels and saints carry our prayers up to God in the form of incense. These images show that the saints and angels are very much aware of what happens here on Earth, and being that they are perfect in heaven (righteous), their prayers are much more effective than our own.
Purgatory is a place where reparation is made for sin, and where the souls of those in a state of grace are perfected. The easiest way to understand it is like this. We humans are not ready to live the life of Heaven. The life of Heaven consists in being perfect and perfectly loving God. Sin and attachment to the things of this world prevent that. Purgatory is the place where we are
purged of all attachment to sin and the things of this world, which is a necessarily painful process. Purgatory is not a second chance or a waiting place to see if you will go to Heaven or Hell. If you are in Purgatory, you will go to Heaven once you have been made perfect, as gold in a furnace.
The Catholic Church is filled with many feasts and traditions, which are much too numerous to elaborate in this post. They are usually centered around a specific event in the life of Christ, such as His birth (Christmas, literally Christ's Mass), His resurrection (Easter), His Ascension (Feast of the Ascension), Pentecost, etc. Or they are in honor of a specific saint (Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul). Traditions/Devotions can be based on private revelation (Sacred Heart Devotion, the Rosary, Our Lady of Fatima, etc.), so while they are highly encouraged by the Church, they are not absolutely binding on the faithful.
All Catholics are called to spread the Gospel anyway they can. Teaching, however, is left primarily to the clergy, it is they to whom Christ specifically commissioned and gave His own mission. The offering of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is also left only to ordained priests, following Jesus's command to "Do this in memory of Me".
I believe all the differences between Catholics and Protestants could eventually be traced back to two doctrines. Sola Scriptura (Scripture Alone) and Sola Fide (Faith Alone). Essentially, the disagreements are on who exactly has the authority to teach; Catholics would say the Church using both Sacred Tradition and Sacred Scripture alone has the authority to bind and loose i.e. define doctrine, make laws, etc., and how is salvation attained; Catholics would say faith alone is not enough, as stated by St. James, but that you must also follow the commandments of the Lord and perform the good works that He has commanded.
Like I said, these are just brief overviews of the subjects mentioned, I hope it helps. If you would like to go more in depth on a specific issue (I think it is better to focus on one issue at a time), I would be more than happy to continue correspondence with you.
