Three Misleading Statements About Catholicism

Suitable for: Non-Christians and Non-Catholic Christians

Introduction

Having been introduced to the Catholic Faith for what's coming to three years, I've heard my fair share of weird statements about my faith. Some come from non-Christians, while others come from other Christians. Here are the top three misunderstandings I have gathered so far.

Statement I: Catholics are not Christians.

No matter how many times we draw two huge cross over our bodies before meals, many still deny that Catholics are Christians. All Catholics are Christians because Christ is the centre of our worship. We recognise Jesus Christ as the Word Incarnate, we believe that He has redeemed us by His Cross and Resurrection, and look forward to His Second Coming. If a "Catholic" fails to do this, he is considered not to be one.

Catholics are the first Christians, whose Church was founded by Christ Himself. We began to distinguish ourselves as "Catholic" when the one Christian Church split into Catholic and Orthodox around the year 1000. "Catholic" simply means "universal", which connotes that we are "inclusive", "far-reaching", "the correct Church" etc..

"Orthodox" means conventional and traditional, just as the English word implies. Their community in Singapore is rather small - her population does not exceed a thousand.

The "Christians" spoken of colloquially mostly refer to Protestants who emerged around the 1600s, and are alternatively termed as Reformed Churches or Evangelicals. Due to English semantics, the word "Protestant" is hardly favoured among her members. It is incorrect to refer to the individual member as "Reformer". This title is reserved for the few people who spearheaded the Reformation in the 16th century. "Evangelical" contains a mouthful of five syllabi. Therefore, they prefer to identify themselves as Christians.

On the part of us Catholics Christians, we prefer to refer ourselves as "Catholic" to differentiate ourselves from the Evangelicals, thus leading to the misunderstanding that Catholics are not Christians.

Statement II: Catholics worship Mary, Christians worship Jesus.

Now, as discussed earlier, Catholics are Christians, and we all worship Jesus Christ. Catholics do not worship Mother Mary. If a Catholic worships her, he or she has committed a sin.

The misunderstanding that Catholics worship Mother Mary arises from the use of Chinese to share about our faith, common among the older generation of Chinese Singaporean Christians. While it is accurate to say that Catholics 拜 (bài) Mary, the word "拜" does not carry the same connotation as when we say we 拜 Jesus. In Chinese, the word "拜" has different meanings. The Buddhists 拜 their deities, we 拜 our deceased loved ones*, and during Chinese New Year, we also 拜 our relatives. Clearly, 拜 takes on different meanings in each example. If you tell your Ah Gong during the Chinese New Year that you're going to 拜 him just as how you 拜 your dead Ah Mah, I guarantee you a slap. Similarly, the 拜 we give to  Mary is high honour (and to the other saints we give honour), while the 拜 we reserve for Jesus is worship, due to God - the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit - alone. Those who heard about Catholicism in Chinese, through no fault of theirs, wrongly translated "拜 Mary" into "worship Mary", thus circulating this misleading statement. 

So how is whatever we do in the name of Mary not worship? The simple answer is: We know best what we're doing, it is not for anyone to judge what is hidden beneath our disposition. But I'll leave you with a more satisfactory answer. The Church teaches that all devotions to Mary and the other saints must lead us to Christ. If you noticed, a Catholic Rosary (the beads upon which we repeat the Hail Mary 53 times) always begins with a cross. Also, a simple analysis of the Hail Mary (the best-known Marian prayer) reveals that it is not a prayer of worship.

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with you.

Blessed are you among women,

And blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus.

Holy Mary, Mother of God,**

Pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death.

Amen.

What is the main point in the prayer? "Pray for us," just like how we ask our friends to pray for us too.  Also, opening the prayer with the word "hail" expresses less awe than "glory be" or "praise be". Those openings are reserved for God. In summary, Catholics do not worship Mother Mary; we honour her and ask for her prayers.

Statement III: Christians believe the Pope is always right.

Firstly, I clarify on behalf of the non-Catholic Christians (Orthodox and Protestant), that they do not recognise the Pope. Only Catholics recognise his authority. 

We Catholics believe the Pope is right only when he solemnly declares a teaching on matters of faith and morals. His remarks on other matters do not carry any weight. He is not a weatherman - his statement that there shall be rain tomorrow holds no water. He can, however, declare that a particular war is unjust, and condemn immoral medical practices.

Also, these teachings on faith on morals have to be solemnly proclaimed. Not every Theological concept*** he comes up with must be believed by the whole Church. Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI wrote many Theological books, but theologians are allowed to challenge whatever is written within it. 

There is a complicated process for a dogma (indisputable teaching) to be proclaimed. It must be passed by what is known as the College of Cardinals, which comprises about 80 cardinals. On the other hand, the Pope has veto rights if the College passes a particular teaching. After all these processes are sorted out, the teaching becomes dogma and the Pope proclaims it. All Catholics are indeed bound to abide by all the dogmata of the Church, failing which they cease to be Catholic.

*The Church considers honouring one's ancestors a noble act. A Catholic may honour one's ancestors by lighting incense sticks, conversations, and placing food. After all, one's ancestors are either saints already or in Purgatory needing our prayers. If they're in hell then... too bad. However, the prayers that accompany these actions must not come in conflict with the Christian faith. The idea behind placing food/drinks is a way of saying "I have always made you Kopi-O when you were still alive. Even though you have gone, I still remember your likes." This is compatible with Christian charity. However, throwing the two pieces of wood to determine if the deceased has finished the food is forbidden because we believe that we cannot determine the divine through such means.

**Mother of God - please refer to this article to find out more on the understanding of the Catholic Church on the use of this title for the Blessed Virgin Mary.

***Theology: The academic study of God. Academics in this field are known as theologians. 


If you're Catholic and wish to read a more enriching blog, you may like to visit http://inhonouroftheeucharist.blogspot.sg. It focuses entirely on the beauty of the Holy Eucharist.

The Timelessness of the Spiritual World

~J.M.J.~

There was a question that always bugged me: how does God find the time to hear so many prayers? Well, that He is omnipotent satisfies me quite well, but then I think of the saints who are not. We, the pilgrim people on earth, constantly seek their intercessions. But where do they find so much time to pray for us? We say 53 Hail Mary's in a Rosary, and often say, "All ye holy angels and saints, pray for us." If we apply our earthly understanding, it seems quite impossible that they pray for us every single time.

So, I consulted Fr Sam at an RCIA class on what quality the angels and saints have that frees them from the constraints of time. He threw the question back at the class. Some proposed from worldly experience that over 2000 years of refinement, some sort of list was created for each prayer intention. So the saints compile the names of person asking for their prayers and then pray the intention. This drew a few chuckles; the class was full of working adults. Finally, Father gave us this answer.

Death frees the saints from the constraints of time, for time does not apply to the spiritual world. And when the saint passes from this world, constrained by time, to the next, he is freed from that constraint.

God is not constrained by time. We see that time does not apply to God as St Thomas Aquinas describes Him as the "First Mover", who is put in motion by no other. Therefore, He exists eternally before eternity, but really the word "before" doesn't really make any sense. We also profess in our Creed that the Son was "begotten of the Father before all ages".

If God is not constrained by time, neither should His Kingdom. Therefore, a saint can be attending every Mass at every Sanctus in every church and chapel in the world, be praying with us at home, and participating in the endless Divine Liturgy in heaven all at the same time.

A few classes later, Fr Sam was elaborating on how the human soul was created to be in unity with the human body, in dismissal of the heresy of Cartesian Dualism, which proposes that the body is an extension of the mind. Then I asked him, "If the soul was created to be in unity with the body, then why aren't saints worse off than us since their souls is separated from their bodies?"

He answered that because upon death, a soul is not constrained by time. Therefore, it can be immediately at the Final Judgement and receive its unity with its transfigured body. I gave him a rather surprised, "Ah?" because it was simply too mind-blowing. But after taking some time to digest it, I accepted that answer.

However, a question still lingers. Does that mean that a soul will be in Purgatory and Heaven at the simultaneously since time does not apply? Haha, me and my questions...

Rite of Acceptance

Today, I went through the Rite of Acceptance. If I would describe it in a word, it would be... No, if I do that, you'll close my blog. I might as well tweet it. So I'll just go ad nauseum until I'm done.

I first met up with my aunts in the parish canteen. I was glad that they had came to witness this journey with me. If you didn't already know, I have an extended family from my father's side which is Catholic, except for my father himself (that's why I'm not raised Catholic) and an uncle who left the communion of the Church. With my late grandmother, they played a huge part in imparting tenets of Christianity to me and introduced me to the official liturgy of the Church - Holy Mass. On special occasions, such as Easter and Christmas, I would attend Mass with them.

I did attend Mass with my grandma when I was little, but I understood none of the Mandarin (or Cantonese I couldn't tell at 4). When she took me for English Mass, I was equally lost. I even wondered what's with the pew that made her "fall" every time she entered and exited it. (She was just genuflecting, I now know).

Without them, I would've never been familiar with how to conduct myself at Mass and would therefore not have attended that Ash Wednesday Mass at the SJI Chapel which sparked off the change in my life.

So I was glad that they came (Grandma arrived at the Sanctus with the other saints and the angels) because I knew they would be comforted to see that I have finally, in the words of Aunty Jenny, "made up your (my) mind" to follow Christ in the Catholic Church.


I then bumped into a few FLOWers, and I was so happy to see them. This youth community has been with me for the past year... OH MY I'VE BEEN IN FLOW FOR ALMOST A YEAR NOW!... and we have been always supporting each other as we journey together. I had learnt a lot from them and they played a great role in my formation. So I am grateful to them and am glad that they had come to witness this special moment with me.

Then, I had to join my RCIA group to prepare for the procession into the church. I found my sponsor, Nathanael, and we got organised outside the main entrance. The church bells rang, and Father Chong, with his company of concelebrants and altar boys, came to welcome us into the church. As the entrance hymn was sung, the altar boys and priests processed in, and we followed in behind.

As I stepped into the church, there was a special feeling to it as compared to the hundreds of times I had before. It was symbolically meaningful because I was invited into the life of the Church. As I clasped my hands and walked towards the tabernacle, grateful to Christ that He had called me to Himself. With a bow I venerated Him, and proceeded to the pew.

Mass proceeded as per usual, and I found the Readings especially relevant to the journey I am making. Fr Sam said, in his homily, that Christianity does not preach suffering. Yet it does not preach health and wealth - at least most Christians don't. It preaches glory and life. Sufferings are inevitable in our lives (long explanation), and these trials help us to grow to be stronger. God does not make us endure these trials, but helps us endure these trials.

He also elaborated on our Father, on how He wants us to inherit His kingdom. I then realised that my relationship with the Father was not as strong as it should be. Maybe this is one thing I'd like to focus on as I continue my journey.

After the homily, we were invited to the sanctuary to receive the Rite of Acceptance. Fr Chong signed my forehead with the cross, and I was reminded of that Ash Wednesday in the SJI chapel, when I received the ashes and felt marked as a child of God. As I now absorb what I went through, I feel truly grateful to Him for revealing Himself to me. I then received crosses on my other senses, and declared my desire to follow Christ.

I finally got a crucifix! I can now hug a proper crucifix with the contours of the corpus and pray the Divine Mercy like I did at Awaken. I still remember the Paschal Triduum camp, when I brought a transparent box file with a printed St Dominic's Cross, and hugged it. It was so sorely lacking in feel. I kissed the feet in honour of the Incarnation, and received the Bible, repeating that gesture of reverence.

To conclude the rite, we were prayed over by the priests and the congregation, and it occurred to me that my community is praying for me... FLOW, my family, the priests. I felt so grateful and assured with their prayers.

Then began the Liturgy of the Eucharist. At the Offertory, I offered myself and the entire RCIA journey to the Lord. It was the last time I would attend this part of the Mass on a Sunday for some time. It's ok, I still can witness the transubstantiation at weekday Masses. For more of my thoughts on the transubstantiation, check out my Eucharistic blog here.

I stayed in the pews during Communion time and kneeling, made spiritual Communion with Christ in the Blessed Sacrament, and once more expressed my longing to receive Him physically. I just watched the Host come off Father's hands, and gave thanks for the gift of Supreme Sacrament.

After the dismissal, I met up with more FLOWers before going to the parish canteen for the potluck lunch. I didn't bring anything, but I guess my job as the young one is just to eat. Hehe... After that, I went up to the Adoration Room for some thanksgiving, hanged around Matius, Rachel Yee and Elena at the playground, before finally going home.

And now I draw closer yet to the fount! Actually, it's still a long journey: 6 months to go. I really can't wait for Lent. Ironic as it sounds, things will get more bearable during that season because it will be just over a month to the Easter Sacraments. Ah well, I need this time to prepare myself too, so I shouldn't be complaining.

If you're Catholic and wish to read a more enriching blog, you may like to visit http://inhonouroftheeucharist.blogspot.sg. It focuses entirely on the beauty of the Holy Eucharist.

My Feelings

~JMJ~

Hi everyone! I am currently on my RCIA journey, a journey towards initiation into the Catholic Church, which will culminate in my reception of the Three Sacraments of Initiation: Baptism, Confirmation, and Holy Communion. So I thought I could just share with you all what I've learnt during the lessons and other thoughts of my own.

My Feelings

I really can't wait to complete this journey! I want so much to make Full Communion with Jesus by receiving His Most Precious Body and Blood. I am a filthy tabernacle, awaiting the waters of Baptism to wash me clean, before finally make of my tongue a red carpet for the Lord, and my body a tabernacle for Him. 

It feels like Purgatory on Earth. I can see God, and long to make enter in Communion with Him so much, that this great hope burns painfully like a fire. O sweet the promise and great the hope! I can't imagine having to go through this all over again at the end of my earthly life.

There are two hymns now which nourish me to press on in this journey. It can get quite exhausting at times as my patience gets tried. So I really need these hymns to remind me of the sweetness of this journey and its reward in Holy Baptism. The first is the Vidi Aquam, the sprinkling hymn used during Eastertide. It's commonly translated as "I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia..." It just fills me with hope for the night of the Easter Vigil. In there lies the verse which just drives me to tears:

Vidi auqam egre dientem de templo, a latare dextro alleluia;

Et omnes, ad quos pervenit, aquaista, salvi facti sunt, et dicent, alleluia, alleluia.

I saw water flowing from the right side of the temple, alleluia;

And all they to whom that water came were saved, and shall say, alleluia, alleluia. 

It gives me immense hope and the melody just makes me feel like I'm flooded my the magnanimous Love and Mercy of God. 

(Vidi Aquam)

The other hymn is "Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross". I sang this hymn before one lesson. The lyrics truly touched me.

Jesus keep me near the Cross

There a PRECIOUS FOUNTAIN

FREE TO ALL A HEALING STREAM

FLOWS FROM CALVARY'S MOUNTAIN

Chorus:

In the Cross, in the Cross,

Be my glory ever;

Till my raptured soul shall find

REST BEYOND THE RIVER

Near the Cross, a trembling soul,

LOVE AND MERCY FOUND ME;

There the BRIGHT AND MORNING STAR

SHED ITS BEAMS AROUND ME

(Chorus)

Near the Cross! O Lamb of God,

Bring it scenes before me;

HELP ME WALK FROM DAY TO DAY,

WITH ITS SHADOWS O'ER ME.

(Chorus)

Near the Cross I'LL WATCH AND WAIT

HOPING, TRUSTING EVER,

TILL I REACH MY GOLDEN STRAND

JUST BEYOND THE RIVER

(Chorus)

(Jesus Keep Me Near the Cross)

I guess that's all I have to say. I'll update you all on my progress and things I'd learnt at RCIA classes. 

Please pray for me. Thanks and God bless you! :D


If you're Catholic and wish to read a more enriching blog, you may like to visit http://inhonouroftheeucharist.blogspot.sg. It focuses entirely on the beauty of the Holy Eucharist.