What is a Catholic Church ?

Question

My boyfriend just went to college and the only church around is a Catholic church. My boyfriend is a Christian-methodist. What should he expect and should he do anything different?

Answer 1

its the one with the nuns

Answer 2

No matter what the denomination, all Christian churches are unified by the fact that they follow Jesus Christ as "Savior".

Everything else tends to change depending on the church, denomination, city, and congregation you are in.

The best thing you could do to understand what the new customs, traditions, etc you would be facing would be to discuss your new church's customs with a member of that church's clergy.  They could let you know what to expect from different types of ceremonies and services, and do the best job of answering your specific questions.

If that doesn't work for you, there are also several good books highlighting the major differences between faiths and denominations that could help you understand some of the things that may seem weird or unusual.

Answer 3

Well, he should expect many "rituals" or "rules", and "rules" regarding "holy" things, such as holy water, etc. He should also expect to always bow down in front of the statue of Mary. And.... he should expect confession to the priest, which i dont really think is that good to do. However, i am sure that he wil be fine, but it may take some time to get used to all the rules and the rituals. It is very different from a Christian-methodist church. He could find many things that seem really wrong to him as well. But tell him to always hold faith, and i appreciate that he is so willing to go to a church.  

Answer 4

find an Orthodox Church, they are Catholic, but not Roman Catholic

12 Things I Wish I’d Known…

First Visit to an Orthodox Church

Orthodox worship is different! Some of these differences are apparent, if perplexing, from the first moment you walk in a church. Others become noticeable only over time. Here is some information that may help you feel more at home in Orthodox worship—twelve things I wish I’d known before my first visit to an Orthodox church.

1. What’s all this commotion?

During the early part of the service the church may seem to be in a hubbub, with people walking up to the front of the church, praying in front of the iconostasis (the standing icons in front of the altar), kissing things and lighting candles, even though the service is already going on. In fact, when you came in the service was already going on, although the sign outside clearly said “Divine Liturgy, 9:30.” You felt embarrassed to apparently be late, but these people are even later, and they’re walking all around inside the church. What’s going on here?

In an Orthodox church there is only one Eucharistic service (Divine Liturgy) per Sunday, and it is preceded by an hour-long service of Matins (or Orthros) and several short preparatory services before that. There is no break between these services—one begins as soon as the previous ends, and posted starting times are just educated guesses. Altogether, the priest will be at the altar on Sunday morning for over three hours, “standing in the flame,” as one Orthodox priest put it.

As a result of this state of continous flow, there is no point at which everyone is sitting quietly in a pew waiting for the entrance hymn to start, glancing at their watches approaching 9:30. Orthodox worshippers arrive at any point from the beginning of Matins through the early part of the Liturgy, a span of well over an hour. No matter when they arrive, something is sure to be already going on, so Orthodox don’t let this hamper them from going through the private prayers appropriate to just entering a church. This is distracting to newcomers, and may even seem disrespectful, but soon you begin to recognize it as an expression of a faith that is not merely formal but very personal. Of course, there is still no good excuse for showing up after 9:30, but punctuality is unfortunately one of the few virtues many Orthodox lack.

2. Stand up, stand up for Jesus.

In the Orthodox tradition, the faithful stand up for nearly the entire service. Really. In some Orthodox churches, there won’t even be any chairs, except a few scattered at the edges of the room for those who need them. Expect variation in practice: some churches, especially those that bought already-existing church buildings, will have well-used pews. In any case, if you find the amount of standing too challenging you’re welcome to take a seat. No one minds or probably even notices. Long-term standing gets easier with practice.

3. In this sign.

To say that we make the sign of the cross frequently would be an understatement. We sign ourselves whenever the Trinity is invoked, whenever we venerate the cross or an icon, and on many other occasions in the course of the Liturgy. But people aren’t expected to do everything the same way. Some people cross themselves three times in a row, and some finish by sweeping their right hand to the floor. On first entering a church people may come up to an icon, make a “metania”—crossing themselves and bowing with right hand to the floor—twice, then kiss the icon, then make one more metania. This becomes familiar with time, but at first it can seem like secret-handshake stuff that you are sure to get wrong. Don’t worry, you don’t have to follow suit.

We cross with our right hands from right to left (push, not pull), the opposite of Roman Catholics and high-church Protestants. We hold our hands in a prescribed way: thumb and first two fingertips pressed together, last two fingers pressed down to the palm. Here as elsewhere, the Orthodox impulse is to make everything we do reinforce the Faith. Can you figure out the symbolism? (Three fingers together for the Trinity; two fingers brought down to the palm for the two natures of Christ, and his coming down to earth.) This, too, takes practice. A beginner’s imprecise arrangement of fingers won’t get you denounced as a heretic.

4. What, no kneelers?

Generally, we don’t kneel. We do sometimes prostrate. This is not like prostration in the Roman Catholic tradition, lying out flat on the floor. To make a prostration we kneel, place our hands on the floor and touch our foreheads down between our hands. It’s just like those photos of middle-eastern worship, which look to Westerners like a sea of behinds. At first prostration feels embarrassing, but no one else is embarrassed, so after a while it feels OK. Ladies will learn that full skirts are best for prostrations, as flat shoes are best for standing.

Sometimes we do this and get right back up again, as d

Answer 5

<<What is a Catholic Church ? My boyfriend just went to college and the only church around is a Catholic church. My boyfriend is a Christian-methodist. What should he expect and should he do anything different?>>

If he wants to know what attending a Catholic Mass is like, he should just go. It's as simple as that.

Perhaps it's best he goes in there with as little pre-conceived notion as possible, thereby allowing him to really make his own decision for himself, rather than have it influenced by someone's (most likely misguided) opinion.

<<I'm not asking about belief differences. I am a Christian too and we both know where we stand in our faith. I just want to know what a service is like? What happens? In what order? Is it very formal?>>

It's formal in the sense that the Mass is structured. It starts with a greeting, Readings from the Bible, a homily from the priest, the consecration of the Eucharist, the reception of Holy Communion. Non-Catholics cannot participate in reception of Holy Communion, but they can participate in every other facet of the Mass.

Answer 6

I agree with Redskins, we're one of the Protestant denominations closest to the Catholic church. Having gone to Mass at Catholic school it's not so different he'll feel completely out of place.

Answer 7

become a catholic.i love it

Answer 8

Hi may I suggest you go and visit the Catholic Church, you will be most welcome. The priest will answer any questions you may have and we have RCIA which is classes in the Catholic Church's theology and teachings, you can attend these without even becoming Catholic there is no obligation. If you did decide to become Catholic you would finish RCIA in Easter and be confirmed and baptized by the Bishop. A Catholic mass is a Worship service to God, with prayers Hymns and the Holy Eucharist. Please feel free to email me with any further questions or information you may want to know. May I suggest you make an appointment with the priest, he will answer any and all questions too.

God Bless

Please ignore Chris he has a habit of coping and pasting the same drivel to any question that refers to Catholics!.

Answer 9

I've never heard of a college which does not have one or more Bible believing Christian groups on campus.

Attending those groups should be his church if there is no other option in town.

If you let me know what college he's attending I'll help you find a group.

National Christian Groups on campus include:

Campus Crusade for Chris

Navigators

Inter-Varsity

Chi Alpha

Wesley Foundation

Baptist Student Union

and I'm sure there are more.

Answer 10

A church of or involving the Roman Catholic Church, or relating to the universal Christian church, or relating to the ancient undivided Christian church, or relating to those churches that have claimed to be representatives of the ancient undivided church. Usually they pray to a god who is represented in the church by an image of him and his disciples.

Answer 11

It is formal.  First you stand during the entry procession, then after the greeting, the penitential rite, kyrie, gloria, and opening prayer.

Then you are seated for the liturgy of the Word.  The lector then reads scripture from the old testament, a psalm and response, then a reading from the new testament.  After that the congregation stands once again and the Priest reads the Gospel.  After he is done reading, he gives the homily which has to do with the teachings in the Gospel and the other two scriptures, and how it is connected with our lives today.  Then you stand once again when that is done and say the profession of faith and general intercession prayers take place.  Then the liturgy of the Eucharist takes place. You are sitting at that time, and the presentation of the gifts are brought to the alter. You stand once again while the gifts are prayed over.  If the church he is going to has kneelers, the he would kneel during the Eucharistic prayer.  Then for the Communion Rite he would once again stand.  The Lord's Prayer is said, and the sign of peace is given, which is essentially shaking hands with the people around you, saying peace be with you.  Then the breaking of the bread takes place, and then Communion.  Now I will tell you that there is a closed alter policy within the church.  The reason being is that we do consider the Eucharist to be truly, the body blood soul and divinity of Jesus.  Not a symbol, but the really and truly Jesus.  Your boyfriend can go up and be blessed by the priest, he would have to cross his arms over his chest to indicate that he is not taking communion.  After communion there is a short time of silence when everyone is either kneeling (if there is kneelers) or sitting.  Then comes the concluding rite.  Which the priest blesses the congregation and charges them to leave and spread the Gospel of our Lord.  There is a recessional song, and then Mass is over.

I hope this helps.

Answer 12

>>should he do anything different?<<

While non-Catholics are welcome at our churches, they may not receive Communion (except under a few rare circumstances, like being on one's deathbed), so if he could please refrain from doing so, it would be much appreciated.

Answer 13

Nothings different..it's all the same.

Answer 14

The Catholic church has a lot of similarity to the Methodist church. The Methodists came from a blending of Catholics and Anglicans during the colonial time in Virginia. A Catholic Mass is very similar to the Methodist's traditional service. We follow the same readings every Sunday. The difference is that we have communion every Sunday and believe the host and wine become the real Body and Blood of Christ through transubstantiation. It's not symbolic to us.

*My Catholic Church has one statue of Mary out in the garden. That's it. I also know of no one that bows down to a statue of Mary. We genuflect towards the alter before we sit as a sign of respect to Jesus Christ.

This is how the mass goes - notice there is no worship of Mary or cement:

- We sing a hymn as the priest, lector, and alter servers walk in.

-The priest leads us in a prayer where we acknowledge we are sinners and ask for prayers from everyone. - brothers and sisters and all the angels and saints - Methodists believe in the communion of saints also.

-We have a reading from the OT.

-We sing a psalm.

-We have a second reading from the NT

-We sing Alleluja

-We have a reading from the Gospels

-The priest gives his sermon - called a homily

-We profess our faith through the Nicene Creed - Methodist recite the Apostle's Creed which is very similar - they even say they believe in one holy catholic church

-We pray

-We sing the Our Father and shake hands

-We pray

-The collection is taken as we sing

-We pray

-We take communion

-We pray

-We sing as the priest and alter servers process out so he can shake everyone's hand as they walk out the door.

The service is formal. The dress is casual for the younger people. It's usually just the old people in suits.

*Non-Catholics can go through the communion line. Just cross your arms in front of you and you will receive a blessing instead of the actual Eucharist.

Answer 15

A good explanation of the Mass can be found at http://www.americancatholic.org/Newslett...

The text of prayers at mass can be found by going to http://www.davidmacd.com/catholic/cathol...

If you have cable or sattelite TV, EWTN has a broadcast of the Daily Mass every day.

Stand and kneel if you feel like it.  Right after we say the Our Father, the priest will invite everyone to offer each other a sign of peace.  If you wish to, shake the hand of the person next to you and say "Peace be with you"

When everyone starts getting out of the pews and starts moving forward for Communion, Please refrain from participating in Eucharist.  Only Catholics who are in communion with the Church (no unrepented mortal sins) may receive communion.  Depending on the custom of the individual church, you may come forward and ask for a blessing from the priest.  

Answer 16

Constructive people take constructive meanings from things.  I don't care if it's a Catholic church or a Buddhist temple.

That whole thing about "correct belief" is hogwash.  NO church tells you a "false teaching" just because they have some unseen evil plot.  That's funny papers thinking.  If you think that way, you need to call Batman so he can save us.

Take the part the church offers (that helps YOU) and leave the rest.

Answer 17

It is not so different except that Catholics believe in the True Presence of Jesus Christ in the Bread and the Wine during Holy Communion. Other Christian Churches believe it is merely symbolic.  Since Catholics believe in the True Presence non-believers are welcome to share in the service and fellowship but are asked to refrain from receiving Holy Communion.

H

Answer 18

Im catholic and i describe it as HUMBLE

Peacefull, serene , spirtual...Its great.U leave with a better knowledge of God and who you are

dont forget though..Catholics are Christians!

she did not ask to be convinced the catholic church isnt right. U made urself seem really dumb and ignorant. What are u 16 ..Dont believe MARLYN MANSON u little BOOGER

Bow in front of MARY??CONFESSION??

EXCUSE YOU??

I m catholic 23 and i only did confession 1

NEVER BOWED IN FRONT OF MARY

Ignorant ppl here...