JayP wrote: ↑Sun Mar 31, 2024 5:40 pm
My God, just when I thought JudMac could not possibly lose more credibility he quotes Jack Chick.
I do not understand the confusion of the other posts. Maybe I am missing something.
Catholics are required to attend Mass on Sunday (or the Sat night vigil mass) and holy days of obligation which vary from area to area. That means a day like Christmas or Feast of the Assumption.
You do not have to take Communion at a Mass, indeed you should not if in a state of mortal sin.
You are required to take communion at least once a year.
Those are the facts. Make of them what you will. I get if you are not Catholic you do not believe what they do, Fine.
But folks seem to be debating what are factual items we can be sure about
Did you ACTUALLY read what I wrote? I was not quoting Jack Chick, but critiquing some of his points. I was not using Chick as a source, just commenting on the veracity of some of his contentions. On a historical basis, he actually has some good points. The most damming is the continued effort of the Catholic Church to keep the Bible away from the people. There is no excuse for that, nor is there an excuse for persecution and murder of those who translated it, so all might know the truth of God. Nor is there any excuse for using Interdicts and Indults for political purposes. As far as Chick, even a clock that has stopped is right twice a day.
Transubstantiation would be my other major beef. While Chick's "death cookie" verbiage is jarring, all who bow down and worship it, and count on the sacriments to save them is lost. I have seen "adoration of the host" more times than I cared to count, I see it as idolatry. Only faith in Jesus saves. No church, no ritual, no pronouncement from a pope.
As to your version of one's duty, as far as I remember, and I tend to remember well, you are absolutely correct. Not only is being free from a state of mortal sin necessary, but assuming I remember correctly, fasting was required, it ranged between midnight as a child, to 1 hour before service as a teenager. To keep my parents happy, and a roof over my head, I attended until I was 18, and that was 1974. I became a christian on the Tuesday before Easter in 1974. I had "checked out" of the Catholic Church in the late 60s.
Are you attending a Latin version of the Novus Ordo or a Trinidine mass? For those who are not familiar with the terminology, the Trinidine mass it pre Vatican II, and Novus Ordo or New Order, is the post Vatican II mass, in various languages. It is a significantly different rubric. There are a number of significant differences, typically in a Trinadine mass the priest faces the tabernacle, Novus Ordo, faces the people when the conscription is done.
I guess I have asked you before if you are SSPX? The only Trinidine mass I know of in these parts is at the SSPX chapel. What the diocesan bishop has authorized is a Latin version of Novus Ordo, as far as I know. Believe it or not, I have had lots of contact with catholics, the Chaplin at my former place of employment had me on her "list" in case a "Protestant, other" did not want a priest. In my former church I was an elder, and did visits frequently. Had to have two ID badges so the nurses would know which "hat" I was wearing. I found I could work well with Franciscans.
