Ask Catholics: Denomination vs. Denominator
Question: Hello, I came across your blog 
I am a Christian, without a real denomination. I am huge on the body of Christ unifying and not diving themselves. Even if we have certain practices, like praying to Mary for Catholics, it should not divide us as a whole. We follow Christ first above our churches. Do you consider other denominations just as important as yours? Would Catholics have a problem serving with other Christians as one under Christ? Just curious, I don’t know too much about the beliefs(:
Answer:
Awesome question, and thanks for sending it in
Alright, let’s talk about the first part. YES. We are all part of the body of Christ. We all belong to the same God. And….we’re all going to the same Heaven. He loves each and every one of us unconditionally, no matter what religion we profess. Romans 12:5 clearly states that “in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.” Also, in Galatians, Paul writes that “There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:28)
So in that respect, I totally agree with you. Christians were meant to be unified.
So as Catholics, do we consider other denominations as important as our own? Absolutely. And would we ever have a problem serving with other Christians under Christ? Absolutely not.
But what do Catholics believe about other Christians?
We do believe that the Catholic Church has the fullness of truth. We do have beliefs such as purgatory, the Pope, Mary, the Saints, etc. that set us apart. However, the word Catholic literally means “universal”.
That’s the basics. We’re different, but we’re all Christians and it comes down less to the denomination, rather than the denominator. (Christ)
I really appreciate the question and thanks for reading! I know this wasn’t super direct because a lot of questions can come from this, but I definitely want to encourage you to keep on sending them in.
Peace,
Avery
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consider it joy (james 1:27)
I was super procrastinating today on starting my exam studying and was just going through my news feed on facebook today, and I saw a quote from Mark Hart that really struck me.
“Don’t wear a cross around your neck if all you’re going to do is complain about the one on your back.
Prayer is where the cross changes shoulders.”
Amen.
Carrying the Crosses.
So here’s the deal…
As Christians, we all have crosses in our lives. Illness, stress, spiritual attack, the burden of a sick family member or divorcing parents, the list of anxiety can go on and on.
But the thing is, we’re NEVER alone.
It’s cliche to say, but so many times even as Christians we slip into the darkness of self pity. We make our pain all about ourselves. We forget that every. single. other. person. on this whole wide world is carrying their own cross. Only the Lord knows fully what those crosses are.
We can’t wear crosses on our necks and scapulars on our chests and claim to be followers and disciples of Jesus Christ if we live our life expecting it to be super easy and all about us and our comfort. Christ carried the cross on Calvary. He suffered the ultimate pain for us. The God of the whole universe who created the trees and the people and the giraffes and goodness knows what else, HE carried the cross of Calvary.
HE took upon the suffering of persecution and rejection with grace. He didn’t have a pity party because no one liked Him because it was all a part of the plan of Salvation History.
Suffering is…joy?
In suffering, many times it is so easy to forget that we belong to something so much greater than ourselves. Look at the lives of the Saints, just for an example. Then name one who didn’t suffer greatly.
Suffering can be seen in two ways.
1. as a bad thing.
2. as a blessing.
Think back to James 1:2. We’re called to consider it JOY when we face trials of many kinds. Now, that’s easier said than done.
So…how is it done?
Prayer is where the cross changes shoulders.
We have the beautiful grace in our Faith to speak to our Lord and humbly make our requests known before Him. Before HIM who created us, before HIM who knows every hair on our head, before HIM who suffered on Calvary for us.
Putting into perspective what we are facing is so important. The world often presents us with this message that “problems make us stronger” and “just smile and everything will be okay”. It sounds nice, but really, here’s the thing.
Without Christ, none of that is happening in the long run. Only He is strong enough and only through Him can we smile and find joy.
In praying to the Lord, Jesus reaches out and carries that burden with us.
So…then it’s all rainbows and butterflies?
Jesus never promised his disciples that life would be easy. He promised them that it would be worth it. We must carry our crosses daily but we again have two choices.
We can consider it suffering, or we can consider it joy.
Go ahead with James 1:2. It’s up to you!
Theology of the Body for Teens
I saw this video on Sr. Helena Burns’ blog, THEOLOGY OF THE BODY: TEEN TESTIMONIES! I encourage you to watch this video and learn why theology of the body is important and how as a teen you can relate to Blessed John Paul II’s theology of the body.
Teens and Media
Hey Live WTL Ministries Readers! Check out this video where Matt Smith, from Life Teen, talks with Teresa Tomeo. They discuss how the media has an influence on everything that we do in our daily life. Matt also talks about his experience of being a part of MTV’s “Real World.” This video is worth checking out. I also encourage you check out LifeTeen.com for more inspiration that is geared towards Catholic Teens.
Litany of Humility..
What an incredible place the world would be if each of us could start our morning with Grace and this prayer.
O Jesus! meek and humble of heart,Hear me.
From the desire of being esteemed,
Deliver me, Jesus.
From the desire of being loved…
From the desire of being extolled …
From the desire of being honored …
From the desire of being praised …
From the desire of being preferred to others…
From the desire of being consulted …
From the desire of being approved …
From the fear of being humiliated …
Fromthe fear of being despised…
From the fear of suffering rebukes …
From the fear of being calumniated …
From the fear of being forgotten …
From the fear of being ridiculed …
From the fear of being wronged …
From the fear of being suspected …
That others may be loved more than I,
Jesus, grant me the grace to desire it.
That others may be esteemed more than I …
That, in the opinion of the world,
others may increase and I may decrease …
That others may be chosen and I set aside …
That others may be praised and I unnoticed …
That others may be preferred to me in everything…
That others may become holier than I,provided that I may become as holy as I should…
RafaelCardinal Merry del Val (1865-1930),
Secretary of State for Pope Saint Pius
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