I'll add here that my comment wasn't meant to denigrate the Catholic church as "religion" but was meant as a general comment regarding people getting wrapped up in the mechanisms of religious practices at the expense of knowing Jesus.
Christ calls us to be in a relationship with Him, if that occurs in the Catholic Church then praise God! …
I'll add here that my comment wasn't meant to denigrate the Catholic church as "religion" but was meant as a general comment regarding people getting wrapped up in the mechanisms of religious practices at the expense of knowing Jesus.
Christ calls us to be in a relationship with Him, if that occurs in the Catholic Church then praise God! God works in all sorts of wonderous ways, and as the Bible says by our fruits they shall know us. By "religion" I meant those that mouth platitudes or went through the motions but don't actually know Him. Unfortunately I saw plenty of that growing up. Twelve years of Catholic schools culminated with our Catholic priest principal being taken down with the biggest sex abuse payout in LA and Orange county history at the time. It was not an isolated incident back then as several of our parish priests were also exposed over the years.
That was my experience but I recognize it's not that of everyone, and that there are plenty of Protestants and Orthodox who were also awful hypocrites.
If you are in a Catholic Church and love the Lord, then who am I to tell you that you are doing it wrong? Gods' grace covers us all, he doesn't expect us to tick every box on the salvation checklist but to love Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. We are sanctified in this life through the renewing of our minds as Paul says, through that we draw closer to Him. If that is happening for you in a Catholic Church then God bless you as my brother or sister in Christ.
I'll add here that my comment wasn't meant to denigrate the Catholic church as "religion" but was meant as a general comment regarding people getting wrapped up in the mechanisms of religious practices at the expense of knowing Jesus.
Christ calls us to be in a relationship with Him, if that occurs in the Catholic Church then praise God! God works in all sorts of wonderous ways, and as the Bible says by our fruits they shall know us. By "religion" I meant those that mouth platitudes or went through the motions but don't actually know Him. Unfortunately I saw plenty of that growing up. Twelve years of Catholic schools culminated with our Catholic priest principal being taken down with the biggest sex abuse payout in LA and Orange county history at the time. It was not an isolated incident back then as several of our parish priests were also exposed over the years.
That was my experience but I recognize it's not that of everyone, and that there are plenty of Protestants and Orthodox who were also awful hypocrites.
If you are in a Catholic Church and love the Lord, then who am I to tell you that you are doing it wrong? Gods' grace covers us all, he doesn't expect us to tick every box on the salvation checklist but to love Him with our whole heart, mind, and soul. We are sanctified in this life through the renewing of our minds as Paul says, through that we draw closer to Him. If that is happening for you in a Catholic Church then God bless you as my brother or sister in Christ.