Day3: Creation & the fall of Man

September 29, 2008 - Day 3 of RCIA

Creation & the fall of Man
1. The Angels
2. The earthly world
3. Original Sin

This night was by far the most interesting for me and the most enlightening! I learned so much….it was a good night! There were two things that were brought up that have always been my two biggest issuses with Catholics: Mary and confession! I want to start with Mary, the mother of Jesus first.

Mary - Mother of Jesus
Being raised protestant there is not a whole lot of emphasis on MARY. We emphasize Jesus Christ and the importance of Him more than any other human being. Catholics I always thought WORSHIPPED Mary. It seemed as though she was more important than God himself…God became second. Prayers were prayed to Mary first, then given up to God by Mary is how I saw it. God was important, but Angels/Saints seemed to be the focal point of Catholics beliefs and it bothered me. I was taught that we shall worship one God, and one God only. The worshipping of MARY seemed like another God to me. Then, it became clear!:-)
Mary is not worshipped, she is HONORED! She is honored because of her amazing mircale birth of Jesus Christ. She gave birth to Jesus, and Jesus is the reason we are here today…so we Honor her for the gift of life and worship Jesus (God) for giving his life so that we could have life. How could you not Honor Mary for this amazing gift? It just makes sense that we would. I know there is still a lot for me to learn about the HONORING of Saints/Angels and others who have done great things….I'm still unclear on why there seems to be more emphasis on others rather than God himself…example in a Catholic Church there are a lot of other statues other than Jesus that are present and they are everywhere….where in a protestant Church, you will see more images of Jesus and the main focus will be on Him. This racks my brain and I'm sure in the days to come, I will be more clear on this.

Confession
Why on earth would I confess my sins to anyone other than God? The idea of walking into a little room to confess my sins to a priest sitting behind a thin wall has always been so weird to me. I couldn't imagine doing this. It's hard enough confessing to God. I asked the Father Hathaway to clerify this for me because when you become a Catholic, this is something that is strongly encouraged. I tend to not be so diligant in confessing my sins to God. I can just say to myself, oh God please forgive me and move about my day. I don't seem to be really sorry or do any sort of repentance. Although it seems harder to tell somebody else your sins, I believe that it will mean more if you say your sins out loud to someone. I know for me saying things out loud makes me feel better and when I'm hurting, it hurts more to keep the pain inside than to tell someone who can pray for you. Confessing your sins out loud to a priest is pretty much the same. It's like speaking with a counseler for help, or to a good friend. They will listen to you with their un-devoted attention and at the end can pray with you and ask God to heal your pain and bring you comfort and peace. This is what the priest does. They are there to listen in the same way and pray for you that God forgives your sins. Going to the priest first, isn't bypassing God, it's going to someone to talk to who can deliver the message for you to Him. I feel like I will be more sincere if I have to say out loud my sins. With this explanation, this does not mean that I am able to do this just yet. The thought of it makes me ill (in a nervous way)! I know it will take time, but for now, I'm good with doing it my way until this day comes when I do feel ready to confess my sins out loud. This may be confusing to some and I hope that I was clear enough for you all to understand what I was truly trying to explain.

These past 3 classes have been such a learning experience for me. I have another class tonight and I'm excited. I know God has an amazing plan for my future and I know this is part of it. I'm blessed with an amazing life and I couldn't be happier. Thank you to everyone who has played a part in making my life so amazing!